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Modern Etiquette for Wedding Invitations

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valor
advertising
alliances
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foundation
fun
games
hero
hot
manufacturing
movies
music
Rock and roll
series
song
time
vocalist
arthritis
coitus
Diabetes mellitus
dirty
estrogen
gender
girl
impotence
libido
menstrual cycle
prostitute
Reproductive
Sex party
underwear
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
entertainment
exercise
food
future
gain
guide
life
locomotion
suggest
advertising
alliances
animation
art
band
foundation
games
hero
hot
manufacturing
movies
music
Rock and roll
series
song
time
vocalist
appetite
apply
artifice
benefit
building
business
city
company
cosmetics
costume
data
design
designers
details
develop
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entrepreneur
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health
jewelry
life
limit
locomotion
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markets
method
Microsoft
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nutrition
perfume
profits
shoot
sleep
style
tourism
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
entertainment
exercise
food
future
gain
guide
life
locomotion
suggest
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
entertainment
exercise
food
future
gain
guide
life
suggest
appetite
apply
artifice
benefit
building
business
city
company
cosmetics
costume
data
design
designers
details
develop
Duties and responsibilities
entrepreneur
family
fashion
finery
food
hackers
hairstyle
health
jewelry
life
limit
locomotion
marketing
markets
method
Microsoft
muscle
nutrition
perfume
profits
shoot
sleep
style
tourism
activity
banks
business
earnings
economy
enterprise
Interest rate
investment
Make a profit
markets
Motor car
oil
plan
profits
shares
transact
valor
Anewcar
audi
champion
driver
Electricmachine
Electricpower
Mercedes
mix
Modelcar
Modelnumber
nursing
order
performance
repair
security
sportscar
team
technique
Theautoshow
Thedetector
Thefilter
Thetrack
tire
traffic
appetite
apply
artifice
benefit
building
business
city
company
cosmetics
costume
data
design
designers
details
develop
Duties and responsibilities
entrepreneur
family
fashion
finery
food
hackers
hairstyle
health
jewelry
life
limit
locomotion
marketing
markets
method
Microsoft
muscle
nutrition
perfume
profits
shoot
sleep
style
tourism
appetite
apply
artifice
benefit
building
business
city
company
cosmetics
costume
data
design
designers
details
develop
Duties and responsibilities
entrepreneur
family
fashion
finery
food
hackers
hairstyle
health
jewelry
life
limit
locomotion
marketing
markets
method
Microsoft
muscle
nutrition
perfume
profits
shoot
sleep
style
tourism
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
entertainment
exercise
food
future
gain
guide
life
suggest
activity
banks
business
earnings
economy
enterprise
Interest rate
investment
Make a profit
markets
Motor car
oil
plan
profits
shares
transact
valor
activity
banks
business
earnings
economy
enterprise
Interest rate
investment
Make a profit
markets
Motor car
oil
plan
profits
shares
transact
valor
administer
arthritis
company
design
designers
diet
drinks
entrepreneur
food
hackers
journey
limit
markets
menu
occupation
profits
publishers
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resume
retailers
sexy
shoot
sports
style
team
work
administer
arthritis
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design
designers
diet
drinks
entrepreneur
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hackers
journey
limit
markets
menu
occupation
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restaurant
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retailers
sexy
shoot
sports
style
team
work
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
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designers
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suggest
tourism
Anewcar
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modern etiquette wedding invitations

Woo hoo! You’re engaged! After your first Instagram post about your engagement, a wedding save the date or invitation is your first opportunity to get information about your wedding out to your family and friends (and you know they’re dying to know). With so much available technology, it’s never been easier to keep your guests informed and organized. All you have to do is give them the right information! Of course, modern etiquette is a huge part of this step. 

So what is the right information? That’s what we’re here for! No matter which stage of wedding planning you’re in, you can keep your guests up-to-date with informative invites while checking every etiquette box in the book.

Timing

A digital invite platform makes managing this piece, well, a piece of cake. If you’re planning a destination wedding, a save the date should go out roughly 3 months before the wedding. This gives guests an opportunity to plan around other travel, holidays, and work so they can be sure to attend your celebration. Even if wedding details are still in the works, you can inform people of a date and location, while directing them to your wedding website for real-time updates.

If you’re staying local, invites should simply give guests enough time to plan ahead. The general rule of thumb is six weeks prior to your wedding, but the biggest priority here is considerate timing for your guests. If they are scattered around the world, give them some extra time.   

Addressing Envelopes

This seems like a huge task, but don’t get overwhelmed. This is what wine is for.

Using an online invite platform can save loads of time with licking, stamping, and addressing envelopes. As far as how to address them, it really comes down to an awareness of people’s living situations (are they married? divorced? living with a partner?). You can find a complete, specific guide to each scenario here.

It is important that guests understand from the invitation exactly who is invited to the wedding. If you are open to plus ones, then let people know they can bring a guest. If specific guests are invited to attend (i.e. no kids or no dates), then make it clear by addressing envelopes to specific people as opposed to their families or their guests.

Wedding invites are the first glimpse your guests will see of the wedding you have in mind, and they will help them determine just how formal the wedding will be. For example, a wedding invitation with a classic design that is addressed to Doctor and Mrs. John Doe is going to appear more formal than an invitation addressed to Harry and Sally Doe. Use discretion here based on the guest and based on your unique event.

The Right Host Line

It seems like a small detail, but the host line can be a touchy subject. This is because it implies those who contributed planning or financing to the wedding. Traditionally, parents’ names have been included here (think: Mrs. and Mr. John Doe cordially invite you to attend…”). Today, many couples take on a majority of planning and financing for their celebrations on their own, so they leave parents out of it. The simple “Together with their families” is great verbiage for keeping things classy, simple, and inclusive when couples take on the bulk of the responsibility. This host line guide goes into greater detail for more nuanced situations.

The Who, What, When, and Where

Above all, a wedding invitation or save the date is meant to provide guests with straightforward details about the celebration. In addition to who is hosting the event, be sure to include specific details about date, time, and place so that guests know where and when to gather. If the ceremony venue is different from the reception venue, it is important that it’s made clear with phrases such as “Dinner and dancing to follow.” This way, guests can make appropriate plans for accommodations, transportation, and attire.

Either an invitation or a save the date is a great place to direct people to your wedding website for updates. This offers guests the chance to feel up-to-speed about accommodations, dress code, registry, and itineraries and will keep your wedding invitations simple, beautiful, and to the point.

RSVPs

In an ideal universe, guests will be so excited and helpful and considerate that they will all send their RSVPs back to you within the week. In reality, they all have jobs and families and hair appointments to manage, too. This is why it’s important to include an RSVP deadline in your invitation.  

When designating an RSVP deadline, be sure it lines up with your catering headcount deadline and gives you plenty of time to make a seating chart. Ideally, you will know exactly how many people will be attending three weeks before the wedding. Going paperless will make it easier for guests to reply to your invitation, particularly if they live in faraway places.

Your Wedding Website

Wedding planning is a lot to manage, especially because it’s rarely the only thing that modern brides have to worry about in their lives. By using a wedding website, all of your awesome ideas can be shared with your guests instantly, leaving you the necessary time and space to iron out the details. Technology rules.

Once you find the perfect wedding website tool, you can include useful information for guests including accommodation and transportation tips, registry information, dress code, and online RSVPs. Talk about a time saver! To give your site a more personal touch, you might also include couple photos or a story of how you met your sweetheart. This will make your guests feel included and really, really excited to see you get married.

 

Looking for more modern-minded wedding planning tips? Come see us at Glösite to start your paperless wedding and website trial!

 

Inspiration, Real Glö-bies

Real Engagement Stories from Real (Wonderful) Couples

administer
arthritis
company
design
designers
diet
drinks
entrepreneur
food
hackers
journey
limit
markets
menu
occupation
profits
publishers
restaurant
resume
retailers
sexy
shoot
sports
style
team
work
administer
arthritis
company
design
designers
diet
drinks
entrepreneur
food
hackers
journey
limit
markets
menu
occupation
profits
publishers
restaurant
resume
retailers
sexy
shoot
sports
style
team
work
activity
banks
business
earnings
economy
enterprise
Interest rate
investment
Make a profit
markets
Motor car
oil
plan
profits
shares
transact
valor
advertising
alliances
animation
art
band
foundation
fun
games
hero
hot
manufacturing
movies
music
Rock and roll
series
song
time
vocalist
arthritis
coitus
Diabetes mellitus
dirty
estrogen
gender
girl
impotence
libido
menstrual cycle
prostitute
Reproductive
Sex party
underwear
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
entertainment
exercise
food
future
gain
guide
life
locomotion
suggest
advertising
alliances
animation
art
band
foundation
games
hero
hot
manufacturing
movies
music
Rock and roll
series
song
time
vocalist
appetite
apply
artifice
benefit
building
business
city
company
cosmetics
costume
data
design
designers
details
develop
Duties and responsibilities
entrepreneur
family
fashion
finery
food
hackers
hairstyle
health
jewelry
life
limit
locomotion
marketing
markets
method
Microsoft
muscle
nutrition
perfume
profits
shoot
sleep
style
tourism
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
entertainment
exercise
food
future
gain
guide
life
locomotion
suggest
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
entertainment
exercise
food
future
gain
guide
life
suggest
appetite
apply
artifice
benefit
building
business
city
company
cosmetics
costume
data
design
designers
details
develop
Duties and responsibilities
entrepreneur
family
fashion
finery
food
hackers
hairstyle
health
jewelry
life
limit
locomotion
marketing
markets
method
Microsoft
muscle
nutrition
perfume
profits
shoot
sleep
style
tourism
activity
banks
business
earnings
economy
enterprise
Interest rate
investment
Make a profit
markets
Motor car
oil
plan
profits
shares
transact
valor
Anewcar
audi
champion
driver
Electricmachine
Electricpower
Mercedes
mix
Modelcar
Modelnumber
nursing
order
performance
repair
security
sportscar
team
technique
Theautoshow
Thedetector
Thefilter
Thetrack
tire
traffic
appetite
apply
artifice
benefit
building
business
city
company
cosmetics
costume
data
design
designers
details
develop
Duties and responsibilities
entrepreneur
family
fashion
finery
food
hackers
hairstyle
health
jewelry
life
limit
locomotion
marketing
markets
method
Microsoft
muscle
nutrition
perfume
profits
shoot
sleep
style
tourism
appetite
apply
artifice
benefit
building
business
city
company
cosmetics
costume
data
design
designers
details
develop
Duties and responsibilities
entrepreneur
family
fashion
finery
food
hackers
hairstyle
health
jewelry
life
limit
locomotion
marketing
markets
method
Microsoft
muscle
nutrition
perfume
profits
shoot
sleep
style
tourism
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
entertainment
exercise
food
future
gain
guide
life
suggest
activity
banks
business
earnings
economy
enterprise
Interest rate
investment
Make a profit
markets
Motor car
oil
plan
profits
shares
transact
valor
activity
banks
business
earnings
economy
enterprise
Interest rate
investment
Make a profit
markets
Motor car
oil
plan
profits
shares
transact
valor
administer
arthritis
company
design
designers
diet
drinks
entrepreneur
food
hackers
journey
limit
markets
menu
occupation
profits
publishers
restaurant
resume
retailers
sexy
shoot
sports
style
team
work
administer
arthritis
company
design
designers
diet
drinks
entrepreneur
food
hackers
journey
limit
markets
menu
occupation
profits
publishers
restaurant
resume
retailers
sexy
shoot
sports
style
team
work
anxiety
art
battle
beauty
calories
climbing
combustion
cosmetics
designers
entertainment
exercise
fashion
finery
food
future
gain
guide
life
locomotion
music
nutrition
photography
sleep
style
suggest
tourism
Anewcar
audi
champion
driver
Electricmachine
Electricpower
Mercedes

Hell Yeah Engagement Annoucement

Engagement Announcements from Buttonlandia

So it’s officially the kick off of engagement season. What’s that, you ask? Each year, the majority of engagements take place between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day, so someone, somewhere, at sometime decided that this period of the year was officially “engagement season.”  To celebrate, we’re gathering together some of our favorite real engagement stories – including the why and the how – from some of our favorite Glöbies.

 

Melanie and Tommy

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitationsPhoto by Vivian Chen Photography

Working in emergency services we see a lot of families tragically pulled apart and realized if we weren’t married there would be no protection for the other if the worst happened.

We needed to get married for all of the legal aspects that being married provide (which was a long running joke throughout our engagement, yay tax breaks,) but also because we didn’t want there to be any questions about our commitment to each other. Read more

 

Gisela and Alena


Photo by: Lauren Colchamiro/Metro

In April of 2010 while in Miami (we love Miami) I made a custom scratch off card for Alena with the question: Will you Marry Me? Alena started laughing…I was like I am serious! She said yes…we partied like rock stars!  Read more

 

Amy and Jonathan

photo by Grace Photography

In March 2013, Jonathan asked Amy if she wanted to participate if he “hypothetically” went ring shopping. Shortly after we jointly picked out a “hypothetical” ring, we BOTH got an email from the jeweler telling us that the ring was ready. Oops! So much for it being a surprise :) Jonathan popped the question the next night on the roof of our apartment building with the U.S. Capitol Building glowing in the background. Amy said yes!  Read more

 

 Temi and Segun


photo by Alakija Studios

Segun set up a week long treasure hunt where I had to solve puzzles about our life together and then little gumball machine eggs would give me the big clue for the next day. It was totally magical and all the relationship trivia really reminded me of how much we had shared and what an awesome backstory we have! Read more…

 

Jana and Jason

photo by V Project Photography

Jason got me to go to the campus of our college alma mater under the false pretense of seeing a play in the area. Little did I know he had planned for a group of students to stage a flash mob to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and he proposed right afterwards. Read more…

 

Jenny and Alan


photo by Jenny and Alan

Alan surprised me with a book that he’d designed, written and illustrated. It described our four years together and at the end was a paper ring. Read more…

 

Want to read more stores? Browse our Real Glöbie posts for engagement stories, tips on wedding planning, ideas and inspiration and lots of photos!

Not engaged (yet?!?) – we’re collecting non-traditional engagement ring inspiration.

Inspiration, Real Glö-bies

Melanie and Tommy’s Beautiful Backyard Family Fun Wedding

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

Photos by Vivian Chen Photography

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Melanie, Paramedic, six-foot-six on the inside five foot nothing on the outside and
Tommy, Paramedic, Melanie’s EMT teacher

Celebration Date & Location:

April 2014
Pinole, CA, USA

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

Tell us how you got engaged:

Working in emergency services we see a lot of families tragically pulled apart and realized if we weren’t married there would be no protection for the other if the worst happened.

We needed to get married for all of the legal aspects that being married provide (which was a long running joke throughout our engagement, yay tax breaks,) but also because we didn’t want there to be any questions about our commitment to each other.

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations
He was my EMT teacher when we first met, both in unhappy relationships. I began working at the same company as him about a year later and we became really good friends and partners. We “rescued” each other from the smoking remains of our relationships and realized we had really strong feelings for each other.

Our relationship has survived his official divorce, his being every red flag in the book to my parents, me going to medic school, three moves, getting a puppy, two job changes, one car explosion, buying a house, and me learning how to be a step-parent. We’ve done more pre-married than most folks do to each other after marriage, and we are a thousand times stronger for it. In the face of all that, our wedding was *cake*.

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

We wanted a super intimate, backyard, relaxed fun family atmosphere. The kids are a huge part of our family’s story and having the wedding in my childhood home really brought it all full circle.

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

We got the super relaxed family wedding by doing as much of the planning together as possible. My parents lovingly tended the purple and white pansies and kept the deer from eating them, my fiance and I made my bouquet forty five before the ceremony, the kid fell and scraped her knees an hour before the ceremony and the grandmas tag-teamed getting her cleaned and bandaged. We greeted each guest as they walked in up to the moment I was shooed upstairs to get dressed.

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

Important : everyone feeling like they contributed something to the wedding and having a good time day-of, tasty snackable food, good champagne, tabletop decorations that were multipurpose and helped tell our story, personalized vows that weren’t too cheesy, an amazing photographer.

Unimportant : fancy chairs, a DJ or band (yay iPod DJ Dad), a “signature” cocktail, a videographer, too many cheesy-pinterest-DIY projects.

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

We wrote our vows based on the love-honor-and obey model, but twisted each to better fit us. We drank *a lot* of tequila to use the tops as bases for our centerpieces. We went to our favorite beach to get beach rocks and filled each base, topped with a succulent, tied a pretty bow in our wedding color around the neck and used it as a centerpiece/tablecloth holder/wedding favor. They were gorgeous.

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

Purple and rocks was our “theme” at the beginning, it morphed into purple and rocks and flowers somewhere near the end with the Glosite design really helping to bring all the “paper” aspects together. The paperless invite matched the paper invite matches the thank you notes. It all added up to be a really pretty theme.

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Double check your font color, what was a really pretty purple up close was really hard for some of my family to read on their computer screens, in retrospect, hard for us to read too.

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations
If you’re still planning: What are you looking forward to the most about your celebration? If you’ve already celebrated: What is your favorite moment or memory?

Favorite moment was standing in a circle after the ceremony with our champagne and everyone giving their toast.

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

I forgot to say “yes” when he proposed initially.

glosite wedding websites email wedding invitations

Who are the magical partners who helped bring your celebration to life?

Dress : Maggie Sottero Myra ;
Suit : Tommy Hilfiger
Shoes : Converse all stars
Hair piece : Tiger Lily
Cake : Oakland Bakes ;
Photographer : Vivian Chen Photography
Flowers : Blooms by the Box and DIT
Snacks : Luckys deli counter
Drinks : Costco

Real Glö-bies

Krista and Pat’s Intimate and Easy-Going Punta Cana Wedding

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 1Photos by Katya Nova

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):
Krista, Support Analyst, owns two feisty lionhead rabbits and
Pat, Nurse, enjoys movies about genetically altered sharks

Celebration Date & Location:

5/28/13
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Dreams Palm Beach & Jellyfish Restaurant

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 2

Tell us how you got engaged:

We got engaged while on a trip to the West Coast of Canada. We both love to travel, so it only made since that we incorporate that love of traveling in our wedding. What better way to start our married lives than on a beautiful beach with an intimate group of our family and friends.

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 3

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

We really wanted our wedding to be an easygoing and fun celebration of our love. Having a destination really helped in that respect. We could not have asked for a more beautiful setting. We tried to keep things as simple as possible. Since we had a strict budget, we focused on the particular aspects of the wedding that were more important to us, such as photography, food and setting. Other things such as flowers or decorations weren’t as important, mainly because with such a beautiful setting you need to let it speak for itself. Another important aspect was trusting our vendors and their abilities to make our wedding day amazing.

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 4

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 5

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

We had a ring warming ceremony, where we asked our guests to silently make a wish for our marriage. Once the rings were passed through the crowd and returned to us, they were not only filled with our vows for each other, but our family and friend’s support of our marriage.

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 7

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

We wanted something that reflected our colours with the feel of our wedding. One of our friends designed the background for our Glosite and our Glovite save the dates and invitations. The designs encompassed a rustic, beach feel using our colours – peacock blue and natural beach tones.

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

We worked with one of our friends, who is fantastic with graphic design, to create some designs that suited what we had envisioned.

glosite email save the date

glosite email wedding invitations

glosite wedding website welcome copy

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

We honestly loved having a Glosite and sending out the Glovites to our guests. The Glosite was an easy way to keep in touch with our guests regarding booking flights, room prices, or anything important that came up in regards to the trip. It was also handy to have all of our contacts in one space.

Having a travel agent to take care of the trip bookings was so helpful and saved us, and our guests, a lot of work.
Pinterest is great for gathering inspiration for your wedding, but it can get overwhelming so it’s best to focus on the details that are important to your wedding.

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 8

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 6

If you’re still planning: What are you looking forward to the most about your celebration? If you’ve already celebrated: What is your favorite moment or memory?

The whole day was full of so many amazing memories, such as seeing each other for the first time, dancing all night on the sand, and even spending the whole week with our family and friends. It’s hard to choose just one memory!

glosite email wedding invitations wedding websites 9

Who are the magical partners who helped bring your celebration to life?

Ceremony VenueDreams Palm Beach, Punta Cana
Reception: Jellyfish Restaurant
Photographer: Katya Nova Photography
Travel AgentKris Rathbone at Cruiseshipcenters

Real Glö-bies

Karen and Michelle’s colorful (blue-centric), laughter-filled wedding

karen and michelle glosite email wedding invitations

Photos by Amanda Summerlin

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Karen, Homeless Education, just learning about animated movies (find Karen on twitter) and
Michelle, Veterinary Technician, reptile lover

Celebration Date & Location:

April 12, 2014
Greensboro, NC
Our church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro 

Tell us how you got engaged:

No specific engagement story, we just knew over time we would be together. We initially exchanged rings in February 2012, while we were still living apart but committed to being together. By the fall we were finally able to live together, by the next spring we decided to go ahead and plan our wedding. We really wanted our friends and family to be there and didn’t want to keep waiting!

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What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

The overall feeling of the day was guided by the invitation from e.m. papers “Love Joy Happiness.” Everything was filtered through this lens: does it bring us love joy happiness? If yes, it’s in, if no it’s out. We had food that we loved and we knew our guests would love, we wore clothes we loved and looked smashing in, we hosted an open house the night before so our out of towners could meet our Wedding Team and already have friends at the wedding. Our choir was a big part of the wedding, both at the beginning and at the end. We included both a serious and silly reading. The whole event was incredibly joyous. Many people told us it was the most joyful wedding they’ve ever attended.

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Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

Instead of a bridal party we had a Wedding Team. We asked a couple friend of ours to be the captains about six months out then had a Wedding Team lunch two months out so people could understand the logistics and flow of the wedding. Instead of a ring bearer, we asked a child that my partner teaches in the Religious Education program to bring us the rings at the appropriate time. This way he could sit with his family and go sit back down with them.

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What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

The design was definitely the theme of the wedding. We picked out the invitation design probably two years before we started planning. It was always our focus: Love Joy Happiness. E.m. papers designed a poster for us for people to sign and we had it hanging in our kitchen long before our wedding. On our glosite wedding website we worked to make everything as simple and user friendly as possible. We worked to make sure everyone felt welcome, beginning with our website.

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

glosite wedding website email wedding invitation online RSVPs

0 glosite wedding website example welcome page

1 glosite wedding website RSVP page example

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Plan in advance as much as possible. Create a timeline and stick to deadlines. You will have much less stress in the time leading up to your wedding. Get as much done in advance as you can! I am a HUGE fan of A Practical Wedding and OffBeat Bride. Both have great spreadsheets that I highly recommend. Yes, spreadsheets. Use them! The only thing I wish I had done differently was tell a couple of groups of folks that I wanted pictures with them. Some people left before we could do this. Don’t make this mistake! Most of all have fun!

 

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What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

Our wedding clothes were custom made. To create the design for my now wife’s vest, we went all over town trying to find something that fit her right so we could tell our seamstress about it. Then we bought the reflective vest from IKEA for her to use when she goes out running in the morning. She came back from her run and said “This is the right design! Use this!” So we took the measurements from the reflective vest and sent it off to our seamstress. It was perfect.

There were the moments of frustration with people not rsvp’ing correctly or saying insensitive things like “I just can’t commit that far (two months!) out.” Whatever. Everything will work out.

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Who are the magical partners who helped bring your celebration to life?

Paperless Invitation design, printed invitations, guest signature sign and other printables: e.m. papers
Photographer: Amanda Summerlin
Outfits: Miss Brache custom clothes


Real Glö-bies

Amy and Jonathan’s Elegant Weekend Getaway Wedding

wedding couple on bridge

photos by Grace Photography

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Amy, Attorney (former Harvard cheerleader) and
Jonathan, Attorney (has better dance moves than his now wife)

Celebration Date & Location:

June 2014
Bedford, PA USA
Omni Bedford Springs Resort

Tell us how you got engaged:

In August 2011, we went on our first date thanks to JDate. It took us only a few dates before we knew in the back of our minds that we each had met our match. We moved in together in October 2012. In March 2013, Jonathan asked Amy if she wanted to participate if he “hypothetically” went ring shopping. Shortly after we jointly picked out a “hypothetical” ring, we BOTH got an email from the jeweler telling us that the ring was ready. Oops! So much for it being a surprise :) Jonathan popped the question the next night on the roof of our apartment building with the U.S. Capitol Building glowing in the background. Amy said yes!

 

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

We wanted our wedding to last a whole weekend, not just one night. We wanted it to feel elegant but not snooty. We wanted it to feel like us, but still a cut above. All of this led us straight to the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, a 2.5 hour drive for most of our guests. Best. Choice. Ever.

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Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

Our ceremony combined some Jewish traditions (including a beautiful blessing sung by Amy’s cousin) with non-religious pieces with great meaning to us (e.g., our officiant was a judge for whom Amy clerked many years ago). We were told by many guests that it was the most beautiful, love-filled, personal wedding ceremony they had ever witnessed.

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What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

Frankly, we wanted to spend money on a venue, a band, and a photographer, instead of on paper invites that guests would throw away shortly after receiving them and RSVP cards that we’d have to sift through! Glosite and Glovites were the answer! We loved using these and saved tons of time and money by letting Glo handle this aspect of our wedding.

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

glosite wedding website electronic wedding invitations

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Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Top 5 Tips:
(1) Use Glosite for RSVPs, especially if you’re hosting a wedding with multiple events and multiple entree choices.
(2) Avoid more than 1 or 2 “do it yourself” projects. These take forever!
(3) Don’t get captured by the “wedding industrial complex”. If you don’t want to give out favors, don’t! Only spend money on things that matter to you, not things you’re “supposed” to do.
(4) Get a great band. It makes the party.
(5) Do as much as you can as early as you can. Everything requires lead time!

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If you’re still planning: What are you looking forward to the most about your celebration? If you’ve already celebrated: What is your favorite moment or memory?

Our band called us up on stage near the end of the reception and had us belt out “Don’t Stop Believin” and “Livin’ on a Prayer” with them at the top of our lungs. We felt like rockstars, and every single guest — all 115 of them, old and young, dancers and non — were up on their feet singing and dancing along with us.

 

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

Amazingly, none!

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Who are the magical partners who helped bring your celebration to life?

Our vendors were top-notch in every respect. All come VERY highly recommended…

Venue: Omni Bedford Springs
Music: The Rollex Band
Flowers: Peterman’s Florist
Photography: Grace Photography
Event Planning: Pollyanna Events

 

Real Glö-bies

Temi and Segun’s Modernly Traditional African Wedding

nigerian maryland wedding couple Photos by: Alakija Studios

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Temi, Event Planner & Chef (my idea of a fun Saturday is snuggled on the sofa reading) &
Segun, Sports Director at the Special Olympics (HIS idea of a fun Saturday is going for a 10mile run…this does not compute!)

Celebration Date & Location:

Traditional Engagement Ceremony
May 25, 2014
Ruby Gardens Event Centre
Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria

Wedding Ceremony and Reception
July  19, 2014
Silver Spring Civic Building
Silver Spring, Maryland. USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

Segun set up a week long treasure hunt where I had to solve puzzles about our life together and then little gumball machine eggs would give me the big clue for the next day. It was totally magical and all the relationship trivia really reminded me of how much we had shared and what an awesome backstory we have!

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What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

Our celebration(s), both in Nigeria and Maryland, were about fun and tradition. We have a very rich traditional heritage as members of the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria and it was important to us that we followed our Yoruba marriage traditions as well as our Christian marriage rites. Segun is Catholic and I am not so we could not get married in a Catholic Church, instead we had a Catholic Priest administer our Marriage Ceremony.

We wanted to dance and have a good time without too much pomp and circumstance so the challenge was always finding the balance between honouring our heritage but not letting tradition overwhelm the joy. One way to control this was making sure there weren’t ‘too many cooks’ in the planning process. Segun and I always made the decisions ourselves and tried to present a united front to our families. This didn’t always go so smoothly but I like to think that we did a pretty good job on staying focused on ‘love’.

Nigerian Maryland wedding guests

The most important thing to me as a chef was the food and Spilled Milk Catering really went above and beyond my expectations. They blew us away with amazing service and absolutely delicious food. The most important thing for Segun was having a great DJ and he found the perfect one!

I think our main wedding planning mantra was “A wedding is not a marriage” and this is something I think all couples should hold at the forefront of their minds during the process. Focus on what you want your marriage to be like, not just the festivities that precede it. You can’t go wrong if you keep the focus on your love and your marriage.

nigerian maryland wedding flower montage

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

My parents are divorced but they both mean the world to me so I had them both walk me down the aisle.

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I also broke with tradition by wearing a peach dress. I don’t see why my wedding dress colour should be dictated by Queen Victoria! Peach makes me glow and I wanted to look fabulous! We got our wedding cake for $34.99 from Whole Foods (which was right next door!). We put some lovely flowers on top and called it a day. A great cake #WeddingHack that I saw on the A Practical Wedding site.

Segun wanted eight of his closest friends in his wedding party. I only had three bridesmaids. This is the kind of lopsided wedding party that makes some people wince, but we just went with it. Things don’t have to be neat and pretty all the time. Sometimes just go with what you want!

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What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

We picked a simple Tree of Lights design because we both loved the simplicity of it and how it seemed so welcoming. The lights in the tree also reminded us of many parties we had had in my garden at my parents house where our massive Silk Tree always has lights in the boughs and lawn chairs underneath for al fresco dining (and drinking!)

Note: Temi and Segun send paper Save the Dates and Invitations, and then included a digital copy of each on their wedding website. For their invitations, they chose the All Lit Up design from A Printable Press.

Let’s show off your Invitations and Glösite Wedding Website

glosite save the dateCustom paper Save the Date design

glosite wedding invitation wording copyPaper invitation – All Lit Up Design by A Printable Press

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Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Number one tip is to pick vendors you are absolutely comfortable with. Sometimes they might not seem like the most high profile but you want people you trust and can form a true rapport with on this special (and stressful) day.

I found the A Practical Wedding site, a haven for planning tips for a budget conscious wedding. It was very important to both Segun and I that we didn’t break the bank for our wedding. We had THREE events. Two in Nigeria and one in Maryland. We were all about saving money on the things we weren’t terribly bothered by and APW gave loads of tips and wedding hacks.

I also loved how Glosite let me keep everyone’s contact info, meal preferences and RSVPs in one place. It was so calming to be able to log on and just see everything collated. Chasing up stragglers for RSVPs was literally as easy as clicking a button. Being able to manually edit guest information was a huge plus too.

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What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

A friend of the family told us three days before that he was coming to the wedding with his three cousins and their wives. THREE DAYS BEFORE. I would have lost my mind if Jessica at Spilled Milk Catering hadn’t sorted out the seating, changed the table plans and basically been a fairy godmother with the details.

nigerian maryland wedding dance montage

Who are the magical partners who helped bring your celebration to life?

Inspiration and Advice: A Practical Wedding for general advice

Catering: Spilled Milk Catering – Jessica Wolf was my point of contact and she is the warmest, kindest and most generous soul I have ever met. Seriously. She rocks. The food was so amazing that we had dinner with friends last week and almost a year later, they were still raving about the delicious food.

Flowers: Elegance & Simplicity. The owner Katie Martin is an amazingly talented florist who provides eco sustainable event decor options. She made us the most stunning wedding bower and my bouquet was beyond beautiful. She managed to keep all my requests within my budget and I couldn’t be more pleased with the decor.

Photography: Alakija Studios is owned by my friend Jide Alakija. We both went to the same university, Imperial College London, and were both headed for science careers that somehow derailed into an event planning and culinary career for me and a photography career for him! I have known him for well over a decade and it was wonderful having a friend shoot our wedding. His work speaks for itself so check it out

Real Glö-bies

Amy and Gavin’s Southern Belles & Kilt wearing wedding

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all photos by Ryan Jarvis Photography

The Glö-Couple

Amy from Alabama & Gavin From Scotland

Celebration Date & Location:

October 2014
Vintners’ Livery Hall, City of London, UK

Tell us how you got engaged:

Amy from Alabama & Gavin from Scotland lived in Dublin for a few years and were very close friends. Amy fancied Gavin. And Gavin secretly fancied Amy (but she didn’t know until much later). Amy’s & Gavin’s friends had thought for years they should get together. Gavin moved to London. And a few years later Amy moved to London, too. On the first day Amy moved over, Gavin took her out to celebrate what she thought was dinner to commemorate her getting her Irish passport (after 7 long years!) and moving to London. It was actually, their first date…. Afterward, they spent ever day together, discovered the great city of London and even hiked many Scottish monroes… still no mountaintop proposals… Fourteen months later Gavin took Amy out for the most memorable dining experiences of Amy’s life at the extraordinary Helene Darroze in the Connaught of Mayfair. On the way home when Amy expressed her utter delight, Gavin replied, “Well, that’s good, because that was your engagement dinner” Amy busted out laughing so hard, she never actually answered yes. She’s not ever sure to this day if there was a question…

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What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

Amy says: I’m not a fan of weddings, actually. We just wanted to have a fabulous dinner party for our closest friends and family and for everyone to feel involved. The day really was about all 40 of us. Our dearest ones flew in from Alabama, Boston, Scotland, Ireland, and Africa. We wanted to show them ‘our’ city of London. We chose Vintners’ because its in the heart of the city next to St. Paul’s. It’s one of the oldest structures rebuilt after the Great Fire in 1666, and it represents over 1000 years of London’s Wine Trade!

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Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

We had our civil marriage a few days before as we wanted the religious ceremony to be tailored to us and very personable. So we chose a family minister who is a much loved uncle from the States to do this for us. My grandmother was married post WWII in a tea-length black wedding dress. She was a stunner! I remember looking at her wedding photo as a little girl and being in awe. I’m not a big fan of big poofy white meringue dresses, so after trying on ONE traditional wedding dress, I went with my gut and visited a local designer. Susie Stone listened to the story of my glamorous Grandmother who was a knockout, a real Ava Garner look alike, and sketched up a 1940’s inspired black satin and silk crepe gown. I walked down the aisle, feeling true to myself, in timeless style inspired by my dear paternal Grandmother’s own wedding and wearing my maternal Grandmother’s pearl earrings.

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My milliner introduced a spray of pearls on my teardrop headpiece – very 1940’s style and also complementing my grandmother’s pearls. My husband was wearing his family tartan kilt, his father’s sporran. We had a bagpiper for the Scottish connection. And the pianist during the meal played music that reflected the Alabama/New Orleans blues and jazz influence. And my two flower girls were my cousin’s daughters. I was in little Scarlet’s mother’s wedding as a bridesmaid and even her grandmother’s wedding as a flower girl in 1979!

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The seating chart was a real piece of art, an A1 painting designed by one of our witnesses. It illustrated our long, single banquet table… The chairs were based on actual chairs at Vintners, the treasure chest had tags from all the cities we had lived (Ireland, Scotland, Tanazania, Disney, etc…), Tower Bridge where we live now is depicted through the window in the painting, overturned Champagne bottles and wine glasses dot the table (reminiscent of the Miles Aldridge high fashion photography exhibition), Gone with the Wind (the Southern states influence) and Scottish landscape paintings are on the walls of the painting. Even photographs of us during our engagement are ‘hung’ on the walls. The Seating Chart was a real conversation piece!

seating chart

Post wedding, with our intimate group of 40, we walked across Southwark bridge to a very old pub on the Southbank. We invited loads of our friends, their kids, and colleagues to join us for drinks in the private bar we hired out. After we left on honeymoon, our parents and friends closed the pub down with much dancing and lashings of Champagne! All this is captured on film – yet to be seen – as we chose not to hire a videographer who specialized in weddings… ( I saw too many car crash wedding videos) but a BBC camera man who delivers documentary style footage. Our film will be based on the opening from Woody Allen’s “Manhattan” and feature an 8mm style conclusion.

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

As I mentioned, I’m not a big fan of weddings nor cheesy self centered photographs of the ‘adoring couple’… So using the 1940’s Hollywood glamour inspiration of my own Grandmother’s wedding along with black and white photographs we found online, we built our Glosite design. Everything had a connection to the city where we live/were married: LONDON. The venue, Vinters’ Livery Hall. Everything was old world charm, historical, or had a personal connection.

Here’s how we did it:

1. Welcome Page – We found a photo from a 1940’s film depicting a man gasping at the size of the lady’s engagement ring (the ring we had redesigned was my Aunt’s solitaire wedding diamond from the 1940’s) We also used on this page a black and white drawing of London Bridge, to set the tone. London is our city and we live just down from this amazing iconic bridge.
2. The Event page was an oil painting of Vintners’ from the 18th century depicting a feast.
3. The Location page giving directions was an old lithograph map of the city of London and the Thames river
4. The Contact us page was an old black rotary style phone that Gavin uses in his bedroom
5. The Fly to Us! page was an old DC10 aircraft that Gavin’s dad used to fly
6. The Write us page is a 1940’s secretary sitting at a typewriter contemplating what to type…
7. The Photographs page was a bit tongue in cheek… We used an old black and white photo of a random family that was very old fashioned and formal. Couldn’t bear to post a typical ‘happy smiling couple’ like the other 1000’s out there….

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

glosite email wedding invitations

 

glosite wedding website welcome page

glosite wedding website travel page

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Don’t look at wedding sites to see what other people do so you can copy/paste a template. Go with your gut, you know your individual style! Get inspiration, but stay true to yourself! Do exactly what YOU WANT to do. Personally, I found GLO to be the most user friendly and cost effective. Collect images/photos/quotes you like so you can build your personalized website.

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What is your favorite moment or memory?

When all 40 of us were gathered as photographs were being taken in the grand Court Room at Vintners’ – dark wood paneling, centuries old oil paintings, the soft tick-tock of grandfather clocks, the smell of whisky, the taste of Champagne fresh on my lips, the thrill of Mr. White’s hand around my waist, the sight of our friends from around the globe gathered for the first time at the same time in one room … and the muffled chuckles of my Scottish kilt-wearing new brother in-law as he’s about to fall over on the plush red carpet and have a fit of laughter. As if it were the most normal phrase in the world, he’d overheard my American-girl-next door cousin tell her 3 year old daughter (my flower girl), “Scarlet, darling, smile with your teeth for the camera!”

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What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

I had 3 weeks to plan the wedding.. then went to visit my family in states for 6 weeks, then my mom came back to London with me to finish the final 3 weeks pre wedding. The best part – I never picked up a Bridal mag once, to know what I ‘should be doing.’ Just goes to show, know yourself, go with your gut, spend money on the good stuff, and leave out the fluff!

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Who are the magical partners who helped bring this celebration to life?

Susie Stone, nominated best Wedding Designer 2014

Natasha Moore House, the sweetest most passionate milliner

Ryan Jarvis – our photographer/videographer, willing to step outside the box and use his creative juices to make our wedding exactly to our taste, film noir and beyond!

Vitner’s Hall – 1000 years of wine trade history in London, amazing staff, beautiful food and outstanding wine!

The Anchor pub cranked up the music to make the After, After party the best celebration ever!

 

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Jana and Jason’s celebration of love, life, and joy at Pomona

Jana and Jason - V Photography

All Photos by V Project Photography

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):
Jana, Real Estate Investment Analyst, (first thing I do on Sunday morning is check the Target Ad sales) &
Jason, Higher Education Administrator (I love a Nutella and strawberry jam sandwich on Hawaiian bread)

Time of Year & Location:

October
Pomona College: Bridges Auditorium
Claremont, CA, USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

Jason got me to go to the campus of our college alma mater under the false pretense of seeing a play in the area. Little did I know he had planned for a group of students to stage a flash mob to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and he proposed right afterwards.

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

We were going for a feeling of carefree, simple, elegance. We wanted our guest to be comfortable, happy, and engaged. We wanted our wedding to be lovely without being over the top. So we had a delicious menu, open bar, indoor & outdoor gathering spaces, and music on at all times. The venue choice was key to establishing a feeling of elegance. We chose a venue that didn’t need much decor because the architectural elements created the intended atmosphere.

Pamona college wedding

Bridal Party - V Project Photography

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

Instead of doing a unity candle or sand ceremony we planted a fruit tree sapling which we then transferred to our backyard.

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

We are very simple people so we stuck with a simple design that matched our wedding colors of navy, burnt orange, and charcoal grey

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

Glovite Wedding invitation

Glosite Welcome Page

Glosite Wedding Website Bridal Party

Glo wedding website events page

Glo group thank you email

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

Packaged deals make life so much easier. I paid one per person fee that covered the venue, food, wait staff, bar and alcohol, furniture rentals, center pieces, cake, etc. Having a package really narrowed things down and made it a lot easier for me to make choices. Also, all the details are taken care of by the event company so I didn’t have to worry about little details like cake delivery and rental returns.

What’s your favorite memory?

One of my favorite moments was the group dancing and being out on the dance floor with everyone I love doing “The Cupid Shuffle”.

the cupid shuffle

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

At my rehearsal dinner, my mother was speaking about how great Jason has been to our family. She listed several occasions in which Jason stepped in when there was a need, and she ended her speech by saying “when Jana needed a husband, Jason was there!” I was a bit thrown off by her choice in words, but I knew her heart was in the right place.

Who are the magical partners who helped bring this celebration to life?

Caterer/Venue/Planning: Gourmet Gourmet Catering
Videographer: Sole Fire Films
Photographer: V Project Photography
Cake Bakery: Some Crust Bakery
DJ: Ignite Entertainment
Centerpieces: Iron Heart Imports

 

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites, Real Glö-Weddings

Sara and Steve’s National Arts Centre wedding

photo | sara and stevePhotos by Melissa Welsh Photography

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):

Sara, TV Producer, lover of lists &
Steve, PR, movie buff

Celebration Date & Location:

October 2012
National Arts Centre,
Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Tell us how you got engaged:

After being together for over 10 years, Steve surprised me last Christmas with a totally perfect engagement ring. We were both happy as we were, but were ready to “finalize” things… and throw a big party!

photo | sara aisle

What was the overall ‘feeling’ you were aiming for with your celebration:

Our goal was to host a party for our favourite people in the whole world, putting most of our resources towards what we thought matters the most to guests: food and booze.

Most of our guests were from out of town, so it was important to have a downtown location to make it as easy as possible for them to enjoy and appreciate our beautiful city. We organized a Friday family dinner, a Friday bar night and a Sunday open house, so we could spend as much time with our guests as possible.

We had our ceremony at the same location with minimal fuss, then moved on to a cocktail hour, then right into our reception.

I used the talents of my friends in order to cut costs – one friend was our DJ, another made our beautiful wedding cake, another helped me create centerpieces from flowers that I bought in bulk. I bought all of my decor off Kijiji and because our venue had stunning views and bright red carpets, I kept the look as simple and clean as possible – all black and white.

I put my time and energy into planning a logical flow of events and not worrying about the things that you “must” have. Says who?? Pick what matters to you and focus on that. For example, I wanted beautiful bouquets but bought flowers for the centerpieces in bulk and did those with a friend on the Thursday before.

photo | cake

Did you add any fun twists on tradition:

Our focus was on entertaining our guests – we were our own MCs and everyone loved hearing from us. Someone described it as a “stand up comedy routine.”

We had a photobooth that was a big hit. We set it up near the dance floor and it created a really fun, dynamic experience for those people who weren’t really dancers.

photo | table

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

I wanted the site to match our decor – black and white, clean and simple. My husband helped with the text to create a personal and funny tone. Our goal was to keep it personal, but informative. We got lots of compliments on the site. Even my parents, who were very skeptical of an online invite and RSVP system, came around.

photo | eating cake

I loved weddingchicks.com! I used their template for the save the dates, and their retro style suite for the invitations and everything else – seating chart, thank you cards, favour cards. Both were easy to print out on white card stock and mail to those older relatives who don’t have email (I had to mail 4 cards – yes, just 4)

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

vites

site | welcome

site | printables

site | events

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

As a lover of lists, my best find was the customizable wedding to do lists at Google Docs: http://www.google.ca/weddings/

What’s the biggest “say what?”  moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?

As I was having my final dress fitting, the song that I was going to walk down the aisle to came on the radio. What are the chances?

photos | sara and steve end

Who are the magical partners who helped bring this celebration to life?

photographer: Melissa Welsh Photography,
venue: National Arts Centre,
photo booth: Shutterbug
bouquets: Flowers Talk