Browsing Tag

email wedding invitations

Liz & Chaz’s Casual Southern Affair

Wait til you see this gorgeous and fun DIY wedding from Chaz and Liz. In addition to the below, you can read more details on Liz’s blog - there are some great titles like “Flowers, Cakes and Dresses, Oh MY!” and “Cutting Corners while Staying Square” where Liz details out how they thew this amazing celebration on a smart budget. How can you help but love that? There’s also a heart-felt post where Liz talks about More Important Things Than Centerpieces.

Photo by Sarah Kobos

The Glö-Couple:

Liz, a journalist and
Chaz, an editor

Celebration Date & Location:

October 2010
Robert Mills House
Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

I was working late, but my boyfriend was persistently texting me about when I would get home. When I finally got home, he told me he’d e-mailed me a new edition of his company newsletter. I always ask to read his work. I babbled on about my day as he nervously waited for me to open the e-mail. When I did, it was a special newsletter full of sweet stuff about us and photos. When I looked over at him, he had the ring. It was perfect for us because we met working on our campus newspaper and bonded over our love of news.

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

We wanted to have a fun, casual and eco-friendly night that celebrated our love with all our friends and family. We aimed for an elegant, Southern feel, but still laid back.

Photo by Sarah Kobos.

Photo by Sarah Kobos

Any fun twists on tradition?

Here is one of Liz’s blog posts about the fun details of their wedding day (professional photos by Sarah Kobos):

Since I didn’t have a wedding planner or coordinator, coming up with the details that make a wedding a whole lot more than just a party took a lot of originality. I brainstormed what I liked and scoured wedding blogs. Some of the ideas I liked I stowed away on a Tumblr blog. Since we were tying the knot in sleepy South Carolina, we went for a Southern-esque theme.

So, we had quilts. My mom loves quilts. And hay. Bails of hay are really pretty cheap.

We hung a timeline of photos on a clothesline with clothespins along the wall in the carriage house. We made sure to includes photos of us with each of our guests so they felt a part of our day.

On tables we had ranunculus that I ordered online. They didn’t turn out exactly as planned but I actually really like the look. We put them in cans painted with metallic paint and tied with raffia. And tealights.

I came across a few weddings on blogs that used cotton. I loved the look and was determined to use a lot of cotton. I succeeded. The cotton was free because it’s South Carolina and my sister-in-law has family that lives on/near a cotton farm. She really helped me pull it off.

So we used cotton on some tables in mason jars.

My amazingly creative mother then made wreaths with cotton and tied wooden letters in the middle.

Meanwhile, my handyman father built country road signs.

He also made the chalk board bubbles for the “Faux-to booth.”

Speaking of the photobooth. Here’s how it turned out.

We also had yard games for people to play. One of Chas’ groomsmen got us Bocce and cornhole.

And my most favorite detail — the chairs.

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design?

We went with South Carolina pride because it’s where we fell in love. After living far away for several years, we miss the South. We played up the Palmetto Tree to incorporate this. We made both in photoshop using free fonts and free brushes.

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite

If you uploaded your own design(s) – how did you make them?

We made them in photoshop using free fonts and free brushes.

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
Think simply. The more you plan, the more you have to do. We should have made it even more casual and laidback, but that’s just us. Just be aware that anything you want, you have to actually pull off.

It has to be about what you and your fiancee want. We were pulled in many directions from everyone, but in the end, you want to be happy on your wedding day. Sometimes this means saying, I just don’t like that. I wouldn’t go overboard and become bridezilla. Know when to fight for something and when to cave-in.

When the day actually rolls around, just go with it and don’t let the little things get you down. My niece, our flower girl, was very sick the day of. So she missed out, but we were more worried about how she was instead of that we didn’t have a flower girl and she wasn’t in our photos. My sister-in-law, and matron of honor, and brother had to leave early to take her to the hospital, so we didn’t have an actual wedding toast. No big deal! (My niece is fine, by the way! No worries.) My mother forgot the pretty decorative and personalized napkins I’d ordered. We now have about 400 napkins left over, but it wasn’t a problem. And no one let anything bother them on that day. It was perfect.

The best advice I heard before was that the day go by so quickly that you have to take a minute to enjoy it. I’ll admit this is tough to do, but I tried. Before you know it, it’s over and you aren’t ready for it.

I let my mother and my mother-in-law login to our Glosite to update guest information. They added addresses and contact info. for people we didn’t know. When it came time to write thank you notes, we had all the addresses in one central location, so we didn’t have to ask for addresses again. The site has just kind of helped us keep track of everything: gifts, addresses, who came, etc. And we can access anywhere, so it’s been way better than a spreadsheet.

6 Apr 2011

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Liz & Cristina’s Festival of Love, Friends, and Food

This couple needs little to no intro to set the tone for what their celebration is all about. Fun, fun and pretty much more fun. I’ve been waiting and waiting to have the chance to introduce you all to these great ladies – enjoy getting to know Liz and Cristina!

The Glö-Couple:

Liz, an attorney and
Cristina, a pastry chef

These gals blog! Check out Liz’s blog Bunny Loves Bacon and Cristina’s blog Cervezecal

Celebration Date & Location:

September 2011
Ceremony: Coral Gables Congregational Church,
Reception: Cristina’s parents’ house
Coral Gables, Florida USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

Cristina says: Liz had been drinking, and as I was putting her to bed she looked up sleepily and said “will you marry me?” And I said yes. And the next morning we confirmed that it was all true.

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

The overall feeling is “family gathering with bacon.” We didn’t want anything too formal and we want people to have plenty of good food and drinks, feel comfortable, and have fun spending time with each other. For us, this means not worrying about or including chair covers, favors, or the color of cocktail napkins. :)

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

Instead of just having a day or a weekend celebration, we are having months of celebration! We’ve invited people to join us for events leading up to and after the wedding (like a book convention, a day at the spa with us, and a trip to New York to see Lord of the Rings!). We really wanted to include people in our lives for in more than just one day. Editor’s note: these ladies are way to modest – they are planning an entire epic celebration full of a bajillion fun events for those who are free to join. I’ve already started lobbying for my own invitation….See their entire range of events below!

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design?

Honestly, we just picked the design because we liked it. I like the color yellow and it was a good backdrop for the tons of text that we have.

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite!

This has got to be my absolute favorite page…

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

Cristina says: Figure out what is really important to you and stick to it. Don’t worry about all the stuff that people or wedding magazines say you “have” to have (favors, flowers, a clown, etc.), and don’t get distracted. For us, our non-negotiables were having the ceremony at our church, having good food, and being able to invite everyone we care about (since Cristina has a huge family, that means a huge guest list).

Liz says: Also, avoid wedding blogs and magazines. They can send you into a spiral of “I want my wedding to look like this and it will never be good enough waaaaaaaaah.” Not fun. I only read two wedding blogs: Offbeat Bride and A Practical Wedding. Keep talking to each other! Wedding planning can bring up emotions around lots of things that you might not have been expecting. It’s OK to realize that you care about things that you didn’t think you would (for me, it was the dress). And it’s OK to realize you *really* couldn’t care less about some things (like decorations). We made our guest list over several months – this gave us time to make sure we weren’t leaving anyone out. We started by making an excel sheet listing people. When we switched to Glo, we inputted all of the people on the list.

Liz says: Glo has been the single biggest organizational help. I was going crazy with my multiple excel sheets for multiple events. Once I inputted the guests into Glo, I could manipulate them much easier. We just sent out our email save the dates, and I would say this: if people don’t view the invitation through their email, send the link to them on Facebook! I sent out 15 messages and within a few hours everyone had viewed it.

super-great tip there about facebook!

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

Apparently, bridal stores are unable to comprehend that anyone *wouldn’t* want a train on her dress. We were at a certain well-known wedding dress factory trying on dresses and this is how it went:

Liz: Can the train on this dress be cut of?
Saleswoman: Not really. You’ll want it for the pictures, and then you can just bustle it.
Liz: But I don’t want a train.
Saleswoman: It looks nice in pictures.
Liz’s head explodes.

And because no one can resist the cuteness of kitties – here is ONE of Liz and Cristina’s four black cats

So tell us…If you attended Liz and Cristina’s festivities – what would YOU wear to outshine the brides??

23 Feb 2011

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Rowan and Kevin’s Vermont Weekend

I’m so super-pleased to introduce Rowan and Kevin. These two met in Alaska, were engaged in Ireland and will be married in Vermont later this year. With the support of the adorable Kinsey and Roxy, this couple is sure to throw an amazing celebration for their friends and family.

The Glö-Couple:

Rowan, an environmental lawyer and
Kevin, a veterinarian

Celebration Date & Location:

September 2011
The Alerin Barn
St. Johnsbury, VT

Tell us how you got engaged:

The official engagement happened while we were on vacation in Ireland, at a misty lake with sweet words and an amazing heirloom ring that was Kevin’s great grandmother’s. The actual engagement happened a couple months before when we were talking about moving, and Kevin wanted to move me again (I already followed him once cross-country). I was pretty hesitant about it and he asked if it would be better if we were married. I said yes, it would help and he wondered aloud if he should ask at that moment or wait until Ireland. I told him to wait but considered us engaged at that point (although I waited to tell everyone until the official “will you marry me” happened).

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

We are focusing on what would make it a good party for us and for our guests. We are trying to downplay the “show” aspect of weddings. So no colors, not too worried about centerpieces, we’re not having a garter/bouquet toss, and we may even skip the first dance. It’s important to me for it to be pretty, but it doesn’t have to be amazing and super coordinated.

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

Kevin and I will be walking down the aisle together. Nothing against my dad (or mom since I would have them both walk me down the aisle if we went that route), but I feel like they “gave me away” when they dropped me off for college 13 years ago. Since Kevin and I have been living together for awhile now it feels right that we will be walking down the aisle together. I hope it will relieve some of the anxiety of first seeing each other if it’s done in private and that it will take some of the attention off me (I have never really liked being the center of attention).

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design?

For the Glosite, I used Glö’s templates and just modified from there. I’m not tech-savvy AT ALL but it was super easy to create and embellish. I am particularly proud of the slideshow I made and love the pac-man game.

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite!

If you created your own design – how did you do it?

The Save the Dates are a photo taken by a friend of ours which I uploaded and then wrote over (easy)!

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

The wedding planning is an excellent time to start asserting yourself as a unit and figuring out where you want to compromise in order to please others. So while some things may feel trivial and “just an extra 20 people to keep the peace with your mother” it also can set the tone for future dealings. You may want to let her invite her friends because it really would make her happy and it doesn’t really matter to you. Or those 20 extra people might tip it from being a small intimate celebration to a large one you don’t want or can’t afford. Figuring out where to compromise and when to assert yourselves will happen over and over (planning where to spend a Christmas, deciding whether or not to baptize your baby, etc.) and wedding planning is a great time to set yourselves up as a unit and practice saying [gentle] no’s to invested people. Also, step away from the bridal magazines. They will only make you feel bad and buy stuff. Find a few blogs that inspire you and ignore the rest.

13 Jan 2011

Glö-nouncements

Glö designs now available in paper!

Since our launch, many Glö-bies have expressed the need to send a few paper ‘vites to older relatives (we did the same!) or for paper invitations to match their save-the-dates. Soooo, dum da de dum..all Glö designs are now available in paper in our Glö Zazzle Store!! All of the designs come in 2 sizes: 5″x7″ and 4.25″x5.5″ depending on what you fancy. The default paper is made from 100% post-consumer recycled content (but you can change it up if you’d like.)

Plus, you can order printed designs from 10 different countries to ensure you receive the best shipping rates: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Portugal and France.

To personalize and order paper stationery to match a paperless design you are using on Glö, here’s what you do:

1) To match your Glösite

In Manage Glösite, click on the new “Order matching paper stationery” designs button

2) To match your Glövites

In Manage Glövites, click on the edit icon next to your Glövite of choice. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you’ll see a button for “Order matching paper stationery”

Verify your design, choose your shipping country, pick your size and click. You’ll be transported to our Zazzle store where you can customize and order matching stationery. Once on Zazzle, you can simply personalize the wording on the paper invitation or else click the “Customize It” button to make more involved changes (like adding new text boxes, changing the font color, font type, etc.)

11 Jan 2011

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

Ilene and Victor’s Celebration of Cherished Friends, Family (and Golf)

Look at this amazing wedding! I’ve loved working with Ilene and Victor over the past months – these two planned a wedding while practically on a world-tour. That was enough to tell me how put.to.gether these two are. Let’s get reading!

The Glö-Couple:

Ilene, an angel investor &
Victor

Celebration Date & Location:

November 2010
The Lodge at Ventana Canyon
Tuscon, Arizona USA

Tell us how you got engaged:

Vic first said that if I parred our last hole in a golf tournament we were in, he would ask me to marry him. I did! But the real story was that he realized that sanctifying our relationship with marriage was important to him. He was going to surprise me at his “surprise” birthday party, but he could not wait and asked me to marry him in our kitchen! We planned the wedding in less than four months as we traveled around the globe from California to Tucson to Israel and Piemonte, Italy.

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

Our cherished friends and family are the center of our lives and were the center of our wedding. The natural beauty of the outdoors set the stage for the ceremony. Dancing and good food set the stage for the celebration. It was elegant!

Did you add any fun twists on tradition:

As an older couple, we chose to have our grandchildren walk down the aisle. They were spectacular!

We not only had a cake dessert, we had a Gelato Cart! (mmmmm)

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite!

What’s a favorite moment or memory from your celebration?

Ilene says that the lovely words she received from their guests after the celebration was one of the best parts. I encouraged her to share some quotes, so here are some of the fabulous things their guests wrote to them:

Thank you so much for this weekend! It was so awesome!! It was great to be part of it, you guys did a superb job with hosting us all and the wedding was so beautiful and moving, planned to the last detail !! Your wedding weekend was such a joyous one, and we are so happy to have been here to share it with you.

The garden and dining room last night was filled with such love. And all the little things went well too: you both look fantastic, all the kids/grandkids get along swimmingly, and the gelato…nice touch!

We just got home and have not stopped talking about how lovely the wedding was. Everything was perfect, especially the bride and groom. The wonderful feelings that were at the wedding and throughout the entire weekend were sheer joy to be a part of this union. We were thrilled to be there. We wish you many wonderful years continuing to share your love.

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

I have to confess that I was totally chuffed to find out how helpful Glö was for Ilene and Victor when planning!

I don’t know where to begin – there are so many features on Glö that made our planning seamless. I will use Glösite for all celebrations in the future! In particular, Glosite prevents duplicate RSVP responses, unlike Evite. It allows for multiple activities, such as Rehearsal Dinner, Sunday Brunch, Golf Tournaments, etc in addition to the wedding, to be sent to targeted guests. Extremely important was not only the choice of meals capability but also the ability to put open ended questions such as “Do you have any food allergies?” We were surprised at the severity and number of allergies. Our Chef John was grateful to have this information in advance. Then the ability to learn any glitches in our email addresses or people not receiving the Glövite for any reason gave us confidence that everyone would be included. Most important to us, as our time frame was truncated, is the ability to manipulate the RSVP data responses both on the Glösite and also once exported to Excel. The support at Glösite helps make it the best site. Being a VC, we learn to bet on the jockeys as well as the horses – Glösite has a winning team.

Now that I’m thoroughly blushing…let’s see some of Ilene and Victor’s amazing wedding photos:

Photos by SpencerBoerup Photography

17 Dec 2010

Glö-nouncements

Glö named “Top Resource Pick” by Eco-Beautiful Weddings

Have you seen Eco-Beautiful Wedding’s latest e-magazine? It’s STUNNING. seriously gorgeous. 180-pages of great ideas and articles. We are totally digging the online format (the page-turning sound is the best.)

Eco-Beautiful Weddings Winter 2011 E-Zine

We’re also thrilled that Glö was chosen as a “Top Resource Pick” for greening your wedding. Seriously – they picked us!

Permanent smile on the face this week.

15 Dec 2010

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Alejandra and Horacio’s Mexican-Argentinian At-Home Celebration

Over the past several weeks, I have had the joy to get to know Alejandra. Not only is Alejandra a rockin’ female engineer studying along with her fiance Horacio at my own alma mater MIT, but there is Mariachi music involved in their engagement story. Plus, their streamlined-elegant ‘vites and ‘site are a great example of how to tackle the challenge of dual-language guests!

The Glö-Couple:

Alejandra, a Mechanical Engineering PhD student &
Horacio, an Economics PhD student

Celebration Date & Location:

March 2011
Alejandra’s home,
Mexico City, Mexico

Tell us how you got engaged:

Horacio is (was, I should say) the worst with secrets. He tended to get over-excited with stuff, and managed to blow off many surprises over our first years dating. So he got a warning: if you ever propose, you’d better do it right. Then, the getting married talk started to get serious. So during our spring break vacation in Mexico (my home country), he suggested going together to a small silver-mining village called Taxco to get the rings (he’s Argentinean, and in Argentina both fiances wear an engagement ring). None of us had ever worn a ring before, so it made sense we got them together to make sure they fit. As soon as we got the rings, in his very very transparent way of saying things, he told me “ok cool. Got the rings. I don’t think I’ll be able to talk to your dad in this trip, so I’ll try to come up with a way of calling him from Boston… and then I’ll probably propose sometime in summer…”. Great, he had just forgotten to tell me the proposal date to perfectly ruin a hardly-attempted surprise.

A couple of days later, at 7am we woke up to Mariachi music. At first I thought I had forgotten somebody’s birthday (at home we usually play a mariachi CD to wake up the b’day person)… to later conclude it must have been the neighbor serenading his wife (and, by passing, not letting us sleep). Horacio, of course, pretended like he had no clue what was going on (of course! what does an Argentinean know about mariachis anyway?!). It was only until I got out of bed and looked out the window that I realized that the mariachis were pointing at my room!! He then he knelt down and proposed. To make things more exciting, half way though “the question”, my dad rushed into my room with a poncho and sombrero in hand, and shouted “Horacio, this is a Mexican serenade, you should be singing downstairs!!”. And so he did, and it was fantastic. I later learned that he had secretly talked to my parents the night before, and that they were the ones picking the mariachi playlist! It was the best surprise I’ve ever had.

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

We’re excited!!! We are getting married in my house (right where the serenade happened), which means it will be a small outdoors celebration. The religious ceremony will take place at a chapel a few blocks from my house, in the middle of the woods. Both Horacio and I are really simple, so we’re aiming for good food, good music, and minimal monetary and material waste. No bridesmaids, no groomsmen. We’re avoiding things like fancy furniture or silverware. We’re sticking to functional instead of elegant. (Actually, the wedding color is blue because the cheapest chairs we found were blue… and we realized that to turn them into the cutest chairs, we only had to make everything else match their blue — from invitations to decoration.) My family has always been pretty much DIY, so my sister will be helping out with decorations and dad will be in charge of building a platform to fit all of our guests. We’re hiring friends to take care of the music, photographs and baking…

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

We are trying to combine Mexican and Argentinean traditions to the ceremony and the party. For instance, we’re both going to be wearing traditional Mexican garments, and we will introduce the fabulous Argentinean concept of dessert table to the party. Our philosophy is: the more sugar we give the guests, the longer they will dance. Within our simplified life and minimal waste philosophy, we decided to send Glövites instead of paper invitations. People in Latin America are not used to the concept of wedding websites, so our Glösite has definitely been a twist for most of our guests!

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design?

We really wanted something simple and pretty… and blue (matching the chairs, remember?). The website really came from the invitation itself, all blue and white. As for the pictures, we tried to keep them as informal as possible, to give people the impression that they’re really coming to a human celebration, more than a place with fancy tables and high heels. That, and the fact that we really don’t have any formal pictures of us!

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite!

If you created your own design – how did you do it?

Our inspiration came from a design we found at minted.com and a tablet pc. We liked the handwriting of the design, because it couldn’t be more simple. So we downloaded the font from the web, and I did some scribbles on my tablet until we liked one. We made it all on word and then took screenshots of it. Fairly primitive.

What’s the craziest/funniest/biggest ‘SAY WHAT?” moment you’ve had while planning?

Ohhhh, that one will have to wait til after the wedding, because Horacio is not allowed to hear dress-related stories just yet!

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

1. Read A Practical Wedding on a weekly basis. That’s where I found out about Glösite (the best tip we could give!), and about so many other things. It’s a fantastic blog that brings you down to earth, and reminds you that the wedding isn’t about a 5K dress, but about the bride and the groom starting a new life together.

2. Friends are dying to help out with something. Our friends in Mexico have been extremely helpful at finding stuff for us that can’t be found online.

3. Having a good DIY magazine is crucial to having an idea of what is realistic to do yourself, and what not.

4. Get both involved in the wedding planning process. Making the groom understand (and feel) that it’s as much of a celebration for him as it is for the bride. Let him help out with the website, give his opinion about colors and music, decide what hairstyle fits the bride best.

5. Most importanly, promise yourselves from the moment you get engaged, that no matter what family craziness surrounds you during the planning, it should help you to build a stronger marriage, and not one full of family drama.

10 Nov 2010

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Elizabeth and Mike – Celebrating our family, our friends, and the love with wine

Meet Elizabeth and Scott. They’re getting married in the beautiful state of Colorado (my new home!), so I am pretty thrilled about that. And Elizabeth spends lots of time looking through a lens at the wedding world, so I just know that there will be lots of lovely details included in their celebration.

The Glö-Couple:

Elizabeth, a wedding and portrait photographer &
Scott, a commercial loan underwriter

Celebration Date & Location:
January 2011
Colorado Springs, CO USA
La Foret Conference and Event Center

Tell us how you got engaged:

We were sitting on our back deck, enjoying the warm summer night and a good glass of bourbon, talking about whether or not we should get married, and Scott pulled out the ring and got down on both knees and asked me to be his wife. It is a simple story, but one of the many memories that will make moving to a new home harder in the future.

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

It really is a celebration of our friends and family, and thanking them for the support they have given us in our love. So, we really do just want to show everyone a rockin’ good time. Also, as a wedding photographer, I’ve been to well over 100 weddings, and I’ve seen the things that just don’t matter to me, so we’re really trying to focus the bulk of our funds on the things that are important to us and what we feel will encourage people to have a good time (i.e. good food, good wine and beer, and a killer dance party,) my biggest disappointment would be if people went home and actually remembered what my center pieces looked like.

I love that last line!

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

We are staying pretty traditional. But instead of having just my Dad give my hand in marriage, we will be have both sets of our parents joining our hands together in marriage. I guess our gift registry is pretty not traditional, as the main things we want are romance and wine.

This pair has done something super cool and registered for a wine list! Why didn’t I think of that?!? Here’s what they write to their guests:
Scott and Elizabeth have become enveloped in the world of wine. Between the two of us we have traveled on 6 wine tours in various regions and participated in hundreds of wine tastings, experiencing some of the most amazing wines in the world. However, the world of wine is wide-ranging and can drain the wallet most expeditiously. There are a few bottles we have wanted to purchase and would greatly appreciate the opportunity to. We have created a small registry with one of the most experienced wine stores in Denver that we have come to personally love.

What was the inspiration for your Glövite Save-the-Dates and Glösite design?

I think it started with “our song” which is “You and Me” by Dave Matthews. There is a lyric in the song that goes “and when the kids are old enough we’re gonna teach them to fly,” and I just love the thought of that. But, then I thought, “well, maybe we should learn to fly ourselves first.” So, the entire wedding took on this whole “love taking flight” theme, and what better way to represent that then birds. We did send out printed Save The Dates, which had two bird at either side of a maze (which had meaning but was also a fun activity,) the site and ‘vites are 2 birds chilling on a branch together, and then I am hoping to incorporate more of a birds in flight theme for the day of…but that is still a work in progress.

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite!

If you created your own design – how did you do it?

I made it in Adobe Photoshop. It’s a combination of my photo’s and designs I found online, as I am not much of a free style designer. Scott really wanted to be a Robin, so I made his bird red, I’m not really sure why my bird ended up purple.

What’s the craziest/funniest/biggest ‘SAY WHAT?” moment you’ve had while planning?

It’s not very funny, but the moment I realized it just wasn’t important to me to have everything from the day captured in beautifully lit photograph’s taken by a very professional and very expensive photographer. Not that I don’t have a very talented photographer, its just that it was like #10 on my list.

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

I still have 4 months to go, but I would say, just go with the flow, problems will happen, but there is no point in stressing yourself out and getting cranky with the person you love. It is just a single day, that signals the rest of your lives together. Nobody likes a bridezilla, not even your husband.

21 Oct 2010

Real Glö-bies, Real Glö-Vites & Sites

Shanelle and Mike’s Camptastic Wedding with Rad Friends, Family and Pie!

I am pretty excited to introduce Shanelle and Mike to you all. Not only are they getting married on my birthday next year (yay!) but they are actually putting pie front and center in their celebration. PIE! How cool is that?!?

The Glö-Couple:
Shanelle, an Operations Assistant &
Mike, a Marketing Manager

Celebration Date & Location:
August 2011
Camano Island, WA;
Camano Island State Park

Tell us how you got engaged:
I actually proposed to Mike! (You go girl!) We went to his folks vacation home (which he loves) near the Canal to escape a busy period in our lives. I was a nervous wreck, so I basically blurted out a speech about loving him and wanting to marry him and then asked him if he would be engaged to me. I even gave him a watch. He said “of course” right away and then got on his knees and said sweet things. We cried and kissed and laughed and then did a shot of tequila! It was perfect.

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:
Mike and I are pretty laid back, but love to throw rad parties, so our wedding will reflect our interests while still showing everyone a good time. The main idea is to incorporate things we love (camping, hanging out, mason jars) but still make sure others are comfortable and happy. Figuring that out right away has really helped us stay on track. We haven’t stressed about much because everything we are planning is such a reflection of us and sounds like so much fun; it is making us so excited for the big day. My favorite example is the food; Mike and I like to grill, so our caterer is a local street food vendor that makes gourmet burgers and fries. So stoked!

Here’s some of the inspiration Shanelle has collected so far

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:
I mentioned some above (burgers and fries), but we are also omitting the traditional cake and doing pie instead. We both LOVE pie, so it just made sense. One of our best friends wil be our officiant and I have a guy on my side of the wedding party. We have to leave the main wedding site before dusk, so we will all go back to our group camping site and make s’mores and laugh. Our rehearsal dinner will be a super chill bbq on the beach. Oh! We are also walking down the isle to a Prince song (I Would Die 4 You) since we both love him. Haha!

What was the inspiration for your Glövite Save-the-Dates and Glösite design?
A friend designed our Save the Dates based on a design we had seen online; she is amazing! We just wanted everything to be clear, simple, and reflect who we are and what type of wedding we are having.

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite!

What’s the craziest/funniest/biggest ‘SAY WHAT?” moment you’ve had while planning?
I tried on a silly, frilly dress for my future mother in law and I got stuck in it! It was too funny and surreal to be embarrassing. Haha!

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
Have an an honest conversation with your future spouse about expectations, ideas, traditions (wanted and unwanted) and budget ASAP. Once that is all hashed out, have fun and remember to breathe! Mike and I did a lot of the big planning within a couple of months after getting engaged and that was nice, but it has also taken some of the excitement away for the moment because we now have a while until the wedding and the little stuff can wait. I use a great blog called Offbeatbride that helps keep me calm because you can discuss wedding plans with other lucky ladies. I also suggest using a notebook to keep ideas, swatches, contracts, etc. in. Most importantly, don’t take it too seriously! It’s only one day and you already know how it will end.

9 Oct 2010

Cool finds, DIY, Inspiration

Invitation and Accent Designs from OneHeart Weddings

So I’m always hunting around the web for different DIY design options. The other day, I happened across a fabulous resource from One Heart Weddings, which offers downloadable DIY designs. Their designs are super compatible to upload as Glövites, and you can print the designs at home if you need some extra paper invites for the older relatives. Plus, there are matching templates for Wedding Programs, Menus and Thank You cards. (as an added bonus, the first 2 downloads are free. yippee!)

I also love that there is a “backgrounds and accents” category with icons and images that are perfect for making Glösite designs.

One Heart Spiraling Flourish Invitation and Accent

To use a OneHeart Wedding invitation design as a Glövite, take the following steps:

1) Choose any OneHeart invitation design (I recommend using a portrait sized design) and clicked “personalize online”

2) Edit the text and click “download PDF”

3) To upload into Glö, you’ll need to crop the design and save it as a ,jpg, .gif or png format.

You can either crop the PDF version and then save it as a JPG using a program like paint (PC), paintbrush (mac) or Adobe Photoshop.
OR
You can take a screenshot of the finished design and save it as the correct file type
(Note: Glövite designs work best with the dimensions w: 431 x h: 531 pixels, but the horizontal designs from OneHeart are pretty spot on.)

4) Then, log onto your glosite.com account and go to “Manage Glövite” > edit/create a Glövite and upload the design

To make a matching Glösite design, you can download one of our DIY templates and use a coordinated OneHeart Wedding Accent to make something fabulous.

One Heart ‘True Love’ Invitation and Accent designs

30 Sep 2010

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