I decided to use a mix of photos from our engagement shoot and photos from around LBI. Getting them to blend together took me some time as I had nearly 80 engagement shoot photos to choose from. (I'll share those in another post) I love the way the word "Long" came out with Old Barney (the landmark lighthouse on the northend of LBI) and the photo of us blending so well. I also wanted to make sure Surf City got some play in there, too. That's where both our parents have beach houses, where we met and where he proposed.
Thinking ahead, I knew I wanted to incorporate the lifeguard stand into our Save the Dates so when we had our engagement photo shoot, I made sure we included that as a prop. My fiance was a lifeguard there for years and so were his brothers, and I knew it meant a lot to him as awkward as taking engagement photos ended up being for both of us. I had envisioned using a chalk-like font to actually write on the date on the back of the chalkboard on the stand. I love how that came out!
I of course changed the "Greetings from" to "Back to where it all started" because it fit in better with the whole wedding theme vs. travel theme and helped share our story for those that don't know we met on the island.
I ended up adding a vintage effect to the photo using iPiccy, a free photo-editing site that is so easy to use. I believe it was the "Henry" effect.
After that it was just settling on the verbage for the back side. We got all the pertinent information on there. After doing some research for my own postcard I suggest including the following:
- First and last names of bride and groom (not everyone will know your last names from the opposite sides of the family);
- the date (duh). I even did that twice, front and back;
- the location, and I even got specific and mentioned the ceremony/reception venue for those curious cats;
- the fact that a formal invitation is still to follow so people aren't confused;
- the wedding website so people can learn more if they want to;
- and a little blurb about booking your hotel rooms early. Most hotels will release your block about a month before the wedding. I know I have waited until the last minute to book for other weddings and have screwed myself over and since our wedding is being held at a vacation destination the week after Memorial Day, folks may need to book before the formal invites are mailed to ensure they get a room.
Next task is narrowing down our guest list. How did we get so many friends?!
So, how many of you have created your own, or plan to create your own Save the Dates? Anyone else try and tackle a vintage postcard with crazy 3-D letters? Any one else start with one vision and end up somewhere completely different? Sound off in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!