Today I got a lot of good advice from one of the students I work with who has been through this wedding thing before. This time concerning invitations. The subject came up while I was talking about the invitations we went to look at this past Saturday.
We went to a store in Pasadena called SALUTATIONS. It seemed pretty, and had a lot of neat junk. But it was crap that I would never ever buy in a millions years. Like glass decanters, and all sorts of other breakable containers for things that make the toilet room smell like someone did not take a dump in it. We were refered to this store by my best buddy Drew who had purchased his, very pretty, invitations from them. So we asked about seeing some when the lady behind the counter decided we were finally important enough to listen to. We were told, "The lady who does that isn't here today." So kind of floundered by the fact that they did not want our money I was ready to walk out the door. Then the guy working the counter saw a rent payment grow wings and start to fly and began to be very welcoming.
"I can help! I can help!" We were told that the lady who normally handles the invitations wasn't there this day, but she usually comes in on week days. "Are weekdays good for you?"
"No they're not." I answered.
Well, he sprang to our side and pulled out a binder with lots and lots of invitation samples inside it. While we were looking through them and trying to come up with questions he was busy tearing the store upside down looking for the other binder.
"Just put some sticky notes on the pages you like and we can xerox them for you to take home and look at." We were instructed. So like good little soldiers, we did. And we came up with about five samples that really stood out. Then came the xeroxing. By the time the twenty minute came up I was convinced the guy was in the back reading out-loud all the information for his army of Beddouin Monks to write what he said on easels. I was getting concerned. Finally the woman who "tried" to help us before came out with a thick manilla envelope with xeroxes of all the options we had picked, and she threw in a schedule of the lady who normally helps with the invitations. Which according to them, in order to get certified to handle wedding invitations you need to take a three day certification course. Look, I'm not stupid. I know what I like and what I don't like on an invitation. And at the prices this store was asking for them you'de think they'd have been a little more eager to get someone in there who knows how to say, "Here's what your card will look like on an ivory card. Here's what it will look like on a moccah. Here's courier, here's block lettering. Would you like a ribbon around them?"
So while discussing the whys and wherefores of getting married, one of the MANY students I work with who recently went through their nuptuals handed out some pretty solid advice. Make your own invitations. A pretty novel idea I think. I know what I'm looking for. The paper stock isn't anything that a Michael's could provide. And it might save us some money in the long run.
I've been encouraged to shop around a little more before making the decision. To see if there truly is a savings in making the invites on my own-some. Plus I still need to talk it over with Angela. But so far, I'm liking the idea of DIY invites.
