Cordially? Happily? Awesomely?

Invitations. The word fills me with abject terror. As an English teacher, I feel extra pressure to make good with the words. The fact that every one of my close friends and family members will be reading wording that I have chosen to express my love of Boy and desire to be stapled to him for the rest of our lives is utterly horrifying.

I've said it once and I'll say it again... thank goodness I'm not planning yet because I do not have the ability to make these decisions!

Ok, now that my personal anxiety is set aside, let's look at some pretty things! My mom has been cooing about a neat little store that just moved into the upscale mini mall by her house: Blue Tulip. She dragged me (ok, I followed willingly) there one day to ooh and ahh over their invitations. Try telling my mom that Boy hasn't proposed yet. Really, try it. It's like talking to Martha Stewart whilst she is on television and you're sitting on your couch in your sweatpants. You yell, and she just keeps on planning weddings.

First up, the STDs. Gigglesnort. I might get over that, but now that I'm teaching 9th graders... probably not. These are from the fantastic Wedding Paper Divas:

I love the simplicity of this one, and the use of such a bold color is great. Done this way, it is understated and modern. It also strikes me as a bit edgy while still being formal. A bit girly, though.


This one is so crisp! Look at that fantastic color! For a winter wedding with all the deep-red trimmings, this would be perfect. I like the idea of a monogram, and this shows one off without making it the whole card. It is, however, a bit stark and very formal.


I saved the best for last. I LOVE this STD. The colors are perfect, the birds are adorable. It is simple, elegant, and whimsical. It has the formal wording in all lowercase, which (though grammatically problematic) really tones down the seriousness of the occasion. After all, just because the actual invitations might be formal, that doesn't mean that the STDs need to be as well.

There are oodles of options out there. This is also a project that could easily be taken care of DIY with the help of some photoshop and VistaPrint: the holy grail of cheap paper goodies. I also really like the idea of using the STD to be more creative and showcase something special about the couple or their choice of theme.

Of course, in order to do that, one must have a theme...