Last spring our colleague Laura married her best friend in their hometown of Peoria, IL. Laura incorporated a number of DIY wedding projects to make her event a Paper Source wedding. Her day was special in so many ways, so we asked Laura about the inspiration behind this hometown celebration.

Here’s her story…

What were the themes for your day?

Ross and I grew up in Peoria, Illinois, but didn’t meet until we were counselors at Camp Highlands for Boys and Clearwater Camp for Girls, respectively, in Northern Wisconsin. Although I knew his sister (from camp and school in Peoria) and Ross knew my brothers (one was his camp counselor when he was 10), our paths never crossed until that summer. And, ironically enough, our parents now live three blocks apart.

We considered Wisconsin and Chicago for our wedding, but ultimately decided that the Peoria connection was too strong to overlook. It was also the perfect way to share our fondness for our hometown and our families.

After selecting Peoria, our goals become clear: keep everything calm, simple and personal.

Did you plan anything special for your ceremony?

The May showers and cloudy skies made for a cozy, warm feeling at First Federated Church, where I have been a member for years. It was important to honor my grandfather, who passed away last June. He was a minister for 25 years and was married to my grandmother for nearly 70 years. My cousin read a passage from First Corinthians, a passage he included in every wedding of his career. We also included two special readings read by close friends and my middle school band director played the trumpet.

I also incorporated a piece of lace from my grandmother’s wedding dress in my bouquet. Our siblings were our attendants and my niece and nephew were the flower girl and ring bearer. Read the rest of this entry »

Love is in the air and we are ecstatic! Not only have we launched the 2012 Paper Source Wedding Invitation Collection, but we are hearing inspiring stories of love from brides-to-be and newlyweds. Even our associates have bells on – recently engaged Kristen shared her wonderful Will You Be My Bridesmaid card concept and newlywed Susan gave us a peek inside her perfectly Night and White destination wedding. And there is plenty more ahead!

For those of you who just started wedding planning (raise your hand by commenting to this post), be sure to check out the Paper Source YouTube Channel where our associates take you through DIY projects and planning exercises that help you create an event to remember.

In this video, Ann sheds light on a term you hear quite often at Paper Source — the wedding invitation suite. And suite it is! Together, with your wedding invitation, these components help inform and inspire your guests.

But that is just the beginning… there is more inspiration come, so stay tuned!

Last year one of our colleagues had a destination wedding and, like many of us, Susan wanted to incorporate Paper Source elements into her wedding ceremony and reception. Since many of our readers are also considering a destination wedding, we had Susan tell us how she prepared for this perfectly night and white wedding in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Here’s her story…

Being a destination wedding, I prepared items in advance as much as possible, but there were a few projects that we completed on site, each providing an easy way to get into the spirit.

Elements completed beforehand:

Our menu cards were printed prior to leaving

I used the Martha Stewart Double Loops Decorative Paper Punch on Night Text Paper to make strips for napkin rings

Seating cards were stamped with the Pearl Strands Rubber Stamp and heat embossed to coordinate with my wedding invitations

Completed at our destination:

Paper flowers, used at our outdoor cocktail hour, were made in my hotel room prior to the wedding (super easy and I saved a ton on flowers!)

Favor boxes were assembled and filled with candy, then placed at the seat of any child who was in attendance

Night satin ribbon was provided to the florist for the pomanders that hung on down our aisle

Items needed to complete projects on site:

Glue for the paper flowers

Double-sided tape for the napkin rings

All in all, it was very little to travel with but provided charming little details that you might not normally have at a destination wedding. Perhaps the best part about using paper items… flat packing!

–Susan
PS colors: aubergine & slate
Latest fave: Personalized Note Pads

Newly engaged and in the beginning stages of planning my wedding, something I was really looking forward to was asking a few dear friends to be my bridesmaids. I wanted to do this in a way that would make the girls feel special and would help them look forward to a year of wedding fun! I scoured the internet in search of will you be my bridesmaid ideas, but nothing seemed quite right. Then, with perfect timing, my colleague Liz presented her holiday gift, which included an ingenious enclosure with recipe card inserts. It was so darling and the perfect format for my will you be my bridesmaid presentation!

Using Liz’s recipe ensemble as my guide I printed cards with information I wanted my bridesmaids to have. The cards were cut with varying widths allowing the card titles to appear in succession. I printed and mounted a Will You Be My Bridesmaid? tag on the inside panel, which greeted the girls as they opened the enclosure. In all this project took diagonal enclosures, fine paper for liners and decorative elements, cover weight 8.5 x 11 paper cut down, and free fonts found online.

The cards included: our wedding date and location, the list of bridesmaids, rehearsal and wedding day details, a personal letter to each bridesmaid…and my favorite, a card with the silhouette of a bridesmaid dress to represent the bridal shopping to come.

This project was so worth the extra time – I will never forget the smiles and tears that came when my friends opened their packages. I know they will spend a year making me feel incredibly special, so I was happy to do the same for them while asking them one very important question.

–Kristen
PS colors: peacock & cement
Latest fave: Printable Labels

Paper Source Fan Jennifer W. shared her DIY projects from a shower she recently co-hosted. As a regular of our Pasadena store, Jennifer worked with our team to create a bridal shower theme that perfectly celebrated the couple’s wedding plans.

Since the wedding colors were black and white with hits of red, I thought a theme of red with hints of black and white would be a nice twist.

Jennifer paired our graphic Iron Scroll Wrapping Paper with Red and Eco-White solid papers and envelopes, using this palette for everything from invitations to menu cards to favors.

Her DIY bridal shower creations were too pretty to pass up. Our only questions is: Did the cupcakes taste as good as the favor boxes look?

–Jennifer W., Pasadena PS customer
PS colors: bluebell & gravel
Latest fave: Double stick tape

It’s a wonderful day when we get to put our products and skills to use at the corporate office, and a colleague’s upcoming nuptials certainly gave us reason to celebrate. The store operations team surprised bride-to-be Stephanie with a day centered around her favorite destination.

Our team created a Parisian-inspired bridal shower that would remind her of strolling through streets lined by iron lamps, inviting bistros and romantic florals. Knowing we were limited to conference room fixtures, we focused on Art Nouveau elements and pastels to elicit a nostalgic charm. A Silhouette-produced sign celebrated the couple and favored subway text of the city; a fresh assortment of paper flower bouquets, each designed by associates from our store locations, was the focal point of the room; and the shower spread included fresh fruits, delicious breads, and rich cheeses. The halls were flooded with the sounds of Edith Piaf and everyone took in the delight of spending a day in Paris.

Join us in congratulating Stephanie and Ryan, and check back for photographs from her big day and their romantic honeymoon in Paris (of course!).

Looking for more ideas? Check out Lauren’s French inspiration post and photographs.

– The Store Operations Team
PS colors: sage & bluebell
Latest fave: Paris Map Cavallini Wrapping Paper

We love how Paper Source Fan Lisa Y. used a monochromatic color palette and rubber stamps to accent her Eagle Castle Winery wedding in Paso Robles, California.

Photograph courtesy of Inktree Photography

I worked with TwoYellowShoes to design a custom template since I wanted the grapevines to go with our winery wedding.

To complete her DIY place cards, Lisa adhered each printed card to a Plum Place Card using Double-Sided Tape. She used Clear Embossing Powder, the purple from her Petal Point Color Box Inkpad and Menu Set Rubber Stamp images to heat emboss each place card (the carrot indicated vegetarian, the cow was for short ribs, and the fish signified the Monkfish entrée). Read the rest of this entry »

Paper Source Fan Abby G. and her husband were married in January, and they recently let us in on a special wedding day moment:

While taking our wedding portraits in Georgetown, DC, I saw a gorgeous window display at the Paper Source store. Seeing as I used Paper Source for all of my DIY needs while planning my wedding, I rushed inside, and our photographers captured [these] images.

Photographs courtesy of Mike Lesnick Photography.

This tear-jerking wedding moment was brought to you by:

–Abby Grace, Georgetown PS customer
PS colors: blossom & peacock
Latest fave: Thank You Notes

We’re counting down the days to our big DIY celebration (20 to be exact), and we hope to see you at one of our 43 store locations on June 4th. In fact, as a special treat to those who register, we’re giving away one FREE copy of Handmade Weddings – Register by Sunday, May 22nd to be included in our drawing (winner announced on Monday, May 23rd).

What’s even better is our Berkeley store will host Eunice and Sabrina Moyle, coauthors and founders of Hello!Lucky, and our Brooklyn store will be visited by coauthor and stylist Shana Faust. Treats and refreshments will be provided at each store location, along with two hours of inspiring crafts that will transform your special events and parties.

Here’s a peek…

DIY projects like these, and the 50 crafts featured in the pages of Handmade Weddings, will make this an affair to remember. Don’t miss out!