Invitation Consultants Blog - Wedding and Party Inspiration

Happy Memorial Day!

For a lot of people, Memorial Day is the kick-off of summer as well as a time to honor those who have served our country. During this long weekend, there tends to be lots of grilling, eating, drinking and spending time with friends and family pool-side enjoying the warm weather. While hosting friends and family seems like no big deal, a lot of work is involved in party planning. Here are our 5 tips on how to host a stress-free fête.

1. Be prepared and prep ahead of time. Prep salads and sides the day before so only minimal prep and cooking is required the day-of. Cut veggies the day before for these easy veggie skewers.

2. Pick sides that are quick, easy, and fun. Selecting a dish that you've made before is always less intimidating than trying something new. Pick a tried and true recipe that is always a party hit. We're big fans of these rainbow fruit skewers - so simple and easy even kids can be involved in making them!

3. Have guests bring their own meat. Having guests bring what they like takes the guess work out of shopping and also lessens the overall party cost. This marinated steak would be perfect for the grill!

4. Stock up on plastic plates + cups. Barbecues are fun - they don't have to be fancy! Plan on re-usable plastic dishware that is dishwasher safe or plan to use recyclable paper plates.

5. Check your grilling tools! Plan ahead and check for all proper grilling utensils you will need. Set them by the grill prior to the party so the cook is prepared and can grill and socialize without having to run back into the kitchen. Also make sure to have plenty of charcoal or propane, depending on the grill you will be using.

Check out this Barbecue Spot invitation for your next outdoor event! Good luck Grilling and Happy Memorial Day!

The 2012 National Stationery Show | Pretty pretty papers!

We have always loved, loved the National Stationery Show. It's 4 days packed with papers-- from recycled to ridiculously adorable, the show brings out the best in our industry. The event is for correspondence geeks and the quickest way to get a giggle is mention those who spell 'stationery' as 'stationary'. Ha! Paper joke!

Stationers love a good party (duh), so this year, it was fun to celebrate with some of our favorite brands: Carlson Craft, Checkerboard, and Krepe Kraft, as well as some of our partners in paper crime: Rosanne Beck and Odd Balls.

Carlson Craft was kind enough to host a champagne and cupcake soiree to sneak peek their newest albums and designs. I can say first hand, they were quite the treat!

I also spent a good amount of time meeting new designers and artists that may be appearing on Invitation Consultants in our Guest Designer program. Keep an eye out for a new talented bunch soon!

-Reilly

STANDING ROOM ONLY!

If you're perusing the InvitationConsultants.com website, you might see a playful mixture of invitations that incorporate people standing at a party. The first 'legs' design, as we like to call them, was a simple cocktail party. Then, we quickly realized that we should start mixing it up and making 'legs' for all sorts of occasions. We tried to tailor each person's clothing for different themes and we truly can't get enough of them. Here are three of our favorites but be sure to check if we have a design that fits your event.

Baby Girl Shower

Totally Invited

Margaritas and Fajitas

Happy Birthday Gemini!

For our Gemini friends, an outdoor spring party is a perfect way to celebrate!  As Gemini spans that transition from spring to summer, it comes with a tendency to adapt to change so plan in outdoors and enjoy the whether no matter what it may be!  Geminis are also said to love company and be best in social situations - so it a birthday party is perfect!  Here are some great gift ideas for the Geminis in your life...

Spring Party Scene

Gemini Necklaces

Gemini Tote Bag

Gemini Pillow

Destination California :: A Vineyard Wedding

This season some of our most popular wedding invitations have been from our geographic series. This series features layered destination wedding invitations perfect to spotlight your big day! After our Florida inspired post, I’ve decided to travel to the opposite coast to California! Here is my rendition of a perfectly ‘vintage’ destination wedding based on the Destination California invitation.

Good wine is one of the first things that come to mind when I think of California. Home to wine country, California creates a beautiful backdrop for a wedding at a local winery. Apart from the scenery, there are many details that can be incorporated into a vineyard wedding theme such as using custom wine labels made by the bride and groom, using wine corks for place card holders, and giving away personalized wine charms as favors to guests. Here are some of my favorites.

How would you pull off your dream vineyard wedding?

Class of 2012 | Most Popular Graduation Quotations

It's a privilege to be part of young lives every year during the spring. We see so many orders come through for high school, collegiate, and grad school students who are starting new adventures & celebrating years of hard work. It's refreshing, exciting, and an amazing source of inspiration!

One of the fun parts of grad season is reading all of the quotes that are incorporated into our customer's wording. Here are the 5 most popular:

1. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" - Eleanor Roosevelt
2. "Each of us has different talents, different dreams, and different destinations, yet we all have the power to make a new tomorrow - Unknown
3. "Nursing is an art;and if it is to be made an art, it requires as exclusive a devotion, as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work;" - Florence Nightingale
4. "We came to this place together to learn, to grow, and to share. Time and space may separate us but wherever our pathways lead us we'll always be the Class of 2012" - Unknown
5. "We do not fear the future for we are the future because of what we have achieved and what we will achieve" - Unknown

And a few of my favorites:
- "This is what I want to say. When you feel scared, hold someones hand and look into their eyes. And when you feel brave, do the same thing. You are all here because you are smart. And you are brave. And if you add kindness and the ability to change a tire, you almost make up the perfect person." - Amy Poehler, Harvard 2011 Graduation
- "The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse." - Edward Koch
- "If you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen" - Conan O'Brien

Do you have a favorite quotation?

{YUM} National Chocolate Chip Day 2012!

Chip, Chip Hooray! It's National Chocolate Chip Day! We're celebrating these delicious morsels with a choc-tail party! What's our signature beverage? A milk martini with a chocolate chip cookie garnish, of course! Serve chilled and have a sweet time!

Trend Alert: MINT

It's not just a color for ice cream anymore folks!  Mint has taken over from clothing to accesories to home decor and party themes.  It's certainly the color of the season and how refreshing it is!   Need a mint party invitation or gift?  Pick any of our color change items and pick mint or lagoon or tropical blue as your ink and you'll have a completely customized item that's right on trend!  How have you incorporated mint into your summer? 

Calendar Poster  |  Folded Photo Invitation |  Mint and Floral Invitation  |  Personalized Notepad  |  Minty Ikat Dress  |  Mint Nail Polish  |  Mint and Diamond Studs  |  Mint Flip Flops

Happy Mother's Day 2012!

All of us at InvitationConsultants.com want to wish the mothers out there a most happy day!

If you're as excited as we are, check out our MOM'S the word Pinterest board for wonderful inspiration.

Let us know how how much you love your mom below.

Have fun celebrating!

Mini Summer Photoshoot

Make sure you drop by our homebase, www.InvitationConsultants.com mid-next week.... WHY?! Because, it's almost summer and next week, we'll be sharing some of our newest, sunniest, and sweetest designs, photographed in their summer glory. Above are some instagrammed photos of our afternoon- including some lemons that instagram magically turned into oranges, a little lady bug (Antoinette pointed out that every bug in the buggy kingdom was present for our photos & she was right!), and Kyle photographing with his eyes covered to ensure a certain 'artsyness' to the images.

Have a great, sunny afternoon folks.

- Reilly