I promised myself I wouldn’t share a lot (if any) of items from my wedding planning as we gear up for next May, but I couldn’t help but share the printed materials I’ve already made.  It doesn’t count if I’m still keeping the wedding stuff under wraps, but everyone has already seen these items, right?

It all started when I fell in love with the shades of blue watercolor look…  I bought some watercolor files on Etsy, then got to work.  When it came to designing the save the dates, I had already made my mind up about a few things:

1. I wanted a postcard (to avoid envelopes).
2. The blue watercolor look would be incorporated.
3. I didn’t want our picture on them. And finally,
4. I wanted a DIY aspect to them.

I found Fairmont and Grove‘s Etsy shop, and loved the idea of using a custom stamp on the postcard.  They had a save the date / return address bundle that I ordered, and then I turned my attention to the front of the card.

I worked on incorporating the watercolor touches in the overall design of the card, and figured out the text for the front.  My friend, Lisa, saw what I was working on and asked if she could spruce it up (gotta love designer friends).  When I got it back, it had the extra polish that I was looking for!

Creating thank you stationery was extremely easy once we got our engagement photos back.  Since I opted against the typical photo with ‘save the date’ splattered across it, I decided I wanted to use a photo on the stationery.  I created a one page design with our photo, the blue watercolor, and the same typography as the save the date to keep the look consistent.

Wedding Paper Divas lets you upload your own design to be printed, pick envelopes, and have a designer review it, plus they always have a sale going.  Within a week these were on my doorstep.

My obsession with the blue watercolor has officially become a theme in my printed materials, which I’ll continue as I move onto to invitations and programs.  Lisa has definitely rubbed off on me, and I’m trying to make sure everything works together to create a cohesive look, as well as a personal, unique identity.

I was so happy to be able to create the save the dates and stationery basically on my own, and make them exactly as I envisioned.  It was important to me to have custom materials that show off our personalities, and a bonus to know that no one else has the same prints!  Now onto the rest of the planning…

PS – You can see the rest of the printed materials from our wedding here!