Wednesday, November 25, 2015

When are additional inserts needed within Wedding Invitations?

When are additional inserts needed? This is actually a question we get quite often. There are a few tips we like to share with our clients when it can sometimes be confusing. That's why most times we recommend this back pocket design that gives you the option of including inserts while not changing the overall design of your invitations. 

Whenever your reception is in a different location than your ceremony you MUST use an additional insert. You guests should have all information possible when it comes to both locations. This would include name and address, and also if there are any specifics about parking etc... 

Aside from having multiple locations being listed on additional insert, other common details to include are accommodations, directions, illustrated map, transportation information, wedding website... Depending on the amount of information you can either insert everything onto one card, or use a separate card for each detail. 

Considering a wedding consists of SO many details, we highly suggest additional inserts. Its a great way to add to your overall stationery design and keep you and your guests organized. 





Interested in more information?
Check out our website: www.1stinvite.com or 
contact 1st Impressions Invitations' owner Cathy at cathy@1stinvite.com or 702-290-6805 
to set up your consultation today!

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Monday, November 16, 2015

Celebrating a Cherished Life

When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure…


I am always grateful to have the honor to assist with my clients’ happiest days: their weddings, bar mitzvahs, baby announcements, birthdays, and other special events. Occasionally, I get asked to create something to honor of the toughest times in one’s life: these are often the projects that define me as a person...

Several weeks ago, I received one of the most fulfilling invitation requests I have ever created. A former client reached out to me and said, “ I have an interesting question for you? Have you ever done invitations for a celebration of life?”

Her dear friend, Jan, had passed away after fighting illness for quite some time. It was one of Jan’s last requests that she not receive a traditional funeral, but rather a celebration of the life she lived: full of bright colors, joy, and merriment. It was a task that I felt was heart-warming, endearing, and incredible honorable to take on.

I grew up in a family where due to the age and proximity of all the elder grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc., we were at the funeral home quite a bit. As a young child, it was a delight for me: I got to see my cousins, wear a pretty dress, and there were these tiny little bottles of soda for the family in the kitchen that were just my size. I had no idea there was sadness there; as far as I was concerned it was a time of joy. I grew up not fearing death, but accepting it as part of the walk we all take.  I saw this stationery project as an opportunity to glorify the life of a wonderful woman and celebrate her in a way that was fun and cheerful: as she would have wanted.

I wanted to create an invitation that captured Jan’s spirit and celebrated the life she lived, so it was imperative that it was brightly colored, fresh, contemporary, and sincere. It was important that it cheerful in the way it was written. We opted for a simple but beautiful 5x7 bight pink invitation (her favorite color) with a shimmery finish, sweet wording in a fun font, and finished off with by adding rhinestones to the "i"s of "in celebration" as Jan loved Bling!





Jan loved to eat at Olive Garden, so it was only fitting that her celebration take place there. I created a welcome sign and tented menus for the tables of Jan’s favorite foods. The décor was a combination of things from her closet: fantastic pieces of costume jewelry, purses, pictures, etc. and all of the guests were invited to take a memento with them as they left. It was a time of sharing stories, memories, and laughter. I like to think that she enjoyed the shindig from up above and laughed right along.  










Thank you Jan, for allowing me to be a part of your life story and may the memories you have left in the hearts of your friends and family always be bright treasures!

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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Aruba Destination Wedding Save The Dates

Catherine and Jason wanted something custom for their Destination Wedding in Aruba. It's destination that is close to their heart so naturally they wanted something that will give their guests a great 1st Impression of their wedding weekend. Take a look at all the detail in these ticket custom Save the Dates. 






Interested in more information?
Check out our website: www.1stinvite.com or 
contact 1st Impressions Invitations' owner Cathy at cathy@1stinvite.com or 702-290-6805 
to set up your consultation today!


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Friday, November 6, 2015

Super Baby Baby Shower Invitations!

SOOOO much fun designing these "Super Baby" invitations for a dear friend of 1st Impressions Invitations. We first started out by designing her fairytale scroll wedding invitations. Now having the honor to help with her first baby shower is such a great feeling!



Interested in more information?
Check out our website: www.1stinvite.com or 
contact 1st Impressions Invitations' owner Cathy at cathy@1stinvite.com or 702-290-6805 
to set up your consultation today!


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Thursday, November 5, 2015

Cool, Classic, and Sweet Wedding

Love stories and celebrating the best day of a couples’ life is the greatest part of this job. Being able to work behind the scenes to ensure it goes smoothly….that’s unparalleled! Here, another installment of a recent collaboration with Harry O Productions, 1st Impressions Invitations' Event Coordination...



Cool, Classic, Sweet….



Sometimes your friends know better than you….that was the case for Amy and Jeff. They had mutual friends who just knew that the two were perfect for one another and had been talking each other up for over a year before the two met in person. From the moment they were introduced on their first date with their friends Brooke and Peter, Amy and Jeff knew that this was indeed everything their friends had mentioned and more.

After getting engaged on a wine trip to Napa, the two decided on the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas for their July 10th wedding. With a sweeping terrace and large waterfall as the background, it was the ideal location for a posh and intimate wedding ceremony.



The entire event was based off the bride and groom’s personalities: cool, classic, with touches of fun and sweet little details.  The invitations were a clean black and white with just a touch of red added in the small heart on the invitation and the custom liner in the envelope. The remainder of the couples’ stationery items all coordinated with the invitations in look and font style, right down to the thank you notes following the event.



Keeping it classic and posh, was Amy’s gorgeous and sleek wedding gown, care of Couture Bride: with a long cathedral length veil and low dramatic back, Amy was beauty in motion. Meanwhile, Jeff was the epitome of classic cool in a perfectly fit modern black suit.





When you have the opportunity to work at a gorgeous location like the Four Seasons, you find that very little adornment needs to be added. In Amy and Jeff’s case, we kept the flowers and decor simple and let the incredible food and ambiance of the luxury hotel be the focal point of the event.


The ceremony was sweet and intimate, focusing on the couple’s love for one another with reading by the groom’s children, Jenna and Ryan, and a very sweet love letter ceremony, performed by the funny and sincere Pastor Pete. Amy surprised Jeff with live serenaded music: a crowd pleaser of  Meghan Trainor’s “Dear Future Husband”  was used as Jeff’s entrance for the wedding and Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” was used as the rousing recessional.





In lieu of a traditional sit-down dinner, the couple, who love to entertain, opted for heavy hors d’oeuvres and cocktail party. The food was a fantastic mixture of stylish nibbles and home-town favorites like macaroni and cheese. The guests were treated to multiple carving stations and a fully appointed bar, including the special drink of the evening, “The Pyle Driver” in celebration of the new married surname.




Dancing went into the wee-hours and the guests, shoes in hand, made their exits after enjoying individual shaped cakes in three different flavors and custom made chocolates and cookies. The flower girl, the bride’s adorable tom-boy god daughter stole the show on the dance floor in her sparkly gold high-tops!







The Bride and Groom’s favorite moment of the Wedding Day…

The first look.  Planning a wedding is stressful and seeing each other for the first time on the balcony of the hotel was magical, everything else went away and it was just us.



Moment of Truth/Behind the Scenes of the Day….

It was very windy on Amy and Jeff’s wedding day which resulted in some quick re-designing at the ceremony location. We had originally planned for an aisle runner lined by rose petals but the wind whipped up and ripped the runner and realizing it was a losing battle, we opted for sprinkled rose petals all over the ceremony site instead. You never know what extra variables will come into play on a wedding day and often have to roll with the punches. When you have opted for a location as luxurious as Four Season’s Terrace though, it isn’t an issue: the ceremony was gorgeous and beautiful. One added benefit of the wind: Amy’s veil looks incredible in the pictures! The couple had their own “Wind Machine” courtesy of Mother Nature.




Words of Advise from the Beautiful Bride…

Although weddings are expensive and you try to keep your budget in mind- make sure you wont have any regrets…I wish we hired a videographer.  At the time we didn’t think we needed one, but looking back- it’s the one thing we wished we had to capture the day. 

Our day was amazing and simply magical, and I know without Cathy it would have been 1000 times more stressful, and we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the day. As stressful as weddings can be, having Cathy made the entire experience so manageable.  We loved having a sounding board and friend to guide us.  Cathy really got to know us as a couple and became an amazing friend.  Truly, we found 1st Impressions Invitations and Harry O Productions to go above and beyond, Cathy was able to make recommendations for other vendors, and they were superb.  Not to mention, we loved our invites and thank you’s, which perfectly captured our style.






Special Thanks to:
Dawn at Couture Bride
Four Seasons Las Vegas
Pastor Pete Starzyk
Harry O Productions
Photography Courtesy of Laszlo Rathonyi
Enchanted Florist
Hair/Makeup Amy Curiel and Patti Jones
Singer Cristina Wojo
1st Impressions Invitations

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