BLOG ARCHIVES

• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007
• June 2007
• May 2007
• April 2007
• March 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• December 2006
• November 2006
• October 2006
• September 2006
• August 2006
• July 2006
• June 2006
• May 2006
• April 2006
• March 2006
• February 2006
• January 2006
• December 2005
• November 2005
• October 2005
• September 2005
• August 2005
• July 2005
• June 2005
• May 2005
• April 2005
• March 2005
• February 2005
• January 2005
• December 2004
• November 2004

The very busiest months of the year for invitation printers are February, March and April. Production times during these months will be longer than usual due to the high volume of orders. Avoid stress over your invitations and delays in production by ordering before the rush hits.

I'm hearing more and more requests for classic black and white or black, white and gold invitations from brides planning weddings in 2008. The classic black and white invitation can be designed to set the tone for your wedding, whether you want it bold, elegant or understated and simple. It's easy to add a splash of color to your invitation with a simple ribbon or bow.

The brand new Stylart album captures all that's hot in invitations right now - fresh color combinations, banded invitations, pocket invitations, more ink and foil imprinting options, plus all the most popular invitations from past Stylart collections.

Check out the new invitations through the Stylart link on our website, www.gettingpersonalimprinting.com, or visit us at the Tacoma Wedding Expo in January to see the album collection.

The hallmark invitation album, Carlson Craft's "Blue" album has been updated and just released for 2008!

The album includes many of the most popular invitations from past collections but also features unique invitations designed by Jean M and Eduardo Xol. There are pocket invitations, layered invitations and more. Plus, when you order from the album, you can get 100 personalized napkins for free!

Looking for something specific for your wedding? Contact me and I'll see what "Blue" has for you!

We're pleased to now offer wedding favors and accessories from the Hortense B. Hewitt Co. Whether you're looking for one item, or hundreds, contact us for the best prices and selection on wedding favors and accessories.

Stop by our booth at the South Hill Mall Bridal Fair this Saturday, October 20th!

We'll have all of our invitation and accessory albums available for you to browse through. Plus, we'll have some candles and cake toppers available for sale at the event.

Plan to attend!

Ready to order your invitations? Place your order at the show and enjoy extra discounts!

We just received our brand new edition of the Festividades Collection from Carlson Craft. This album and online collection contains fantastic invitations for weddings, Quinceanearas and other celebrations. Invitations can be printed in Spanish or English.

Drive Through or Dine in?

Everyday you make these kinds of decisions. Sometimes your decision hinges on the amount of time you have. Sometimes your decision hinges on the amount of money you have. Sometimes your decision is influenced by what other people want to do.

With all the decisions you need to make in planning your wedding, and all the choices available, take the time to be sure youre making the best decision, not just the most convenient decision at that time.

When you choose self service over full service, do you wash your windshield or check your oil? Not usually. When you choose drive through over dine in, do you get the appetizer or dessert you really love? Its usually not available.

When it comes to ordering your wedding invitations you can get the full service experience at the self service price when you work with Getting Personal Imprinting. We offer 30% discounts everyday on all of our invitations. We carry a larger selection of invitation collections than warehouse stores. We offer online ordering, just like all the other Internet retailers. But, what sets us apart is that we are also accessible by phone or in person during the day and evening if you have questions. When you place your order online we make sure you havent overlooked anything. We track your order through the ordering and printing process, and make sure you are satisfied with the result when you receive it.

Its your wedding, splurge on full service and dining in&and get your invitations from Getting Personal Imprinting.

As a vendor, the days leading up to the wedding expos are always hectic. We're reviewing our lists of what we need to bring. We're making final decisions on just how to display everything in our booth. We're wondering what's going to attract your attention because we want you to stop and talk with us about our products and services.

We not only participate in wedding expos as vendors, but we also attend similar shows as customers. What we've learned is that when something catches our attention or when we meet a particularly engaging vendor we gather business cards from those businesses and make notes on the back about what or why we stopped at that booth. It may be months later before we look through those cards, but with our notes it's easy to remember exactly why we picked up a particular vendor's card.

We encourage you do do the same at the wedding show. If you see something you like, don't assume it's something you're going to easily find on the Internet after the show. Get that vendor's card so you won't be disappointed when you're unable to find the product or service they offered elsewhere.

Invitation companies periodically offer special incentives to dealers. I like to pass savings offered through these opportunities on to my customers. The quickest and easiest way for me to pass extra savings opportunities on to my customers is by e-mails, so watch your in box and spam folder. If you see something from Getting Personal Imprinting, open it, because it could be a great offer that's going to save you money!

If you're planning a late Fall or Winter wedding, consider ordering your invitations this month. Fall wedding shows typically occur in September and October and all the invitation companies tend to get a little bit backlogged with a glut of orders right after the shows. On top of that September, October, November and December all have national holidays that do impact printing and shipping schedules at all the invitation companies. And finally, most of the national invitation printing companies also print personalized holiday cards. That business really picks up in early October, and tends to impact printing schedules. Avoid all these potential delays, and added stress, by ordering in August.

Did you Know that while first-class postage rates went from 39 cents to 41 cents for the first ounce, people sending heavier letters  such as wedding invitations  actually see a reduction in their price? Its because each additional ounce now costs just 17 cents, down from 24 cents. That means a two-ounce letter now costs 58 cents to mail, compared to 63 cents before.

Our store at the McChord Air Force Base BX is now open! If you have access to the base, and you're looking for invitations, plan now to visit us. To celebrate our grand opening we're going to be offering some fantastic savings opportunities during the month of July. Come on in and look through all our albums or talk to us about the type of invitation you want.

Don't have base access? Don't worry. We're still offering our same exceptional service and discount prices to everyone registered on Brides Club. Check out our invitation collections online, and if you want to see albums in person, just let us know. We can arrange a time to meet with you at our home office.

Don't forget to let your maid of honor and bridesmaids know about us. We have a brand new album full of shower invitations and ideas for making your bridal shower fun and memorable!

Marrying someone in the military? Are you a military family member planning a wedding? We just received the final apprpoval for the grand opening of our store at the McChord AFB BX. Look for us in late June! Great invitations, with a military discount, military unity candles, and custom napkins, coasters and photo products with just the right amount of military flare for your ceremony.

The meanings and feelings behind the colors we love:

Red is the color of passion and energy. It is an exciting and stimulating color that demands attention wherever it is found. A red wedding shows that you are passionate and unafraid to make a bold statement.

Green is the color of new growth and nature. Since this color is often associated with rebirth (think spring), the color green shows that you are looking forward to a wonderful new beginning.

Pink is the color of vitality and youth  it is a happy and innocent color. A pink wedding is both feminine and pretty.

Blue is the color of tranquility. This color spreads a calm and peaceful feeling across a room full of guests and gives brides and bridesmaids a look of serenity.

Yellow stands for true happiness. Yellow bridesmaid dresses, yellow flowers or yellow candles indicate that happiness follows you wherever you go.

Brown is the color of comfort. Think of natural wood grain and beautifully stained furniture. Rooms decorated with touches of brown feel warm and cozy. Guests wont want to leave!

Purple is the traditional color of nobility and luxury. Purple will surely make you a queen for the day!

Orange is a spirited color that stands for warmth and comfort. Although it can be a motivating color, orange makes people feel at ease with their surroundings.

Taupe is considered one of the most sophisticated and elegant colors. It is a popular choice for brides who stop at nothing to achieve the most crisp and tailored look.

Silver and Gray are refined colors that represent composure and grace. The ever-popular platinum achieves the same effect.

Black is the traditional color of formality. It is elegant, strong and very sophisticated. When paired with traditional white, brides can achieve the infamous black-tie-affair look.

White is the traditional color of brides. In the past, it symbolized purity and virtue. Today, it has come to mean clean, crisp and luxurious. Brides who choose white for their d￩cor or ensemble cannot go wrong.

Looking for the latest in invitation design? The coolest new trends are in the envelopes. Regency has taken a different approach to lined envelopes and Stylart has introduced photo-lined envelopes that coordinate with photo invitations.

For more information on these new-to-market options, give me a call, 425-585-0482.

Most of the invitations from Regency's online collections - Flower Wedding, Rainbow Wedding, Tempo and Mazel Tov - will soon be available through Carlson Craft.

Bookmark our website, www.gettingpersonalimprinting.com and visit our Album Collections page for all online invitations!

Are you looking for photo invitations?

Are you planning a small ceremony, and need a very small quantity of invitations?

Are you looking for a classy, sophisticated-looking invitation?

Are you planning to print your own invitations?

If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above, then we have a brand new album specific for you.

Stylart's Elegant Reflections offers photo invitations for every kind of couple and every kind of ceremony. I was amazed to see the photo-lined envelopes and the photo envelope seals they offer to coordinate with your invitation.

Carlson Craft has just released a brand new album I expect to receive before the end of the week. The album is specifically designed for couples planning small weddings, who may only need a few invitations. I can't wait to see the selections and pricing! If you're planning to print your own invitations because you want to save some money, you might want to wait and check out this new collection first.

If you're looking for something on the fancy side, then you'll want to see the Simple but Elegant collection from NuArt. We have just been approved to become NuArt dealers and we're looking forward to offering the album and adding the link to their online collection to our website very soon. We expect to receive the album this week. If you've seen NuArt invitations elsewhere, now's your chance to purchase them at a discount. Remember we offer a standard 30% discount on all published invitation prices!

Finally, we know a lot of you are planning to print your own invitations. And we know many of you are looking to save money. So, before going out to the popular paper retailers, and paying regular retail prices for your paper, do yourself a favor and talk to us. Did you know we can purchase any invitation shown in our albums as blank stock? Did you know our McPherson's album offers blank invitation kits designed for do-it-yourself printing? Did you know we can purchase a lot of different types of specialty paper at wholesale prices? And did you know that we pass our discounts on to you?

While we think our album collections include invitations for every budget, we respect your decision to save on your wedding costs where it makes the most sense to you. And we're pleased to help, so contact us with your invitation ideas.

We enjoyed talking to all the brides, grooms, friends and family who visited our booth at the Tacoma Wedding Expo. Once again, we found that brides are looking for all kinds of invitations - traditional, contemporary, colorful, seal 'n sends...

We heard a lot of you telling us that you're looking for affordable invitations. With prices starting at around $40 for 100 invitations, we were able to show many of you who visited our booth that professionally printed invitations are definitely affordable.

We heard from some brides who told us they had just ordered their invitations from another retail or online outlet. Many of these brides learned that we could have possibly saved them some money, given our 30% discount on all invitations ordered through our albums or online. We give you the best of both worlds - online shopping convenience with personal attention and service. When you place your order online through our website, I proof your order, approve it and then follow it through the printing and shipping process to insure you get your invitations as you wanted them in the time you need them.

We also heard from a lot of you that you plan to print your own invitations. While we think it's more economical to order printed invitations, we can be a valuable resource for those of you who want to do it yourself. We can get dealer/wholesale prices on invitation card stock and speciality paper. Before going to popular (and expensive) paper outlets, contact us. Let us know what you want and we'll see if we can get it for you at a discount through one of our suppliers.

Remember you should plan to mail your invitations 6-8 weeks before your wedding. And you'll want to allow yourself plenty of time for addressing the invitations before mailing them, so plan to order your invitations at least three months before the wedding. It takes 7-10 days from the day you place your order until the day they are delivered.

If you plan to also send Save the Date cards, magnets or coasters, you'll want to order and mail those about 9-12 months before the wedding so out of town guests have ample time to make travel arrangements, schedule time off from their jobs and get hotel accommodations.

Because of our sales volume this past year we are among the first Carlson Craft dealers in the country to receive the brand new Candlelight Collection Album. The album was delivered today and I just can't wait to see how our customers are going to react to this fabulous collection. This version of Candlelight stays true to the classic designs people have known to expect, but brings a whole new degree of beauty and sophistication to the line. Inside you'll find invitations inspired by Roal Doulton Fine China, as well as unique pocket invitations and NEW OPTIONS such as having your invitation printed with two different ink colors. And the Self Mailer Invitation is Fantastic. Be among the first to select from this great collection.

And, stay tuned because we will be receiving the Something Different Album next week. If you're looking for an invitation that's going to get noticed, you'll want to spend some time browsing the entire album.

We're always delighted to be contacted by Brides (and Grooms) trying hard to plan the wedding of their dreams. And of course we're always happy when we can provide answers to help couples find the invitations or accessories to make their ceremony all they dream about. One Bride contacted us looking for coral-colored invitations. She had been having a hard time finding that color. We were able to find several invitations in our online collections with coral a part of the color scheme. Another bride contacted us, having already purchased paper for her invitations, to find out what options she had for getting her invitations printed with raised print. We were able to provide her with instructions from one of our national stationery partners that offered that service. Finally one more bride asked about finding just the right napkins to coordinate with the rest of her reception decorations. We sent her samples of the napkins we have in stock for personalization.

If you have a question or if you have been unable to find an accessory you want, contact us and ask us for help.

It's been a busy few weeks, with three wedding expos in a row, but we had such fun. It's always heartening to know that the products and services we offer are exactly what couples getting married are wanting. We get offers every week from invitation companies who want us to carry their products and represent their invitation lines. We've been selective in the companies we choose to represent and from what we've heard from the brides-to-be who stopped to visit us at the wedding shows, we're offering products that meet your desires. There is no "typical" invitation. Brides are looking for everything from beach themes to brilliant colors, to simple and understated to traditional bride & groom designs. What makes our job so much fun is being able to find the invitation that the couple knows is the perfect representation of them and their wedding.

Our first wedding show was this past weekend in Seattle. It's the first of three consecutive weekend shows we're doing. Why do we exhibit at the shows? There are a lot of reasons, but some of the main reasons are that it gives us an opportunity to meet couples getting married and their families, and find out what you're looking for as you plan your wedding. We enjoy it when couples take the time to stop and talk with us, look at the products we offer and learn a bit more about what we do. If we hear that couples are looking for items we don't offer then in some cases we look to our suppliers and find out if we can get those items.

At the Seattle show we talked to a fair number of brides who told us they planned to print their own invitations. And we talked to several others who told us they thought they'd do that, and then changed their mind after attempting to print Save the Date cards themselves. Whether you print yourself or not, contact us. We may be able to get wholesale rates on paper and card stock for your invitations that we can sell to you cheaper than you'll be able to find at most retail outlets.

We always encourge those couples who do take the time to stop and visit with us at the shows to use us for our resources if nothing else.

So, please, if you plan to attend a show, plan to spend time talking to vendors, asking a lot of questions and getting a feel for the people you want to help you make your wedding perfect!

When we attended a large manufacturer show in Las Vegas earlier this month we talked to a lot of wedding item manufacturers and distributors. One of the more unique items we saw was a display of favor boxes that formed a wedding cake when displayed together. It was cute, clever and certainly caught our attention...and we've ordered 10 of them! We'll have one displayed at our booth at the Seattle area wedding shows in September so be sure to stop by to see it.

Still looking for a small gift to offer as a thank you or favor? Consider giving a personalized engraved metal charm or dogtag. We can transfer your picture or another image to the metal item, and we can inscribe whatever you'd like to say.

We're excited to announce that we have added photo glazing to our line of products and services. Preserve your wedding invitation and your favorite wedding photo on a plate, or really any flat surface. Think about giving a trinket box to your attenants with your wedding photo on the top of it. And stay tuned, because we'll be adding even more products in the future, including engraved metal charms - another great personalized gift idea.

We now have FIVE wedding albums, in addition to two extensive online invitation collections. We conducted a quick review of invitation prices in our albums and are pleased to share the following:

100 invitations can be purchased from our Birchcraft album for $51.43 - $168.93, depending on the invitation selected

100 invitations can be purchased from our Diamond Collection album for $44.03-$132.93, depending on the invitation selected

100 invitations can be purchased from our Candlelight Collection for $42.63-$135.73, depending on the invitation selected

100 invitations can be purchased from our McPhersons album for $38.83-$164.43, depending on the invitation selected

100 invitations can be purchased from our Carlson Craft Blue album for $45.63-$159.53, depending on the invitation selected

Interested in knowing more? Just ask!

We were just notified this afternoon that Birchcraft Studios approved our dealer application and we will soon receive a new Birchcracft Wedding Album as well as access to their entire online invitation and accessory catalog. Keep watching our website, www.gettingpersonalimprinting.com, for the launch of this great new partnership.

Obviously it's impossible to show pricing for everything online, but we understand the importance of letting customers know up front the ballpark costs for what we offer. We hope you find the pricing information we have added helpful, and that the information makes you a little less reluctant to call or e-mail us if you want a quote on an invitation you've seen in one of our albums or online.

We're beginning to do some research on finding office space so we can offer a public place where you can come to browse through invitation albums or speak to us about collaborating on custom invitations.

You've probably noticed that we do not offer extremely high-end invitations. There are a few reasons for that. First, we live on a budget and 16 years ago when we got married we had to find the most economical options when planning our wedding. It's our belief that most people are in that same boat. Second, we appreciate the fact that the stationery companies we do partner with allow us to set our own prices, offer our own specials and allow customers to mix and match the items they want for their wedding and reception. Many of the higher-end invitation companies do not give dealers those options - dealers are required to sell invitations at a certain price and they cannot offer sales or discounts, and the companies are very rigid requiring higher minimim order quantities.

If you got our online offer this week and like the look of the custom invitation we featured, contact us. We have more options to show you. Therse invitations are all exclusive designs from the company that makes them. They offer several different designs,and more than a dozen color options that you can mix and match. The sample featured in our offer can be purchased blank for you to print. 100 invitations and enclosures will cost about $115 plus shipping and tax. If you want us to print them, add 40 cents for each item you want printed.

If you're still looking for your invitation package, check out links to four (Yes - 4) new albums from Tatex Thermographers, now available through our website, www.gettingpersonalimprinting.com. Go to the Album Collections Page and look for the links. If you see something you like, contact me for a quote.

Whether you love Adam Sandler or not, his movie, "Click", provides a very important message - don't fast forward through life. You miss an awful lot if you do. As you start your married lives together, take that to heart.

These days you can shop for everything online. Is it a good idea to make plans and purchases for your wedding online? Obviously some products and services are more easily and accurately represented online than others. But think twice before actually purchasing. While online shopping is convenient, it's not personal. And your wedding is a very personal event in your life. Take the time to actually talk to people who work in the wedding industry - if only to get information - before you place any online orders. You can avoid disappintment, added expense and added stress by taking the time to talk to local professionals first.

I spoke to my niece over the weekend. She told me she had recently received two Save the Date magnets and wedding invitations from friends who are getting married later this year.
She was surprised that both of the brides had elected to send Save the Date magnets and that both had selected similar somewhat nontraditional wedding invitations for their ceremonies - because the two had little else in common.

A custom wedding invitation is a perfect way to showcase your cultural heritage. If you have a poem, symbol, graphic image or even a photograph, you can incorporate it into a custom wedding invitation that truly reflects you!

The Seattle Times ran a special section this past week about wedding planning. One of the resources they highlighted in their "4 Things We Dig" section was the JCPenney wedding registry. The free wedding binder available for brides who register on the site looks fantastic. Check it out.

We subscribe to Brides and Bridal Guide, along with a host of other magazines and catalogs designed to help couples plan their perfect wedding. In the latest edition of Bridal Guide two advertisements caught my eye. First, I noticed that David's Bridal is now offering invitations. I checked out their selection and was delighted to see that many of the invitations they offer are also invitations we offer in our custom invitation collections. Second, I noticed an ad for a water company that offers custom labels for bottled water. That's a service we also provide.

Any of you who watch Oprah even occasionally have no doubt heard her lament about how so often brides focus way too much time, energy and money on planning the perfect wedding, and far too little time and energy on planning the perfect marriage. I tend to agree with Oprah, but I wonder how women planning their weddings in 2006 feel about it. I'd love to hear from some of you about what you envision for your marriage, your life after the wedding and honeymoon.

Order all your Carlson Craft invitations online, through our website. You'll still get our standard 30% discount on invitations.

We are fortunate to be a part of an association of small businesses all dedicated to making sure your wedding turns out just as perfect as you imagined. Check out the group's website, www.CascadeCelebrations.com for more details and bookmark the site because as the organization grows so will our services!

If you have everything planned for your wedding, but you think you might be missing one element to put the perfect finishing touch on your day - consider imprinted ribbon. We can imprint ribbon to layer on your wedding cake, to tie on favors, to complement flower displays or to add anywhere you want. Contact us for details on this pretty and inexpensive way to add a special touch to your special day.

We have recently opened an account with Regency Thermographers. We don't yet have any Regency albums, but if you've looked through a Regency album at another retail outlet and saw an invitation package you're interested in, please let us know as we can place your order and give you big discounts.

Just yesterday we received our new invitation software. I can't wait to test its fantastic features. If you're reading this and are thinking about having custom invitations for your wedding, please contact me.

Your wedding invitations and accessories are critical to your wedding being everything you want it to be. Why would you order your invitations online, and never know who it is who's actually ensuring your order is being filled properly?

We like to meet with the brides and grooms who order their invitations through us. We like getting to know you - what you like, what you don't like and what's important to you. You'll find if you contact us, even for a quote on an invitation package, that we will take the time to give you all the information you need and more. That's the way we do business. Complete customer satisfaction is our number one priority.

We always enjoy hearing from brides-to-be and learning more about what they envision for their special day. This week we received requests for quotes on invitations from two brides looking for invitations with Calla Lillies on them. Are you also a calla lillie fan?

If we're not providing you with enough information with our Brides Club posts and e-mails, please write and let us know what we're leaving out. Customer service is truly our number one priority and we want to do our best to understand our customers, so please, write.

We're new, not only to blogging, but to our business. That said, we'd love to hear from brides-to-be about what kinds of invitations they like, and what kind of reception party favors and decorations are hot these days. We've been married for 16 years. Sixteen years ago we had a very small wedding and reception that we paid for by ourselves on very meager earnings. We'd love to be able to build some dialogue - maybe an online focus group - who can help us highlight and offer the products brides want.

Bridal Shows

Get a list of upcoming bridal shows in cities near you. Shopping at a bridal expo beats driving all over town so take advantage of this opportunity.

Wedding Magazines

A wedding magazine is the perfect start to planning your wedding; browse for ideas, pick styles and colors, and get in touch with the reality of planning.

Planning Your Wedding

• Receive exclusive special offers
• Create your budget & notes
• Share with family & friends
• Announce your wedding
• Favorites: Articles, Photos, Vendors, etc.
• Shop through hundreds of websites