Invitations

Since my mom knows, well, everyone in the town in which Adam and I are getting married, wedding planning has essentially been a breeze. We didn't painstakingly select a caterer or a baker--we used Mom's. Of course, our lack of experience choosing from amongst a large number of candidates has made selecting the few vendors we did have to pick from scratch a bit stressful.

Needless to say, when my mother's printer fell through as a possible source of wedding invitations, chaos reigned. After flirting with the idea of hand-writing them (seemed smart, until we realized we need about 100), Adam and I decided to post a request on Etsy.

For those of you unfamiliar with Etsy, please allow me to explain. Etsy is an on-line marketplace for homemade and vintage crafts, the source for everything from Victorian wedding hats to reusable sandwich bags. I really like Etsy because it's a great political statement. It is possible to shop small, local, and handmade without breaking the bank. It's a positive moral choice... plus everything at Etsy is about 75% cuter and 100% more original than anything you can find at "High Street" shops.

We asked designers to create a simple, elegant--but fairly traditional--invitation in champagne and burgundy. Eco-friendly materials would be a plus. We also gave them a link to my blog to give them an idea what Adam and I are like. And (cringe) we asked them to help us figure out how to do invitations, RSVP cards, and information cards all for a reasonable price.

So far, so good. We've gotten about thirty artisans willing to run our invitations in the last few days. After I rejected bids from anyone breaking our price limit, we still have about ten choices left.

All of the ideas they've sent me have been absolutely gorgeous! Sorry there aren't more specific pictures, but these are the best options so far:

• This one may be my favorite. It really captures the simplicity I was going for.
• This designer didn't post a picture, but she melted my heart by suggesting a design with medieval fonts in our color scheme.
• This designer didn't suggest anything specific, but her work is gorgeous! See anything you like?
• This designer has the most eco-friendly designs.
• This designer says she has a design with a perforated RSVP card that detaches from the invitation to save money and paper. I think it sounds like a great idea. Chic or too much?

How does one choose between invitation designs? Do you have a preference? What about advice for narrowing the field?

If you fall in love with one of our proposals, please contact the seller yourself. Part of my purpose in posting this entry was to promote Etsy awareness and show off some really beautiful art. Besides, you might help us narrow the field by at least one.