The Organized Bride Blog

National Stationery Show 2009

Fri, 15 May 2009 11:05:53 -0500

We are packing our bags and heading up to New York City this weekend to attend the 2009 National Stationery Show. It is the most exciting time of year for us at The Organized Bride. The National Stationery Show is THE place to see all of the new trends and designs for the upcoming year. We spend 2 fun-filled days visiting our current vendors and trying to seek out new unique companies. Last year we added the Lucky Onion line as well as great favors from Event Blossom and imprintables from Doc Milo just to mention a few. Imprintables are an item we get lots of requests for and we plan on increasing our selection of these do it yourself invitations for bridal showers, bachelorette parties, engagement parties and more! We are also going to replenish our very popular thank you and will you cards for your bridal party and family members. I will be sure to take lots of pictures so look out for my blog entries next week. I know I will have some exciting news to share!!!

Express Yourself!

Fri, 15 May 2009 10:43:36 -0500

Look how great Jamie and Eric's invitations turned out. The pink and grey ensemble is sampled in our book and they personalized their order with a crisp white card stock and olive & black inks for the wording and design. This great ensemble is featured in the Exclusive Collection II album from Carlson Craft. This is my go to album when a couple comes in and says they want something modern and fun. Jamie knew as soon as she opened the book this was exactly her style. With 27 imprint colors to choose from you are sure to find colors to compliment your wedding look. They have all of the latest colors including Watermelon, Canary, Pumpkin and Grass. A must see when you stop by the shop. Congratulations to Jamie and Eric on their upcoming August Wedding.

Round menu's

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:25:44 -0500

Here is a round menu sample we are working on for a June wedding.

I love the way round menu's dress up a place setting. We are going to do matching place cards, table numbers and programs. I can't wait to see the finished product!

Happy Birthday to The Organized Bride

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:48:02 -0500

Happy Birthday to us...

On March 7, 2007 we opened our doors for business. In the past 2 years we have had the pleasure of working with so many wonderful brides and their families. We've learned alot!!! One thing that hasn't changed is our commitment to providing the best service and experience in choosing wedding stationery and accessories that compliment you, the bride and are a true reflection of your personal style. Running a business definitely has it's challenges but every day brings new opportunities!!! We hope to look back in 2 years and still have the same excitement and passion about weddings as we do today :)

Eco-Friendly Seeded Wedding Invitations

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:28:54 -0500

Lucky Onion is my absolute favorite new line we picked up in 2008. They have an entire album of seeded invitations. Their designs are fully customizable, using a combination of 100% recycled papers and pulp paper embedded with natural flower seeds. There are 18 seeded paper colors to choose from and dozens of designs for the top layer. Your guests simply pull the bottom layer off and plant in their garden and they can enjoy watching the wildflowers grow long after your big day!

How much candy do I need to fill a favor box?

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:55:13 -0500

I get asked this question a lot and this is the absolute nerdiest thing I think I know...but it is helpful. For a standard 2x2x2 inch favor box:

Hershey Kisses - You will need 14 kisses per box. There are about 100 kisses in a 1 lb bag. If you multiply 14 x the number of favors you need (we will go with 100 for our example) so 14 x 100 = 1400 kisses, then divide that by the number of candies per pound, in this case 100 so you would need 14lbs of kisses to fill 100 boxes.

M&M's - I like to line my boxes with a paper cupcake liner when using M&M's. About 50 look good in the box, it fills it a little over 3/4 of the way. You can expect to get roughly 520 M&M's in the average pound. Multiply the number of favor boxes you need by 50 then divide that number by 520 (the amount per pound) and that will give you the number of pounds you need to buy. Personalized M&M's are adorable but can get costly so I recommend mixing the personalized ones with a coordinating plain color M&M in your boxes.

Jelly Beans - 45 per box / 400 come in the average pound

Jordan Almonds - 12 per box / 120 come in the average pound

Assembly time!

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:26:00 -0500

It is time to start assembling. Yesterday we received 5 customer invitation orders. 3 of which require assembly. One of the great things about ordering from our store is we assemble everything for you! Carly's invitations came in and turned out beautiful. She chose a photo invite from Stylart. The invite is tucked inside a very chic black pocket and accented with an olive ribbon. Very modern!! Nicole and Brian's save the dates came in...I have to say I think they are my favorite STD's we've ordered. She chose a pearl shimmer card stock from Checkerboard (my absolute favorite invitation vendor) and used a combination script and block text thermographed in a deep burgandy ink and accented with a burgandy satin ribbon. I will be cutting and tying the ribbon for those hopefully by Friday. Her wedding is in August so she is hoping to get them mailed in about 2 weeks. I am now putting together all of the inserts for Vanessa and Kevin's invitations for their wedding this April. They are a navy blue pocket style with olive and fuchsia card stock accents. 3 color card stocks is sometimes risky but it really worked with this order. The navy blue ink on all pieces and using the same font styles really tied everything together nicely. Kudos to Vanessa for having the vision...they really look beautiful! Our next order requires no assembly but is worth a mention because it is invites for a surprise party...sorry can't share the details. Last but not least Lauren & Anthony's save the dates are in. Lauren and her mom have been coming into the shop for a few months now and I have really enjoyed getting to know all of the details for her big day. They are having a destination wedding in the Virgin Islands next year. I will try and post some pictures of these beautiful orders soon!

Save the Dates

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:49:24 -0500

Here's my two cents on save the dates...

Do you have to send them? No, you don't HAVE to send save the dates. If you are having a destination wedding or getting married over a holiday weekend it would be a good idea to send them. I would also recommend sending them if you know a lot of people getting married or engaged around your date. You don't want a conflict with your guest lists. If you have a wedding website it is nice to get the word out there and a save the date is a great way to do just that. In earlier days....okay, back in the old days people would send announcements when they got engaged. I think save the dates are the modern way to both share the good news and make sure the people you want to share the big day, can actually make it. There are many affordable save the date options out there. For 100 save the dates and envelopes our prices start at $65.00.

Pocket Invitations

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:38:47 -0500

We just received the new edition of Paper Duvet, my favorite book for pocket invitations. It is worth a visit to the shop!!! In addition to fuchsia, light pink, cherry, black, white, ivory, white shimmer, water, teal, meadow, olive, chocolate and silver shimmer they now offer the following colors...dark grey, lime, latte shimmer and cocoa shimmer. They also have added a ton of new designs and a new pocket style called "Romantic Duvet". This book offers a variety of price points, for 100 invitations plan on spending $375 - $595 (includes invitation, envelope, return address printing on envelope, respond card & envelope with printed address & reception card) As always we offer FREE proofs and FREE shipping on all of our invitation orders.

Our Annual Sample Sale Is Here!

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:44:00 -0500

I just finished marking things down for our annual sample sale. We started it last year and it worked out great! Brides saved lots of money AND we made room for new products. The new 2009 catalogs are out and we know which products are not going to be available. We are offering a 40% discount on all samples and inventory on discontinued merchandise. So if you need a guest book, garter, ring pillow, flower basket, etc. It's a great time to stop in the store.

Place Cards, Programs and Menus OH-MY!

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:07:06 -0500

Wedding season is right around the corner and we are gearing up for another busy in-house printing year. Our custom printed place cards were a must on many brides lists which led us to printing programs in house as well. The great part about it is our turn around time. Well that and the customization we can offer. We have added many new styles for programs including fan programs...great for outdoor weddings in the spring and summer! We have also added round menu's to our product line. Now all of your stationery can coordinate adding that personal touch to your big day!

Our on-line store is now open for business!

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:41:08 -0500

After months...and months...and months of loading pictures, adding text, updating and creating I am happy to report our webstore is up and running. We had a little write up in Southern Living magazine last April and ever since then we've been getting calls at the shop asking why we don't sell online. We will keep it updated with all of the latest wedding products out there! The new 2009 lines will be debuting soon so keep checking back for new styles.

The Organized Bride Online Store