Stationery Guide Shakespeare's Bride Nominated for a LOUIE Award

Stationery Guide, Shakespeare's Bride has been nominated for the Greeting Card Association’s highest honor, a LOUIE Award - the “Oscars” of the Greeting Card Industry.

Nominated in the Best Thank You Card Category (budget priced under $3.00), Shakespeare's Bride’s nominated card was a humorous “Thank You for Being My Bridesmaid” card entitled Helpful Bridesmaid , pictured below.


Out of the thousands of cards and invitations published each year, 176 made it to the final round in the 21st Annual International Greeting Card Awards competition, better known as the LOUIEs. The competition drew over 800 entries in 58 categories from nearly 140 U.S. and international publishing companies, including those in Brazil, Canada, England and India.

The awards are named after German lithographer Louis Prang who is credited with the birth of the U.S. greeting card industry in the 1870s. The LOUIEs are presented in conjunction with the National Stationery Show taking place in New York City this week, May 17-20.

You might have noticed that posts have been light here at the Guides this past week or two, as many of the Guides are busy prepping their stationery show exhibits. We wish them luck as they roll out all their great new products! And we wish Shakespeare's Bride good luck with the competition!

From "Will You?" to "Thank You:" Bridesmaid Cards

Bridesmaid stationery is a popular way to both ask and thank your Bridesmaids for agreeing to be a part of your wedding. We love the below "Will You Be My Bridesmaid?" cards from Designed By M.E. Stationery.


Inside Reads: "I promise the dress will be Fabulous."

When it comes time to thank your girls for all the time and work they've put into your wedding- why not do it with a sense of humor? These cute cards from Shakespeare's Bride acknowledge just how much effort goes into being a bridesmaid.


Inside Reads: "After everything you've done for my wedding, I guess now we know why they're called Bride's Maids."

Finally, if you're planning to throw a Thank You Bridesmaids Luncheon, don't forget that great stationery can also make a great gift. These cute notecard folios from Jilly Jack Designs could be set at each woman's place as a cute favor.



Diane, Shakespeare's Bride

Photo Credits: Designed By M.E. Stationery, Shakespeare's Bride, Jilly Jack Designs

Girls' Night Out: Bachelorette Party Stationery

When planning a Bachelorette Party skip the tired mass email and set the tone right with one of the fun and fabulous Bachelorette Party invitations available today.

For Bachelorette Weekends in Las Vegas check out these custom invitations from Serendipity Beyond Design. Complete with poker chip accent, what a great way to set the stage for the naughty fun of Vegas Baby!




For celebrations closer to home, check out these handmade invitations from Social Circles Design. The vintage, hand-stamped victorian corset sets just the right tone for a classy, yet sassy, Girls' Night Out.



If you're the Bride, after the party don't forget to let your friends and bridesmaids know what a great time you had. Thank your hosts in style with this fun thank you card from Shakespeare's Bride

OUTSIDE
INSIDE



-Diane, Shakespeare's Bride

Photo Credits: Social Circles Design, Serendipity Beyond Design, and Shakespeare's Bride

Inaugural Invitation: The Ultimate Invite

In the spirit of the day, we thought it would be fun to share this video from CNN Money on AOL, about the printing of the Inaugural Invitations. To a stationer this is the invitation to end all invitations - one million invitations were printed! An engraved, 8 1/2 x 11 invitation, it took Brooklyn-based printer Precise Continental 24,000 hours to complete the job. And the best part? It's printed on recycled paper. What a great green message to send.

Check it out, and enjoy!

Embedded video from CNN Video

-Diane, Shakespeare's Bride

Photo Credit: Robin Beth
Video Credit: CNN Money on AOL

Meet Your Guides: Shakespeare's Bride

Hi! My name is Diane Fawcett and I'm the owner of Shakespeare's Bride, an eco-friendly line of bridal greeting cards designed to help you thank the people who made your wedding day so special. Our cards help you celebrate everyone involved with your wedding with heartfelt sentiments and sometimes laughter.

Here on the Stationery Guides I'll be discussing wedding related stationery and etiquette. I'll also be coordinating answering reader questions. Not only have I been an event planner and stationer, but a: bride, bridesmaid, maid of honor, matron of honor, reader, guest book attendant, flower girl (albeit many, many years ago!), shower hostess and a wedding guest more times than I can count, so I get it. And with the company I'm in on this blog, if someone here can't answer your stationery related question no one can, so send us your questions at stationeryguides@gmail.com.

Table Cards Today: Anything But By The Numbers

Today's weddings are all about personalization. When planning your wedding you will quickly discover that there a myriad of ways in which you can put your personal stamp on your special day. Take, for instance, your table cards. Once merely small numbered cards which served as a way for guests to identify which table they were suppose to sit at at the reception, today's table cards have evolved into yet another way for a couple to put their unique spin on their wedding day.

For starters table cards no longer have to contain just numbers. Nowadays it is common for brides and grooms to name versus number their tables. Getting married at a vineyard ? Perhaps you could use cards like the above from Fleur Creations, which feature names and descriptions of different wines. Did you fall in love in New York? Why not name your tables after different neighborhoods or special spots in the Big Apple (below, also from Fleur Creations).


If you’re more of a traditionalist and want to stick to a numbering system, you can still make your table cards stand out. If you have a common motif or color scheme running through your stationery suite why not have your stationer design table cards that incorporate these elements? Maybe include the cherry blossom design from your invitations and menu cards, or the personalized monogram, logo or font you are utilizing elsewhere. You could also design table cards which incorporate pictures of you two as couple or as kids.

You can also make your table cards stand out, by how you display them. Most venues provide small metal stands for table cards, but it is also common nowadays for brides to use their own picture frames, small easels, or other unique holders to display their table cards. Just keep in mind that whatever type of holder you utilize it’s important to give the correct measurements to your stationer so that they design your cards so that they fit into the holder properly. You don’t want to be trimming off the top of your “5" the night before your wedding so that it will fit into the cute Pottery Barn frame.

Again it’s all about making your table cards reflect you two as a couple. Think of what you two are all about and start brainstorming ideas. Here are some other ideas I came up with, but would love to hear from you as well. So if you have a great idea please comment here and share!

Winter Wedding: Use small snow globe picture frames to frame your table card numbers.

Film Buffs: Frame headshots of old movie stars and name each table after a star. Clark Gable Table anyone?

Beach Lovers: Name your tables after famous beaches. Get small metal buckets, fill them with sand, and stick a paper flag in each which displays the beach name.

Wine Connoisseurs: Have your stationer design labels to stick to wine bottles, and make the wine bottles your table card holders.

Disney Lovers: Name your tables after the different lands of Disney, after certain rides, or famous Disney Couples. Incorporate pictures with each name.

Sports Fanatics: Name your tables after your favorite teams or players. For the players utilize their jersey numbers as well as their names.

History Buffs: Name your tables after famous (or infamous) couples in history.

Travel Fiends: Name your tables after various countries or cities you have traveled to and include pictures of you two at the locations. Use pieces of old maps as your mats in the frames.

Far East Theme: Paste table numbers to Japanese fans or Chinese Lanterns


-Diane, Shakespeare's Bride

All photos courtesy Fleur Creations.

Wedding Gift Thank You Cards: 5 Don'ts

1. Don't Embrace Modern Technology
Don’t send a thank you email. Don’t post a mass thank you on your wedding website. Don’t social network your thank yous on Facebook. Don’t text your thx u. It's time to put down the cell phone and pick up a pen. Even in our fast paced, tech infused world, proper thank you note etiquette still dictates putting pen to paper. These are your friends and loved ones. If you loved them enough to invite them to your wedding, and they loved you enough to bring you a gift, then don’t Twitter your thank you.

2. Don’t Send Out Pre-Printed Thank You Notes
All stationers who print custom stationery have faced this: the bride and groom who want to mass-produce a pre-printed thank you to mail out after the wedding. Don’t put your stationer or yourself in this spot. Proper etiquette calls for a handwritten, personal note. Just as your family and friends did not all get together ala a Verizon Wireless Network commercial and shop en masse for one gift, don’t lump them together as well. They spent time, money, and gas shopping for your present. You owe them a personal note.

3. Don't Combine Marry with Merry
If yours is a fall or winter wedding you might be thinking that a combo Holiday Card/ Wedding Thank You Card might be just the thing. You’re sending out holiday cards anyway, why not slip in a little “P.S. By the way, thank you for the great panini maker Aunt Sue!” Well sorry, even if you’re making those paninis to leave out for Santa himself, now is not the time. (C’mon we bet you also buy those poor souls born in December the dreaded “combo gift” as well right?) And don’t try to hide behind the idea of being eco-friendly by sending out a single card. With all the environmentally friendly stationery products on the market today, you can find holiday cards and thank you cards that let you practice proper etiquette and be green - even at this red and green time of year.

4. Don’t Think You Have a Year
Contrary to what you might have heard, you do not have a year to send out your thank you notes. Thank you cards for your wedding gifts should be sent within three months of the wedding day. For gifts shipped and received prior to your wedding date, you should send thank you notes within a few days of when the gifts were received. Sending out thank you cards as you go, and in a timely manner, not only lets guests know you actually received their gifts, it also shows them that thanking them for their generosity was a top priority. If this shortened window is making you scramble, take solace in the knowledge that according to Peggy Post of the Emily Post Institute it’s also “urban legend” that guests have up to a year to send you a gift in the first place. When you’re done, you'll likely be done.

5. Don’t Forget He Knows How to Write Too
Don’t think that as the bride you have to write all the thank you cards alone. You just got married remember? What better way to start shouldering responsibilities as a couple then sharing the task of thanking your family and friends. He’s going to use that ice bucket too, so chill a bottle in it, break out your new cheese platter and make an evening out of it. Each write half and then swap stacks so that the other can sign their personal signatures as well. Trust us, your loved ones will notice what a classy couple you two are.

-Diane, Shakespeare's Bride

Photo courtesy of Baron Cards