NEW!!!

It’s a new year! Well, it’s been a new year for six months now… but since I haven’t updated my blog since 2011, I’m going to celebrate the new year today :)
Here are some new things for me this year:

• New website. One of Mike’s many incredible talents is designing and building websites. With his help, my blog is getting updated and (as you can see), I have a real website! I was very tired of the look and design of my blog, which was part of the reason I stopped posting. Now I have no more excuses… except my own wedding planning I guess :) [The site is still being built, but please visit there... instead of here! It's much nicer looking :)]
• New page on Facebook. Go “like” it!
• New beautiful RING ON MY FINGER. My amazing fiance, Mike, and I got engaged in April, and now I get to plan my own wedding, and design my own save-the-dates,  invitations, etc. etc.! It’s unbelievably exciting! We’re getting married in November, just 5 months away!
• New pricing structure for i do invitations. My sister, Maggie, helped me develop a standard system of pricing while she worked on getting her MBA. It’s been very helpful for me, and also for my clients!
• New car. I just got a 2012 Hyundai Tuscon. I love it!
• New designs. As I’ve worked with more and more couples, I’ve gotten the chance to do some really unique and beautiful projects. I’m excited to get to share them on this new site.

I'll keep this old blog up... Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s bad ;) but I’m really excited to have a new start! So seriously, leave here and go visit www.racheldoesinvitations.com; I hope you like what you see!

Pretty. Purple. Swirly.

Pretty purple swirlies have become very popular. I know why - they're beautiful!

Michelle and Tim are more friends from Truman. Michelle and I were bridesmaids together in Joanna's wedding (another purple girl!) and I remember her talking about her future with Tim. A couple years have passed, and Michelle's back in STL, and she and Tim are MARRIED, and Joanna and Adam brought their baby to the wedding! So crazy.

Another Michele! (but with only one "L"). Michele and Matthew found me through the longest chain of referrals I've had so far. Here it is: Chelsea Brandel-Harrison is one of my best friends from college. Her sister Erica Brandel-Bruns lived with Megan Buechter-Marty, whose invitations I did. Laura Fretschel-Stavas found me through Megan. Danae Koopman-Eitzmann found me through Laura. And Michele found me through Danae! And Michele is from St. Louis! None of the others are... so it's funny that the chain made it all the way back here. Like all the others, I've loved getting to know Michele as well. I got to meet with Michele and her mom twice last week, and they're just wonderful! Michele had the idea to do purple on white for the invitations, and the reverse for the enclosure cards. I LOVE how they turned out!

Thanks ladies! I love your style!

Fun designs

I love designing invitations. One of my favorite parts about it is that I get to work with all different types of brides. Some brides want swirls, elegant lines, ribbons, or fancy papers. And some have really fun ideas in mind that go along with their wedding themes. I've recently done a few really unique designs that I want to share! [I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures... I was in a hurry to get some before I left town and my camera is having issues!]

Lauren and Lee wanted dragonflies for their fall wedding. We used kraft paper for the backing.

 

Melissa and Rob wanted hibiscus flowers for their Hawaiian theme. 

Ashley is another friend from Cardinal Key at Truman! She and Tyler had a really cute idea for a tree with their initials "carved" inside a heart on the tree trunk. Adorable!

I have a few more really unique ones that I didn't get pictures of yet. But I spread them out on my coffee table so I'll have to take pictures when I get home :)

Jordyn & Mitchell: invitations and lined envelopes

Jordyn and Mitchell found me through Erica. They had an idea in mind for the invitations, and when I met with Mitchell's mom, she mentioned wanting lined envelopes as well. She had found a fabric she really liked and wanted something like that printed on the liners. She sent me a picture of the fabric, and I was able to print a pattern that looked very much like her fabric. In the past, I have stayed away from lined envelopes. But I think these turned out so beautifully and made the invitations more elegant... I think I'll be recommending them now! They really don't require a lot of extra assembly either. Worth it!

I love the contrast of the simple invitations with the ornate lined envelopes. The invitations are printed on textured paper.

More seating boards.

Summer. I thought it would be my opportunity to finally catch up on blogging. What was I thinking?! Of course not! This summer I've been out of the country, city, and state more than I've been home. I've been designing, printing, and cutting invitations in the few free minutes that I have in STL. So the blog, (as usual I've started to notice) has gotten pushed to the bottom of the list. Right now I'm in New Jersey, hanging out with my grandparents, and I've got a few minutes, so here we go!

Seating boards. A fantastic way to let your guests know where to sit at the reception! I've been doing more and more of them and while there are similarities, each one is unique. Here are a couple I wanted to share!

Janine and Robert had a fall wedding and we used a copper foam board for the background.

Megan and Matt arranged theirs by table instead of alphabetical order. This way everyone can see who they're sitting with! We used all Stardream paper as well... so beautiful!

I've been busy!

So I've lost count of how many weddings I'm working on this year. I have a cute little ribbon clothesline in my room with a card for each wedding... but somehow I still can't keep track. The number is more than 15 now though! CRAZY! With the school year coming to a close and the spring weddings in full swing, my blog has been completely neglected. I have pictures of some great stuff though... hopefully I'll get a chance to post in the next couple weeks. The paper and envelopes have completely overtaken my house though. I definitely need a crafting/designing room for this "little" business I've got going. Someday!
Here's what my coffee table looked like a month ago:

:)

Megan & Mike: Rock & Roll wedding

I'm on spring break, so of course I have to use the opportunity to do a little blogging! I worked with Megan and Mike at Spanky's Frozen Custard for several years. We always had a great time together! Megan started talking with me last summer about doing invitations for their "Rock & Roll" themed wedding. She said they were having a hard time finding invitations that fit. I was nervous and excited to try something totally new! We ended up including Sailor Jerry swallows and tattoo-type fonts. I was happy with how they turned out :)

Thanks you two! I had so much fun with this!

I love Save-the-Dates!

Save-the-dates are still some of my favorite things to design. I just have so much freedom with the designs and I love mixing in pictures of cute, happy couples! Here are some of my more recent designs - I just love them! I especially like these because I know all these brides personally :)

First up, we have Jess and Jon. Jess' twin sister, Jen, was my roomie for three years! So, I got to spend a lot of time with Jess too :) I love these two!

 They chose to do a colored back for their postcards, and we included another adorable engagement photo watermarked in the background. LOVE IT!

Next, we have Jenna and Jeff (more J's!). Jenna is a good college friend of Maria, who is my best friend from forever. I've known Jenna for awhile, and I love her unique style! Jeff proposed during a photo shoot, so they included a photo of them actually getting engaged on their magnets! Adorable.

Now to Kacey and Keith (so many alliterative couples!). Kacey and I got our education degrees together at Truman. We both got to spend a fantastic summer in Kirksville teaching summer school :) I love their colors!

 I really love how we set up the text on the back. So fun!

And finally... Michelle and Tim (no alliteration here!). I met these two at Truman and I've had so much fun working with them on their wedding projects. Michelle and I were in Joanna's wedding together, and we recently planned her baby shower together! Goodness! Everyone is growing up.

With that, I'm done for the night :)

Ashley & Daniel: invitations

Here's another client referred to me by Erica at Bella Sera Wedding Designs. I always love working with Erica! 

We used kraft paper and black ribbon to create a kind of folder around the invitation that held the enclosures in place. These were really unique!

Thanks again Erica!

Ali & Josh: invitations [finally]

Today as I was taking photos of some of my more recent designs, I realized I STILL never posted Ali and Josh's invitations. Obviously it's LONG overdue; I've posted their baby announcements months ago, and that little boy is turning 1 next month! Still, these invitations are some of my favorites and I wanted to post them! 

Ali and Josh met at Champagne Jewelers, where Ali worked. That's also where he proposed :) 

So, champagne was a natural and beautiful choice for a theme! 

Just like champagne, everything was sparkly and bubbly :)

 

I got to design a map for them! I was pretty happy with how it turned out :)

We also did coordinating programs.

They chose to include the story of how they met inside the program, which I think is adorable! I just love their story too :)

I love you Ali and Josh! (and baby Aidan of course!) It was an honor to be your "reader/stationer/calligrapher."

Ellen & Daniel: invitations & programs

Since I've been off school for THREE days in a row now, I decided to take a break from hanging out with friends, designing, emailing, facebooking, cleaning, laying around, crafting, and all the other random things I've been doing and finally update the blog!

We'll start with Ellen and Daniel. Ellen is the daughter of our school nurse, and working with her was delightful! Everything was so classy and beautiful. We used a blue Stardream paper for the backing as well as for a band on the back that held the enclosures in place.

These were her programs.

Diana & Mike: invitations

Diana is my sister's best friend... since forever. So, it was fun, and strange to design her invitations. Strange because I still think of her (and Maggie) as little... even though they obviously aren't!

She chose a long style, with a perforated RSVP/directions/reception information card slipped behind the invitation.