DIY Save the Dates.

For years, Weston and I said that when we were ready to get married we'd just elope. Between my pain being so unpredictable, the cost of a wedding, and the stress typically involved… a big event has never been a priority for us. But now that the time is here, out of consideration for our parents, we've decided to have a very intimate, elopement-style ceremony with just our immediate families in attendance and a week later, we are throwing a small, backyard reception so we can celebrate with our extended family and a few close friends.

Having two smaller, simpler events is a much more realistic option for me, health-wise, as opposed to cramming everything into one long, exhausting day. (Although I hope to be feeling much better by then, we just can't plan on it yet.) And as the plans come along, Weston and I are having a lot of fun with the details - trying to make sure everything will be reflective of us and true to our individual styles.

So far, this seems like the perfect compromise for us and our families.

After finalizing those decisions fairly quickly, since we were already at the 6 month mark to our reception, one of our first projects was to send out Save the Dates, which we decided to make ourselves! Although having a professional make them would have been quicker and easier... we saved a bit of money, we had a lot of fun, and I know I will always fondly remember those late night DIY sessions, slaving over the hot glue gun together! ;)

Here's how they turned out:

Our save the dates were a free printable that we found on Pinterest, filled in, and backed with gray card stock. The font and wreath graphic for the 'A' were also free downloads that we found online. We took the photo strip pictures using self-timer and after Weston and I agreed on our favorites, I pieced them together using this tutorial.

So there they are! Nice and simple. :)
On to the next little project...