Sorry, that was very sappy... I am getting giddy though, but that's just how I am about pretty much anything. I'm feeling really confident that all the details that people usually freak out about are going to be just fine for us because I think we really do get what's important. The only nervousness we're actually experiencing is whether or not our best man and maid of honor are going to be there...
But anywho, this is a post about paper! Why? because it's one of the only things I really sort of flubbed along the way. Remember when I showed the mock-up for the invitations?
From the beginning, I saw a post on Weddingbee from someone who had used Gmund papers:
They had paper that looked like wood, how cool?!
Well, I didn't need paper that looked like wood, but the cool factor and the modern feel of the website (and the fact that I hadn't looked anywhere else...) made me keep looking around their website until I found this paper they called Stroh (means straw... original):
I wanted something that looked sort of like homemade paper. I wanted something with flecks of stuff in it, and I wanted off-white or cream. Perfect. Ordered some samples, free of charge. Was very happy.
In the meantime, I had to start on my Save the Dates but couldn't commit to Gmund just yet; see, I am a firm believer that the little things totally add up. I mean, they do, so you can't convince me otherwise. Who was to say that if I bought the paper from Gmund, some emergency wasn't going to come up later on that month and make me have to dip into my savings?! You don't know!
Point is, I hesitated, and in the meantime, bought $12 paper from OfficeDepot :)
Save the dates are made on slightly different paper but I figure I'm being a little over-... [insert word here; I'm sure you can think of one] and I'm sure it's going to be fine and no one will probably even notice.
Of course it all went south from there. I decided to order my paper through Gmund for the real deal: the invitations. It was only about $50 for a ream of 165 sheets. Not bad for really high quality paper, right?
Well, they make up for it by charging just as much for shipping! Even though it has to go overseas, it became a matter of principle that I would not buy something that cost as much to ship as it cost, itself. Moreover, I was happy to spend $50 on the paper, this still made the invitations fairly inexpensive (less than ordering of course), but now we were talking about $100, just for the paper, and I still haven't bought the other supplies. I started to panic, because when you google for paper nowadays, it ain't pretty.
Well, I can't even remember to tell you where I stumbled upon my latest discovery... Really, I can't remember. I think I had just about resigned myself to paying double for the Gmund paper because it was the stuff I wanted when I randomly came across a company called Under the Sun. I held my breath and looked up their natural, printable papers and then I fell off the sofa:
Check it! It looks like linen or, more accurately, like a screen that you would make homemade paper on! And it's super thick and it has the flecks of straw or whatever else stuck in it. Most importantly, it's darker than the Gmund paper. I was never really happy with the lightness of the Gmund paper, but since it was as good as anything else I had seen thus far, I was willing to accept it as good enough... Again, who was going to call me up and say "We're not coming to your wedding because your invitation color was too white and we wanted more of a cream."
Well, if anyone was going to do that, you don't need to anymore, because I found true cream paper.
So... I ordered it, like, immediately. Before I even knew I was doing it. This was the paper I had wanted from the start but had not found until it was almost too late. It cost less than the Gmund paper even though it's thicker AND shipping this time was only about $10. Major score. So it came this weekend. It. Is. AWE. SOME!! It's perfect, it's thick, it's a rich cream color, it's got all sorts of little grasses and straw and whatever else stuck in there. Most importantly, it actually looks homemade. It really does look raw and... homemade! Sorry for the broken record-ness but I am just still stunned that I finally found my paper!
So did I paint an accurate picture of my headaches? First I found a paper, then I looked for something cheaper, used said cheap paper for Save the Dates, resigned myself to buying original, expensive paper, then found my paper soulmate! It does exist, people!!
Kyle's printer is a fantastic laser printer so at this time (emphasis on the at this time) I am not worried about bleeding ink. I think the paper is sturdy enough anyway, but I will keep you posted as far as whether or not this paper really is the best paper in the whole world. I am finally going to take charge and start calling grandmas to get addresses and then Save the Dates go out... like BEFORE the six month mark. Once they go out, I want to start on the invitations so I'm not in a time crunch a few months down the line. I know, I'm not dramatic enough. I'm trying to make my life difficult so it will be better for blogging, but I just love love LOVE planning ahead!
Anyone else have any great invitation or paper stories? Do you think I'm crazy yet??
P.S. Cake artist papers filled out but not sent, so can't really say we have our baker... but she's got our date reserved for us, so there's only this small little legal distinction separating "our baker" from "our soon-to-be-baker".
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