As promised, today's post is about invitations, and the myriad of choices that there are out there. The theme of our wedding is being green, so these are all more environmentally friendly than the traditional go-to-the-local-printing-business-and-pick-the-one-you-like-best. Anyone with sympathies in the conservationalist agendas needs to decide which they'd like to support with their investments: buying local or organic. In my mind, even though organic might mean paying more, and having a larger carbon-footprint from shipping, I feel as though purchasing from these places who are trying to make a difference voices my opinions a lot better. Shaun and I hope to offset a chunk of our wedding via Carbon Fund for all the shipping we'll probably require.
But I digress, now back to the topic. What I would imagine as being the simplest alternative to traditional invitations would be to chose ones made of recycled paper, or sustainably harvested materials. Just do a quick google search and you'll find oodles of shops catered specifically to these sorts of paper goods, or at least ones with a good selection thereof. Forever Fiances has a nice array of eco-friendly invites. Invite Site does as well, and here you also have the choice of assembling the invitations yourself (for the crafty and DIY-strong couples). Both of these two sites also offer plantable invitations, whereas Botanical Paperworks only has seedling invitations. The author of my favorite green-wedding blog, Jennifer Stambolsky, went and made her own line of invitations that are environmentally friendly and modern at Earthly Affair.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are the invitations that are entirely digital. These are, in my opinion, the most environmental option. There are even a few sites that have some nice looking templates like My Invitation Link. Coupled with an online RSVP tool at Wufoo you're on your way to being the greenest bridal couple around. Though I love the thought of these, digital invitations are really informal, and I'd have to worry about offending guests who might think "oh, the couple doesn't care enough about me to send me a real invitation?" Then again, I'd have to wonder if I'd really want someone so uppity at my wedding... Either way, there's no invitation left for the sentimental to hold onto as keepsakes, unless you go and print yourself a static copy.
Then, somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, you can design your own and print it off on whatever resources you have available at sites like Download & Print. There are resources for how to properly write out the working, and I find the rules at the Offbeat Bride to be quite fun and accurate! Then you can download your own fonts at places like TypeNow, Font Stock, or DaFont (of which Jellyka, Saint-Andrew's Queen Font and Scriptina were recommended at another blog, I can't recall which one, sorry!)
Lastly, who said invitations had to be paper products? Indie Bliss has a fun list of alternative materials, from wooden veneers to wallpaper. Go crazy nuts, so long as it reflects you and yours!
