Kids or No Kids

Many couples opt to have no children at their wedding. And that is perfectly fine. Many clients ask how to make that clear with their stationery.


While it isn't proper ettiquette to write the clear message right on your invite, there are several ways to make your decision known.

First off, guests should hopefully know that who is invited is who is listed on the envelope. Whether you are doing a double envelope or not, the outer envelope should clearly be addressed to who is actually invited

ie. Mr. & Mrs. Robert Smith or The Smith Family

But sometimes, couples don't think that will be enough for their guests to get the message. Some write, "Adult only reception"

Finally, the response card also serves as a clue for guests as to who is invited. Some couples opt to write

We have reserved _______ seats for you

And then they write on each RSVP card to how many seats are reserved.

Really, these rules don't just apply to kids who aren't invited, but also those unmarried friends that you prefer to come solo rather than with a date who is in a committed relationship.

P.S Guests over the age of 18 should receive their own invite, whether they live at home or have moved out.

Naturally Chic

I was so thrilled to get the mail today. I love mail at this time of year with all the Christmas cards, letters and family photos that come rolling in. Today I got an envelope thicker than most and couldn't wait to open it. Sharon, from Naturally Chic sent me the most amazing gift.



Sharon is amazingly talented and engraving on wood is one of her specialties. When my daughter was born, she made her a beautiful keepsake box with her name and birthdate on it. We use it to keep cards my daughter has been given. Today, we received a precious ornament, made by Sharon with a photo of my baby girl on it. It is truly a precious keepsake that we will treasure forever. I was just talking with a friend today about wanting to buy Grace a "First Christmas" ornament - and this one is better than anything I would have found.
Thank you, Sharon for being so thoughtful and thinking of us this holiday season. You are a great friend, inspiration and colleague in the wedding industry. Naturally Chic is going to go great places because of who you are and what you can bring to other people's lives. I cannot wait to see your website go live in 2010 and wish you all the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I am sorry the photo doesn't do it justice - I have to try again in the daytime. I was just so excited to share it with all of you!

Photo Walk

Back in September, I joined Scott & Jaime from Scott Gage Photography to walk some streets in Calgary taking photos. This photo walk was just that - walk and take photos. You don't have to even know what you were doing (I sure didn't!). It was so fun to see the photos that the other participants took and submitted to Scott to post on the Calgary Photo Walk blog.

It is amazing to see the different points of view, items and focal points that each person took a photo of. We were challenged to take an abstract photo as well. It was a great time, a chance to learn and challenge yourself if you are at all interested in photography.

Here is one of my photos from the first Calgary Photo Walk. Watch the Calgary Photo Walk for news on upcoming walks! And check out Scott & Jaime's site too - they do awesome work and are a great couple to work with!

Baby Thank You's

We are currently working with a client on doing some baby announcements for her beautiful baby girl. Photos to come soon! I love them - simple, elegant and chic. The new mom and dad also want some Thank You cards to send out (so wise!), so here are a couple we designed for them. You will notice the one is using "boy" colors, but when the samples were created...we were still awaiting the news on if he/ she would like pink or green best.

Christmas Catalogue

This year, Noteworthy Designs has made it easier than ever to get your Christmas cards, gifts and decor ready in plenty of time to enjoy the holidays. Over the next while, we will be showcasing some products that are available to order. Let's start with some options for Christmas Greeting Cards. To make it easy and adjustable to any size of recipient list, just let us know how many you would like. Minimum is 5 and maximum is unlimited. Greeting cards are $3.00 and perfect for adding a personal touch to our list this year. Who doesn't love receiving a handmade card in the mail? Contact us for more details or to place your order.


Stay tuned for ideas on home decor...coming up!

Update

Just because I've been awful at blogging, doesn't mean lots hasn't been going on! I haven't done an "official" post, but our last 3 months have been amazingly different. Back in May, we welcomed our new baby girl into our family and haven't been more happy since. She is a great baby and is started to do so much. Love her!

Noteworthy Designs is still in full swing and still taking clients to do unique custom stationery with. For weddings, greeting card, baby announcements (have a few to show you soon!), thank you cards....and of course, Christmas Cards! We have some news to launch about those soon!

For now, here is a booklet wedding invitation that we did recently. It included pages and photos about the couple, how they met, the wedding and important people in their life. The mother-of-the-bride had these done and worded it perfectly - like mini scrapbooks of memories. All about making memories! We also created custom Thank You cards that coordinated perfectly.

Details!

This morning, while checking my google reader, I came across a post that I really like. Aletha VanderMass from Pearl Events in Michigan posted about Three Wedding Details Not to Miss.

- Ceremony Programs
- Assigned seating
- Nice thank you notes

And guess what...Noteworthy Designs can help you with all three! Check out her blog for some information.

photo courtesy of www.flarephotography.com

photo courtesy of Noteworthy Designs

photo courtesy of www.flarephotography.com

wishahmon

I had the privilege of meeting with a great Wedding Decorator a couple weeks ago. She is a fellow WPIC (Wedding Planners Institute of Canada) graduate and owns Wishahmon.

"Wishamon stives to assist couples in creating a personalized wedding; saving time; and relieving wedding-related stress" - from their website 'Why Us'

Monica is friendly and has some great ideas. From what I could tell, I think she would do a fabulous job really (I mean, really!) listening to what you are saying and be able to pull your decorating vision from that. Cause really, 'classy' wedding means all sorts of things to different people. The photos and work I have seen are beautiful and creative. It is obvious she is a hard worker!

Check out some photos from one of her latest weddings.

What I Love

Andrea and I had a great client follow up meeting the other night. I love these clients - they are fun, super nice and are going to have a lovely fall wedding. My favorite part of doing stationery is seeing people's reactions to them...and these guys did not let me down! Sent chills up and down Andrea and my backs. The bride said something that I love...

This couple came to me with an idea they had, but the thought of creating the entire thing, gathering the supplies, etc was too overwhelming. Noteworthy Designs is so custom, we were totally willing to work with them. As we showed them the sample last night, she said she loved that they were a part of the design process and making choices. They didn't just look through a book and pick which sample number they liked amongst many. She was pleased to be able to tweak what she wanted, colors, wording, layout, etc...and that was music to our ears. I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions when you see your finished stationery! Here is a sneak peek at what we are working on.

Sneak Peek

We have been very busy with some client orders, and although they are not done yet - thought we would give you a little sneak peek of a couple of the projects we've been working on! I need to get a few more pics - will post Sneak Peek 2 soon.

New Designer on the Block

As mentioned before on our blog, we have some changes coming up and getting ready to be announced. One of those is adding a fabulous designer to our team. Meet Andrea Bye.

Andrea has been a great friend for years (we just discovered yesterday its been about 13 years). She has been an encouragement to me and Noteworthy Designs throughout the whole process - from the initial brainstorming sessions, to moving to and from Medicine Hat to now - where we currently are at. Andrea is kind and sensitive and super creative. I am so excited to be working on projects with her and using her talents and skills.

Noteworthy Designs welcomes Andrea to our team with open arms. We got together yesterday for a business meeting...including her photo shoot. You can get to know Andrea a little more on our website as well.

A couple of "outtakes" from our session. Sorry, Andrea, I couldn't resist.

Unique Table Numbers

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE unique and special elements in a wedding. One of my favorite ways in stationery to do this is with the table numbers for the reception. Brainstorming with clients on what is special, unique, meaningful to them is such a joy.

While consulting on a wedding, it was obvious to me how important this couples dogs are to them. I suggested incorporating them into their table numbers (can be elegant, fun and memorable) and the bride loved that idea.

What is something that stands out in your relationship or personalities that you can incorporate into your table numbers?


photo courtesy of theknot.com. "Pictures of the couple during recent trips (Tokyo, Vancouver, etc.) served as the table cards. Each card sat on a bed of salmon and pomegranate rose petals surrounded by three pillar candles."


photo courtesy of theknot.com. "The bride drew table numbers on white-framed chalkboards that were propped up against the mason jars. Red pails were also on hand to collect the shells from lobsters (the main course!)."

Consults

I thought I would touch on what is involved in a Noteworthy Designs Consult. When possible, I enjoy meeting with my clients face to face at least once. It is a great time for me to get to know the clients, their interests and desires in regards to their stationery. In addition, they can get to know me as I believe that connection is key when designing something so custom.

Top Ten Things to Know for a Noteworthy Designs Consult

1) It is a free initial meeting so that the client and designer can meet

2) Expect to see samples, if you would like

3) Come bearing gifts...I mean samples of anything you have planned so far if your stationery is for an event. If you have color swatches of fabric, dishes, decor or other elements in your wedding, it is great to bring those.

4) Be prepared to talk colors, textures, design elements, all things to do with your unique paper products. And if you aren't sure - no problem. Our samples can help you to decide.

5) As we are based out of our home, we do the initial meetings at a coffee shop, etc and we are willing to travel to one near you.

6) It is a no obligation consult. If you don't think it will be a good fit for you, no problem.

7) Don't be scared if you don't know what vellum, grosgrain ribbon or the difference between an escort card and a seating card is. We will help you through it all!

8) We pride ourselves on doing things custom. If you don't see something you want, just ask.

9) Feel free to bring 1 or 2 people along with you to the consult.

10) Be prepared to have fun and enjoy the process!

A Focus on Stationery

As mentioned in our last post, Noteworthy Designs is in the process of making some changes. February was a busy month for us as we have been working on and implementing the new focus for our company.

photo courtesy of www.flarephotography.ca

Being apart of our clients special wedding day has been a joy and privilege to have. Its a honor to work with a couple on such an important day - from booking a venue, to picking out the perfect bouquets and all the running around on their day of wedding is what I have been able to call my "job".

But in all honesty, my favorite part about doing wedding planning is working with the couple. Getting to know them. Finding out what really makes them tick, what made them fall in love and walking through the process of wedding planning with them. The fact that it pours into my desire to be creative and need to be organized never hurts any either.

With changing cities, we have decided to also change our outlook for Noteworthy Designs. As you might notice on our website, Wedding Coordinating services have been removed. This has been a hard, long and emotional decision. I am going to miss weddings. Miss working with great vendors. Miss the day of excitement.

photo courtesy of www.madchenstudios.com. stationery courtesy of www.noteworthydesigns.ca

However, I do get to keep doing the other part of Noteworthy Designs that I love...custom stationery. You see, the best part is it sticks with what I love about working with couples. I still get to know them in our consults (as it is imperative to the custom design process). I still get to find out what makes them tick to try and make the stationery as unique and personal to the couple (after all, the more personal the wedding, the more memorable it will be for all). And I still get to be a part of the wedding planning process (plus have lots of knowledge on weddings to share). I see it as a win-win.

So bare with us as we continue to share with you our hopes, dreams and changes for Noteworthy Designs. In the next few weeks we will share some of the new DIY packages for stationery, introduce you to another one of our designers and who knows what other goodies we will throw in! After all, Noteworthy Designs' mission statement does state:

"We are a company who adapts to our clients needs while staying fresh and trendy in the stationery industry."

Noteworthy's Update

It's true! Noteworthy Designs has moved. There are lots of changes for us in the near future and one of them has been moving back to Calgary! It was bittersweet - sad to leave Medicine Hat but also glad to be 'home' in Calgary.

Thank you to our Medicine Hat past clients and fabulous vendors that we had the privilege to work with. I appreciated your support and encouragement during our time in Medicine Hat.

Past clients - I do look forward to continuing to hear updates on your lives! If you are ever in Calgary, I do enjoy a coffee catch up!

Past vendors - I will continue to check your blogs (those that have them, of course) and see what is happening with your endeavors as well. I believe it is an exciting time for Medicine Hat's wedding industry and look forward to watching it grow from afar.

Another Noteworthy Designs update is a little more personal. My husband and I are expecting our first child in May. We cannot wait!

photo from duematernity.com. And no, it isn't me in that photo!

With that, things with Noteworthy Designs will be evolving and changing...for the better. Stay tuned for an announcement soon.

Contest for Christmas

My friend and fellow coordinator, Terra Law from Inspired Occasions is having a great contest on her blog! Seriously check it out - if I was getting married again, I would love to win it! The winner will be fortunate to have 16 customized Out of Town welcome bags (OOT). It is a nice touch to offer your out of town guests - a way to get them excited for your wedding, to thank them for travelling to your wedding and to welcome your guests in style.

The contest is open to residents of Canada and the U.S.A. and closes December 31, 2008 so be sure to get your entry in early. A winner will be selected by Inspired Occasions and announced by January 7, 2009.

To enter send an email to terra@inspiredoccasions.ca. Be sure to write CONTEST in the subject line. Include your wedding date along with a brief description of you and your fiancé, your vision for your upcoming wedding day and why it’s important for you to welcome your guests in style.

Photos taken from Inspired Occasions.

Why Do I Do What I Do?

How many "do's" can you put in a title? Anyways, onto the purpose of this post.

Yesterday was a great reminder for me and one of the many reasons I am a Wedding Coordinator. I was at a tasting with a client (and no, although that is definitely a perk of my job, not a main reason!). The venue manager asked my client if they were stressed and the bride answered "no, I've got Laura for that!". It's true! One of the benefits with having a coordinator is we worry about the details and getting things done (with the bride & groom, of course).

I was so elated to hear that they weren't stressed and that they were enjoying the wedding planning process - the way it is supposed to be! Plus I am super excited for their wedding - cannot wait!!

Dreams & Updates

Since Noteworthy Designs has been in business, I have always continued to think, get inspired, plan, explore, discuss, and dream about what I want it to look like. I love my business and how we are doing, but as most businesses, continuously looking how to improve, change, stay current and ultimately, give our clients the best service that they can imagine.

All this to say that Noteworthy Designs will be making some changes in the next few months, updates and new packages to serve our clients better. After all, Noteworthy Designs strives to have your event get noticed - whether it be in Wedding Coordinating on one of the biggest days of your life or in stationery to set the tone of your event. Keep checking back - one of my changes includes blogging more!!

Happy Mother's Day

Card courtesy of Noteworthy Designs
Supplies from Stampin' Up! and Heidi Swapp

Crazy for Christmas Greeting Cards

Would you like to send something different this year for your family greeting cards? Noteworthy Designs can help. With our Crazy for Christmas Greeting Card sets you will be able to send beautiful hand made greeting cards to send some holiday cheer to friends and family.

Our packages come in quantities of 6 for $15.00 or 12 for $25.00 (Shipping and handling is extra, depending on where you are located). They come nicely packaged clear boxes and coordinating belly band as well as with coordinating envelopes. Matching return address labels available upon request at an extra charge.

Here are some of our many samples to choose from. Just pick your favorite and contact us to place your order or if you have any questions.

{A Pink Christmas}


{Blue Christmas}


{Happy Snowman}


{Shimmery Joy}


{Bright Ornaments}

{Happy Holidays Snowflakes}


{Christmas Cheer}


{Snow}


{Traditional Wreath}