Update, and some great self-print invitations

An update on the invitations: on Monday morning I sent the designer an e-mail pointing out that it had been a month since I'd heard from her, mentioning the recent negative feedback on Etsy, and saying that I was becoming anxious that she would not finish my project. The result? Proofs, by the end of the day, of every single element of our invitation suite, and a promise to have the invites in my hands by mid-April!

I really hate being pushy or demanding, but in this case, my sweet little "how is the project going? An update would be great! When do you think I will get them?" attempts to find out what was going on were totally ineffective. It looks like I'm just going to have to be pushy on this one if I want to get what I paid for in time to send them out. We'll see what the situation looks like in a few weeks, but I feel much more hopeful now than I did this weekend. This is probably a good lesson for me in the importance of being assertive.

But I do have some cool finds to share in the print-your-own-invites department (since I spent a good chunk of Sunday trying to figure out a viable replacement if my custom invites didn't come through).

1. The Sonoma invitation from The White Aisle.
Unfortunately all of the pictures are on Flash and I can't post them here, but these DIY kits are gorgeous and totally unique. The vintage/vineyard vibe of the Sonoma is my favorite but there are other great options at The White Aisle too!

2. Ivory Letterpress Look kit from Target

Image from Target.com

Conservative but classic. I've heard mixed things about Target's software for the actual printing, unfortunately, but I still really like this kit, or at least the picture of it online. And you can't beat the price -- $30 for 50 invitations, RSVP cards, *and* envelopes!

3. Celeste Wedding Invitations from InviteSite.com

Image from InviteSite.com

A commenter on my last post pointed me to this site, and I really liked the Celeste portfolio invitations. I haven't strongly considered pocketfold invites because I was afraid the extra postage would be super-pricey, but I think folders and pocketfolds are a fun, modern touch -- a great way to make flat-print invitations shine.

Lastly, for anyone who finds themselves in need of invitations ASAP but doesn't want to print them at home, Wedding Paper Divas has an incredibly fast turnaround -- about 10 days -- and very reasonable 2-day and next-day shipping costs. They've also made vast improvements to their online editing software, and they've got some great designs. It's more expensive than doing it yourself, for sure, but I will definitely consider this option if I need last-minute invites and just can't deal with another project.