The Essential Guide to Gay and Lesbian Weddings (42 page)

Who takes the fall for any errors that occur?
A good printer will make corrections of typographical errors for free.

How long will it take for my order to come in?
It could take anywhere from two to eight weeks.

Can I see some samples of actual invitations?
You may want to make sure that what you're seeing in the book is what the finished product will look like.

I like this design but can't afford it; can I get a similar look for less money?

Do I have to leave a deposit? How much?
Fifty percent is standard; anything more than that is a little unusual.

Evites and invitations sent as e-mail attachments have caught on among Gen Xers and Millennials. Websites such as Evite, Pingg, and Paperless Post have online wedding invitations that can be customized with photos, and offer amusing little animations. The problem with evites is that though perfect for a birthday party or family gathering, they can downplay the seriousness of this particular occasion. However, if you are having a casual affair, are in a time crunch, or don't want to kill any trees, go for it!

This section encompasses the parallel universe—the Bizarro World version—of the formal wedding invitation. You may decide not to have the invitation done in the standard way for one or more of the following reasons:

“It's a lot more fun to sit at my laptop in my underwear than it would be to get dressed to go see a printer.”

“I'll bet with the money we save by printing the invitations ourselves, we can go to Aruba for our honeymoon.”

“The owner of the only print shop in town has an incredible collection of Nazi memorabilia.”

Smashing results can be achieved with a little creativity and footwork. (Extra credit will be given for originality.) Be forewarned that you may or may not save money using alternative methods of production; on the upside, this can be a fun little project where the two of you get to collaborate on an important part of your wedding journey.

You can use calligraphy, rubber stamps, stickers, collage, or even potato printing to make your own statement. But try to make sure that the finished product looks handcrafted, not homemade. (What's the difference? How good it is.) If you're not quite so artsy-craftsy but still want to put it together yourself, try one of the following on for size:

Be P.C. with your PC or Mac: compose your own invitations. Your wedding stationery ensemble can be acquired from a variety of commercially available do-it-yourself invitation kits. (Even the überformal Cranes stationery has jumped on this bandwagon.) These kits are available at your local office supply store or can be ordered over the Internet. They come with blank card stock on which to print your creative creation at home. Almost all of the kits are designed for either a laser printer or a color ink jet printer. Depending on how complex the design, you might want to take your artwork on a disc to a Kinko's or other local copy shop. This will save you from going through tons of costly ink cartridges for your own printer.

Decorative postcards or greeting cards can make great invitations, either hand printed, run through a computer printer, or offset. Do you and your partner both love gardens? Find a Monet water lilies postcard. Are you fans of folk art? Buy a box of American quilt cards. Passionate about film? Choose an appropriate Hollywood portrait. Art cards are everywhere (try your local museum or museum websites) and are only as limited as your imagination. And as long as we're rewriting the rules, why not use a standard postcard, preprinted and stamped, for your response card?

We've mentioned that the invitation tells the guest what to expect from the wedding ceremony and/or reception, either in its formality or in its eccentricity. An unconventional invitation sends up a flag that the celebration will be, oh, let's say,
different.
The more individual the circumstances, the more fun and specialized you can make your wedding invitation. Following are some of the ideas that we've come up with:

You've been together for fifty years and have finally decided to have a commitment ceremony? Send time capsules of what the world was like when you met: a peace symbol, a copy of a 1970s
Advocate
cover, a string of love beads—all inviting the guest to your wedding party at a Fleetwood Mac concert.

Send a kite along with the invitation to a relaxing “Sunday in the Park” reception.