The news from Minneapolis bride-to-be Kate Arends: the paper goods are in! How does an uber-talented designer craft her own? What advice does she have? Read on for the whole story! Wait until you see these save-the-dates—they are, in a word, dreamy. It doesn’t get much better than this!


Hello C&B readers, I’m excited to share my first wedding project with you! It’s official: we’ve designed, printed, sealed and shipped our save-the-dates! It was a big sigh of relief to complete, for me in particular. I kept hearing people say, “Save-the-dates set a tone and expectation for guests.” A tall order to fill if you ask me. Truthfully, I was a little wary because designing for a client that happens to be yourself…well, it becomes a bit of a challenge. I wasn’t so sure that I was going to be a good client. In fact, I had a hunch that I was going to be one of those tireless, demanding, pain in the you-know-what types.

In hindsight, I can happily say that I wasn’t too hard on myself. I willingly let go of the bad ideas and explored those that were promising. I made my decisions quickly and deliberately and spent the bulk of my time finessing one concept until it was just right. Before I share the finished product, I thought I would share my design process with you. It should be helpful for brides who bravely design their own invitations. And if you are collaborating with a designer, these tips should get you some brownie points.

So here it is, some tried and true design advice:

1. Find inspiration and do some research. Be inspired by a memorable element, aesthetic or theme. Having our reception in a historic space is our main design element, so I wanted the design to have a vintage feeling. I found a great source online that has an amazing library of vintage graphics such as stamps, postcards, tickets, trade cards, etc. These images helped spark ideas for our save-the-dates.

2. Sketch, sketch, sketch. Create as many ideas as you can. Once you have sketches to look at, decide which ideas best suit your needs. Don’t fall in love with your first idea. It may be the one you choose in the end, but be sure to look at other options. Make decisions with a fresh eye; a clear perspective makes it easier to make a thoughtful and rational choice. I’d also suggest using an inspiration board to keep your design decisions in sync with the overall look and feel of your wedding.

3. Pick the best concept and start refining. Make a choice that works for a variety of different reasons. Do you love it? Does your fiance love it? Does it represent you as a couple? Will printing be in the budget? Will it take too much time to assemble? All of those considerations should go into choosing final design. We kept productions costs in mind because I had my heart set on using letterpress. By printing with one color and hole punching them ourselves, we made a beautiful yet cost effective choice. We chose a standard size and standard envelopes to keep costs down as well. The most time consuming aspect of the project was making the labels, which we printed out of a laser printer and then cut by hand.

Here are our results!

If anyone has any questions about printing and design, I’d be happy to help out!

Such lovely save-the-dates! Elegant, urban, a little sentimental and perfectly Minneapolis. The punched calendar detail is just genius. You can find Kate and more of her beautiful inspirations & designs on her blog. The girl’s got style for miles—I mean, really!

Tags: artisan goods, handmade wedding, heirloom wedding, minnesota wedding, paper goods, wedding inspiration