Wedding Invitations – the new spurge?

Written By Jaime Valdes-Riench, owner of Travel & Events with Style
Photo credit and invites by: With Style Designs

If there was one area of your wedding you knew you wanted to focus on and “splurge” a little, most couples would say the food and entertainment! And most brides, in most cases, (off the record of their groom hearing of course) would say décor. The interesting thing is invitations, which are often the last item on most minds, are not taking a larger part of the budget. Trend or move back to realizing their importance? Interesting question isn’t it?

Etiquette requests that invitations are the true intro to your special day. They state theme, dress, and give an idea to your guests what they can expect when that special day indeed comes. Now this post is not going to get into etiquette, but rather the trend of style that is enjoyably coming back. (stay tuned to out September post on Destination Wedding Invite Etiquette and article in Weddings in Winnipeg Magazine).

The more we have requests for wedding invites the more it fascinates me how couples are asking for their “something special”. Now I do see requests for the simple and elegant every now and then, but I do have to say there is an increase to the more embellished invitations. This brings me alot joy just for the simple fact that elegance is being recognized in every aspect of the wedding itself.

It is no secret our area of expertise is in destination weddings, thus we (and I) have had the pleasure of making and having the requests of fun themed invites that resemble airline tickets, passports, or of something of the area where the wedding is being held. Now if that isn’t enough, we are now adding extra embellishments to not just make them fun, but also elegant. It shows the attention to detail each couple is whiling to put into something so simple, yet so important. I have even had the request from a lovely bride to have magnet added to the back of her invite for her destination wedding so it would be on her guests fridge as a reminder of all the fun they would be enjoying during their week away. I could list a lot more “original” ideas, but how original would they be really? It comes down to each couple and their taste and requests. In my opinion that is truly what custom means, not just changing the names, fonts and colours.

So if there is a message I can say to the couples out there starting the process of designing and ordering their invites it would be simply that they should not be shy to ask what it would take to have their invitations look the way they imagined and may be more so. Now I am a huge advocate on staying on budget, really I wouldn’t be a good wedding planner if I didn’t encourage my couples accordingly, but work with your designer. An inspired designer will create WITH you not just FOR you. There will be a time for give and take in order to create and stay on budget, but it never hurts to ask and see if the image you drew up in your mind became not just obtainable, but rather little gifts to share with future guests. A lot of people say they toss the invites they receive once they are invited, but honestly most keep them that much longer when they are memorable and original. Originality is key with every aspect of a dream come true wedding!

Screw caps no longer for just cheep wines
Written By: Jaime Valdes-Riench, owner of Travel & Events with Style
Image credit to: With Style Designs, Locations: Gray Monk and Quail's Gate Estate Winery

We recently had the pleasure of enjoying various estate wineries in the Okanagan region. We made our way threw the area, and the two that stand out in my mind the most where Gray Monk (http://www.graymonk.com) and Quails Gate (http://www.quailsgate.com). Both are grand estates and both offer amazing wines. You can definitely taste the elegance and fine artwork. Both have lovely restaurants that I encourage people to take the time to enjoy, especially if you have taken the time to take their tours and participated in their wine tastings.

During the tour at both estates, I was very interested to hear the both estates will be moving into Stelvin® screw top bottle closers for most of their wines after this harvest season. Now their wines are far from being considered “cheep wines”. Both estates have won many medals. Gray Monk’s 2008 Gewurztraminer won Double Gold at All Canadian Wine Championships, their 2008 Latitude 50 White also won Gold, and their 2007 Odyssey White Brut won Silver. So there is something to be said when estates such as these make such a change.

From my understanding, most wineries are concerned about the damage that has occurred to the world’s cork trees and this is one of the many reasons to make this change over. As the world becomes more and more aware of our impact we have on it, this becomes just another example of making a positive change. Most wineries will continue to use the “cork” corks for the longer aged wine as they allow for the appropriate oxidation which is imperative for these wines to ferment and “age” to their full potential.

Some other wineries have experimented with synthetic corks, but what they have found is that these corks may have an inability to oxidize the wine correctly, thus have significantly shortened the wine’s life. There is also a concern of certain toxins slowly seeping into the wines since there is a significant amount of time they are in the bottles. The overall outcome has been less than desirable.

The most recent change over will be to use the Stelvin® screw caps on a regular basis (http://www.stelvin.com ). It has taken some time for the research to take place to really analyze the effects on the wines, but considering the alternatives it appears a lot of estates are ready for this change.

So please, when you are considering your next wine choice, please do not be under the assumption that the wines on the shelves are not up par just because of their choice of closure. These artisans have truly taken years and generations to accomplish their medium of art. So when in doubt, ask the store clerk or estate shop representative for guidance. It is would be such a same to miss out on something that could be truly enjoyed.

Salud!

Special thanks to all the lovely service providers at Gray Monk Estate Winery & Quail's Gate Estate Winery!

Save-the-Date Videos

– A fun alternative to save-the-date cards? A new trend?
Written By: Jaime Valdes-Riench, owner of Travel & Events with Style

As time goes on and schedules get busier and busier we all seem to book our calendars so far in advance that we forget to add time for the fun things such as celebrations that may be out side of our own immediate circle of family and friends. It has happened one too many times where a wedding invitation arrives the standard 6 weeks prior to the event and there is just no way you would be able to attend for one reason or another. This is why the save-the-date card was created!

The standard save-the-date card is often mailed out months before the actual wedding date. Most often they are sent once the couple has confirmed their wedding plans and have confirmed their wedding date. In celebrations such as destination weddings, it may be best to send a save-the-date card out as soon as possible, and as early as a year in advance. The cards should include the couple’s names, the date, the location, and that there will be an invitation to follow with more details. This will allow your guests to prepare financially, book their vacation time, and obtain the necessary travel documents if need be. Most of all, it gets the word out that the couple is planning their important day and it is important to them that you are in attendance.

Now to commend those who have taken a creative side to this adopted idea. Let’s commend those who have taken it one step further! A new trend in 2010 has been “Save-the-Date Videos”. What a great idea? Some imaginative couples have thought of ideas such as post cards, calendars, and magnets so their date is indeed not forgotten, but to receive a video is far more fun and let’s face it... a little greener?! It gives a chance for the couple’s true personality to come forth and inspire future guests about the couple's up and coming nuptials.

If your wedding invitation is truly, “the intro to your special day”, then a save-the-date video will definitely give the impression to your guests that your day will be a lot of fun that no one should miss!

Video credit to: Jeff & Erin's EPIC Wedding Trailer: Save the Date, posted on YouTube