Something Blue...Groom's Dinner Invites

I'm not afraid to admit that I am a bit of a procrastinator, ok a REALLY big one! I realized this morning while wiping down the dry erase board for the new month that we are a mere 4 months from the wedding. To be honest, October still seems like years away but if I've learned anything as  I grow older it's that time flies!

So, I've decided to tackle my groom's dinner invitations. I'm still waiting on the pocket folds from CardsandPockets.com to do my actual wedding invites so I will make do with what I have for now.

There are some things you should know about our wedding. Firstly, it will in no way, shape, or form be traditional. We are getting married at a ranch on the outskirts of the city limits. All of our guests will be brought to the ceremony site being held in the woods via horse drawn sleighs. Instead of chairs for the ceremony, there will be covered hay bales. Our dog, Dozer, is the ring bearer and I will be wearing my cowboy boots with my dress.

We are NOT doing the traditional 1 or 2 color options, instead we are using a pallet of autumn colors. Deep burnt oranges, mustardy yellows, Merlot reds and olive greens. Because of this choice, I have decided that the grooms dinner invites as well as the bachelor party invites need not follow a color scheme either. For them, I've chosen a mix between Kraft brown and cream and then also, oasis blue. I've completed a mock-up and extremely excited at how they turned out!

The hardest part was figuring out how to word the invitations because, in keeping with the non-traditional theme, my parents are hosting the grooms dinner, not his. After I tackled this mountain, the rest came pretty easily.

Originally, I wanted to do a different shape for the first layer but after some Internet searching and about 10 minutes cutting the shape one time with scissors, I passed and went for a simpler, "tag" look for the first layer. On the back side of the tag, I created a pocket for the RSVP information. In order for the guests to send it back as a post card it needs to be at least 3 1/2" x 5" so I chose to include the information that I would like from them as well as my email address on this insert. I wouldn't dream of having people RSVP for the actual wedding but I think I can get away with it since most people don't even send a formal invite for the grooms dinner.

I attached the event information to the oasis blue card stock cut to approx 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" and attached it all together with a matching ribbon. Simple, informational and in my opinion...adorable!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, I know I did. Nothing like family time to help you remember what's truly important in life...quiet time alone (ha ha, I'm only kidding)!

Time to make more invites. I would love feedback on them as I'm trying to decide whether or not to make a template and load them into my Etsy store.