DIY Wedding Monograms

We Will Miss You MJ!!!!

2009-06-26T14:03:00.002-04:00

I cannot say how sad I feel knowing that a musical legend's soul has transcended from our plane. The impact he made for Black people in terms of music is astounding and his prowless in the field is irreplaceable. I for one loved him, not only for his light-hearted, non-degrading music as a child and adult, but also because he was quite the humanitarian. He forced the world to see the conditions we as a people are doing to each other by facing 'the man in the mirror' and 'making a change.' His lyrics optimized his life, intelligence and soul and he will be sorely missed by myself and I'm sure many, many others.

So here is my dedication blog to this musical icon and message to him: MJ, your soul is beautiful. Keep the faith, continue to acknowledge truth, and I'll see you next lifetime. Peace and Blessings on your soul's journey.

Here is one of my favorite songs from MJ that has always spoke to me to do something for others... Enjoy and reminisce...

Invitation Wording for the Black couple

2009-06-16T01:40:00.002-04:00

Hey DIY'ers,

Here is a great article from Do It Yourself Weddings .com that provides great information about wording for an African-American or Afro-Caribbean wedding couple. The examples provided are merely examples to stimulate that DIY creative juices to flow, but because its your wedding, the wording can be as personal as you want; with a certain etiquette of course. Next blog, we will tackle the lack of African-diaspora based wedding stationery, wedding magazines, and websites. I will feature a few I have found in my search as great resources for the Black bride. Check out the article below and click here to access the website's additional DIY information.

African American Wedding Invitation and Program Wording for a Broom Jumping Ceremony

Here are wording samples for an African American wedding invitation and program that incorporates a broom jumping ceremony. These samples and ideas aren't just for African American communities, either, many couples with Celtic themes or pagan roots are jumping the broom. Broom jumping is becoming more and more popular so why not mention it in your invitations that you are including it? It gives guests knowledge of what to expect at your wedding.
African American wedding invitation wording for broom jumping:
Tanya Wilson
and Terrence Jackson
Invite you to join us to witness our commitment
to each other as we jump the broom
into the land of holy matrimony
on Saturday, the 15th of May
two thousand and four
at 5 o’clock
West Bay Palace
3042 E. Center St.
San Diego, CA
Save the date wording:
Tanya Wilson
And Terrence Jackson
Are taking a leap of faith
and jumping the broom
on Saturday, the 15th of May
two thousand and four
please save the date

In addition to including a mention of broom jumping in your African American wedding invitation wording, you’ll want to include further explanation of the ritual in your wedding program.

Broom Jumping Program Ideas:
"Right after our ceremony we will join in an old-fashioned broom jumping ritual. Please circle around us to participate. Broom jumping was handed down from generation to generation when our ancestors’ vows were not legally recognized. We pay homage to our ancestors, whose shoulders we stand on and whose wisdom shines a guiding light on us. By jumping the broom we seal together our past, present, and future."

You may also want to include something about modern meanings, such as your personal reasons for using the ritual, family or fertility meanings.

Wishing you the best of luck designing and customizing your African American wedding invitations and programs to include broom jumping!

The ties established between two families by a happy marriage are stronger than those of wealth. --African Proverb

Article retrieved from Dusick, A. (2005) African-American Wedding Invitation and Program Wording for a Broom Jumping Ceremony. Retrieved on June 15, 2009 from Do It Yourself Weddings website: http://www.do-it-yourself-weddings.com/african-american-wedding-invitation.html

Eight invitation Mishaps You Can Avoid

2009-06-08T01:21:00.005-04:00

Hey all,

Just wanted to share this article that has some great information about the do's and don'ts of wedding invitation etiquette for all my DIY wedding invite makers out there. So, save a penny and your sanity by implementing these great tips! ------> Click here for article's website!

*Taken from Aisle Dash.com*

Eight invitation mishaps you can avoid

by Caroline Humphreys on Jun 2nd 2008 11:00AM

Filed under: Invitations, Etiquette

You can be perfectly within the boundaries of style and etiquette when you avoid these common mistakes with your invitations.

1. Do not include gift ideas or registry information. In terms of proper etiquette, it's just tacky. Instead, arm your family and attendants with helpful information. Everyone knows they need to get a gift, and word will get around.

2. Do not print "No children" or "Adults only." The way you address the envelope should make clear who is invited. Afraid your invitees won't pick up on it? Again, arm your family and attendants with this information. If you send a package of local tourist information to attending guests, including childcare options in this information should reinforce the point.

3. Do not dictate dress. Guests can decipher the appropriate dress code from the time and place.

4. Do not post your invitation on a bulletin board at work or school (or anywhere else). This one is for your own mental health. When an invitation is posted, anyone reading it may assume they can come, along with their spouse, kids, cousin, sister-in-law and adorable new puppy. Don't do it.

5. Do not use address labels. An occasion such as your wedding calls for handwritten envelopes. If ink pens give you a cramp, enlist family and attendants to help or hire someone.

6. Do not include choice of entrée on the invitation unless the reception venue requires this information prior to the event. If the venue can handle allowing guests to choose as they are served, this is the better option.

7. Do not indicate whether or not alcohol will be served; this is your wedding and guests will come to see you, not the bar.

8. Most of all, don't send last minute invitations. It is offensive to guests to be an after-thought and you don't want to spread that kind of ill will.

Make Sure its Scalable!

2009-06-02T15:52:00.005-04:00

Hi all,

Yes, its been a while, but hey I've been quite busy lately, but I do have a tidbit for all DIY'ers out there when it comes to your wedding stationery and any other favors you have in mind. Make sure your monograms or logos are scalable before printing because saving your logos as a JPEG or GIF image can make your lovely logo into a bunch of small square dots called pixels if you try to enlarge or decrease the size the logo for other stationery. A logo may look very nicely done when it is small, but if it is enlarged for, let's say, a sky light on the dance floor; then if that logo is not a vector-based image (an image created with mathematical lines) then the logo would look pixelated. You might be saying, "Okay Lauren, I have no idea what you are talking about especially with all these computer talk." Here is an example of what I am talking about:

As you can see in the example above, the smaller version of this beautifully done logo is great and the details in the typography (fonts) and the dots in the monogram are crisp and clean. A very nicely done image. However, when enlarging the monogram to a bigger image for any other stationery being done, the picture becomes fuzzy and the graphics look like small square blocks. This is because this particular logo was saved as a GIF image and not as a vector based image such as Adobe Illustrator or a SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic) file. I'm sure the creators of this logo already have this logo as a vector image for purchase, but for webpage purposes have used a GIF file.

So what is the lesson to learn: If you are doing your own wedding stationery with graphics and monograms, be sure to transfer the image to a SVG file or AI (Adobe Illustrator) file so that you can use it for a variety of your wedding print and web goodies. What sense does it make to go through all the trouble of creating beautiful stationery for your wedding when Grandma can't make out the fuzzy words? Take time to find a friend that may have Photoshop or Illustrator vector it for you or hire a low-cost graphic designer who specializes in wedding stationery to help you out. Your stationery will end up as a keepsake for yourself and for your friends and family, so make sure you put some effort into keeping your special day memorable.

P.S. If you really like doing your own vector based monogram, then check out Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.com). This is a SVG program that is free to download on your computer that will allow you to create your monogram in a vectored image; dare I say again that it is FREE! Music to a DIY bride's ears :)

Why Spend More, When you Can Spend Less?

2009-03-02T19:34:00.002-05:00

Why spend more on your wedding materials, when you can spend less? Zazzle is a great resource to get exceptionally designed wedding stationery at a very low price.. check out my gallery for more details.

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

African Art Monograms

2009-02-08T00:32:00.002-05:00

And behold, there are African symbols! Yes, my Black bride and groom, you too can express your ethnic-based love in a simple monogram with beautiful hues of color.
For example, check out the monogram on the right. Simple shapes of circles which provides the ambiance of unity and infinity (circles are unbroken and continual..much like your wedding rings) But in the background of one of the circles is an Adinkra symbol. It's suddle, yet effective and mixed with the sophistication of a script font. Now the hot color for this wedding year is Pantone color called "mimosa" which is the color featured here.
Also as I stated earlier, this color could be used in a monochromatic style, which is also another hot trend for 2009. But the choice is all yours. Now this monogram doesn't have to have just one inital, it can have both, but the balance(visual symetry) must be taken into consideration when doing that.
If you have any questions or comments about this monogram, please feel free to email me at soulmate_designs@ymail.com. Its a great way to infuse your African heritage into your wedding.

Wedding Stationery Trends for 2009

2009-02-07T20:54:00.004-05:00

Well its 2009 and the trends reports are out.

--Question: Did I forget the next session of the Microsoft Word monograms? Nope.. it's done, just have to do some tweaking before the next blog post. So, if you are a DIY bride or groom(yes I know some grooms are out there too) it will be posted soon, so keep reading...

So back to the trend reports. Check out the following link for new wedding stationery trends.. tell me what you think.

http://www.mygatsby.com/invitations/invitation_trends/top_10_2009.jsp

http://www.celebration.co.za/wedding-articles/articles/87/1/Wedding-Invitation-Trends-for-2009/Page1.html

http://www.mypersonalartist.com/weddingcolors2.html

*PSA Please!: Yes, I know most of these sites have mentioned brocade or damask-styled invitations as the hot trend in invitations, but must we always follow fashion? Why can't we create new trends for 2009? You know it is, once one does it, everyone and their grandmother does it. Then the trend gets boring and outdated. Please don't let this happen to damask or brocade, its too pretty to do that. --Thank you for reading my public service announcement.

Put down the Damask and Back Away Slowly....

2009-01-27T23:30:00.003-05:00

Enough already with the damask, my bridal DIY'ers! If there is another wedding where black and white, teal and brown or some other worn out color combo of damask is used on stationery or reception decoration, I think the damask itself will scream.

Yes, its pretty; its supposed to be pretty. However, quite frankly, its getting pretty worn out. Designers are not letting this pretty, patterned graphic get breathing air to re-create other patterns and stationery in the world of the wedding industry. Especially for the DIY bride, what is easier than finding a ready-made damask background in Photoshop and creating your save the dates from that?

Actually it is quite simple, but its so simple that's been done over, and over and over again. So what can you use as elements in your stationery and decoration? Explore your relationship, I say. Look at all the places you have been or even better take a look at some photos of you and your lover together and grab some colors from those events. Shoo, if you really like grab the photo itself, make it opaque as your background, place your legible typography on it and you have yourself a personalized save the date, invitation or whatever else you may want to use it for. Does it have to be a color photo? No, use shapes or lines of color behind the black & white photo to add your splash of wedding colors!

So you don't want to use your photos? Okay, no problem. What about nature, when is your wedding date? Spring, summer, winter, fall? What elements can you use like color, texture, graphics (flowers, ocean, sand, snow, leaves) into your stationery?

Okay.. as you can see I could go on for a long time about inspirational places to get your design from for your wedding stationery which not only would have more of a personal touch from you as a couple, but also appeal to your guest in understand you more as a couple.

So, Please Please Please.. put down the damask slowly and explore your relationship and see what designs you can come with.

Monograms from Microsoft Word Part 1

2009-01-27T23:04:00.004-05:00

Hi all,

Remember the last time I said we were going to make a simple monogram using Microsoft Word? Well here is part One.

If you have Microsoft 2007, the Microsoft Corp. has made is quite easy to create shapes, symbols, etc in word with just a click of a button. In the case on my left, I simply created two squares. One is an outlined square with a white space. The outline is dashes, while the smaller "Tiffany blue" square is a simple solid box. In this case I decide to go along the same color palate in different tints because for the DIY'er, its just easier that way. When getting into matching various colors, it gets a bit more challenging. So that's it so far, all we need now it the typography or font scheme. Keep in mind, the font scheme can be pretty, but if no one understands it, then what sense did it make in creating the monogram in the first place? So, the answer to that is keep the typography simple and legible.

Next time: Microsoft Word Monogram Part 2: Creating the font scheme or typography.

Oh yeah... P.S. If anyone needs help with the step-by-step of doing this portion on Microsoft Word for 2007 or 2003 versions, let me know by sending a comment my way or emailing me at soulmate_designs@ymail.com Toodles 'till next time!

Monochromatic Simplicity

2009-01-18T12:57:00.004-05:00

Hi my DIY Wedding Sisters! (and Brotha's too!) Yesterday, I talked about using monochromatic hues in your color selection for your wedding. Here's a prime example to your left. Beautiful use of monochromatic blues in this particular monogram. Now, would you use this as a business monogram? No, because it wouldn't print the gradient properly if you had to fax it in black and white. However, in the case of a wedding monogram or logo, color is necessary to create visual beauty and appeal.
I have seen many brides use the color "Tiffany Blue" in the color concept for their wedding. Why not take "Tiffany Blue" and use it with "Navy Blue"? Okay, so you want a certain pop of color to it. Well it depends on your style because certain colors creates certain feelings when we look at them. Color Symbolism is a great asset to use when deciding on your color scheme for your wedding. To find out more about what certain colors symbolize, you can go to http:// www.sensationalcolor.com or just tune in to you feelings when looking at certain colors.

Next time: Don't know how or where to start with creating a simple monogram for your wedding stationery? I'll show you using Microsoft Word and Publisher! Stay tuned!

Simple Modernism

2009-01-17T22:15:00.002-05:00

Okay, I promised something very easy in terms of creating your own monogram and here it is. This is as simple as reciting your ABC's! It's just using basic shapes of a circle and a rectangle as your base. The ampersand is your focal point or emphasis in this case because you want to show union of you and your -to be as one.

I used these colors because 1. Brown evokes a warm sensation, orange is a energy feeling while blue provides a calmness. Now would this be your colors for your wedding? Probably not, but it don't hurt to play with colors you are not used to seeing everyday. Consider when your wedding is; is it during the summer, spring, fall or winter? Or, what is you and lover's favorite colors? Many times I've seen brides trying to "match" a color they've chosen. especially for their bridal party, stationery and reception. Why not use the same color, but in different hues? Monochromatic colors can bring out a lot in a wedding just as well as complimentary colors.

I suggest trying your hand at some monograms... I'm here to help! If you are running into some trouble, comment or email me! Try it.. I'm sure you will like it!

KISS: Keep it Simple, Sweetie!

2008-12-19T21:23:00.007-05:00

As with any design, the primary key is to KISS; keep it simple, sweetie! (not stupid in this case just because we aren't stupid!) Too much of anything can detract from the overall message of your monogram or logo design. What is worse in a wedding when the bridesmaids dresses or some other details take away from the bride and groom themselves! Uggh.

Here is my mantra; less is better and more economical too. If you have the money to go all out, that's on you; have a ball. But if you are like me and other people who counts pennies (especially in this economy), then I say try to do some of the wedding details yourself,or have a wedding invitation put-together get-together! Nothing beats having food, some bubbly and some hands to help.

Next time: The simple wedding monogram.. DIY approved!