The wedding invitations are almost done! It's been a process, but I'm really excited to be putting them in the mail on Monday. I had a bit of a crisis addressing them, once I realized that my handwriting was no good and not likely to improve (see image at right). I'd long been told (and believed) that it was important to address wedding invitations by hand, because a hand written invitation was a signal to guests that you cared about them. Indeed, a piece of correspondence with a printed label was as good as junk mail.As I practiced writing lines, I remembered the time I got my first 'C' in school... in third grade... in handwriting. That 'C' stung. Later, in high school, I would go on to earn an 'A' in keyboarding. Really, keyboarding is where it's at for me, and it was time that I owned that.
I called my stepmother and asked for absolution for what I was about to do. Then I called Adam's parents and asked for their help. We headed over to their home and got to work. Adam and his mother carefully assembled the invitations, gluing a brown backing onto the invitation to give it more heft and style. Meanwhile, Adam's father and I set about printing our guests' addresses on the envelopes. It was a good night. Looking at the finished, printed envelopes... I regret nothing.
When Adam and I got home, we began sorting the large collection of vintage stamps I'd purchased on eBay and others that my mother contributed, trying to find combinations that were either aesthetically pleasing or relevant to our guests. I've spent a quiet Saturday affixing the stamps to envelopes using rubber cement. It's been really pleasant, both for the opportunity to dig through these relics of postal history, and to meditate on the interests and personal histories of each of our guests. In the picture to the left, you can see how the fully assembled invitations look.These invitations were very much a family affair; in fact, every single person in both of our immediate families contributed to their design and execution. I'm so grateful to them, and very happy with the result.
thanks so much to you and adam for your sharing your thoughtfulness, time, and... freedom from expectations