Real Brides: Elaine & Mike (and Gerbera Daisies Galore!)
July 31, 2009 | Filed Under accessories, custom invitations, posts with pics, real brides | 1 Comment
Mike and Elaine - July 11, 2009
We first met Elaine and her mom Mary at our Grand Opening Open House shortly after moving our studio from Front Street to Graham Road. We instantly bonded and after hearing Elaine’s ideas about the invitations we were able to design a sample on the spot which is a rarity for custom design. They were both thrilled – and very few changes were ever made to that original mock-up!
Elaine & Mike's Custom Gerbera / Gerber Daisy Pocketfold Invitation
Needless to say, the invitations were a huge hit with their guests. You may remember this post a couple weeks back where we featured a photo of several of their response cards that were returned with handwritten notes from their guests regarding how amazing the invites were! And of course Elaine’s own love for her invites inspired her to carry the invitation theme to the ceremony programs, table numbers, escort cards, favor tags and thank you notes. She even ordered custom cookies from Contessa Pollina featuring the logo we designed for her wedding!
Escort Cards with guests names and table assignments were tied to the cookies. The boxes were then placed alphabetically on a table so that as guests arrived, they picked up their 'sweet treat' before finding their tables.
These custom programs matched the front of the invite perfectly. I loved working on these because it was the first time we had success with the layout so that the program could open vertically.
Favor Tags for the Wine Stoppers (ordered through Debbie from Crain's Creative Occasions)
Here’s a list of the other vendors Elaine and Mike chose along with some follow up questions that we have taken from their survey:
Bride’s Apparel: Dreams to Realities
Groom’s Apparel: Men’s Warehouse
Catering / Reception Hall: LaVera Party Center (Crystal Room)
Cake: Cakes by Maria
Floral: Terry Mascia
Photography: Cirino Photography
DJ/Entertainment: Marino Brothers
Wedding Coordinator: Crain’s Creative Occasions
Custom Cookies & Pastries: Contessa Pollina Pasticceria
Stationery: Paper Persuasions
What part of the planning was the most fun? I enjoyed all aspects of our wedding planning. Some of my favorite memories of planning included the dress shopping, the invitations, and the gifts for my out of town guests.
What part of the planning was the least fun? Although our wedding planner helped make this such a not-so-bad task, I think the seating assignments would be the least fun for me. Our seating cards from Paper Persuasions along with our cookie boxes from Contessa Pollina made the task all worth it.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their own wedding? To enjoy every minute (including the planning) and to find qualitiy vendors so you won’t be disappointed.
Elaine also had these kind words regarding her experience working with Paper Persuasions: We received TONS of compliments on both the invitations and accessories. Steph and Stacy are very creative. Just give them any idea you may have and watch it blossom! That happened to us. I had mentioned to them my love for Gerber Daisies and before you knew it, the Gerber Daisy that Steph designed was the focal point or theme of our wedding! Steph and Stacy were not only great vendors but became our friends!
We often bond with our clients throughout the custom design process and Mary, Elaine & Mike were no exception! We just loved working on thier wedding and we were delighted when we (and our dates) were invited to attend their wedding as guests! My husband Dave & I and Stacy had so much fun! It was the first wedding any of us had attended at the LaVera Party Center and I have to say that I was more than impressed with Anthony! The wedding was perfect…and we were thrilled not only to have had our hands on every piece of wedding stationery, but also to have witnessed this beautiful day! Many happy years to the both of them!
Giving Back: 1st and 2nd quarter of 2009
July 29, 2009 | Filed Under studio news and happenings | Leave a Comment
A big thank you to all of our brides who have participated in our “5 for 5″ promotion for the first half of 2009. With your help, we were able to donate an enormous amount of items to the Domestic Violence Project, Inc. of Canton, Ohio. The DVP will use these items to help women and children break free from abusive relationships by supplying them with food and other household items that are commonly needed when their living situation suddenly changes. The photo below speaks for itself, but in case you are wondering, our *awesome* brides have donated an incredible 441 items from January 2009 thru June 2009! Broken down into categories, we have:
250 Toiletries (56 toothbrushes, 103 toothpastes, 14 boxes of tissues, 15 bottles of shampoo, 16 bottles of body lotion, 14 bars of soap…and the list goes on and on….)
15 Cleaning & First Aid Supplies
12 packages of clothing & diapers
109 Canned goods (39 soups, 23 cans of tuna, 15 jars of pasta sauce and the list goes on and on….)
46 Boxed Foods (20 noodles, 20 mac & cheese, 6 misc.
8 Used Cell Phones
7 sets of crib sheets and 2 pillows
1 Office Supplies
1 $10 Gift Card to Giant Eagle
Giving Back: Paper Persuasions' 1st & 2nd Quarter Donations to the Domestic Violence Project
Are you wondering how you can help? It’s super easy! For all catalog invitation orders that are placed through Paper Persuasions, we will give you an EXTRA 5% discount on top of our everyday discount of 25% (so a total of 30%) if you bring in 5 item from the list we provide. The way we see it, everyone wins! Clients get a better discount, women & children get much needed help in beginning a healthier lifestyle, and we get to meet and work with the generous brides who make it all possible!
Coming Soon: DIY Printable Kits and Fill-in’s
July 15, 2009 | Filed Under do it yourself, posts with pics, studio news and happenings | 1 Comment
All you DIY’ers out there should be happy to know that we are finally adding DIY Printable Kits to our offerings! We have carefully selected boxed wedding invitation kits representing a wide variety of styles ranging in price from $29.99 – $39.99 per box of 50 (50 invitations and Response cards each with envelopes). We will also be carrying a full line of printable program papers, insert cards, place cards and boxed thank you notes. AND IT DOESN’T STOP THERE!! We’ve also added a selection of DIY printable Social Invitations and stylish Fill-in’s themed for showers, rehearsals, baby, birthday, graduation and parties. We are so excited to be able to expand to this market and hope to offer even more styles in the near future!!
On a personal note: I have to say that it was difficult to narrow down our initial investment to something managable both cost-wise and space-wise. Stacy and I spent hours – and I mean HOURS – selecting from the thousands of options out there. It got to the point that we couldn’t spend any more ’studio’ time on the decision so I brought the 3 inch stack of papers home thinking we could sort through without feeling rushed. It had been quite a long time since I had brought work home with me and I must say: my cats -although super cute about it- did not enjoy the diversion.
Jackson and Bunker were tag-teaming me! Notice all the various piles we had things sorted into....
Sissy plops down RIGHT ON TOP OF the calculator and growing stack of 'keeps'.
We step out of the room for 5 minutes and the stack of papers from the coffee table was knocked off - and the culprits weren't being shy about it!
Wedding Featured in Today’s Bride Magazine
July 14, 2009 | Filed Under custom invitations, real brides, studio news and happenings | Leave a Comment
We recently found out that one of our past weddings was featured in Cleveland’s ‘Summer 2009 Edition’ of Today’s Bride Magazine. Emily and Matthew were married in August of 2008 and we were honored to have provided Custom Designed Wedding Invitations, Ceremony Programs, Table Numbers, Escort Cards and Photo Thank You Cards for their special day! Emily, Matt and MOB Debbie were so great to work with and we were excited to see they were featured. Check out the photos on the TB website as provided by Greg from Perfect Image Photography.
Real Weddings: Emily and Matthew
Happy clients / Happy guests!
July 4, 2009 | Filed Under custom invitations, posts with pics, studio news and happenings | 2 Comments
After sending out custom invitations, our brides often tell us that they get bombarded with texts, phone calls and emails raving about the beautiful invites. Elaine and Mike’s custom gebera daisy pocketfold was no excpetion! Elaine and mom Mary actually brought us their response cards yesterday so that we could see in person how much their guests loved the invitations. We’ve heard this happens but have never actually seen the proof…and all I can say is “wow”. I was blown away by the fact that people – multiple people – wrote about how much they *loved* the invites. There is no greater compliment to our work than a happy bride who set the tone and generated excitement for her event through the invitation! Kinda makes you rethink the common claim that the invitation just gets ‘tossed in the trash’, doesn’t it?
Just a reminder…
July 2, 2009 | Filed Under studio news and happenings | Leave a Comment
Paper Persuasions will be closed Saturday July 4th.
We have had several phone calls today asking if we will be open tomorrow (Friday) – and in case you too are wondering, the answer is YES! We will be open 10-4 which is our standard Friday schedule.
We hope you have a happy and safe holiday with family and friends.
