Birchcraft Studios' latest invitation book, "Romantic Hearts", has arrived in our store.  We now have 18 current books for you to view--that's hundreds of invitations, always 30% off (except for one book, which is 20% off).  We have books from Birchcraft Studios, Carlson Craft, Regency and Chase.

The following guide is courtesy of Birchcraft Studios.  You can view and order Birchcraft Studios invitations online at http://www.yourinvitationplace.com/bloomeryweddings.  Be sure to use this link to receive your 30% discount!

WHAT YOU NEED	WHEN YOU NEED IT	WHY IT'S PROPER
Engagement Announcements	Because of school, military service or other plans, your wedding date may be far in the future. If you want people to know you are engaged, plan an Announcement using the Wedding Invitation format.	Either formal or informal copy is proper to let people know your exciting news.
Hold the Date Cards	Mail them three to four months in advance of the wedding.	It is a good idea to give family and friends as much notice as possible of the coming event. This is especially true if you have many out of town guests.
Wedding Invitations with Envelopes	Used for anyone you want to attend the ceremony (even if they are ill or too far away to actually come.) Always lists who is getting married, on what day, of what year (spelled out in full), at what time, and the location.	An occasion this important rates more than a casual invitation. Elegance is enhanced by coordinating with lined inner envelopes.
Reception Cards	Traditionally a Reception Card is only used when a select number of the guests invited to the ceremony are invited to the reception. Nowadays, a Reception Card is included with the invitation, even when everyone invited to the ceremony is invited to the reception.	This invitation says, "You are special." Mailed along with the invitation, this card announces the time and location of reception.
Response Cards with Printed Return Envelopes	A must in today's busy times, or you simply won't know who is planning on attending. Plus, you will end up chasing down guests who do not send a handwritten reply.	The Response Card has become an accepted part of wedding etiquette. Including one with invitation is a thoughtful way to ease the guest's responsibility to reply to formal invitations. As a courtesy to guests, enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope with Response Card.
Wedding Announcements	If your circle of friends and relatives is larger than the list you intend to invite to the ceremony, or if you have a private wedding, you will want to send an announcement of your wedding.	Wedding Announcements include the wedding date, but never the time or location of ceremony. Mail the day of the wedding.
At Home Cards	If you are moving to a new home and want to inform family and friends of your new information.	Informs family and friends of your new address and lets them know whether you are keeping your maiden name. Usually mailed with the announcement or mailed separately after the wedding.
Thank-You Notes	A perfectly proper time-saver for those very busy days leading up to the wedding and immediately following the wedding.	It's a thoughtful way to let gift givers know their gift was received. Always write a personal thank-you note later. Send within two months of wedding.
Informals	With or without the name of the groom, this personalized stationery is needed to hand write thank-you notes to those who gave a wedding gift.	People who took the time to pick out a wedding gift deserve a personalized thank-you note. Also excellent for many other occasions where only brief correspondence is needed.
Wedding Programs	A great way for guests to follow the ceremony and learn who is in your wedding party. Enables you to share a special message or poem with your guests.	Provides guests with a nice memento of your special day.
Place Cards and Table Cards	Makes sit-down meals less chaotic if people have assigned seats, or at least assigned tables.	Place Cards list the guest's name and table and are often displayed in envelopes on a table outside the tent or reception room. Table Cards list a table number inside the folder and the guest's name appears on the outside of the folder.
Ceremony Cards	Used when everyone is invited to the wedding reception but only a limited number are invited to the ceremony.	This invitation says, "You are special." Mailed along with the invitation, this card announces the time and location of ceremony.

Over the last couple of years, one of the most popular colors for bridesmaid gowns has been periwinkle blue. For many, the color presents a challenge when determining what colors of flowers to choose. Depending on the season, we recommend several options. A combination of lavenders and blues looks striking for those brides desiring a cool, monochromatic color scheme. All white or ivory bouquets present a clean, crisp palette. Mixed pastels including yellows and pinks provide a pretty spring appearance. And, for this month's featured bouquet, we chose to use shades of peach with accents of blue delphinium. Using roses, spray roses, tulips and delphinium, this bouquet was hand tied for a natural look. The result was striking, with a soft feel but not the traditional pink and yellow pastel combination. View our featured bouquet at http://www.bloomeryweddings.com/portfolio_detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=BW252.

				Receive 20% off ALL Cathy's Concepts and Beverly Clark guest books and pens during the month of May at www.bloomeryweddings.com! Browse Guestbooks > Browse Pens > Order Birchcraft Invitations online and receive 30% off every day! More Information >  All closeout items now 40% off! Hurry, quantities are limited! Browse Closeout Items >	Beverly Clark Love Knot Guestbook and Pen Sale Price $39.19 and $23.39
			©2005 The Bloomery, Butler, Pennsylvania

We don't mean to encourage a trend here, but there's a decent article in today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette entitled Dealing with the details when you say, 'I don't'.  There are quotes from the Emily Post Institiute, as well as local wedding coordinator Deb Waterkotte, with whom we've worked on several occasions.  We do want to emphasize (as we state in all our contracts) that full payment is due two weeks in advance of your wedding.

Most of our posts are oriented toward brides, but this one is applicable to grooms as well.  Getting married is a huge life-altering decision.  Huge life-altering decisions are scary to make, so it's natural to be nervous in the days leading up to your wedding--few people aren't.  You'll probably ask yourself if you're doing the right thing a thousand times, and you may begin to drive yourself crazy.  In most cases, you're just experiencing "the jitters".  In a few cases, someone may decide they are not making the right decision for themself, and decide not to go through with the ceremony.  This decision will lead to surprise, shock and probably some hurt feelings.  To assuage their own feelings of conflict, the one who cancels may seek seclusion to "sort it all out".  That's natural too, but remember the world doesn't stop when you're not participating in it.  It's important to let someone know you're OK.  Try not to do things that make your mother think you'll be dredged from the bottom of a river.  That's tough on moms.  Also, your fiancee' will be shocked, embarassed, and heartbroken.  He or she may react to you with anger to alleviate their feelings.  Be prepared for that.  Eventually, you'll have to see your friends and family again.

Time will tell how this current story will play out.  Will the bride be ordered to compensate the police for seach expenses?  This has apparently happened in other similar instances.  Will criminal charges be brought for initially reporting a kidnap?  Will the couple eventually get married?

Come what may in your wedding planning, it's important to think through your feelings, and be open and honest with your loved ones.  It may help to talk to someone you trust--perhaps your mother, father, a sibling, or your best man/maid of honor--about how you're feeling.  Speaking out loud, even to a pet, is a surprisingly effective way to clarify your thoughts and feelings.

A wedding is a ceremony that marks the uniting of two lives as one, but each one has to be making the best decision for their own self.  We can't reiterate enough that honesty and openness are key.  Feelings will be hurt--there's no way to avoid that.  But being true to yourself and honest with those around you is of paramount importance, and not just when your planning your wedding.

Whether you have a wedding to announce, a new baby in the family or a photogenic pet, PhotoStamps are a fun and easy way to add a personal touch to everything you send in the mail! You can also give them as unforgettably unique gifts, or keep them and frame them so you and your family can treasure your PhotoStamps for years to come!

"Perfect for weddings" is the claim, and how true.  What a cool way to personalize your invitations--the stamps can feature you and your fiancee'!  The USPS has authorized Stamps.com to offer PhotoStamps again.  After a trial last year, Stamps.com has been authorized to offer personalized stamps for your letters.  According to Stamps.com:

PhotoStamps are a new form of postage that allows customers to include their favorite digital photographs, designs or images on valid US Postal Service postage. Customers design state-of-the-art, professional-looking postage by simply uploading pictures from existing image files, digital photographs, and original graphics. An intuitive interface allows users to flip, rotate, and zoom in and out of their images, as well as add colored borders to create harmonized themes.

You set up your account, upload a digital photo, tweak it if you want to, and order your stamps in sheets of 20.  There is an additional charge for the personalization, which works out to cost about 75-cents for a 37-cent stamp (the stamps are available in other values as well).  The price goes down with each additional sheet of stamps you buy.  Remember that your invitations will probably require more than 37-cents to mail, so you may be buying a number of sheets.  It would be a good idea to weigh a complete invitation at the post office to figure the correct postage.  The average invitation costs around $1.00 each to mail, so your postage bill for 100 invitations would be approx. $150 for PhotoStamps, vs. around $100 for regular postage.

This is probably not for the couple on a tight budget, but if you have a little room to personalize your invitations, PhotoStamps are an idea to consider.  Get started today!

After today's weddings, we picked up the latest Alison Krauss CD, then grabbed a couple of Frappuccinos at Starbuck's.  Spring is here, and Mother's Day is approaching, and it seems everywhere we look, there are flowers.

The back cover of Alison's CD features a dressing room vignette with a vase of dried roses.  Starbuck's featured gift cards for Mother's Day with a cartoon flower envelope.  The window dressers at department stores and the prints at fabric stores feature flowers.  It's no coincidence.  Flowers add color and elegance.  Flowers set the mood, whether it's a store display or the Today show set.  And when it comes to planning your wedding, you don't have to think too hard about how to help set the mood you want.  Arrangements at the bar or in the bathrooms and petals scattered on the tables can help to unify your event throughout the entire location.  Many florists (us included) have for rent grand arrangements you can use to greet your guests in the entryway.

When it comes to setting moods and unifying themes, the experts choose flowers.  Your wedding deserves nothing less than what the experts choose.