my postal love affair.

In Sunday's post, I promised to share more about the evolution of our wedding. This post seemed appropriate because during these weeks last February, I was slaving away on our invitations...which would each eventually hold one of each of these seven different stamps!

photo by {av}

I know what you're thinking...

a) WHAT?!

b) are you crazy?

c) why??

With our long engagement, we didn't begin the discussions around "paper" until early August 2009 for our wedding in April 2010. Thankfully, we chose very capable hands to handle our invites...those of Rhode Island's own, Paper Moss. {And the bonus? The owner and creative genius behind Paper Moss is one of my closest friends here in RI!}

I don't know where in the wedding blog world I first spotted the multiple-stamp envelope. I only knew from the minute I saw it that I. had. to. have. it. From the blogs, I noticed most people chose a color of stamps to pursue. I decided to take a different...and a much more colorful route.

The final products looked a little like this...

photo by {av}

Each stamp represented something different for us as a couple...

Lighthouse stamp = Maine Statehood stamp...{cv} spent his childhood in Maine

George Washington + Flag stamps = with our rich history in DC, along with actually having the wedding there, it was only appropriate to have a few of these included

Indiana stamp = Indiana statehood stamp, aka my home state stamp

Dolley Madison stamp = the former First Lady escaped to the Dumbarton House, where we got married, during the war of 1812

LOVE stamp = no, we don't have a connection to Philly...the artist, Robert Indiana, also hails from my home state

I must admit that the final product made me so happy...it was the first real tangible item {other than our save-the-date} that our guests would receive and I really wanted to set the tone for our big day. I had to glue each stamp on individually, so they wouldn't fall off in the mail...and thus not make it to their recipients. By the numbers, I sent a few more than a 100 invitations...which means I glued more than 700 stamps. OY! Each envelope took a lot of TLC, but in the end, it was absolutely worth it.

One surprise on the wedding day? Our wedding cake! 

I left it in the capable hands of my wonderful planners...little did I know my new stamp obsession would carry through to our key-lime+blueberry cake heaven.

photo from a family friend

A few words of advice...

-make sure you weigh your invitation with EVERYTHING in it, including any sort of ribbon or ties around the invitation suite. You need to know how much postage is needed before you spend $$$ to find the stamps. {Since you'll probably be planning for postage before you receive your suite, ask if your invite designer can create a mock set for you.}

-it takes time {and a considerable amount of it} to track down the stamps...so start planning what stamps you might want. I found a lot more success in finding the stamp sheets I wanted after I identified the "scott" number. Once I had that, it made eBay much less daunting.

-make sure to find mint, uncancelled stamps...if they're cancelled, they're no good.

Despite the endless hours spent scouring eBay for these stamp sheets and then having to bid for them during dinners out with friends, I wouldn't change a thing. I loved having glue caked on my fingers for weeks. I just wish I could have received my own in the mail ;) 

I'm sure I don't need to remind you that tomorrow is Friday. And what does Friday bring? Friday's Fancies! YAY!  I made a new logo for you to use if you like... and I also made one in a blog button size, available over in my sidebar.

Consider Friday's Fancies to be the shopping spree like the one on this week's Bachelor. Dream big. Your goal? Pull together the outfit you'd love to be wearing during your Friday night activities--and don't worry about the pricetag! It's therapeutic {and fun!} to admire fashion without thinking about your wallet for once! {If you want to see a few other examples, click here.}

Get excited :) It's a chance to dream of being a Parisian fashionista--and to find a few new blogs to explore on your Friday afternoon! The best part? If you do a Friday's Fancies post, you get an extra entry in my Minted.com giveaway which ends this Sunday! {Make sure to add a comment to the giveaway page to make it count!}  I'll have the link-up ready to go shortly after midnight on Friday! 

If you're still reading at this point, thank you ;) I hope you all have a fantastic Friday--and liked my little postal love affair today. As always, I'm an open book...so if you have questions, feel free to comment or email me! xoxo {av}

P.S. I made a new blog button too...inspired slightly by my love of stamps. Check 'er out...