Wedding Invitations with Whitney Poersch
I am so excited to bring you this blog post! Whitney Poersch with Invitations by Whitney was so gracious to answer so many commonly asked wedding invitation questions. Whitney is a nationally recognized, Tennessee-based bespoke stationer. She even brought some invitations to show me, and you guys, her work is incredible!
I am so excited to bring you this blog post! Whitney Poersch with Invitations by Whitney was so gracious to answer so many commonly asked wedding invitation questions. Whitney is a nationally recognized, Tennessee-based bespoke stationer. She even brought some invitations to show me, and you guys, her work is incredible!
Let’s first start out with the Wedding Invitation Timeline.
6-12 months prior to the wedding send out your Save the Dates. If you have traveling guests, try to get those Saves the Dates out a little sooner, 10-12 months before the wedding, for traveling guests to make travel accommodations.
Money-Saving Tip from Whitney: If your wedding is less than 3 months away, save your money and let the invitation be the first impression.
9-10 weeks prior to the wedding send out your Wedding Invitation. Before Covid-19, the industry standard time to send out wedding invitations was 6-8 weeks. The post office now asks that you send out important mail earlier than normal to make up for any delays. Check with your stationer for current mailing times.
4 weeks prior to the wedding request the RSVPs to be returned. That is unless your wedding planner, venue, caterer, florist, or rental company requests a headcount sooner than 4 weeks.
4 weeks prior to the wedding send out the Rehearsal Dinner Invitation. Whitney says to treat a rehearsal dinner like a party and request RSVPs 1-2 weeks in advance depending on your catering company or restaurant.
What do Wedding Invitations cost?
According to Whitney, the average costs of 100 wedding invitations range from $250-700 depending on your choices. Popular upgrades include:
Deckled Edge Paper, Handmade Paper, Euro Flap Envelopes, Envelope Liners, Wax Seals, and Belly Bands.
Can I put my wedding invitations in my mailbox?
You can, however, Whitney recommends handing your wedding stationery to a clerk at the post office. This ensures proper postage and whether or not the invitations need to be machine-canceled or can go through a standard mail machine.
From google: A machine postmark or machine cancellation is a postmark or cancellation on mail that is applied by a mechanical device rather than with the use of a handstamp. Nearly all machine-cancellation devices apply both postmark and cancellation simultaneously.
Can invitations have pictures on them?
Yes. Pictures on invitations are definitely trending in 2021, especially for micro-weddings. Whitney’s personal preference is to include a photo on the back of the invitation so that the quests’ first impression is the formal invitation.
How do wedding invitations go in the envelope?
Whitney’s recommendation: Stack the following: invitation, enclosure card/details card, lastly the RSVP card with envelope. Everything should be facing the right hand.
*According to Scientific America 70%-95% of people are right-handed.
Have more questions? Feel free to reach out to Whitney here.
A little more about Whitney:
What first began as a simple hobby, Invitations by Whitney quickly developed into a nationally recognized bespoke stationery business overnight. Whitney began promoting sample invitation designs in August 2013, and today her clientele spans across the United States, as well as Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, China, Japan, India, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, her work has been published by numerous online and printed publications, including JuneBug Weddings, Southern Bride Magazine, New Jersey Bride Magazine, Wisconsin Bride Magazine, and more. Whitney aspires to exceed every client’s expectations with beautiful, affordable, and custom designs for every occasion, and she is always honored to have the opportunity to create a custom design for the wedding of her client's dreams.
7 Tips When Live Streaming Your Wedding
2020 brought a ton of changes to the wedding world. One change that may be sticking around is live streaming weddings. When guests can’t make the trip or are ill, they can still celebrate with you from afar via a live stream. There are 2 popular ways I’ve seen to live stream:
When I was thinking about writing this blog post, I called in the experts - my 2020 brides who successfully live-streamed their weddings. Jenna Shankles and Kiersten Whitfield sent me some amazing and very detailed tips that I’m about to share with you.
2020 brought a ton of changes to the wedding world. One change that may be sticking around is live streaming weddings. When guests can’t make it, they can still celebrate with you via a live stream. There are 2 popular ways I’ve seen to live stream:
When I was thinking about writing this blog post, I called in the experts - my 2020 brides who successfully live-streamed their weddings. Jenna Shankles and Kiersten Whitfield sent me some amazing and very detailed tips that I’m about to share with you. Let’s do it!
1. Communicate to guests early
Consider the way you’re going to invite your guests to your wedding live stream and communicate early. The options for this are endless. You could create a Facebook event to invite them to or use another online e-vite for parties. You could send physical invites with a sweet note or favor to make it extra special. Or even just text the information to your guests. It’s really up to you how much effort you are able to put into it (let’s be real, no one has extra time while planning a wedding) but be sure to get the word out. And don’t forget to specify the time zone!
2. The audio
Kiersten recommends some kind of microphone if you want clear audio. She bought a set of lapel interview mics on Amazon for $20-$30 and her groom, Colin, wore the mic on his lapel to capture what they both said and what their officiant said. Here is a lapel mic I found on Amazon for under $25 (not sponsored). Kiersten says “Definitely test out the audio equipment before your wedding day.”
3. Use the online tools available to you to make it as seamless as possible
Jenna and Peter HIGHLY recommend Zola. Zola integrates your virtual ceremony directly into a website page (for free!), which can be made public or private. It’s as easy as linking your zoom account and then providing the website link to your guests. They also provide helpful guides and tips for the couple and for those invited to attend.
4. The Setup
Kiersten had a total of three devices to actually stream the meeting: a laptop to host, a phone for video, and her groom’s phone for audio. She hosted the zoom from my laptop in a room completely separate from the ceremony & had someone monitor the laptop in case any guests accidentally unmuted or anything went wrong with the audio. Make sure your zoom meeting is password-protected to avoid any zoom bombing. She used her phone to capture the video & used a car cellphone mount attached to the altar with tape to get a good angle of their faces without being too in the way of guests or the photographer (that’s me!). Check out the setup below.
Kiersten’s advice on setup: For whatever device you use to capture the video, make sure you spotlight that participant’s video feed so that it shows up in the recording even when you use another device to record audio. Also, make sure to mute this video device’s zoom AND turn off the sound for the video device to avoid any feedback with the mic.
5. Make it interactive
Guests will feel much more involved if they get a chance to chat with you! Jenna and Peter chose to spend 30 minutes of their cocktail hour chatting in a private area with their online guests, popping some bubbly and asking them for their best marriage advice. You could also lead up to the day with trivia about your relationship and reveal the answers live or even give out prizes for the closest answers!
6. Designate (or hire) someone tech-savvy to man the technology day-of
An eager younger sibling or cousin may be interested! Jenna and Peter had their Tech person sit in an aisle seat that was reserved and this person committed to being there early to set up. Depending on the settings, they may have to “let guests into” the event from a virtual waiting room, so make sure your guests know to show up early too! They used an iPad and sound and video quality weren’t an issue. Make sure your ceremony space has WiFi, and if not, plan to use a cell phone hotspot or MiFi. Do a dry run before or after your rehearsal to hammer out any snags in the setup!
7. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to stream, do it!
Seeing the faces and hearing the voices of friends and family who couldn’t attend was beyond special for Jenna & Peter. Also, remember to keep your expectations in check though - not everyone you invite will attend virtually, for a variety of reasons. They ended up with a lot fewer people than expected, but to Jenna, it was worth the effort and she would do it all over again to get to “see” the ones they got to visit with on their wedding day.
Random tips on tech from Kiersten:
Remember to silence notifications/turn on do not disturb.
DO A TEST RUN (preferably sometime before the morning of your wedding - she says this from experience).
Explore all the features of whatever platform you’re using to get a sense of how to do it - zoom has a lot of host privileges like password protection and disabling participants’ ability to unmute that really help with live-streaming a ceremony.
Thank you for reading through this post and if this has helped you or if you know someone it could help… please share!
I can not thank Kiersten and Jenna enough for this insightful and detailed information! I am positive this blog post will help couples planning their wedding.
Classic Boho Fall Wedding - Jenna and Peter - Maple Grove Estate - Knoxville, TN
A beautiful boho wedding at Maple Grove Estate in Knoxville, TN. Southern Bliss Weddings did an incredible job planning this remarkable wedding. This wedding took place in West Knoxville at the gorgeously restored Maple Grove Estate.
A beautiful boho wedding at Maple Grove Estate in Knoxville, TN. Southern Bliss Weddings did an incredible job planning this remarkable wedding. This wedding took place in West Knoxville at the gorgeously restored Maple Grove Estate. Maple Grove served as a private residence from 1799 to 1993 before opening as a Bed and Breakfast and I photographed several weddings there when it was named Maple Grove Inn. It has been recently renovated in 2018 by the Shankles family of Knoxville, the spirit of Maple Grove has been renewed for generations to come.
An amazing team of wedding professionals collaborated on this wedding to create a classic wedding with boho accents.
Wedding Professionals
Check out the amazing wedding professionals that helped make this wedding happen.
Photographers: Brittany Conner (2nd Photographer Brittney Cole) | Venue: Maple Grove Estate | Florals: Megan Connors | Coordinator: Southern Bliss Weddings | Hair and MUA: Bangs and Blush | Rentals: Anderson Party Rentals | DJ: Sequoyah Entertainment | Officiant: Radient Gatherings
Romantic Elopement at Chateau Selah
Thank you for taking a look at this romantic wedding at Chateau Selah. Kiersten and Colin decided to have their elopement at Chateau Selah in Blountville, TN due to Covid-19. They had their wedding party and family in attendance for their sweet elopement. October 2021 they will have a big party and renew their vows to one another, so stay tuned for that blog post.
Thank you for taking a look at this romantic wedding at Chateau Selah. Kiersten and Colin decided to have their elopement at Chateau Selah in Blountville, TN due to Covid-19. They had their wedding party and family in attendance for their sweet elopement. October 2021 they will have a big party and renew their vows to one another, so stay tuned for that blog post.
It was the first time for me, photographing a wedding at this beautiful wedding venue. The venue is the premier destination for weddings nestled in the gorgeous Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Tennessee. From the breathtaking panoramic views to the stunning architecture. The Chateau reminds me so much of Italy. Italy is where Chris and I went for our honeymoon.
I look forward to photographing at this beautiful place in the future. Here is a glimpse of their special day.
Fear of Commitment
Do you have fear of commitment?!
No, I’m not talking about in relationships, I’m talking about wedding choices and decor.
When I was preparing for my wedding Pinterest wasn’t available and when Pinterest first came out I thought, “Wow, what a tool for choosing wedding decor!” And then I remembered pouring over pages of wedding magazines and changing the color scheme, center pieces and bridesmaids’ dress color a million times in my head. And I came to the conclusion that maybe it was a good Pinterest wasn’t around when I was planning my wedding.
So, if you’re having fear of commitment you’re not alone and here are some tips to help you narrow your choices and commit for good.
Get off of Pinterest and write a list of things you love. Ask yourself, what’s my favorite color, flowers, food, songs, etc.? How do I want the overall wedding to fee? ?(grand, intimate, fun, timeless, etc.) Using your answers, now get back on Pinterest and search weddings using your words.
Venue: Mill & Mine // Planning: Southern Bliss Weddings // Florals: Lisa Foster Floral Design
2. Spend the largest percentage of your budget on the things that matter the most to you. If I could do it all over again, I would have a small wedding, with my closest family and friends. I wouldn’t have worried about the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen matching. I would have the most amazing photographer I could afford. A beautiful bouquet and long tables where we would share a family style meal. I would want it to feel intimate, so I would have candles everywhere. And we wouldn’t party all night, we would dance for an hour or so.
Venue: (ceremony) St. John Neumann Catholic Church (reception) The Pavilion at Hunter Valley Farm // Florist: Swank Floral
3. Include things in your wedding that will matter after it’s all over. One of my favorite things at weddings is to see family heirlooms and special traditions that will be continued to be passed on.
4. Have fun and show your personality. Love pizza? Have pizza delivered for cocktail hour or towards the end of the reception. Want your grandmother to be your flower girl? (First book ME to be your wedding photographer, pretty please) Call her and ask her. She will be smitten! Love horses? Include them in your wedding photos.
If you are planning your wedding I hope these have helped you feel less overwhelmed! If you aren’t planning a wedding but know someone who is, please share this with them. Thank you in advance!
Hope you have a great week!
