Wedding Keepsake Photo Including the Invitation

Mother of the Bride, here’s a keepsake photo that’s easy to forget on wedding day: one that features the invitation. The photographer will take shots of the programs, the tent cards for the reception tables, and place cards for the bride and groom, but if a copy of the wedding invitation is not on hand on the big day, chances are you’ll miss getting a professional photo of it.

In the photo above, I love how the wedding invitation is featured along with the bride’s rings and shoes. What a beautiful shot capturing these precious elements of a once-in-a-lifetime day!

MOB, don’t let the invitation get overlooked. Take a moment right now to add it to the list of shots you’d like the photographer to take. You and your sweet couple will be glad you did!

*You might also like to read Turning the Ordinary into Keepsakes, Add Sparkle to the Bridal Garter, and Craft It: Bridal Keepsake Box.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early November. Sign-up is FREE. *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*Flickr photo by shannylynneCreative Commons License

Old West, Flyer-Inspired Wedding Stationery

Well, Ma of the Bride, is your little bride-to-be cookin’ up some rootin’, tootin’ fun for the day she’s gettin’ hitched? If so, why not add to the Old West rustic fun with some invitations that match the style of the wedding?

Typography style stationery that looks like flyers from the Old West will be the perfect addition to an Old West/cowboy/rustic themed wedding. Regional or era-appropriate wording like “Y’all come” or “gettin’ hitched” can add to the overall fun, too, on everything from save-the-dates to invitations to the RSVP cards. The happy couple can get as down-home as they’d like or reign it in a bit, whatever suits their particular personalities and styles.

The typography style flyer-invitation might be something that the bride or groom or another family member or friend could design fairly easily, too. Saving money is always a plus, isn’t it, MOB, not to mention the personal touch that will always be remembered.

So Ma, if your sweet gal is cozyin’ up to the idea of an Old West, cowboy, or rustic-themed wedding, show her this idea and see if it tickles her down-home fancy. Ya’ll have fun now!

*If you’d like to see some other western invitation ideas, check out the Western Wedding Invitation page on Zazzle. You might also like to read Rustic Wedding Idea: Boot Bouquets.

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, comes out today. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free! Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*Flickr photo by Sarah Parrott, Creative Commons License

Preprinted Labels For Use At Bridal Fairs

Mother of the Bride, today I have a tip to pass along to your darling daughter turned bride-to-be. And the sooner you pass it along the better. Why? She needs this tip before attending bridal fairs during the early stages of planning.

When your daughter goes to bridal fairs and wedding expos—and hopefully you’ll get to go with her—she’ll be asked to write down her contact info time and again. Vendors will be offering giveaways and special offers and she will need to list her contact info to qualify for them. Of course, there will also be vendors she leaves her contact info with because of her strong interest in their services.

Instead of repeatedly handwriting her contact info, tell her to bring along a sheet of small pre-printed labels that list her name, address, phone number, and email address. She will be so glad she did—and so will the vendors. From personal experience when signing and selling my books at bridal fairs, many times I can’t make out some of the handwriting that is left for me to decipher.

I actually got this idea from a bride at one of the bridal fairs where I was a vendor. When she whipped out her contact info labels, I saw immediately what a huge help the labels were. I complimented her for being so well prepared and was super excited when she was the one who actually won the giveaway I offered that day. She deserved it for making life easier for both herself and us vendors alike!

So pass along this idea pronto, MOB. It will be one more time your girl thanks her lucky stars for having such a great mom!

*You might also like to read Bridal Shows—Both Fun and Practical!

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out next week. One lucky subscriber will receive a $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. Sign-up is free and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

*Flickr photo by Aurimas Adomavicius, Creative Commons License

Mother of the Bride Book’s Birthday Giveaway and a Blogging Break

*7-24-17 – Winner is Laura! Congrats, Laura! I’ll get your winnings to you soon!

Last year at this time I was in the midst of celebrating the launch of my book Mother of the Bride. Since July 1st was the official launch date, I consider that the book’s official “birthday” too. So now my book baby is one year old!

If you weren’t a mother of the bride last July, you probably missed all the hoopla. I hosted a big giveaway here on my website, my family sent me flowers, and friends and fellow writers wished me well and shared the book via social media. Later in the month, I had a launch party at our local library. After all, the birth of a book calls for lots of celebration!

I think a first birthday calls for some celebration too so how about another giveaway? One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of my book along with a set of the Wedding Inspiration cards I developed a few months ago (see below.) For those who are reading this but are not mothers of the bride, you don’t have to be a mother of the bride to enter. The book and cards also make perfect gifts, and I love to see the book donated to church and public libraries as well. For a description of the book along with endorsements, I’ll link you to the Books section of my website.

Now for the giveaway. Here’s how it will work—and you must follow the instructions to qualify for the entries. You may list all of your entries (as outlined below) in one comment:

*1 entry for leaving a comment on this post here on my website. The comments on Facebook are greatly appreciated, but to be entered in the giveaway, you must leave a comment here.

*2 entries for Liking my Cheryl Barker, Writer Facebook page (tell me in the comments.) If you’ve already Liked the page, just say so. That definitely counts!

*3 entries for sharing the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter (tell me in the comments.)

*4 entries for subscribing to Life Notes, my free quarterly inspirational newsletter (tell me in the comments but be sure to confirm your subscription when you get a confirmation email.) Sign-up is to the right under “Free For You”. (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.) If you’re already a Life Notes subscriber, you bet that counts. Just mention it in your comment.

*Giveaway is open to US residents only due to customs and mailing costs.

*Drawing will be done by Random.Org.

Enter by noon CST July 22nd, and I will update this post with the winner announcement as soon as I’m able, depending on travels, etc.

I won’t be posting here again until August 1st. Yes, that’s a long blogging break, but July is going to be a super busy month for me so I’m being kind to myself and taking a break. I’ve learned it’s okay to do that!

For “mother of the bride” help in the meantime, check out my list of Favorite Posts and also the drop down menu in the Archives. You’ll find both of these on the sidebar. (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find them.) I encourage you to check out my Pinterest boards for some great ideas as well. Have fun with all of that, MOB, and I’ll see back here on August 1st!

The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early August. One lucky subscriber (new or current) will receive $15 cash (summer mad money!) and a signed copy of my book to use personally, give as a gift, or donate to a library. Sign-up is free and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

Left to right: Life Lessons from the Mother of the Bride, A Mother of the Bride’s Prayer, A Bride’s Wedding Day Prayer, Praying for Newlyweds, and For the Newlyweds.

Wedding Invitations: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

2392325187_153e371099_zMother of the Bride, I have some very important advice for you today: Be sure to proofread the copy for the wedding invitation very carefully before sending it off to the printer. And after you’ve proofread it once, proof it again—and again. Oh, and did I mention proofreading it? You get the idea, right?

As you might have guessed, my oldest daughter and I had a proofreading fail while planning her wedding. Talk about a sinking feeling when we discovered the mistake—yes, on the actual invitations.

We had both proofread the invitation copy before sending it to the printer, but we still missed seeing a misspelling. Since our eyes were familiar with the name, they evidently sailed right past it as we read the copy. We failed to look the copy over very slowly and very carefully. And yes, it cost us. Lesson learned.

So, MOB, learn from our mistake and proofread like crazy. Both you and the bride proofread the invitation multiple times and then ask someone else to proofread it, too. Believe me, being a stickler for details this time will save you valuable dollars and an extra helping of stress. Here’s to no invitation mistakes as you plan for the big day!

*You might also like to read A Keepsake Photo of the Wedding Invitation.

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out the first of August. Sign up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photo by Jase the Bass, Creative Commons License