November Promo!

With the holidays fast approaching, now is a great time to take advantage of our "off" season promo. Order your wedding programs early for your spring wedding (January - April) and get 20% off! Orders must be submitted before December 1, 2009, but final printing can be held until closer to your event date.

We are also offering a winter discount on our DIY Fan Kits order between now and December 31, 2009 and get $10 off each kit....use code WINTERFAN during checkout to get the discount. Happy designing!

Invitations for Spring...

With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays it is easy to overlook the fact that NOW is the time to order your custom invitations for spring 2010 weddings.

Typically the custom design process takes 4-6 weeks before you receive the invitations, and you should be sending them out to your guests approx 6-8 weeks before your event...this means that brides with a wedding anytime January should have already placed an order (or be doing it in the next week or so!!

February Brides should order in November, March Brides order in December, and April Brides in January. Keep in mind winter is the "off" season for wedding stationery, so you will get faster service the earlier you order, typically 4 weeks or less - come January orders will be taking the full 4-6 weeks again!

I always recommend ordering early...you don't need to have all your information together to order, we can put placeholders in if you are still waiting on menu or hotel choices...it is the design process that takes the longest since we like to go back and forth with you a few times to make your custom design perfect for you! Visit our gallery to see ideas!

Our New Look!

You may have already noticed the new logo at the top of this blog...it is a preview of great things to come!

Thanks to our wonderful designer Diane, who has been helping to pull together a more cohesive look for us...the logo is just the start of things to come. We have changed our letterhead, ads, catalog cards, envelopes....everything is getting a face lift!

In a few months we will have our long-awaited new website up and running with better features for shipment tracking and online ordering. We hope you will be as excited as we are about the new changes around the shop!

October Savings!

While Custom Programs is best known for our wedding programs and stationery, we also have an extensive line of personalized holiday cards. Starting at $1.80 each most of our holiday designs incorporate a photo image. These cards are also a great choice for save-the-dates, enabling you to save money by sending a holiday greeting and informing guests of your upcoming nuptials at the same time. Order before November 20th and save 10% just reference promo code XMAS09.

Or for something a bit more custom, visit our entire line of Envelopments® brand mix and match cards. This fantastic line is also available blank for DIYers to be creative!

It's Official!

While we have had the new DIY fan programs on our website for most summer already, we officially released the "Perfect Petals" product today. Read all the details on the press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/09/prweb2811234.htm. We hope you all love this product as much as we do!

Kid Friendly Wedding Reception

So I think the jury is still out on kids at weddings...some love them, some hate them, but as a mother I sure do appreciate the bride who welcomes kids AND provides entertainment for them! Typically my husband and I would just leave the kids home with a sitter for most affairs (like weddings) we have to attend, but when it is a family wedding that is usually not an option...all the relatives you only see once or twice a year want to see the kids, etc.

We went to such a wedding (reception) yesterday...congratulations to my cousin Karl and his beautiful wife Lana who got married in Italy a month or so ago...I saw the photos, it was so beautiful and romantic! Last night they hosted a White Wedding Reception at a Beach House in Capistrano Beach, CA, and all I can say is....WOW!

They asked all guests to dress in shades of white, all the decor was white, they had white flip flops (my daughter's favorite...new shoes!) and a shoe rack for guest to swap out thier shoes and heels for more comfortable sand-friendly soles. There were beautiful flowing seating areas covered in sheer white fabric right on the sand for guests to sit and visit, catered wait staff as well as a taco stand, cold beer, hosted bar...a CANDY bar..yum! and full band and dance floor built right on the sand just steps from the water!

but my favorite part....tucked in the corner (but right in the middle of the party) were 3 small tables of crafts for kids to do...a bunch of Martha Stewart's kits for puppets, some colored sand and shaped canisters for building pretty colorful decor and some bubbles, felt crafts, etc....my middle daughter who is 8 sat and did every single craft they offered...my purse was stuffed with crafts by the end of the night. My son, who is almost 2 years loved the bubbles and the sand....and the dancfloor. And my oldest daughter who is almost 10, at first thought the crafts were too "babyish" but sat down to at least help the baby and her sister and ended up making a few herself....I didn't hear "I am bored" once the whole afternoon...it has got to be some kind of record! ;-) And my husband and I got to enjoy a few drinks and visiting with grown ups all while keeping within ear and eyeshot of the kids! Thanks Karl and Lana for such a great party!

Win DIY Fan programs!

Aylee Bits is a great Blog for any DIY bride - tons of templates, resources and hints for making your wedding beautiful at a fraction of the cost by Doing It Yourself! We are thrilled to be part of a giveaway with Aylee...enter to win our "Perfect Petals" DIY fan Program Kit, and Aylee will give a pre-designed template to the winner as well! Contest ends June 19 at midnight!

UPDATE: June 20 - Congratulations to Pia in PA who won the contest on AyleeBits!