Is there a Graduate in you House?

This silver metal bookmark and tassel would be a great tuck in gift for all the graduates in your group, and the price is as low as $1.50 per piece, depending on the quantity ordered.

Social Media - We are working on it!

I recently took a class from Taylor Ellwood about handling all of your Business Social Media in 1 hour per week. Of course we all challenged him to really make that happen. He came to my office and set me up on LinkedIn, Biznik, Facebook and Twitter. Then we set up TwitTray and TweetDeck. Each work day morning I can post my status update on TwitTray, sort my tweets on TweetDeck, and do it in under 10 minutes. WOW!!!

You can now follow Uncommon Invites on Twitter, and I did set up a Fan page on Facebook - so please become a fan.

I finally got replies back to everyone on LinkedIn, thanks for your patience, and signed on for Biznik. If you are a small business, you definitely need this one. After setting up my account, I got a note from a past client - telling everyone how beautiful my work was - another WOW! I know I am not the only one dragging my feet on all of these accounts - but I encourage you all to get connected.

Enjoying the sunshine in the beautful NW today.

Destination - Las Vegas instead of Mexico?

Lots of questions about Las Vegas theme weddings. So many couples want to do a destination wedding, but the media hype about the swine flu has soured them to traveling to Mexico. It is very sad as it now seems that most of it was over-media produced, and yet is has done devastating things to the economy in Mexico.

Enough said, Las Vegas always pops up as a great destination spot. All of the hotels have fabulous wedding packages, in house consultants to help you pull it together and some of the best restaurants in the US.

If you have hired a Professional Wedding Consultant, which I HIGHLY recommend, then they will have so many great ideas for this type of destination wedding. They can organize everything, airfare, hotels, meals, all the regular wedding things and of course FAB invitations. I have posted a recent Las Vegas Menu card, each player was dealt a "winning" hand!

Our new slideshow is up!

Check out our new slideshow at http://www.uncommoninvites.com/. We have added lots of new things to our slideshow and gallery, but we didn't remove our table setting photos. So many Brides have commented that it was terrific to see "their" colors on a table set up, that we felt we should leave those photos, and in fact are going to be adding an entire section on tablescapes soon. Together with 4 of Portland's top florists, Linda Barclay from Barclay Event Rentals and I have created 40+ tablescapes. Beautiful linens, chairs, china, menus, place card and florals. The photo shown is just one example. Thanks to Holland Studios for all of the fabulous photos they take for us - allowing us to share these ideas with all of you.

Ettiquette question - No Gifts!

As we meet with couples designing their wedding invitations, we hear so many great stories. Love at first sight, or after a first marriage gone wrong. Every couple has their own story.

Many of our couples are requesting that people do NOT buy them any wedding gifts. Why? Maybe it is a second marriage. Maybe one or both of them already has an established household. Whatever the reason, you need to let your feelings be known in an appropriate manner.

Our favorite wording is: "Your presence is the only gift desired."

If you want, you can also ask that donations be made to your favorite charity. You can list the charity, enclose a donation envelope or even ask them to bring a check to the reception. After all, if you don't need another toaster or blender - it is better to have your family and friends make a donation to the local food bank, animal shelter or other great cause.

Postage Increase

Please don't forget that postage is going up on May 11th! If you are getting ready to mail out your invitations, you must put the NEW postage rate on your RSVP envelopes to ensure they are delivered to you.

Always be sure to have the entire invitation suite weighed to be be sure you have enough outer postage as well. Just the weight of the RSVP card/envelope set, can be enough to push you over another 1/2 oz. You certainly do not want to get them all back for being short on postage.

If your invitations are square - and under 6.25 inches, then they can go at the normal rate, based on weight of course. However, if the envelope is 6.5 inches or larger, then there is an additional fee. Currently those envelopes cost $1.00 to mail and will be even more after the increase takes effect.

Remember to think about having your invitations "hand cancelled". In Portland, you do it yourself. You make an appointment at the Main Post Office, and physically rubber stamp each and every envelope. You can also go up to Bridal Veil Falls and hand cancel. This keeps your invitations from going through the electronic sorting process, thereby eliminating the bar code look across the bottom of the envelope.

We want your invitations to WOW your guests, and hand cancelling certainly adds to the look!

Las Vegas Wedding?

If you are leaving your hometown behind and heading to the lights of Las Vegas, we have some great products for you! These cute favors can add an additional touch of fun for you Vegas nuptials.


We can create a custom invitation suite to compliment your wedding as well. Remember that at Uncommon Invites, we love weddings!