Last weekend we participated in Indie I Do for the 3^rd year in a row.  It was a great day and we had a lot of friendly brides to talk to.  Thanks to all of you for stopping by to say hello.

We had a number of people enter our draw for a chance to win free wedding invitations. Congratulations to our winner, Josie A., who is getting married on August 25th and has won 200 cards for her wedding!

There were quite a few new & interesting vendors this year, and here were some of our favorites.

Lana Betty – Looking for some unique jewelry for your special day? Lana Betty has some very beautiful and vintage inspired jewelry.  I especially liked her cute owl earrings.  They come in so many different colours too!

Revel Events – An event planning company run by Jenna Smith, she makes sure every little detail is taken care of for your special day.  I absolutely loved her booth too! Her DIY backdrop of streamers and bouquets of handmade crepe paper flowers were gorgeous.

Feest – They provide all natural bath products and use eco-consious packaging.  I loved how environmentally friendly they were.  What was especially neat was their lavender bud confetti.  Instead of blowing bubbles or showering the newlyweds with rice, shower them with the scent of lavender.  They’re biodegradable too!

Thanks to everyone for making it a great day.  We had a great time and got quite a few interesting suggestions for new wedding invitation designs.  We’ll be expanding our catalog throughout the year, so watch for design updates!

So I decided to make the swag for this year’s Indie I Do.  It was fun doing it myself and I think it added a nice touch as well.  So what are we giving away?  French Vanilla Soy Candles!  They would also work great for wedding favours (and are all-natural to boot!)  If you’d like to try and make these yourself, here’s how to do it.

The candles I made were done in 125ml mason jars, but you can really use anything you like.  At this time of year, mason jars were great as they have now been emptied from eating everything from summer canning  All the candle supplies were purchased locally from Wicks and Wax in Burnaby.

If you’re aiming to make 100 candles, here’s what you’ll need:

-       8kg of wax
-       100 wick tabs
-       5 meters of wicks
-       Scent (if desired)
-       100 125ml jars

Melt the wax in a pot and heat to 155 degrees farenheight.

In the meantime, cut the wicks to 2” in length.

Insert the wicks into the wick tabs and squeeze with pliers to secure.

When the wax gets to 155 degrees, add the scent.  Don’t heat the scent for too long or else the smell will disappear.  It didn’t take too long for the wax to melt completely, so make sure to watch it closely.

Pour the wax into jars when it’s between 125 – 155 degrees.

Drop in the wicks and wait for the wax to solidify.

That’s it!  You could make some custom labels (like I did) or cover the jar with a bit of fabric for a personal touch

These were really easy to make, and only ended up costing about $70, not including the jars.  If you were to purchase the jars they run about $13/dozen.

I was feeling extra creative and I had a small bit of wax leftover, and with our recycling bin nearby I decided to make a beer can-dle (haha!).  This just shows how versatile and creative you can be.

Come to Indie I Do next weekend to grab a swag bag filled with some awesome loot!  We still have a couple of free passes to give away so contact us if you’d like some.

We’ve recently partnered with another event planning company, deBelle Designs.  deBelle Designs is a Vancouver-based wedding planner, run by Elise Duchesneau.

Elise originally got involved with the wedding industry through a friend that started her own wedding dress company (www.puresomething.com), where she modeled some of the dresses, and fell in love.  Because of her experience with Pure Something, Elise had attended numerous wedding shows and had made a number of contacts with a variety of wedding vendors, so becoming a wedding planner came naturally.  She also planned her own wedding so she knows just how stressful things can be from the bride’s point of view.  Unlike some wedding planners, Elise designs weddings that are tailored to each couple.

deBelle designs is also eco-friendly.  They reuse many of their items and instead of buying brand new items, they often find things at second hand stores.  They also encourage their couples to rent items instead of buying them.

For more information about Elise and deBelle Designs and how they can be of service to you on your special day, visit them online or check out our partners page.

Five new Valentine’s Day cards are now available for purchase.  Check out these unique and punny designs, which can be purchased in singles or in packages of 10.  Done post-card style, in traditional Valentine’s Day Card format.

It’s January, which means wedding season is now upon us.  Time to put away the Christmas decorations and get planning!

On January 28th we’ll be participating in the Indie I Do Wedding Show for the third year in a row, and we have some free passes to give away.

If you would like receive some passes to the show, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and let us know about it in the comments below.

The first 70 tickets purchased receive a swag bag filled with all sorts of tangible goodies!  I’ll be making all of our swag so keep an eye out for an upcoming post for a sneak peek to see what we’re giving away this year.

Valentine’s Day cards will also be available for purchase at our booth.

For more information about Indie I Do Wedding show, visit them online at www.indieido.com.

Happy New Year!  With the new year comes the first of a few new wedding invitation designs.  There will be a few new wedding invitation designs to be added to the catalog this year as well as a line of birthday and greeting cards that will be added later this year, so keep an eye out!

I started on this design a couple of years ago then put it on the back burner because I wasn’t sure where it was going, but I’m definitely liking how it turned out.  Nothing says wedding like a bride and groom riding a pair of narwhals.  It’s totally ridiculous but I love it – definitely for an off beat couple with a sense of humour that are looking for a unique wedding invitation.  Features of the bride and groom can be changed upon request to match those of the couple.

Look for it to be added to the catalog soon, or if you’d like to request a sample or place an order in the meantime, please contact us.

Today I received our shipment of Complete Weddings magazine.  We have an ad featured in their new issue so pick one up to check it out.  We do have some complimentary copies to give away, so if you would like a copy of the 2012 issue, drop us a line at info[at]sgreencards.com.

A new greeting card section has been added to the store, and Christmas cards are now available for purchase.

Check out the five new card designs, A Dino-mite Christmas, Daschund through the snow, Deck the Halls, Santa Says Relax, and Seasoning’s Greetings.

Over the next year a variety of greeting cards will be added to the store.  And just in time for Christmas, we’ll be putting together 5 new Christmas card designs that will be sold in packs of 10, but we need your help!  We’re looking for your witty / punny Christmas card ideas.  Submit your ideas to info [at] sgreencards . com and if your idea is chosen we’ll design a card around it.  The winner will receive a set of Christmas cards!

You can enter until Midnight on November 4th.  The winner and the card design will be announced on November 6th!

Here are a couple of cards we’ve come up with so far:

Two new card designs have been added to the store.  You can now order Autumn or Fireflies themed wedding invitations.  Check them out in the catalog or request a sample.

Also, keep an eye out for some new Christmas cards designs.  Some sketches will be posted soon!