Jazz up your Seating Chart

Here at Pink Umbrella Designs, we love creating a beautifully laid out, functional and flattering {to your wedding} Seating Chart, what we hate, is handing them over with raw foamcore edges. We know, this is likely something you and your guests don’t notice, but after seeing them leave our office week after week, we do. Sure, you or your wedding planner could purchase a frame to dress your seating chart up, and lots do, which is fabulous, but, it’s more effort on your end, right?

We’ve decided you deserve better, our designs deserve better, and that we’d love to help you achieve better, without alot of time, money or effort on your part…

We are excited to say that we have been working hard for the past month to offer our clients frames to rent! These frames vary in size, colour and style. We wanted to be able to offer a variety of frames, so that our clients can find something that suits their wedding decor.

Wondering what these frames look like? We’ll do a post soon with photos of each one, as well as have them listed on our new website, which we hope to have up as soon as we can (I know, we’ve been saying that for a while now).

In the mean time, drop us a line for a quote, and we’ll be happy to send you a quick snap of the ones you might be interested in.

Ultimate Engagement Winner!

After MUCH deliberation, we have chosen a winner for our Ultimate Engagement Giveaway. When I thought about running a contest based on reading engagement stories, my thought was: How fun will it be to read all these über romantic stories about how two people decided to spend the rest of their lives together! What I didn’t think was: How hard it will be to pick just ONE of those stories to win our prize!

We received quite a selection of stories, with engagements that took place all over the world, every one was unique, thoughtful and so romantic. In the end, only one could win, and after hours of debating, back and forth, a glass of wine (or two) we finally made our choice.

MEET OUR WINNERS:

Megan & Curtis

This is their story:

On December 16th 2012 my friend planed a girls night in Canmore at the Grand

Rockies Resort. I never pass on a girls night out so it goes without saying…I would
be there! The last two months of our lives had been hectic to say the least, in two
months Curtis and I had moved to a new town, started a new job and bought a
house. My head was scrambled and I was so excited for the girls night I completely
forgot it was the day of our two year anniversary.

In my excitement I rushed to Canmore and beat my friend to the hotel so she told me
to meet her in the room. As I opened the door the room was filled with lit candles and
romantic music was whispering in the background. It took me a few moments to
realize this had nothing to do with a girls night…I had forgotten about our
anniversary! I took a few more steps into the room and on the counter was a bottle of
wine and a note saying:

“Surprise baby!!!!
Did you forget what day it is?
Happy Anniversary!

We are going out for a nice dinner so pour your self a glass of wine, get
dressed and come and have a drink with me down stairs at the bar.

I LOVE YOU
P.S. Take your time, our reservation is for after 8″

I couldn’t believe I was the one that forgot, isn’t it supposed to be the other way
around? I suddenly felt frantic, excited and embarrassed all at the same time. I dug
through my bag of clothes trying to decide what to wear, thankfully because I was
prepared for a girls night I put together something half decent. In my hot and
bothered mess I threw my clothes on and ran down to the bar where Curtis was
waiting for me. After a much needed glass of wine a humongous (like so big it could
have been a boat) limo pulled up to the door…it was our ride! We took a short but
sweet scenic ride around Canmore and were dropped off at one of our favorite
restaurants, The Trough. Curtis had reserved the table we sat at on our very first date two years ago.

We took our time enjoying our meal and a nice bottle of wine. We
don’t usually order desert but on this particular night we both decided it was a good
idea.

The waiter handed me a menu, Inside it had scrambled symbols and text that I
couldn’t read so Curtis handed me his. I read the menu a few time’s before I processed
the words in my mind:

I adore you
I always will
Will you marry me?

When I looked up Curtis was on one knee with a ring in his hand, I was so flustered
I didn’t hear a word he said…I just said YES!!

___________________________________________________________

Huge congrats to Megan and Curtis, we all look forward to working with you! Also a HUGE thank you to all of those who sent in your entries, we loved reading every-single one of them, and greatly appreciate you sharing you special moment with us. We wish you the best of luck with your wedding plans, and all the best for the future.

DIY Inviations.. worth it, or not?

Are you interested in doing your invites DIY, but have no idea where to start?

DIY doesn’t mean to you have to bust out Microsoft Word and attempt to design your wedding invite, it just means that you’ll have to do the leg work, printing and production in order to make your invites perfect.

You can start by checking out websites like Etsy for printable templates to purchase. There are 1000′s of styles, from all over the world, chances are you’ll find what you are looking for. You can visit our shop by clicking here.

Next off is to decide what paper you want to print on, if you want to use your own printer, or if you want to send to one of your local, professional printers. I highly recommend hiring a pro for this part, as the colours, quality, and cuts will be much nicer, unless you have high-end equipment for all. Sturdy papers are best, cover stocks, at 100lb are my preference. White or Ivory is always best to print on, but there are lots of other options out there, including metallic’s that have a shimmer.

Thinking you want layers, no problem! Visit Micheals for lots of cardstock options, or, even better, we have a direct link to our Envelopments® line of papers, cardstocks, pocketfolds, pocket cards, place cards, favour boxes and more. This option allows you to order card-stock in the exact size you need so that you’re not cutting 100+ pieces. It also allows you have to have a consistent theme with all printed products. We have swatch books of all papers that Envelopments® offers for rent, which will help making choosing colours much easier.

If that all seems a bit to much with all the other planning you have going on, it’s best to set up a meeting with a professional and have them take care of all the back-end, while you focus your efforts on other aspects.

What’s your Holiday Colour Style?

The holidays are fast approaching, as the pumpkins and goblins get put away until next year, it’s time to think about Christmas. We’ve compiled some colour options and inspiration from our Envelopments® paper swatches. What’s your colour style? Ice Blue, Fresh & Fun or Traditional? I personally am an Ice Blue type, every year I’m drawn to the contrast of the bright blue and stark white, I like how it brightens up my home and stands out against the green of the tree.

Looking for more inspiration? Click here to find more colours and lots of DIY ideas and products for invites, cards & table seatings, or you can contact us and we can work together to help find you the perfect colour palette for your holiday look.

A card can say a thousand words..

Have you ever thought of the effect that sending a card for the holidays can have? Especially for a business? Sending Christmas cards lets your friends, family and clients know that you care about them, and, in a client aspect, appreciate their business.

My recommendation when sending corporate Christmas cards, is to put Christmas before business. Have the card be a simple “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” with a graphic (or not) on the front, a well wishing or thank you on the inside signed by you, and perhaps your business info on the back. Although sending a corporate Christmas card is a good move for your client relationships, it shouldn’t scream business. Feel free to keep your branding, just put a Christmas spin on it.

Having a holiday party and want to invite your clients? Same rules apply. The invitation itself is business enough, make the invite fun and inviting.

We can create custom designed cards around your companies needs and ideas, let us know what you are after and we can give you a custom quote. We offer free delivery to Canmore and Banff, but thanks to the internet, and the postal system, we can create cards for anyone, anywhere, just let us know where we’ll need to ship them to and we’ll include it in the quote.

Looking for something personal, we have a small template gallery on Etsy for photo cards. These could work for corporate or family! Looking for something else? No problem, just drop us a line and we’ll be happy to help.

Happy holiday planning!

Fa la la la la….

It’s that time of year again, to start thinking and planning for Christmas! My favorite part of planning for Christmas to come is sending out personalized Christmas cards to our family and friends. Something personal to say, “Thanks for being part of an amazing year”.

We’ve created a small pile of templates to choose from (below). These templates are designed for your photos (to replace the ones you see). This line of holiday stationery is printed on high-quality papers and printed at a professional print shop. Don’t see a template you like, contact us and we can work with you to create something perfect.

There are three options for printing. Flat (like a postcard) style, folded card style, or layered card style.

Pricing & Info

20 Flat Cards with Envelope – $40.00
20 Folded Cards with Envelopes – $58.00
20 Flat, Layered cards with Metallic or colour envelope – $82.00 (choose your layer and envelope colours)

Please allow 1.5 week turn around for non-layered pieces. Envelope included is white. If items need to be shipped please allow 2.5 weeks.

Deadline for layered pieces is November 10th. Pieces will be ready by November 25th. Layered pieces use the Envelopments line of papers for a sophisticated and professional look.

Pick-Up and delivery is free in the Canmore / Banff area. Bulk shipping is available for Sarnia, ON. For other areas Shipping fees depend on size or order and location, please contact us.

You can contact us directly, or order online here.

Who doesn’t love a contest?!

We’re running a contest over at Pink Umbrella, to celebrate our new name, and our new product, hand crafted invites. We’re giving away a custom designed set of hand crafted invites, for any occasion! Don’t need invites, no problem! The prize can be transfered into 1000 business cards. All who enter are entitled to 10% off hand crafted invites until the closing date of the contest. Simply “Like” Pink Umbrella Designs on Facebook, and “Like” the below image posted on that page to be entered. Contest closes April 14th at Midnight.

Good luck!