Good Things: Invitations and Save-the-Dates

Partygoers will be a step ahead thanks to announcements showcasing dance-step basics. Tease a 1930s-style affair with a fox-trot how-to (pictured here), or offer instructions for the cha-cha, salsa, or waltz.

Announcements on Botanical Paperworks paper will sprout and grow—wait for it—just like your love. Recipients can plant the cards in soil, then water and see seedlings—an herb or wildflower mix—in about 10 days. As for designs, you have three options: Choose a ready-made motif; use your own; or order the paper and design and print yourself. For a bumper crop, mail them in the company's corresponding plantable envelopes.

Guests will be starry-eyed after discovering this artful save-the-date in their mailboxes. Created for us by Simplesong Design, "Over the Moon" lets everyone know how many moons will pass before your wedding. To play up its palette, adorn your envelopes with coordinating postage from Champion Stamp.

Nothing says "I spy a good time" like this quirky and curious save-the-date. The words are printed in blue, and then a red-squiggle design is printed over them to obscure the announcement. When guests use a red lens to decode and read the card, the information beneath becomes clear. The only mystery that remains now: how to make it yourself. Learn our secrets here.

You won the lottery when you found each other, so send this cheeky save-the-date card to let guests share in your luck. After scraping off the paint with a penny, they'll hit the jackpot: your wedding date!

Put a modern twist on the flip-book with these ecstatic announcements. Just show how completely nuts you are about each other in a short home video, and then send it off to PicFlips.

In two weeks, they will turn your film into custom flip books you can mail to friends and family. Naturally, everyone will flip out when they receive it.

Champion Stamp is our go-to vendor for extraordinary postage you can use to match the theme of your big day. Here's how we used them:

For Garden Weddings Delicate buds and vintage botanical prints bring Mother Nature's finest to your invites. 

For City Celebrations Art, architecture, and graphic motifs have a metropolitan feel.

For Beach Parties Ships, sandy spots, and glorious birds allude to the water -- and they're perfect for destination affairs.

For Mountain Nuptials Flora and fauna sets the seen for a woodland wedding.

Thanks to its distinctive, natural vibe, you might say this stationery, crafted from sheets of veneer and paper-backed wood, goes against the grain.

Calligrapher and stationer Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls created the letterpress invitation; for an envelope, she folded a paper-thin sheet around the card. The favor box, tied with waxed twine, is by Lenderink Technologies.

Pose for the camera spelling out love with your fingers. Edit our clip art with your information, then print it on heavyweight ink-jet paper. On the flip side, print your photo. Stamp on numbers and letters in bright-red ink.

Matte double-sided premium presentation paper by Epson, from Staples. "Smarty Typeface" rubber-stamp kit by Magnetic Poetry, from Addicted to Rubber Stamps.

This handheld tool can imprint your return address onto envelope flaps, save-the-dates, and thank-you notes. It makes an impression -- literally -- while saving you both time and money. It also makes an excellent bridesmaid or groomsman gift. This one is by Rubber Stamps, Inc.

The most heartfelt notes take a bit of composing, so give them a little thought before setting pen to your very best paper. As you write, keep a notepad nearby to try out sentences, phrases, and your penmanship, and to figure out spacing -- because the best notes should sound good and look good, too.

You've finally picked out the design, typography, color, and paper stock for your invitations. Want extra credit? Spend some time thinking about your stamps and liners. We have two envelope-pushing ideas to take your stationery from standard to first-class.

If invitations hint at what's to come, why not let the celebration begin on the envelope? Stationer Jonathan Wright and Company offers note cards with envelopes prettily embellished with collections of stamps, perfect for a handwritten shower invite. Repeat the effect on your printed wedding invitation with vintage styles from online or specialty stores.

Remind guests of your wedding with every page they turn. These bookmarks were printed on lightweight card stock five per sheet and trimmed to 2-by-7-inch strips. Punch holes; add store-bought tassels. Mail in glassine envelopes with card-stock inserts bearing the address.

With warm and fuzzy yarn accents, a plain stationery set becomes wedding-worthy. Make tiny dots where you want holes for stitches to be (or have them printed, if you can). Choose a textured stock and matching envelope (we lined ours with gift wrap) and a soft ink color to make cards refined.

Punch holes with a Japanese hole punch. Thread a single strand of yarn on a yarn needle; knot one end, stitch accents; knot again at end. Each 5-by-7-inch invitation requires a 7-inch length of yarn for each side, stitched in a short/long pattern and tied in a bow at the center. For 3 1/2-by-5-inch reply cards, use two 2 1/2-inch lengths of yarn; for 4-by-5 1/2-inch programs, use one 17-inch length of yarn.

These charming save-the-dates prove good news can come in small packages, too. Purchase mini cards and envelopes (Motel Deluxe from Paper Presentation, 800-727-3701, made these 2-by-3-inch sets). Run envelopes through a machine that adds adhesive backing (we used one from Xyron), and affix to postcards (either store-bought or cut from card stock). Handwrite or stamp your wedding information on the cards; tuck them in the envelopes, and seal. Add standard first-class postage, and you're set to announce you've set the date.

Guests are sure to remember your wedding day if all they have to do is peel and stick a reminder to their calendars. You can personalize adhesive labels at home.

Buy 1-inch round labels from an office-supply store, and follow the manufacturer's instructions to download and customize the template. Print labels with your date using a laser printer. Cut each sheet into rows of labels. Laser print note cards with a message to "save the date." Affix a row of labels to each note card with a glue stick.