This month we celebrate our Third Anniversary!!

Snap Burlington graciously covered the festivities of our Our Grand Opening !

As we celebrate many memories and fabulous clients we also Thank our clients, family and friends for their continued support of our endeavour. We wouldn't still be here today without each one of you! THANK YOU!

Original cover story:

The invitations at Invitations by SanSheira’s are so special that some of their clients have even planned an event just so they could have an opportunity to send hand made custom designed invitations.

Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs are all occasions celebrated through invitations. What a better way to say YOU ARE INVITED ! Hand made, custom designed invitation designed on the most beautiful papers.

If you are planning an event, and you want to stir an air of excitement that is guaranteed to tantalize your guests. Call to let us know when you would like to visit us!

Thank you - we look forward to another great year!

Cheri Valcheff

A Baby is Born!

Weddings are our specialty. We love weddings, but just as exciting (if not more!) is the birth of a baby. As we have been in business now for a while we are starting to get the new news from our brides on the birth of their first babies.

This month we have created a few Baby Announcements. Simple yet stunning. Who do we send these to? Everyone, your family, friends and co-workers. Budget? We can create your custom Baby Announcement cards for as little as $2.50 for complete sets.

Thank you to those who have given us the pleasure of creating these special announcements! Check out a couple of recent designs!

Cheri Valcheff

Don't drop the ball!!!

Don't drop the ball - I know I keep mentioning thank you cards the past few blogs. It seems to keep coming up on conversation with our couples or clients emailing us questions the last few weeks. Again this morning a good friend was sharing the details of a wedding her sister recently had the honour of attending. Beautiful wedding and lots of fun was had. At some point in the evening the entire wedding guest party was asked to leave their tables and exited to another area of the banquet hall to take some group photos. When the guests returned to their seats they were greeted with a Thank You card placed at each seat! It was a nice gesture and especially interesting as the bride & groom's wedding picture was already placed in the card.

Efficient of their photographer to be prepared to print and have the cards placed immediately with each guest!! Great idea, however in my PERSONAL opinion...it's not the way to go. Yes a thank you was placed for the guest - but in this gesture, the guest has truly only been thanked for attending the wedding.

Couples, in my humble opinion, need to personally thank each guest for not just attending, but for the special gift that guest may have given them. This is also the purpose of a Thank You card! Guests put time and effort and expense into attending your wedding. Most guests attending a wedding, more often than not, have incurred expense for babysitters, travelling, accommodations and even possibly bought a new outfit or had their hair done all before either giving a nice gift or a cash gift for the couple's future.

I can't say enough that a proper and personal thank you is warranted for the effort a guest puts into your wedding as well as their gift to you.

You and your spouse have planned a beautiful wedding, taken into consideration incredible detail, time and effort to ensure it is perfect for yourselves and your guests so don't drop the ball at the end of the event!!! Complete it elegantly and properly and your guests will remember you did a class job right up to the end!!

Closing off for the day with a promise that the next blog will NOT be on THANK YOU'S!

Cheri Valcheff

More questions on Thank You Notes

NOTE: Picture compliments of Indulge Baskets, Oakville

(Thank you Michelle!)

Quite often I have been asked for advice on wording ideas for Invitations and Thank You cards. As I particularly enjoy writing, the task of writing comes a bit easier than for most. As I have shared before, sending a thank you is not negotiable! Guests deserve a thank you note - even if just for attending your wedding. On another note, surely I am not the only wedding vendor who LOVES to receive a picture of our happy couples from the wedding. So, don't forget the vendors you worked with and especially their staff who worked hard to pull everything together for your wedding. It truly is exciting to receive a thank you note from our brides & grooms, besides a nice thank you is also a seal of approval for our future clients to view! (by the way, a big thank you to all our couple's who send us those great thank you notes!) Let me share a few thank you samples from our archives;

Sample note of thanks to your wedding vendors:

Scott, our wedding day was perfect and wonderful. We want to thank you and your staff for designing the most incredibly beautiful flowers for our wedding. The colours were beautiful, vibrant and set the theme for our reception. We received many compliments on the flower choices and the design. Thank you for going the extra mile and setting up everything at the church and reception for us!

Suzy & Jack

A note of thanks to guests who you may not personally have known well (maybe friends of parents?)

Jack and I were thrilled that you were able to join our families in celebration of our wedding. We appreciate that you travelled so far to share the day. Thank you very much for the gift certificate, it is such a perfect gift!

Sincerely,

Suzy & Jack

Thank you to family members

Aunt Mazie and Uncle Bob;

You are both wonderful. Our day would never have been complete without you! You have walked every journey in my life and now Jack's. We love you both!

Thank you so much for the amazing gift of the most exquisite hand made quilt. It fits our room beautifully.

Lots of love Suzy & Jack

There are a few samples continuing the Thank You questions. Invite wording to follow! If you have specific questions just let me know!

Cheri Valcheff

Purple Parrot Tulips

I am on a search for illustrations or pictures of purple Parrot Tulips! I have spent the evening searching for pictures on the net. Despite the large selection of pictures I have taken over the years of flowers, I don't have one of a purple Parrot Tulip. It is quite a beautiful flower. I took an hour to myself the other day and ended up at a small florist in downtown Oakville. It was s busy little place and the flowers were stunningly bright and beautiful. I couldn't help but pull my little Sony camera from my purse and after asking for permission, started taking pictures. What therapy on a cold, rainy, dark and damp day. Anyway, with my picture taking escapade and my search for the purple Parrot Tulip made me think of one of our brides from a few years ago.

Our beautiful bride was getting married in the winter. The entire decor was planned around this specific flower. It was a flower she was mad about! I can't remember the name of the flower, but after planning everything around this specific flower, she found out that for a winter wedding, this flower would be out of season. Much disappointment was experienced by the bride and last minute changes were made for the decor for the evening. I felt bad for her as although one might think a specific flower choice isn't the end of the world, it was still a disappointment.

TIP: Ensure you are working with an experienced florist who not only has fantastic design flair - but knows seasons for the flowers you are choosing. Oh.. and a passion for what he or she does is key to stunning bouquets. Ask for advice on a flower that will stand up well for an evening of humid or cold weather!! Don't be shy to ask lots of questions.

Let me bring a moment of sunshine to your day - check out this picture - flowers and colours! Yummy!

Cheri

Thank You Card Etiquette

Many of you have asked us for advice concerning Thank You cards. Our opinion:

* Sending a Thank You note is not negotiable! Taking the time to send a Thank You note to your guest is no less important than sending an Invitation to your wedding to your guest

* When should you send your Thank You? Immediately. We have heard that within a year is acceptable. Personally I disagree. Most of what we have read and agree with suggests a time line of 3 months (no more than six months!)

* Personally write the Thank You - no problem with a general note printed inside - but always add a personal handwritten note ensuring to thank your guest for any extra special efforts made for your wedding

* Send Thank You notes to everyone who somehow walked the journey or helped you with the planning of your wedding

* Send different Thank You notes for your Showers or parties than those sent for your Wedding

* Sending Thank You notes is a big task - be prepared for it. We suggest you order your cards with your Wedding invitations. Often this will save you money - but most importantly this will keep you organized and able to prepare and send Thank You notes out for your showers prior to your wedding. Taking care of that task will ensure you are not overwhelmed with the Wedding Thank You notes

If you have any specific questions concerning Thank You etiquette just send us an email and we will answer

Cheri

September rush!

When do I start the invitation planning process you ask? We say - the minute the thought of your invitations come into mind is when you start. Hopefully you have not thought about this just a few short months prior to your wedding!! I do suggest starting the design process as soon as you can - but typically at least six to eight months prior to your wedding. You want to allow sufficient time to have the design process started, completed and of course a nice window of time to send those precious invitations. Guests should not be invited last minute, nor should they be rushed to reply.

September begins our busy season. We take off like a flurry of birds off to warmer weather and we don't stop the invitation planning and production process until the following July. July and August are typically what we call quiet time for brides who are planning weddings. It is however, a very busy time for brides who are preparing for the most important day of their lives!!

Welcome September with open arms as we get very excited with our couples for the next wedding season. Looking forward to meeting many of you.

Cheri