To get started, think all the way back to when you and your beloved first met, and all the memories you’ve had since. What memories and associations come to mind, and what images would be fun to incorporate into your invitation and save the date card? If a collage approach suits your style, use your scanner to incorporate all sorts of found objects and mementos into your creation: informal photos, ticket stubs, programs and menus, maps, wine labels, coins, or anything else that brings up great memories.Or you may want to follow a simpler, more spiritual approach that incorporates images, colors, and quotations that are especially meaningful to you both. Here are some tips:

• Be thinking about creative formats and textures for your creations, as well. For example, create fun, personalized save the date magnets by printing your design onto 8 1/2 x 11 printable magnetic sheets.
• If you’re creating a wedding Web site, a save the date card is a great way to let people know the URL — and you may want to add it to your invitation as well. Be sure to use some of the design elements we’re discussing here on your Web site, as well.
• With the rise of scrapbooking, there are more papers and creative embellishments available than ever, so one great way to get inspired is to head to a scrapbooking store and check out all the amazing supplies that you can incorporate into your invitations.

If you haven’t taken your mini-moon yet, and you still have some time before your wedding, TAKE YOUR MINI-MOON!

“But Terrica“, you say, “What in the world is a mini-moon?”

Hold on to your engagement rings, because you are going to heart this. Instead of a honeymoon, you take a mini-moon during your planning period. Why? Well just like in all big times in life, you need a break. Planning a wedding, just like the long arduous process or buying a home or the incubating period of a pregnancy, can put quite a strain on a relationship. Don’t get me wrong, these are happy events that we are working towards. But because it’s in our nature to want everything to be perfect, we stress about little details, incorporations, etc.

Now, enter the Mini-Moon.

The mini-moon is a quick getaway for the bride and groom: 48 hours or more to a great place. This great place can be a vacation getaway or even the privacy of your own home. The deal is to not discuss anything wedding related for that 48 hours! That’s right– not one mention of your dress, six thousand bridesmaids, the peonies imported from New Delhi or the 700 buttercream roses which will adorn the cake.

Instead, you focus on what got you engaged in the first place– the two of you. If you take your mini-moon at home be sure to tell people you’re going a way. Nine times out of ten, people will call you, unaware of your wedding planning hiatus, and will want to talk shop. Lock up your wedding magazines, contracts, etc. Really make an effort to put the focus back on the relationship and not the wedding. After all, the wedding is only one day. The two of you are forever.

Ever since TomKat, the artists formerly known separately as Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, had their Italian Villa wedding, the new rage is Italian Weddings.  New couples are not going for the typical Caribbean destination wedding.  Instead, they are zooming off to Italy for their blissful nuptials. 

But let’s say you can’t afford the flight, paparazzi, or celebrity guest list.  Look instead for local Italian inspired structures here locally. For example, the Jekyll Island Club’s Italian Renaissance cottage, built for Richard T. Crane and his family in 1917, is beautifully appointed with massive fireplaces, handsome wrought iron details, and beautiful woodwork. Located near the heart of the historic district, Crane Cottage is on the National Registry of Historic Places.  Crane Cottage offers alfresco dining in the fountain courtyard, or inside in a tranquil, intimate setting.

This is a wonderful idea if you love the idea of going Tuscan or Sicilian or any other Italian area, definitely look into different areas around you. Look for decor, blooms, foods, etc.