Lilly & Hayles has started to work with the Diefenbunker: Canada's Cold War Museum on events, design and other marketing efforts - and one thing that we found out was that they rent out the bunker for parties, events and weddings!  Oh the creativity of the invitations we could build for a wedding there!  Check out their Pinterest board for wedding and engagement ideas.

With the new year upon us, and a wonderful 2012 behind - we would like to offer a new service to our couples.  We have now designed a DIY element into our design process. We will still provide absolutely everything as before - unique design - quality materials - perfectly printed and trimmed -  and now will offer discounts to those who feel crafty and want to have a hand putting them together. Included in this new service is a full lesson with us to show you how to make them so they will be just perfect every time!

It's that time of year again. We eat, we drink, we be merry - we reflect, we appreciate, we celebrate - we share stories, spend time with friends and family - we watch favourite childhood Christmas movies - we bake, we lick bowls, we fight over the last bit of stuffing with our siblings - we sing songs, we laugh, we give gifts and ourselves to others- this is by far the most wonderful time of the year. Here at Lilly & Hayles we want to wish our happy couples, our friends, our families, our vendors, our partnerships and our spouses the warmest of wishes this holiday season. It's been a fantastic year and we have you to thank. Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas.

Who knew you could marry an invitation design to a cupcake! I had the pleasure of this experience while recommending Just Cupcaking for Ashley & Alex's wedding.  They were able to take the monogrammed letter from their invitations and apply it to handmade/edible monogrammed medallions which were resting on a cloud of vanilla bean buttercream icing on top of vanilla bean & fudge mini cupcakes. They provide the most delicious custom cupcakes I have ever tasted. Check out their website! http://cupcaking.weebly.com/

One of the first questions I ask my couples is - have you included postage costs in your invitation budget? It is "good" to be prepared when it comes to planning your invites outside of choosing fonts and gorgeous paper. I like everyone involved to be completely prepared ahead of time so there are little to no surprises when you show up at Canada Post with your stack of fabulously perfect invites that now cost you a car payment to send. The "common woopsie" is that excited newlyweds have been known to purchase postage ahead of time to spread out the costs. This is a great idea, however can be a slight hurdle if your package is over the standard 30g letter weight. Now you can always add postage, but your envelope could look like a postage mosaic in the top right corner that throws off the Zen of the beautifully custom envelope you created. Now, if you do buy ahead of time, no sweat; just be sure to tell your designer upfront so they (me) can provide you options that fit within your already set parameters. And the "expensive" can come into play when you want that trendy black 6.5" square envelope to house your invitation package. It sounds a pretty normal, but alas, Canada Post has different prices on specialty sized letters that fall outside the standard A4, or A7 sizes.

So, please keep in mind - the more items you add to your pouch or envelope the heavier it will be, therefore more expensive to mail. Square can sometimes cost more no matter the weight. And try to know your approximate costs upfront to ease your mind when mailing them.

Have you been ever told to stop doodling?
As a professional designer and avid doodler, I live for the creativity and story behind a good doodle. Jim Henson has a whole book about how the Muppets started as doodles and I'm sure he didn't let anyone tell him to stop. Funny thing tho, when we look at history... “In the 17th century, a doodle was a simpleton or a fool, as in “Yankee Doodle.” In the 18th century, it became a verb, and it meant to swindle or ridicule or to make fun of someone. In the 19th century, it was a corrupt politician. And today “To doodle officially means to dawdle, to dilly dally, to monkey around, to make meaningless marks, to do something of little value, substance and,” my personal favorite, “to do nothing.”  So, are doodles nothing more than chicken scratches out of boredom, or could they the beginning of a timeless masterpiece? Let's ask Kermit.

When it comes to sketching ideas for your wedding, go for it! Do not hold back. This could be the start of something absolutely fabulous!

What's the difference between letterpress printing, and thermal embossed printing when we talk about invitations. With letterpress - simply put - your letters are pressed into the paper. Your type or illustration will be indented into your stock using a raised surface printing plate, and the depth of the resulting "bite" will vary depending upon the type of paper chosen. Thicker, softer papers  will carry a deeper impression than hard or thin papers. As for thermal embossed printing, it's the opposite. Embossing is a way to embellish typography and illustrations by raising the ink on the paper. Using heat and a special embossing powder a raised shiny surface is created. As beautiful as both treatments are, they are more expensive than traditional printing - so keep that in mind when budgeting for your invitation packages.

Lilly & Hayles Design has been published! We posted an ad in the July edition of Weddingbells, hitting shelves today! To compliment our printed ad, we have an online presence as well.
Visit our ad here!
http://www.weddingbells.ca/listings/ottawa-and-eastern-ontario/invitations/lilly-hayles-design/

I'm already married, however I still love looking at wedding styles - not just for stationery ideas - but for design, love and inspiration. My new vice is Weddinggawker.com. It's kind of like the Pinterest of everything wedding. Sweet.