Justine & Maxwell’s Charcoal and Coral D.I.Y. Wedding Invitations

When Justine contacted us about her idea for unique and budget-friendly wedding invitations, we were thrilled. “I knew from the beginning that I wanted very unique invitations but didn’t want to pay the high prices to have someone do it for me,” Justine said. Helping clients take a project from conception to completion is one of the best parts of what we do. “All of the staff at Weddings by Carue strives to get you exactly what you are looking for!  They are very conscious of staying within your budget and offer suggestions of how to achieve that. They work until your design is absolutely perfect and just what you imagined,” Justine said. The couple’s colors, charcoal and coral, were a perfect mix of formality and boldness that inspired us from the start.

Our recommendation to clients is to imagine what their invitations will be like for guests to receive and open.

Justine was inspired by sites like Pinterest, Etsy, and Wedding Paper Divas, and then brought her ideas to us in order to create exactly what she was looking for. “I combined design ideas from outside sources with my own creativity to create my own unique invitation,” Justine said. When focusing on the message of the invitation, we assisted in reflecting the couple’s personality instead of sticking to traditional and formal wording.

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Tim & Megan’s Wedding Reception Photo Booth at
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Cedar Rapids

We had a blast at Tim and Megan’s wedding reception in Cedar Rapids, helping guests celebrate by capturing all the excitement in our photo booth! The photo frames were customized to match the couple’s wedding colors, navy and gold, and quickly became treasured keepsakes. “Having a photo booth allowed all of our guests the ability to take a piece of our wedding home with them,” Megan said.

The guests weren’t the only ones left with keepsakes. A Weddings by Carue attendant assisted in taking the photos as well as compiling them into a scrapbook for Tim and Megan to enjoy. “When my husband and I looked at the scrapbook, we could not stop laughing at some of the pictures in there,” Megan said. “We were flipping through each page, looking at the photos, and reflecting on how wonderful our day had been. We feel so lucky looking at those pictures and seeing just how fun our friends and family are.” Fun was definitely incorporated into the photo booth with a wide variety of props for guests to choose from.

Photo booths are an opportunity to initiate conversations and make new friends, which is reminiscent of how Tim and Megan met. “Tim and I met at a bar while watching the Iowa vs. Iowa State game. He came over to our group of friends and tried striking up a conversation about Iowa State. None of us were that big of fans of ISU, so it wasn’t going too well until he offered to buy us all a drink,” Megan said. “We got to chatting and I found out he wasn’t even an Iowa State fan. It was worse; he was a Husker fan! We talked throughout the rest of the game, exchanged numbers, and went our separate ways. Not even two hours later, Tim texted me. Trying to play it cool, I left him hanging as long as I could – twenty minutes – before texting him back. We continued talking through the night and decided to do lunch the next day. From that day on, we didn’t stop talking or hanging out.”

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Justin and Jessicann’s “Down Home” Wedding at Wooden Wheel Vineyards in Keota, IA

One of the best things about Iowa is the eclectic mix of urban and rural communities in the area. Just 45 minutes south of Iowa City is the small town of Keota. In addition to the gorgeous views of Iowa-centric farmland, the town also holds Wooden Wheel Vineyards – the site of Justin and Jessicann’s big day. When we were approached to assist with Justin and Jessicann’s wedding, they emphasized the need to bring the best of both rural and city life into the celebration.

“Justin and I met while he was stationed at Fort Drum, New York,” said Jessicann, a native of New York. “We actually met on a dating website. We talked through the computer the first day and then graduated to texting then finally talked to each other on the phone while he was doing one of his retreats for the Army. We talked until six a.m. every day while he was on that retreat and then set up our first date. The rest is history.”
The process of combining the tastes of two individuals can be a challenge, but Weddings by Carue strives to make the experience as simple as possible. “Carissa was just so easy to work with,” said Jessicann. “She made me comfortable about decisions I made from my invitations, to the photo booth, to photography, and my favor boxes. She really kept my budget in mind and helped me make beautiful decisions that would keep me within my budget and still fit within my theme. Carissa was just amazing and I recommend her every chance I get.

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