Save the Dates That Saved the Day!

When it came time for my sister to send out her Save the Dates, Holly thought this would be a fun way to announce her destination wedding in California. And nothing says "destination" like an invite that resembles a plane ticket.

Since our dad is a pilot, he was able to work his magic and put her in touch with another pilot who flies private planes. After some smooth talking, Holly got the pilot to agree to a little photo shoot when the plane wasn't in use. My other sister Laurie was back as the photographer extraordinaire and Brent, well, he was back as the patient groom-to-be who agreed to put up with another Smith sister adventure. Noticing a theme here?

They didn't have a lot of time (an hour, at tops) and the sun was setting, so they had to work quickly. Once the photos were taken, the fun part began...incorporating them into a Save the Date that resembles a REAL plane ticket. And this is where the misery began for poor Laurie who had to change the text and images over and over until both Holly and I were satisfied.

Here's the front of the invite complete with rounded corners thanks to my corner rounder punch! If you look closely, the airline is Five Star, which is Holly's nickname. And the flight number is 705 for her wedding date, July 5.

And here's the back of the invite. The caption says, "Love is taking off! Will you join us for the ride?"

And no plane ticket would be complete without an American Airlines ticket jacket! You know, because Five Star Airlines is an affiliate of American Airlines (and we have a dad who can get them for free!).

Like I mentioned before, Laurie had the tough job of editing these Save the Dates. One night the three of us were on a conference call going over all the details. The call went on for over an hour and each time Holly or I would make changes, Laurie would edit the invite and then e-mail us an updated proof. I could tell Laurie was quickly losing patience and becoming more and more frustrated with us because the subject lines of her e-mails became more and more colorful...

Bite me

Just say it's fine

Burn in everlasting torment

I just took up drinking

You make me want to run away

I like myself less and less by the minute

I just started sucking my thumb again

I think I just swallowed a bunch of pills

All of the sudden I want to hurt myself

I keep tying my hair in knots

I ate my twin in the womb

Oh look! There's the gun I've been looking for

I'm in Charlie's crate in the fetal position

I just ate a bowl of dog food and I don't know why

Sometimes I want to run away

With material this good, I had to incorporate it into my maid of honor speech at the wedding. It had the crowd laughing hysterically and I got a lot of compliments later. Laurie wasn't too happy with me, but since she forfeited her right to give a toast, I just had to include her in it! Plus, going the funny route saved me from getting overemotional and doing one of those ugly sob speeches that lives on in video for ALL eternity.

This is one video I can't wait to see!
PK