Forever Wedding Card Tutorial and The Almost Wedding

Today we’re sharing a beautiful forever wedding card tutorial,
and a story about a wedding that almost wasn’t legal.

The Wedding That Wasn’t a Marriage

Marriage is a sacred bond, entered into verbally before family and friends, who watch in varying shades of emotion as two people seal their love before God and these witnesses.

Then a paper form is signed and stamped, sealed as a legal document that lives in a bank vault thereafter. So it’s ready for all future contracts entered into as a couple. To reinforce the love that brought his and hers into a beautiful ours.

That’s how it’s supposed to happen.

Sometimes things don’t go the way they’re supposed to.

Sometimes officiators get absentminded and forget about forms. Or let the bride and groom get riced and bubbled and on the way to their forever without completed documents.

It was good not to know, in our newly-wedded bliss, that our vows weren’t completely legal. One day of heaven on earth before the for-better and for-worse began!

Then we reversed our honeymoon plans so we could become legally married.

Fortunately, we only lost one day to legalities. We backtracked to meet our minister and two witnesses half way between them and us. And then marriage went on, all legalized before God and man and the government, from that day forward.

So, trick question: which day was the true wedding day?

As I made this card for our friends the above memories flowed back…

And Now, the Forever Wedding Card Tutorial

Supplies:

• Textured heavy watercolor paper, such as Canson* 140# 11″ x 15″
• Cricut™* or any cutting machine, and a 24″ cutting mat.
• Computer program for designing card.  I used Microsoft Publisher.
• Printer that accepts heavy paper. I use the rear feed on my Epson XP970.
• Ruler, glue, scissors and Exacto knife*.

Directions:

1. Cut a piece of card 7″ x 15″ from the watercolor paper. This is larger than you need, but the correct size will be cut on the Cricut™ cutting mat.
2. Design the card on Cricut™ Design Space: Open a new project. Insert a square. Open the sizing lock on the top of the screen and make the rectangle W 14″ and H 5″. Close the lock. Add two scoring lines. Place one at 7″ and one at 13.75″. Select all and click “attach.” Add an oval. Unlock the sizing and set at W 3.75″ and H 3″ and close the lock. Center the oval between the scoring lines and the top and bottom of the card. Select all, and click “cut.” Remove the ovals, leaving the oval cut out on the card. Save your project.
3. Place the card from number 1 on the large cutting mat. Cut out the card and set aside.

Inside Message for the Wedding Card:

1. In Publisher, or your favorite document editor, open an 11″ x 15″ blank page. Create a card 5″ x 14″ on your page. Insert a 1″ x 6″ text box with the word “forever” in flowy script along the right 5″ edge. We used “Modernline” font. Insert a 5″ high by 5.75″ text box just to the left of the “forever” text box. Select text to center, and create a wedding congratulations message’ Select all and group. Center the card on the page, on the left edge of the page.
2. Print the card you cut on the Cricut™ centering it in your rear feed printer. The end with the oval cut out should go in first, printing the message on the solid 7″ end of the card.
3. Fold the card on the scoring lines. Tear along the fold on the right front of the card, creating a hand-deckled edge. When you fold the card at the center scoring line, the wedding congratulations message will be on the inside, and the “forever” word will show on the right. My Cricut doesn’t score this heavy card deeply enough, so I go over the scored lines lightly with an Exacto knife before I tear and/or fold.

Liner for the Oval Cut Out on the Front of the Card:

1. Open a new 8.5″ x 11″ page in your word program.
2. Create a 5″ x 5.5″ rectangle. Insert a text box, and center the script all around. Chose your flowy font and write the names of the bridal couple, or their initials.
3. Print on white 28# paper. We used a scrap of handmade cotton rag paper. So luxurious!
4. Cut out the rectangle.
5. Glue inside the front cover of the card, so the words or initials show in the oval cut out.
6. Fold into a card, and insert into a standard 5″ x 7″ envelope.

Your Wedding Card is complete. Yay!

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