On the weekend Shawn and I checked out Michaels – the arts and crafts store. We went there because I’d read on assorted message boards that it was supposed to be packed with useful wedding-related stuff. We’d also seen a Michaels flyer that contained an ad for some nice-looking, print-yourself wedding invites so we‘d figured that it would be smart to a least see what this store had to offer us.
It turns out that Michaels actually had very little to offer us. Oh sure, it’s packed with craft and art supplies but I think to truly get the most of that store, you need to be a very creative and visionary person. To someone like me, who is about as anti-DIY as they come, Michaels appears to be packed with, well, tacky shit.
The notable exceptions to this are the quasi-DIY invites/paper products. These do not look like tacky shit and while not as nice as what you’d get if you paid $7 an invite, they are certainly nice enough to do the job (really, beside yourself and maybe a few relatives, who’s going to keep your invite?). The BRIDES line also offer a cohesive look for all your paper products (so matching invites, programs, guest book, even favour boxes).
However, colour-wise the selection of these products was rather limited. I was actually quite surprised at how few colours were represented but I guess the limited variety helps to keep the costs done. We were able to find an invite kit in silver so at least we’re taken care of.
The invite kit we’re looking at is this one (but in silver instead of black) and at $60 for 30 invites, it’s cheaper than custom but not as cheap as a true DIY invite. Still, I have no problems paying a bit more if that means I don’t have to cut or glue anything. Also, Michaels flyers regularly contain 40 percent off one item coupons so we’re going to track down a trio of those coupons and save ourselves a bit of cash.
It turns out that Michaels actually had very little to offer us. Oh sure, it’s packed with craft and art supplies but I think to truly get the most of that store, you need to be a very creative and visionary person. To someone like me, who is about as anti-DIY as they come, Michaels appears to be packed with, well, tacky shit.The notable exceptions to this are the quasi-DIY invites/paper products. These do not look like tacky shit and while not as nice as what you’d get if you paid $7 an invite, they are certainly nice enough to do the job (really, beside yourself and maybe a few relatives, who’s going to keep your invite?). The BRIDES line also offer a cohesive look for all your paper products (so matching invites, programs, guest book, even favour boxes).
However, colour-wise the selection of these products was rather limited. I was actually quite surprised at how few colours were represented but I guess the limited variety helps to keep the costs done. We were able to find an invite kit in silver so at least we’re taken care of.
The invite kit we’re looking at is this one (but in silver instead of black) and at $60 for 30 invites, it’s cheaper than custom but not as cheap as a true DIY invite. Still, I have no problems paying a bit more if that means I don’t have to cut or glue anything. Also, Michaels flyers regularly contain 40 percent off one item coupons so we’re going to track down a trio of those coupons and save ourselves a bit of cash.
We also looked at Michaels for centrepiece supplies (we’re thinking of using a bunch of rectangular candles of varying heights on a mirror with maybe tea lights in glass cubes around that) but for the most part the store didn’t quite have what we are looking for and what it did have (the candles) could be bought for cheaper at a candle outlet store.
To be fair, maybe it was just the Michaels that we visited (in the Dixie outlet mall) that was less than packed with great stuff. A quick look on its website does show a nice selection of packaging for favours (though the favours themselves are a bit tacky). Maybe I just need to try another Michaels.
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