​Invitations are one of my favorite parts of planning an event. As Oscar Wilde put it, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.” The invitation is the first contact you make with your guests before a party, and it sets the tone for the whole occasion. Invitations also provide all kinds of important information for attendees. In addition to the essentials, guests may look to the invitation for attire hints, such as formality and color schemes for weddings, or gift ideas for showers, and may even partially base their attendance decision on how appealing they find the invite. That is a lot of pressure for one piece of paper! Here are 2 examples of Pinterest-worthy invites that no one would dream of turning down!

​Will you be my bridesmaid?
Did I say one piece of paper? Scratch that, because this bride said, “I’ll take your paper invitations and raise you a bottle of champagne!” One of my dearest friends just chose Trump winery in Charlottesville, Virginia, as her wedding venue and presented me with a truly jaw-dropping invitation to join her bridal party. Her fiancé is a whiz with design and printing, and he put those skills to work in a big way. He created personalized champagne bottle labels for each bridesmaid, wrapped them around a bottle of champagne from Trump Winery, and his wife-to-be presented me with this fabulous invitation. The front looks like a normal bottle of champagne, but the back includes not only my name, but also a short poem ending with a very special question. Not only was this classy and creative, it cleverly played on the theme of the venue and gave a personal salute to her favorite adult beverage, champagne. Needless to say, I accepted with pleasure and I can’t wait until next year when I can drink this fabulous invite! 

​Do I get a plus one?
One major problem a bride can run into is adequately communicating whether or not guests can bring a date or children. When a date or kids are invited, this can sometimes be indicated by including “and guest” or “and family” on the front of the interior envelope. However, this can get tricky because an invitation may not have an interior envelope, or some may feel it is rude to not know the name of everyone in the party. Furthermore, when a bride doesn’t want her guest to bring a date or children, it is even harder to communicate. Most of the time, there is simply a lack of indication that anyone but you is invited, which can often cause confusion. I recently received an invitation from my cousin with a brilliant solution to this conundrum. His wife included a line on the RSVP card for us to fill in stating that ___ of 2 will be attending. In my opinion, this was a perfectly classy yet completely clear way to communicate the number of guests invited. Granted, I ended up bringing 2.5, but I believe they forgave me on account of Baby O&O still being in the womb! However, if Baby O&O were already born, I would have known from the filled-in 2 that we would have needed to get a sitter. Way to go, Amy!

October 13th is International Plain Language Day and to celebrate, the editors at my work threw a plain language party! 

Using plain language in your writing helps explain complex information in a simple, easy-to-understand way. Plain language is especially applicable to anyone working with federal agencies. In 2010, President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act, which says that federal agencies should promote “clear Government communication that the public can understand and use.” The act goes on to define “plain writing” as “clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices appropriate to the subject.”

In true overdressed editor fashion, we themed this open-house plain throughout from the outfits to the snacks. Dressed in plain white tees (or blouses) and black pants, the editors supplied plain snacks, including plain M&Ms, saltines, and Nilla wafers, to name a few. Attendees received a passport to plain language upon arrival and traveled around the room to 5 different stations dealing with various areas of plain language: jargon, active voice, tone, word choice, and simplicity. After completing each station, travelers received a stamped letter on their passport to eventually spell out PLAIN. Once they had all 5 letters, they enjoyed a thick slice of “Plain Cake” while listening to the Plain White T’s and Weird Al’s “Word Crimes.”

​Busy busy busy! This has been the tune I’ve been singing lately, due largely in part to a new member of the family that is happily growing his way into Mr. O&O’s and my hearts (as well as my belly)! We are expecting our first little one, whom we have recently learned is a sweet baby boy! We are over the moon about our son, and I have been savoring all the exciting celebrations that come with a new baby. One of these jubilant occasions was learning the gender of this little guy! Mr. O&O and I had several decisions to make surrounding this one piece of information, though. Our first choice was whether we wanted to find out at all, which we easily agreed on a big YES! The next choice, however, was more complicated. How do we reveal to family and friends? Do we find out before and tell them ourselves, or keep it a secret and find out all together? And who to invite to this “gender reveal,” or should we have one at all? It turns out there are many opinions surrounding these gender-related decisions that boil down to two main sides: private and public.

​Keep it private.
Many people believe that finding out the gender of your baby is a private moment best spent as just a couple. Some think that creating a big occasion out of an often-emotional moment can belittle the specialness of it. Additionally, with all the showers, gifts, and attention that already surround a new baby, attending yet another party to reveal the gender may be seen as an imposition, especially because the denouement is only three words that could be communicated via phone, email, or social media. The etiquette of a gender reveal party is also typically unclear – do you bring a gift? (I say no, but I’ve seen it done.) And what if the parents didn’t get the gender they wanted? Their emotions are on display for everyone to see, and if disappointment is one of them, things could get awkward. 

​Any excuse for a party is a good one!
On the other hand, some families and friends are just as excited to learn the gender as the parents-to-be and desperately want to be included in any and all celebrations for the new little one. A party also gives the parents a chance to get creative with their reveal and make some fabulous memories. Cakes, balloons, mustaches/lips, and even squirt guns are some amazing ideas I’ve seen executed to reveal a baby’s gender to anxious guests and parents. 

Compromise?
After weighing our options, Mr. O&O and I aimed for a compromise. We went out to Virginia for a shower thrown by Mama O&O (post to come!), and the timing worked out that our 20-week ultrasound was a few days before we left, so we decided to do it that weekend. We considered revealing to all of the guests at the end of the shower, which we thought wouldn’t be an imposition because they would already be there, but then realized that a few key people wouldn’t be there (Papa O&O, for one) and also that it may be a little overwhelming with so many people watching. In retrospect, I’m glad we didn’t because I was so nervous I couldn’t stand it, and I wouldn’t have wanted to feel that way during my whole shower! Instead, we waited until Papa O&O got home later that night. We opted for a Russian roulette-style cupcake reveal (courtesy of Richmond, VA's Shortcake Bake Shoppe) with just my immediate family and Mr. O&O’s immediate family (FaceTime), plus Bestie O&O as the photographer. We did wait ourselves and find out at the same time as the families. In my opinion, that is the only way to do it party-style because it makes all the lead-up worth it. If we had found out beforehand privately, I would just do a cute announcement on social media. I would feel bad already knowing and putting my family through an entire waiting-game party just for show. This way, the moment was still incredibly special and intimate, but also fun, celebratory, and inclusive. We then put a blue balloon on the mailbox for inquiring neighbors and posted a fun shot to social media to let everyone else know.

​And now it’s on to suspenders and bow ties for this growing family! Note: All photos except the squirt gun reveal are courtesy of Destin, FL photographer Kelsey Dodson Photography.