Fit to be tied, with lace and ribbons.

Our invitations are a work in progress right now, our main envelopes are off at the calligrapher, response envelopes at the printer, and the final inserts being proofed and printed! While we've had our actual invitations and response cards for over a month now, I've done not a thing with them until this week. With the intention of sending out our invites by the first week of November, I have a lot of work to do here with lining and banding the invitations together. 

I have been obsessed with the idea of lace detailing for the invitation suite for ages. I pinned this picture 48 weeks ago (that probably was days after getting engaged... possibly even before.): 

Photo by Martha Stewart Weddings via Intimate Weddings

And I crazy-love the look of lace belly bands, like this gorgeous one by Hive member jp0829: 

DIY Lace Wedding Invitations 

Or something incredibly elegant like this lace wrapped beauty: 

SHANNON Lace Tied Wedding Invitation by Lavender Paperie

Or something as simple as lace over cardstock, giving the band a bit of heft: 

Lace Detailed Wedding Invitation via Paper and Thread

I've been playing around a bit with some ideas and I think I might have just found a combination I love.  

I first tried a plain lace band, but I felt it was too flimsy to be a band by itself, unless we wanted to attach it to something else.  I love the simple elegance of it, but it just wasn't enough. 

I backed the lace with a pewter grosgrain ribbon, to give it a bit more heft and I found I really loved the look.  Everything about our invitation is very classic, and I felt that this band really matched the elegance we are striving to achieve. The best part is they are super easy to make, I made 18 tonight before I ran out of ribbon in just an hour or less. I think it's worth the effort. 

And taking a page from Mrs. Elk's book, I'll give you guys just a hint of what's to come!  

(a sneak peak at the inverse of our invitations) 

I have yet to decide if I want to line the envelopes or not.  I'm leaning more towards not, but we'll see if the inspiration strikes me in the time between getting our envelopes back from the calligrapher and sending them out.

What are your thoughts on belly bands & lined envelopes? Worth the effort or a waste of time?