Birth announcements are a great way to share your amazing, life-changing news with family and friends, while also providing them with a wonderful keepsake to cherish and look back on. You can even keep one for yourself and put it in your baby book. (Read to the end for my pro-tip on why you might even want to keep TWO for yourself!)
In this blog post, you'll find some of my favorite tips for designing and preparing your custom birth announcements so you have the perfect keepsake to cherish and share with others.
Do Your Research Before Baby Comes
When baby comes, you'll be elbow-deep in diapers and burp cloths, so it's a good idea to start early if you can. Research the style of birth announcements you like before your due date and find a couple of companies that offer that style.
Think about the style of newborn photo you'd like to have and make sure they work well with your preferred style of birth announcement.
Create a Pinterest Board of announcement ideas or save some photos you like to your phone.
Make a list of printing companies you like. (If Life Photography by Melissa was your newborn photographer, you can purchase birth announcements straight from your gallery!) Some other printing companies include: Minted, Shutterfly, VistaPrint, and TinyPrints
Some of these websites will allow you to favorite/heart certain styles if you create an account through them, so if you can do this, I would highly recommend it! It will allow you access them easily when the time comes to edit and add your photos.
Think Timeless!
It's always a good idea to choose an announcement style that fits your personality and that will stand the test of time. Don't feel like you have to choose an announcement that's ultra trendy if the current trends aren't your style. Chances are, your birth announcement is something you'll look back on as your family grows and changes, so your announcements should feel like you and your family.
Get the Stressful Stuff Out of the Way
Collecting addresses is never easy... You usually have to send a lot of emails and text messages to get responses back and it can end up taking quite a bit of time. That's why I recommend starting your address collection early so you aren't spending precious time doing this at the last minute.
Pro Tip: Most printers will address and send your birth announcements for you so you don't have to spend hours licking envelopes, writing addresses, and sticking stamps on. Once you have your contact list, upload it to your preferred printer's website so that when you get your photos, all you have to do is add them to your birth announcements, update the message you want on the card, and checkout! Easy peasy!
I always recommend scheduling your newborn session around the end of your second trimester or the beginning of your third trimester to ensure that you have it on your schedule early on. (Don't worry--If you are planning to book your schedule with Life Photography by Melissa, I will help you find the best date for your session based on your due date, etc. and these dates can be flexible pending any early or late deliveries!)
When you book your session, it's a good idea to let your photographer know what style birth announcement you plan to have and what you'd like your newborn photos to look like so you can be sure the photos will work well with your birth announcements. (If possible, send screenshots or links to your preferred birth announcements to your photographer ahead of time so they can help you plan out your photo props and outfits for baby.)
Have questions about scheduling your newborn session with Life Photography? Check out this blog post which covers what you can expect during your session and how to prepare for it. I also have other additional newborn session resources throughout my blog.
Order Your Announcements
Congratulations! If you're on this step, your precious newborn is here! Once you've edited your birth announcements, uploaded your contact list, and added your newborn photos, it's time to place your order, sit back, and wait for all the happy relatives to reach out with their congratulations!
Pro Tip: Order a few extras to be sent to you so that if you run into anyone whose address you didn't get in time or someone who you may have forgotten to put on the list (darn pregnancy brain!) then you'll have some to give out in person. Also, keep two for yourself so that if you decide to glue them into your baby book you can have both the front and back of the card visible!
Good luck finding and designing the perfect birth announcements for your new little one! And congratulations!
Are you interested in scheduling your Colorado Springs studio newborn session? Click Here
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