Elegant Letterpress Fill-In Invitations
I’m swooning over these undeniably elegant letterpress fill-in invitations from Missive. These invites sure are pretty, and they’re versatile, too. The “Soiree” design is just the thing for everything from cocktail parties to dinner parties, engagement parties, and upscale birthday shindigs. And the “Shower” invitations are a lovely choice for a baby shower or wedding shower.
Invitations come in sets of 8, and they’re printed on thick 110 lb. 100% cotton paper. Coordinating letterpress place cards are also available.
image source: Missive
Dave + Hollie’s Ticket Style Wedding Invitations
Check out these bold black and white, ticket style wedding invitations by James Prunean of OOXX, which are absolutely oozing with vintage-inspired goodness.
The ornate invites were designed for Dave and Hollie, whose wedding took place on an orchard in Ontario, Canada. The couple rented a trolley to take their guests from the hotels to the farm, and OOXX decided to create their invite in the style of a ticket, with a tear off RSVP that could be mailed back. The invitations were printed on recycled paper that gave them a wonderful, vintage look.
image source: OOXX
Ali + Gary’s DIY Letterpress Wedding Invitations
I was so excited to find these wedding invitations in my inbox because 1) they’re beautiful – I love the embossed and blind debossed flowers and the rich, yellow ink, and 2) they were made using the L Letterpress Machine, a contraption which I want to love so badly but with which I haven’t had great success. It gives me much hope that such a gorgeous letterpress wedding invitation suite can be done on the L; I may have to go dig mine out of the closet and start playing again.
This lovely suite was designed and printed by Ali Crouch of Lowercase a Design Studio for her own wedding. Ali loves letterpress printing but knew that she wouldn’t be able to fit it into her wedding invitation budget, so the L Letterpress was the next best option for her. She received one from her fiance, Gary, for her birthday and got to work on her plan to print her own invitations. She studied a great post by Boxcar Press about getting good results from the L and splurged on Crane’s Lettra paper, a favorite of letterpress printers. The project was a wonderful success, and Ali ended up printing her entire suite, including the main invite, a response card, a reception card, and a small card that directed their guests to their wedding website for more information the big day.
Because Ali had never printed using the L Letterpress before this project, she decided to stick to a one color design. Inspired by the gorgeous embossed floral paper that she used for her envelope liners, she used blind debossed flowers throughout the entire suite. This allowed her to use only one ink color while giving additional depth and interest to the design.
The pieces in the suite were tied together with ivory ribbon embellished with a paper disc (printed in blush pink) that contained their wedding logo. Envelopes were hand calligraphed by San Antonio-based calligrapher, Jennifer Lavin.
image source: Ali Crouch
Fairy Tale Map Save the Dates
This undeniably sweet map save the date brings to mind princes and castles and happily ever afters. The charmingly unique design was created by Krista McCormick for her upcoming June wedding, and here’s what the bride-to-be has to say about the oh so romantic project:
I designed this “fairy tale” map save the date for my upcoming rustic wedding in June. I thought a map would be charming and helpful to our guests, showing all the important landmarks of the big day. My fiancé, Josh, and I grew up in the same little square-mile, tree-city town (Wenonah, New Jersey), which is the starting point on the map. I thought the business-sized, wedding website card would be easier for guests to carry along to the computer, and I just had to use the cute little envelopes!
We love the outdoors and are little kids at heart, so I think we are depicted well in our save the dates. I cut all 100 cards by hand! It took a lot of patience, but it was well worth it in the end.
Be sure to check out more of Krista’s invitation design work at her site, A Piece of Kake.
image source: Krista McCormick
Heritage Collection Letterpress Invitations
I have a mad, mad crush on all of the letterpress wedding invitation designs in Moontree Letterpress’ new Heritage Collection. The collection, a collaboration with Philadelphia based designer, Edward Brogna, includes five suites, each of which is utterly gorgeous and oh so sophisticated.
Inspiration for the collection came from Edward’s interest in collecting, vintage graphics, and the great outdoors, and the resulting designs incorporate all the elements of iconographic American design and typography. Below is a peek at the lovely collection, and you can find many more images over at Moontree Letterpress.
Classic Literature Suite
Vintage Stationery Suite
Weathervane Suite
Anchor Suite
Marquee Poster Wedding Invitations
image source: Moontree Letterpress
2012 Wedding Invitation Trends : Texture, Texture, Texture
The feel of an intricate, laser or die cut detail; the striking appearance of lustrous, foil stamped typography; the organic appeal of a wash of watercolor – it’s all about texture, and I am loving it!
Wedding invitation designers are finding all kinds of innovative ways to give their designs additional depth and interest, and the great news is that, whether you’re in the market for custom, hand-painted, watercolor letterpress invites a digitally printed, watercolor wedding invitation suite, there’s sure to be a invitation design out there that will rock your world.
Watercolor
Love them or hate them, watercolors were white hot in 2011, and I think that watercolor elements will continue to be a massive trend in both invitations and stationery in 2012. This multifaceted element can add an ethereal touch to a straightforward, typographic design, or it can set the tone for the whole suite. Watercolors can be splashy or soft, dainty or bold, and they can work equally well as small, complimentary details or as the base for entire pieces.
Painterly style, on the whole, seems to be making a comeback as designers are taking time away from the computer and breaking out their art supplies to create designs that have a more organic, hand created feel. Be on the lookout for more gouache and acrylic elements in the future, too.
Above, Top Row : watercolor bunting wedding invitations (Bird & Banner); vivid watercolor wedding invites (Jeremy & Kathleen); watercolor calligraphy wedding invitations (Swiss Cottage Designs & Love, Jenna Calligraphy)
Above, Bottom Row : seersucker watercolor + letterpress invitations (The Aerialist Press); splattered watercolor + letterpress wedding invites (Printerette Press); chevron watercolor wedding invitations (Wiley Valentine & Joanna Goss)
Foil Stamping
A little bit of luster goes a long way, and even a touch of foil stamping can make the difference between an invitation that’s “meh” and one that’s “wowsa”. I’m not just talking silver, gold, and bronze (thought I love them all dearly), either. Fuchsia, brilliant blue, teal – companies like Bella Figura, who recently unveiled a foil stamping filled wedding invitation collection, offer a range of swoon-worthy, metallic hues.
Above, Top Row : silver foil stamped wedding invitations (Good Job Creative); gold foil stamped save the dates (Kate Allen & Plurabelle Calligraphy); fuchsia foil stamped invitations (Akimbo)
Above, Bottom Row : Glamorous Blooms (Kamal), Overlook (Lindsy Aragona), and Fugue (Kamal) foil stamped wedding invitations at Bella Figura
Laser and Die Cutting
Laser and die cut details are making an appearance in a growing number of clean, modern wedding invitation designs, and this is most definitely a good thing. Both have always played well with traditional/ornate designs, and it’s great to see these techniques getting more play in unexpected, non-traditional ways. Ornate, laser cut belly bands and wraps will always be breathtaking, but a sleek, laser cut serif face can be just as magnificent.
Above, Top Row : woodsy laser cut booklet wedding invites (Seven Swans); woodland passport wedding invitation suite (Lilah Paper); modern laser cut wood invitations (Fourth Year Studio)
Above, Bottom Row : Roses and Lace wedding invitations (Two Paperdolls); papel picado laser cut wedding invites (Avie Designs); Alyssa wedding invitations (Spark Impress)
image source: various
New Printable Wedding Invitations from e.m. papers
This is such a fun concept! Last year, Eleanor from e.m. papers designed a new wedding invitation every day for a month during her 31 Invites in 31 Days challenge (check out all of the designs), and she developed the concepts that received the most love from her blog readers and Facebook fans into full designs. Four designs – Thistle, Pink Rain, Love Joy Happiness, and Beetle – made the cut, and I’m excited to share them with you today. Eleanor is in the process of extending many of the designs into full suites, so look for additional pieces soon!
Thistle
Pink Rain
Love Joy Happiness
Beetle
e.m. papers’ printable templates are unique in that they use an Adobe Acrobat Form format to allow couples to enter their information directly into the template, rather than send it to be typeset (although Eleanor offers that service as well). You can literally download a design or suite, fill in your information, and go!
image source: e.m. papers
Plantable Wedding Invitations
Passport Wedding Invitation
Ooh, so many wonderful new wedding invitation designs being introduced lately, and these plantable pretties from Botanical Paperworks have really caught my eye. Their new designs are clean, modern and, of course, printed on plantable seed paper that grows wildflowers when planted. Each design can be personalized with your choice of paper, ink, and/or envelope colors for a wedding invitation that’s unique AND eco-friendly.
Shown above (clockwise, from top left) : Chevron, Watercolor, Tandem Bicycle, and Monogram.
image source: Botanical Paperworks
Unique Tiffany Blue Keepsake Wedding Invitations
It’s no wonder that Tiffany Blue is one of the most inspirational colors around for all things wedding. The beautiful shade of teal conjures feelings of sophistication and luxury, along with images of the unforgettable Holly Golightly nibbling on a pastry in her little black dress. Romantic. Classic. Perfect inspiration for a wedding invitation. And this Tiffany-inspired invitation by UAE/Dubai-based invitation design studio, Natoof, is just as unforgettable as the iconic character.
The Tiffany Blue-inspired wedding required an invite which complimented the wedding theme, and Natoof transformed the trademark Tiffany gift box into a gorgeous, magnetic enclosure invitation box, tied with pure white ribbon and embellished with silver keys that look like the gorgeous key pendants at Tiffany’s.
Inside, an incredible laser cut acrylic wedding invitation awaits the swoons of recipients, who will most certainly be tucking this keepsake away for future reference.
image source: Natoof
2012 Weddng Invitation Trends : Calligraphy and Hand-Lettering
We’re already almost a month into 2012, and I have a few trend features to share with you over the next couple of weeks. There are so many exciting things going on right now in stationery, and I can’t wait to share some thoughts about what I think will be big this year. First, one of my favorite trends (it’s been building over the past couple of years).
Custom Calligraphy and Hand-Lettering
Calligraphy and hand-lettering continue to be a major force in the world of custom invitations and, with many more extremely talented calligraphers and hand-lettering artists coming onto the scene, there are an incredible range of styles available to designers and their custom invitation clients.
Custom calligraphy and lettering can bring everything from upscale elegance to casual quirkiness to an invitation suite. We’ve seen examples from everywhere along this spectrum in the past year, and I think that we’ll see even more fantastic, custom suites in the coming year. However, if the budget for something completely custom just isn’t there, then you’re in luck because calligraphy and lettering-inspired fonts are springing up all over, too.
Above, Top Row : hand-lettered navy blue + yellow letterpress invitations (Perky Bros, Giada Coppi, Rohner Letterpress); sweet, hand-lettered letterpress wedding invitations (The Mandate Press); Aria letterpress wedding invitation (Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls for Bella Figura)
Bottom Row : Coronado letterpress wedding invitation (Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls for Bella Figura); sweet mason jar + fireflies wedding invitations (Brandon Kirk, Jacob Gerber, Lilco Letterpress); whimsical hand-lettered bridal shower invites (Mary Kate McDevitt)
The Long-Legged Fonts
Strangelove and Liebe Erika set the tone, and an entire generation of ultra thin, tall, condensed fonts has followed, bringing designers dozens of potential long-legged fonts with which to work. These fonts, which can be straightforward, a little bit scruffy, or sometimes loopy and swirly, are right at home in wedding invitations with a bit of casual whimsy. They are warm and sweet, with a homespun appeal, and they’re certain to charm.
Above, Row 1 : Liebe Erika by Ulrike Wilhelm/LiebeFonts and Strangelove by Marcus Sterz/FaceType Row 2 : Hello I Like You by Cindy Kinash/Cultivated Mind and Baronessa by Juraj Chrastina Row 3 : Shiva by Ryoichi Tsunekawa/Flat-It and Berimbau by Ricardo Marcin & Erica Jung/Pintassilgo Prints Row 4 : Populaire by Ricardo Marcin & Erica Jung/Pintassilgo Prints and Firefly by Miranda Hopper/Canada Type Row 5 : Mr Moustache by Georg Herold-Wildfellner/FaceType and Nivel by Ewen Prigent/La Boite Graphique
Calligraphy Fonts
The classic script font is beautiful, stately, and not going anywhere anytime soon, but over the past year a number of gorgeous fonts by calligraphers and hand-lettering artists have made a big splash in the wedding invitation world. The creative hand can be clearly seen in these lovely faces – the unique edge of the pen used to create the forms, swashes and curls that are anything but buttoned-up, and a decidedly hand-formed feel that appeals to just about everyone.
Above, Row 1 : Carolyna and Carolyna Pro Black by Emily Conners/Emily Lime Row 2 : Emily Lime by Emily Conners/Emily Lime and Belluccia by Debi Sementelli & Brian J. Bonislawsky/Correspondence Ink Row 3 : Bookeyed Suzanne and Bookeyed Jack by Crystal Kluge & Stuart Sandler/Tart Workshop Row 4 : Alana by Laura Worthington and Parfumerie Script Pro by Sabrina Mariela Lopez/Typesenses
image source: various
