Laura Hooper Calligraphy

Laura - thank you so much for sending me your lovely invitation album that showcases your amazing work (love that Tiffany blue color)! I can't wait to show them to my clients when they fly out here to do their scouting trip.

If you are looking for letterpress invitations and cute maps, logos and monograms for your destination wedding, make sure you check out Laura Hooper Calligraphy. She also does calligraphy.

Swish Designs

A good friend of mine, Donna, just started her own design company in the San Francisco bay area last December. After many years of toying around with the idea of creating a place where she can display her custom monograms, wedding/party invitations and birth announcements, Swish Designs was born!

If you are looking for some stylish wedding/rehearsal dinner invitations, thank-you notes, save-the-date cards, and monograms for your favor tags, place cards...etc., please visit her website above and she can create something nice, elegant and even fun for you! Donna is very sweet and easy to work with, and she has amazing ideas that will sure "wow" your guests.

Congratulations my friend and wish you much success!

Bella Figura

Oh boy... I am going to blog about my favorite letterpress invitations again! =) A few days ago, I received an email from Debbie Urbanski, the owner of Bella Figura, announcing a few of their promotions. Here they are:

• Plant a tree. Cool the globe. Better yet, plant 50 trees ($50), help slow global warming even more, and save 15% off your custom printing order. 100% of your donation goes directly to American Forests, who plants native trees in rural and urban ecosystem restoration projects across the United States and around the world. Offer good through August 31, 2008.
• Free upgrade to a larger invitation size (F-8 or 7.25” square) throughout 2008 (through December 31, 2008)
• Sample packs: 5 designs, $10 (through July 31, 2008), 100% of cost to the environment. Purchase a sample pack and you’ll receive 5 sample invitations curated by their favorite style-setters, editors and friends; their ink swatch book; paper samples; and envelope lining colors if you select them, all packaged in a keepsake Bella Figura box. The cost: through July 31, 2008, $10 (includes shipping). Post July 31, 2008: $25. 100% of cost is donated toward an environmental nonprofit. Remember their samples are usually $7 per invitation – this is a great deal for a great cause! Browse and buy now.
  

Bella Figura is one of the greenest letterpress shops in the country. They are 100% wind-powered and carbon neutral, and they donate 1% of sales to environmental causes via 1% for the Planet. You can read more about their environmental commitment here. Thanks so much for the email, Debbie!

Photo Credit: Bella Figura

Cute maps for your invitations

It was an absolute delight to find a sample of these cute letterpress maps in my mailbox today. It was designed by the talented Stephannie Barba of Couture Maps™ in San Francisco, CA. With the amount of destination weddings that I plan, these maps do come in very handy for my clients as Save-the-Date cards as well as a map insert for their invitations.

Stephannie also designs invitations and other stationery products. Please visit her other website for more details.

As you can tell, I LOVE paper products and I blog about them constantly! =)

Invitations & Stationeries

Photo Credit: Cards de Luxe

This is one of my favorite elements of any wedding or event - invitations and stationeries. Usually, they give your guests the first glimpse of what your event will be like. They totally set the tone and therefore, should be a unique reflection of you and your style.

There are so many ways of printing invitations:

ENGRAVING

Engraving is the most traditional form of invitation printing, and one of the most expensive. Text is etched onto a copper plate, which is then coated with ink and wiped clean, leaving the ink only in the indentations. Soft, high-quality paper is pressed hard against the plate, causing it to deform into the etchings. Result is raised, crisp text. You can tell true engraving by the "bruise" or dent on the back of the paper.

THERMOGRAPHY

Thermography was developed as a less expensive alternative to engraving. The printer uses ink and a powder resin combined with heat to reproduce the raised lettering effect of engraving. The text has a shiny finish and is often said to not be as sharp as engraving.

LETTERPRESS

This old-fashioned technique has become popular again. A letterpress printer presses inked letters or designs into a piece of paper, forming an indented surface. By repeating the process, you can create images with more than one color. Letterpress wedding invitations typically have a vintage or whimsical feel, but they can be designed in more formal styles as well. Many people appreciate the tactile nature of letterpress, although some dislike its lack of crispness.

EMBOSSING

Most often used for small insignias, monograms, or return addresses, this process creates a raised impression on paper by running the paper through two metal sheets. When no ink is used, it is called "blind" embossing. Although a printer can perform this service for you, you can also buy a small embosser with your monogram or return address on the plate, allowing you to create custom stationery in a more affordable way.

OFFSET PRINTING OR LITHOGRAPHY

Most modern printing is offset printing, also known as lithography. From magazines to postcards, this flat style of printing is a familiar one, and appropriate for an informal invitation. Traditionally, an inked image is transferred from an inked plate to a rubber "blanket", which is then passed over the paper. The quality of offset printing can vary greatly, so be sure to look for a printer who can deliver crisp quality and true colors.

I find that the most popular is either letterpress or thermography, but depending on your budget, there is always a printing method for everyone.