Letterpress Wedding Invitations + Holiday Plans

Above are some photos of a recent custom letterpress wedding invitation order that we printed for a lovely couple getting married in one of our favorite vacation spots – Maui, HI. The couple wanted something elegant and simple, but also wanted to incorporate a Hawaiian floral (in this case a tree orchid) and a family crest. It took a bit of creativity to come up with something that wasn't too busy, as the family crest had many elements. What I ended up designing was an invitation suite that incorporated the latin from the family crest and the uppercase "H" within a circle, which when put together looked sort of like a passport stamp. Since most guests at the wedding will be coming from out of town, this passport stamp also addressed the fact that this wedding will be a destination wedding.

In the reply card, the couple also wanted the guests to indicate their meal and activity preference (tennis, golf, snorkel) for their time in Maui. Icons were used in the design to allow guests to respond with their choice.

This letterpress invitation suite included the actual invitation, a reply card, outer envelope, reply envelope, and an orange belly band with the bride and groom's names and the date of the wedding. If your invitation has multiple pieces like this, a belly band is a great way to tie them all together with a pop of color.

I really love the printing process for this kind of invitation suite - especially when using three colors as on the invitation and reply card. There's really nothing better than the satisfaction that comes from finally completing the last pass of the final color on a piece and seeing the whole design come together. In this case we printed the brown ink first (as it is easier to register text first, before moving on to images), then the orange ink, and then the blue. I always find it easier to register text first before anything else is on the sheet, because then you will know for sure if everything is square and aligned without any distracting images. I hate to say it, and maybe it's just me, but sometimes your eyes play tricks on you when registering your print - so the less distraction the better. If you have overlapping colors or complicated designs, printing the text first isn't always possible however.

If you are interested in custom letterpress wedding invitations for your 2010 wedding, please contact the studio as soon as possible as we are already booking orders for January 2010.

Next week I am planning to start printing off our holiday cards for this year. I always say I'm going to start in September or earlier, but that never actually happens despite my best efforts! The cards will be available for purchase in our Etsy shop.

Happy letterpressing!

New Gift Tags Available In Etsy Shop

Some new floral letterpress gift tags are now available in the Sunlit Letterpress Etsy shop. Printed in lime ink on Crane Lettra 100% cotton cardstock, punched and tied with brown raffia. Enjoy!

Happy letterpressing!

Letterpress Gift Registry Cards

A question many brides often have for me is "should we put our gift registry information on our invitation?" This is a tough one, and the subject of much debate amongst etiquette experts.

There is one school of thought that says brides and grooms should never include this information anywhere in their invitation materials. Instead, it is the responsibility of the mother of the bride or maid of honor to communicate the bride and groom's registry details to those who happen to inquire. Although this is the more traditional way of sharing your gift registry information with people, it is not a method that always applies today for a variety of reasons (people may not wish to or feel comfortable contacting and asking someone what the bride and groom would like as a gift, there may not be a mother of the bride or maid of honor to ask, etc.).

The other option is to just share your wishes with your guests yourself. However, call me old-fashioned, but I think some thought needs to go into how you go about doing this - otherwise you risk coming off as gauche. Here are my thoughts:

1. Don't put your registry information directly on your invitation card – that's a bit too forward. Put the information on a separate card or insert. Some stores can provide you with business card-sized registry cards to include with your invitations. Better yet, have your own registry cards designed and printed to go with your invitation suite (see photo above for an example of one of our client's custom-designed letterpress registry cards). Your recipient will still get the information they need about your registry, but by placing the information on a separate card, you are not indicating that the gift is equally or more important than your request for their presence on your big day.

2. If you would rather not include your registry information with your invitations at all, consider putting this information on a wedding website along with other details about your special day (i.e. schedule, map of wedding location, etc.). This is also a great option because you can include a link directly to your online gift registry if you have one – and your guests won't even have to search for your name! (p.s. Did you know that Sunlit Letterpress can design a wedding website to match your letterpress invitations? Contact the studio for more information!)

3. Whatever you decide to do, never include "cash only gifts" as a request anywhere (invitations, website, or other). In fact, it is considered somewhat bold to even have someone suggest this by word of mouth to your guests. It is quite common for wedding guests to give the bride and groom money as a wedding gift anyways, so asking for money specifically tends to look, well...a little bad.

I was once sent an email from someone whose wedding I was invited to and the email went something like this: "Please give us money as a wedding gift because this is what we want". Ok, I paraphrased a little, but that was the essential message. It sort of left a bad taste in my mouth. I was always going to give money, and still did, but it almost felt like the financial gift I was planning on has been cheapened a little bit.

So there you have it...my thoughts on gift registries and invitations.

Happy letterpressing!

Vancouver Wedding Show - Indie I Do 2010

Image © and courtesy of Indie I Do

Just a quick update to remind you that we will be participating in the second annual Indie I Do show here in Vancouver on January 23, 2010 (11am-5pm), at Heritage Hall. Ticket presales have already started, and are half-price ($10) if you buy before November 1, 2009 (tickets are $20 each after November 1st and at the door). And remember, there are only 70 gift bags to be had by early ticket purchasers, so don't wait!

I think one of the big reasons this show was so popular last year is that it is not overwhelming like some of the bigger shows and fairs that have thousands of people milling about – making it hard for brides and grooms to have a conversation with vendors about their specific needs. Indie I Do is more intimate and concentrates select vendors in a smaller area, making for (in my opinion) a more effective wedding show.

Please mark your calendars and be sure to come down and talk to us about your wedding stationery needs. We will have lots of samples to touch and design ideas for you to take a look at.

As a side note, we are currently booking into January 2010 for custom letterpress wedding orders - so if you are a bride considering Sunlit Letterpress stationery for your 2010 wedding, please contact us as soon as possible to be added to our printing schedule and avoid disappointment.

Happy letterpressing!