Photo credit: www.lifestylecrafts.com
Sadly, a new at home letterpress has just been released this past year… Why is this sad? Because, the Quickutz L Letterpress was released 1 month before my wedding, so I never got the chance to use it for my own wedding. But not to worry, here is your chance!
First off, as a graphic designer, I will always vote for buying letterpress-wedding invitations over any other kind of invitation. Letterpress is a work of artistry with the artist’s blood, sweat and tears embedded with love in each invitation.
Photo credit: www.dauphinepress.com
For those who don’t know:
Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a “type-high bed” printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text in the west from its invention by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century and remained in wide use for books and other uses until the second half of the 20th century. (Found on: www.wikipedia.org)
As the budget conscious bride (I once was), I know how difficult it is to worry about the wedding budget, and trying to cut costs in all the details. Therefore, I will tell you about this ‘at home’ letterpress kit. The Quickutz L Letterpress can be purchased from www.lifestylecrafts.com, this kit provides the user with the supplies to create letterpress cards, invitations and etc. Overall, it’s really cool. However, please note, that this is by no means, a way to create a letterpress invitation as lovely as the “real thing”. You are able to purchase some generic printing plates to create anything you like. But if you’re like me, and would want a custom printing plate with your own design on it, it can be purchased at websites like: www.lifestylecrafts.com and www.letterpressplates.com.
Photo credit: www.letterpressplates.com
Happy Printing.
Lovely Handwritten Notions
Photo credit: www.littlemisspress.com
One of the most romantic things that a couple can do for their wedding invitations is to hire a calligrapher for their invitation envelopes. A wedding is one of the few occasions in life where couples can splurge on ideal invitation embellishments. Handwritten calligraphy on a wedding invitation is a lovely sight for your wedding guests to see when they receive their invitation in the mail. It is truly a unique way to share your beautiful wedding details and it would surely be remembered as one of the most elegant invitations that they will ever receive.
Photo credit: www.graceedmands.com
On that note, a calligrapher’s profession is a dying art form, many people are not aware that this art form stills exists or they may not know the resources on where to get calligraphy accomplished. These days, the internet makes it very easy for calligrapher’s to promote their business, and websites like LittleMissPress.com and GraceEdmands.com are both lovely websites to outsource for such elegant embellishments. Trust me, calligraphy shows its artist’s love, design and time spent in every letter that is written, it is definitely worth every pretty penny spent on the art form.
Now, for the Budget friendly bride … I am well aware of the costs of a wedding calligrapher and completely understand the budget restraints that a wedding can have. So, here are a few ways that a budget friendly bride and have a calligraphy appearance without the calligrapher’s price tag. Think about printing your own envelopes at home, try running the envelopes through a laser jet printer using a lovely wedding script font. If your printer is not equipped to print on the heavy weight wedding envelopes, you may also print the addresses on colorful labels that can be found at many stationery stores (www.paper-source.com). If using labels, I recommend using a laser printer, so that the ink is able to dry completely and will not run/smear if it the envelope gets wet while being delivered in the mail.
Photo Credit: CalligraphyLady.com
Photo credit: www.paper-source.com
If printing your own labels or envelopes is not your cup of tea, search for stationery stores and other companies that are able to print out the envelopes for you. The online source CalligraphyLady.com is a excellent source for your invitation needs, they are able to print on your wedding envelopes using a script or hand written font, to make your invitations have a ‘calligrapher artist’ appearance with a fraction of the cost to brides. There are many more great ideas for wedding invitations out in the wedding planning world. If you have any, please do share, we would love to read them!
Happy Planning