Letterpress wedding invitation inspiration | Bella Figura » espresso

Unique Modern Light Letterpress Birthday Invitations

sean.mahady — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:00:49 +0000

These simple, yet wonderfully unique letterpress birthday invitations sent to us by our friends over at By Invitation Only in Arizona are a real treat! The set features our Modern Light design (by Ian Koenig) and includes a beautiful invitation to the party as well as a reply card. Each piece is printed in our espresso ink and has a charming monogram (which show off the initials for the person of honor as well as his birth date) in the top left corner. Getting these in the mail would be almost as sweet as a slice of the Birthday cake!

ink: espresso | font: requiem | paper: 2-ply ivory | invite size: sq-7 | edge painting: espresso

Mimosa letterpress wedding invitations en français

Chris Gannon — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:00:03 +0000

Letterpressed in a sophisticated duet of Wine and Espresso inks, this version of Amy Graham Stigler‘s Mimosa design has an exquisitely lush and warm feel – perfect for a tropical wedding in the French West Indies.

inks: espresso + wine | paper: 1-ply white | invitation size: a7 | client coordinator: chris gannon

Holiday-inspired Florian Script customization

Sarah Walroth — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:00:59 +0000

This holiday-inspired customization of our Florian Script letterpress wedding invitation is perfect for a formal, contemporary wedding. The pale, warm ink colors are balanced by festive cardinal edge paint, which sets the mood for an elegant evening event and has us dreaming of snow!

embellishment suggestions: edge painting: cardinal

(Photo Credits: Kio Kreations)

Autumn inspired Letterpress Chapin Bridal Shower Invites and Recipe Cards

Christie Jones — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:00:11 +0000

It’s no secret that we are obsessed with letterpress. Behold, this jaw-dropping letterpress bridal shower invitation. Not only was the original Chapin (by Patricia Mumau) design transformed to perfectly celebrate the autumn season, but a new card was created for recipes to be passed onto future generations. Marigold and espresso inks breathe warmth into this whimsical design. The edge paint in marigold brings an extra touch of color that compliments the folk art. A classy envelope liner in solid espresso ink intensifies the rich brown hues associated with fall. We are captivated by the timeless beauty exuding from this letterpress invitation set.

Tree-mendously awesome Deveril Letterpress invitations!

Chris Gannon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:00:36 +0000

Shocker alert – we’re pretty heavily into environmental conservation over here (big news, right?). Everything from the tree-free cotton papers we print on, to the wind powered electricity we use, to our vegetable based inks and more is intended to minimize our impact on the natural world in every way we can possibly think of. And so with that being the case, how could we not be totally all about this amazing naturally inspired Deveril (by Beth Ann Seal) customization! We owe the pleasure of being able to print this beautiful set to our buds over at Sweet Paper in La Jolla, California. It features espresso ink, our white 2-ply paper, and custom designed wood grain envelope liners inspired by our Adirondack design. There’s also a little secret pocket on the back of the invite to hold the reception card, website card, and reply card neatly in place! The whole set is earthy and organic feeling, but not in a kitschy kind of way because it’s still a very classic and formal looking set. We dig it. Hope you do too!

ink: espresso | fonts: burgues script + danube | paper: white 2-ply | invite size: f8 | liner: custom adirondack pattern in espresso

Comely Cursive Harrison Calligraphy Letterpress Thank You Notes

Chris Gannon — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:00:29 +0000

It’s always such a pleasure to work with our amazing clients and to craft their unique creative vision into letterpress reality (really it is). Take for instance these extended horizontal thank you notes – they’re so different and cool that we just had to share them with everyone. They feature Patricia Mumau‘s Harrison style hand calligraphy, and they’re printed in a stunning combination of espresso and ink-less blind deboss. The champagne edge painting really stands out boldly on our 2-ply paper and we absolutely love the way no. 10 dimensions work for this piece.

Charmed NY Letterpress Wedding Invitations in Sweet Espresso and Surf!

Christie Jones — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:00:30 +0000

Our wonderful friends at Judy Paulen Designs in New York, New York gave us the pleasure to print such an exciting color combination that begged for an appearance on our blog! Our Charmed New York (by Jessica Tierney) letterpress invitations are printed in espresso and surf inks on our 2-ply white paper, and edge painted in surf ink for an extra pop of color. We are truly in the New York state of mind.

Real Wedding: Alaina & Elizabeth

Erica Henriksen — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:10:06 +0000

Chris had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth & Alaina on their Canopy invitations for their super-sweet, homegrown wedding, and we’re thrilled to share photographs from their big day. This wedding is seriously overflowing with creativity – Elizabeth and Alaina spent two years planning, and their hard work paid off. They put special thought into every last detail (just wait til you see the paper goods…the place cards + table numbers = genius!), and Elizabeth was kind enough to fill us in on everything that went into planning their beautiful, backyard wedding.

Can you share with us a bit about your wedding and your inspiration for the event?
We had a backyard wedding for our friends and family at my parent’s house in Olympia, Washington. My parents live just outside of town where my mom raises chickens and has a huge garden. We spent two years before the wedding replanting the flower beds and getting the yard ready. We DIY-ed almost every aspect of the wedding from the yard to the decorations. I read a lot of wedding blogs leading up to the wedding, so I’m sure I was influenced by them in a lot of ways, but our wedding decor and feeling was very uniquely “us”.

My mother and I have a love of blue mason jars and both have a large collection, so we used those for flower vases. I thrifted some soda bottles for cheap and used those, too. I’m a librarian so we had books on the tables, and my wife is a math teacher – so flash cards as table numbers were perfect. There wasn’t a detail of the wedding that didn’t have meaning to us in some way.

The antiques that were around the yard were all family pieces that we already owned. The ceremony backdrop was made of old doors Alaina picked up for me on her way home from work one day because she thought they looked cool and knew I would love them. They hung out in our backyard for nearly a year before I figured out how to use them. The church pew was from the old brick Methodist Church on the hill in Englewood, Ohio that my grandfather grew up in.

The morning before the wedding, I picked up buckets of dahlias from the farmers market and we had a flower bouquet making party with grandmas, aunts, mothers, and bridesmaids. It was one of the most fun things about the wedding, and the flowers were amazing.

Perhaps the most meaningful DIY was that my father, an ordained minister, performed our ceremony. Despite the words that were spoken, the rings that were exchanged, and the love that was shared, our marriage isn’t legal in the eyes of our state or national government. It was incredibly meaningful to have our friends and family around us, supporting us as we shared our vows with each other, and even more meaningful to have them standing by our side as we continue the fight for true marriage equality.

What advice do you have for couples currently planning a wedding? Breath. We were incredibly lucky that we were given the opportunity to plan a day that was meaningful to us and to have our parents and family support us every step of the way. Because we were doing so much ourselves, there were times when I was very overwhelmed, but in the end it was totally worth it – I wouldn’t change a thing. If you have the desire to create details for your wedding, I would encourage you to do it because I think it really shows in the end. However, it is imperative that you let people help you. I had some great craft parties where my bridesmaids helped me cut, stamp, paint, and sew. We’re even going to continue with the craft parties after the wedding! As a detail-oriented Virgo it took a conscious effort on my part to let go of control and trust that people honestly wanted to help. Oh, and hire a day-of-coordinator. It is worth it. Totally. Completely.

What surprised you most about your wedding? It’s going to sound silly, but I don’t really cry. Titanic, didn’t shed a tear and I always chuckle when Alaina tears up over Hallmark commercials. I was sobbing – ugly big tears – for most of the wedding day. They were very happy tears, but I soaked through a couple antique family hankies. Alaina, totally dry-eyed. Go figure, and carry a hankie!

What was your favorite moment? I really think the ceremony has to be my favorite part – I loved the twinkly lights and the dancing (our bluegrass band was AMAZING!) – but the vows we spoke and the songs we sang will stay with me in a really special way.

Favorite design element of your big day? I spent many hours designing our wedding program and a recipe book as our favor for our guests. They turned out amazing, and while they were a major time commitment, they were worth it. I also contacted Ellie Snow of Hello Ten Fold (who created the design for our invitations from Bella Figura) to design a wedding certificate for all of our guests to sign, which also turned our quite lovely.

What’s next for the newlyweds? We’re settling back into life. Alaina is teaching 6th grade math this year and I’m currently looking for a full time library job, but am loving this time off to write thank you notes and figure out what life after wedding planning looks like. You can follow me on my food blog or look back at all the wedding details on our wedding blog.

Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration & photos from the big day, Elizabeth! Congratulations to you and Alaina from all of us here at Bella Figura – we wish you nothing but the best and a lifetime of happiness together.

Vendors:
Day-of-Wedding Coordinator: Brianna Saunders
Photographer: Ashley Forrette and Aaron Courter
Location: Family Home
Catering & Cupcakes: Bearded Lady Food Co.
Pulled Pork: Oakland Bay Farms
Bluegrass Band: The Blackberry Bushes

Design Contest Winner: A Broadway Birthday by Social Graces

Jenna Tulman — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:00:11 +0000

Hey letterpress fans – Happy Birthday indeed! Nothing celebrates another year passing better than a party invite like this customization, courtesy of the lovely ladies at Social Graces in Nashville. When planning her mother’s 70^th birthday party, Gretchen wanted an invitation reminiscent of retro Broadway movie tickets. Social Graces altered Jessica Tierney’s Popular Country design to take maximum advantage of the beautiful Norah script by combining it with the Bennington and Popular fonts.

Espresso was the perfect ink to pull off the “old-timey” feel, and the corner rounding embellishment solidified the desired effect of bringing us back to simpler, carefree days of youth.

Madelyn, we hope your 70^th year is as beautiful as this invitation!

This design won an honorable mention in our Bella Figura design competition for the first half of 2011. This twice-a-year competition recognizes outstanding and inspired design submitted by our beloved dealers.

Linden Summer Letterpress invitations with Autumn leaves!

Christie Jones — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:53:37 +0000

A true story-book romance is reflected in this letterpress wedding invitation of Linden Summer design (by Lindsy Aragona). Completed with a metallic bronze pocketfold, this entire set has a vintage, yet whimsical feel. The invitation and additional pieces are adorned with soft Espresso ink branches and delicate Champagne ink leaves. You cannot help but fall in love.

This couple benefited from our 10% off promotion (10% off if you purchase 6 printed pieces) and our free CHARITY favor card promotion. See more details and the small print here!

by Lindsy Aragona, In-house Graphic Designer.