Let’s face it, the wedding industry produces a lot of one-hit wonders. It is extremely important to us here at Bella Figura to encourage sustainability as we practice eco-friendly letterpress printing (and living!). That’s why we use tree-free papers, low VOC inks, and FSC certified papers (and we also support these amazing environmental causes). If you are wondering how to make your letterpress or foil stamped invitations even more eco-friendly we have some tried and true tricks of the trade to reduce waste without compromising on style!

1. Use a postcard!
Think about using reply postcards or even Save the Date postcards! This cuts down on the amount of paper (envelopes) and also keeps the costs lower!

2. Condense Information.
There are a lot of activities and information that go into a wedding celebration! From accommodations, directions, rehearsal dinners and reply cards, you can choose to create a wedding website that hosts all the important details! You can include the url on your invitations, or create 1 separate card (think website cards!) explaining that the website is the place for all the wedding details. If you’re determined to get it all on paper, choose 1 insert card as opposed to several and print on both sides if you have lots of details to include.

3. Don’t double up.
Skip the formalities and just use 1 outer envelope vs. an inner envelope and an outer envelope combination. The inner envelope is meant to specify exactly who’s invited. It is completely acceptable to choose just 1 envelope (which is more eco-friendly). If you’re concerned about extra guests, you can always designate the number of guests on the reply card or reply postcard by adding an extra line that states “We have reserved __ seats in your honor”, then fill in the number accordingly.

4. Did you order samples?
If you order samples you can choose to donate your sample cost to one of the environmental causes that we support, which is a great way to give back. You can also consider ordering one of our Trendsetter Sample Packs — these carefully curated sample packs include 5 letterpress samples that were picked out by some of our favorite wedding industry pros, and 100% of the costs are donated to environmental nonprofits.

5. Build a forest!
When you place an order you have the option to donate trees, and we’ll match your tree donation (each tree is only $1!). We can quickly build a forest with your help!

6. Donate!
Forgo the common wedding favors and choose to donate to a non-profit. To encourage this large-hearted trend, we’ll letterpress your flat favor cards for free if your favor is a donation to a charitable cause (be sure to read the small print). If you leave enough space, these favor cards can double as place cards that one of our talented calligraphers can hand calligraph with the name of each guest.

7. Eco Specs!
Let your guests know how green your invitations are by including our optional (and free!) eco specs! See the small print here.

What are you doing to make your letterpress invitations eco-friendly??

This letterpress wedding invitation is our Vignette design printed in garden and pewter inks for an upcoming wedding in Hawaii. We love the color palette and swirly floral and leaf motif for an oceanfront wedding, and it should be noted that we’d really love to be in Hawaii today. With windchill, it’s about -10 degrees in Syracuse right now so a trip someplace warm sounds just right!