Our lovely pals at Social Graces in Nashville, Tennessee requested this stunning customization of our Victoria Calligraphy (by Sarah Hanna) in charcoal ink. Our European Formal envelope liner design is letterpress printed in our inkless blind deboss as a background that we think gives an elegant touch.
ink: charcoal + blind deboss | calligraphy: victoria hand calligraphy, by sarah hannah style. | paper: 2-ply ivory | invite size: f8 | corner rounding |

Candy hearts, flowers, sweet love notes – this can only mean one thing – Valentine’s Day is coming up quick! Get inspired and share some love with this simple, sweet customization of our Hailey Modern letterpress design.
hailey modern customization = inks: powder blue + lavender | fonts: henry + madaline | paper: white | invite size: f-8 | liner: modern herringbone in lavender | original design by sarah walroth | customized by in-house designer racheal decker
embellishment suggestions: edge paint in british rose

(Photo Credits: Love Joy Faith)
We’re always searching for a little extra “Omph”. That cherry on top but never too bold. Make a subtle announcement with a metallic liner. What a great way for your guests to open a little sparkle with your light and airy announcement.
La Salle customization = inks: celadon + sea side + peach | fonts: Eros + Memimas | paper: white | invites size: f-8 | metallic liner: opal | original design by Ian Koeing | customized by in-house designer Brit Hammett

photo credits: Josh Goleman
Our latest letterpress wedding invitation release was full of many modern gems, but today we’re sharing the top 6 modern invitations so far from 2012. We’ve noticed neon shows its pretty little head in a sophisticated way (or think about neon edge painting on a very formal invite!). Black ink on a modern letterpress design keeps things formal while still feeling new. Foil, of course, is on the list — we are especially loving double foil (think matte silver and shiny silver, or silver paired with gold). You’ll find names in oversized fonts, along with slightly untraditional text layout and minimal design. Want to see more? Check out all of our modern wedding invitations here.
What are your favorite colors, fonts, and invitation designs for a modern wedding? Tell us in the comments section below!

1. New Horizon | 2. Gotham | 3. Dash | 4. Byzantine | 5. Fugue | 6. La Salle
Our stomachs rumble on a daily basis when we read the delicious menus that our lovely clients (you!) choose for their wedding receptions. With choices like organic greens and crabcakes, spicy tuna and beef tenderloin, we see tasty options for everyone. For all the foodies out there, feast your eyes on these gorgeous letterpress wedding menus!
[Make the menu stand out with a bold title. Weber by Jessica Hische.]

[Our popular Bejeweled design is letterpress printed in 2 colors for a crisp, modern menu. Design by Kamal.]

[Did you know our menus can be printed in any language? This menu features the Harp design by Tara Hogan.]

[Tie in the details of your invitations and your decor with our free motifs! We love this elegant Walden menu, designed by Beth Ann Seal.]

[ A classic Deveril menu, another popular design suite from Beth Ann Seal.]

[Keep things sweet with our colorful Somersby, a whimsical design by Beth Ann Seal.]

Our standard menu size is the A6, which measures in at 4.625 x 6.25 inches. We can also print tea-length menus (3.875 x 9.25 inches) for an additional charge.

Wondering about wording? View our menu etiquette and wording or feel free to contact us!
Earth tones, metallics and foil accents can bring warmth to any wedding invitation, even amongst the cold winter months! With a little inspiration from a setting sun, a glistening metallic liner in gold dust and sparkly foil edging in copper makes this Soleil customization absolutely breathtaking!
Soleil customization = inks: hazel + persimmon | fonts: cooper + sunshine | paper: ivory | invite size: f-8 | metallic liner: gold dust | foil edging: copper | original design by Beth Ann Seal | customized by in-house designer Lindsy Aragona

(Photo Credits: Allyson Magda)
Last week we showed you a look at some of our new 2012 letterpress invitation designs before and after they were customized, and this week we’re back with more design transformations! We’ve redone 5 of our favorite new modern invitation designs to show you just how much different an invitation can look with a color change, new fonts, and some design adjustments.
Neo Luna by Ian Koenig is charming and simple in the original design, but takes on a bolder look with a font change, added color and silver shine foil stamping.
Suggested embellishments: We think this design would look stunning with surf edge painting and a colorful envelope liner in the sea stripes pattern, printed in surf, marigold and mesa inks.
Details: letterpress ink: surf | foil stamping: silver shine | fonts: ollie + swiss | paper: bella cotton white 2-ply | size: f-8 | rounded corners

The Drawing Room design by in-house designer Sarah Walroth features fresh new fonts and a custom pocket-fold, but takes on a more whimsical look after a bit of customizing. We love this design as a square invitation with corner rounding, along with a playful font and fuchsia ink for the names.
Suggested embellishments: A white cotton pocketfold, letterpress printed with prussian blue ink and a blue pearl metallic envelope liner would add the perfect amount of shine to this pretty invitation set.
Details: letterpress inks: fuchsia + prussian blue | fonts: saint-andrew + lady rene | paper: bella cotton white 2-ply | size: sq-7 for pocketfold | pocketfold: white, letterpressed in prussian blue ink

Ellie Snow designed the Classic Chevron invitation, which features on-trend chevron patterning, two lines of Belle hand calligraphy, and pretty sea-side and jade letterpress inks. The switch of jade ink to mustard and the repositioning of the chevron pattern gives this design customization a retro feel with a modern twist.
Suggested embellishments: A pretty custom postage stamp along with a custom envelope liner featuring the sweet polka pattern in mustard + sea-side inks would be lovely accents for this wedding invitation.
Details: letterpress inks: mustard + sea-side | fonts: sans capitals + hollow | paper: bella cotton white 2-ply | size: f-8
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We tend to focus a lot on all the lovely wedding invites we create around here, but truth be told we also print a TON of Bar and Bat Mitzvah invitations (and they’re always a blast!). We can adapt any of our invite designs into a Bar/Bat invite very easily by changing up the wording, adding Hebrew characters, or – as is the case with this Amici (from designer Ian Koenig) customization, by adding a small star of David from our motif library. Loving the simple beauty of this one.
inks: pewter + cardinal | font: requiem | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: sq-7 | edge painting: cardinal | client coordinator: chris gannon | in-house designer: sarah walroth

The Cascade letterpress wedding invitation is the perfect match for this timeless bride. A mix of modern shapes for him and soft script for her- think classic elegance with modern flare.
cascade customization = inks: charcoal + chartreuse | fonts: sophia + jubliant | paper: white | invite size: f-8 | liner: antique geometrics | edge painting: wisteria | original design by Kelle Anne McCarter | customized by in-house designer Brenda Fox |
embellishment suggestions: foil stamping : silver matte

(Photo Credits: Ashleigh Taylor Photography)
Our Harbor Beach design (by Jessica Tierney) looks ultra modern in this letterpress wedding invitation submitted by our friends, Francis Orr in Corona del Mar, California. The color combination of sand and charcoal inks are so subtle, yet crisp. The anchor motif is replaced with a simple monogram and repeated throughout the suite. Charcoal grounds this set from the edge painting to the solid envelope liner. We love the beauty and simplicity that makes the letterpress printing shine.
inks: charcoal + sand | fonts: holden + aurora | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: SQ7 for inner envelope | liner: classic color pattern in charcoal ink | edge painting: charcoal | client coordinator: christie jones | in-house designer: racheal decker

Our new collection of letterpress wedding invitations has arrived, and we’ve introduced 83 new invitation designs (plus metallics: foil stamping, foil edging and lots of other cool new embellishments!) for the 2012 wedding season. Since everything at Bella Figura is completely customizable, we thought we’d show you a ‘before and after’ look at some of our favorite new invitation designs to show how a change of color, fonts, and design placement can completely transform an invitation design.
First up: the La Salle invitation design by Ian Koenig. The original design is soft and romantic in camel + pewter inks, and features three fonts, but takes on a completely regal look with new inks (regalia and charcoal), corner rounding, and new fonts: Vessa + Jubilant.
Suggested embellishments: We think this design would look gorgeous with a European formal patterned envelope liner in regalia ink and a coordinating custom postage stamp.
Details: letterpress inks: regalia + charcoal | fonts: vessa + jubilant | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply | size: f-8 | corner rounding

Next up: Rustic Jolene – an earthy design with a folk-art feel – is completely transformed with a drastic (but gorgeous) change in design placement. Prussian blue and cornflower blue inks create a stunning two-tone effect, and the square size, corner rounding, and sophisticated fonts complete the look.
Suggested embellishments: a white cotton pocketfold with a monogram letterpress printed in Prussian blue would add a nice finishing touch, along with an envelope liner in our woodstock pattern in cornflower + Prussian blue inks.
Details: letterpress inks: prussian blue + cornflower blue | fonts: daisy + moravia | paper: bella cotton white 1-ply | size: sq-7 | corner rounding

Rococo Elegance, created by Beth Barr, one of our new designers for 2012, takes on a more floral feel in this elegant customization. Hand calligraphy accents and ivory paper give the design a soft, romantic feel.
Suggested embellishments: keep it simple with a European formal patterned envelope liner in taupe ink.
Details: letterpress inks: light peach + taupe | font: botany | paper: bella cotton ivory 1-ply | size: f-8 | hand calligraphy accents: spencerian style | corner rounding
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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. (more…)