What better way to make sure your guests don’t let your wedding date *ahem* coast by, than with some letterpress save the date coasters?  We printed these Carte de Visite (by Ben Whitla) letterpress save the dates and matching coasters in Taupe, Papaya, and Sand inks, and we’ve got to say – we’re really into this color combo.

To make everything in this set as cohesive as possible we also custom designed and letterpress printed an envelope liner that coordinates with the cards and coasters.  Between this letterpress envelope liner and the bright Papaya edge painting on the save the date, this set really has some amazing presence when you open the flap (even before you take the pieces out!).

inks: taupe + papaya + sand | fonts: sofia + sans capitals + archive | paper: 2-ply white + coaster stock | save the date size: a6 | liner: custom pattern letterpress printed in taupe ink | client coordinator: chris gannon | in-house designer: kyle laatsch

We’re so pumped that New York has joined the ranks of the small (but growing) number of states offering equal rights to same sex couples. In honor of this human rights triumph, Bella Figura is helping celebrate by offering free envelope liners to any same sex couple who orders their wedding stationery from us!

In addition to the promotion, we’ll be showcasing some recent real weddings, giving tips on wording, and offering advice from etiquette expert Mark Kingsdorf – an event planning pro who’s worked with the Emily Post Institute on several books.

The promotion runs from August 25 – September 25 — stop in to one of our Bella Figura retailers to place your order today! If you don’t have a retailer in your area, get in touch & we’ll help you get started.

Our AMAZING friends at Gus and Ruby Letterpress in Portsmouth, New Hampshire submitted this letterpress wedding invitation set to us. We were thrilled to see the Harbor Beach design, by Jessica Tierney, used in combination with the Anais design, by Ian Koenig. The final product was styled perfectly using pewter and navy inks, clean lines and bold text. It was no surprise that this nautical yet urban design won first place in the Bella Figura Design Contest!

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You really cannot get anymore romantic than this String Calligraphy letterpress wedding invitation customization submitted to us by Social Graces in Nashville, Tennessee. The whimsical style of Harrison hand calligraphy, by Patricia Mumau, looks weightless in pale gray and shell inks. It’s airy, sweet, and oh so lovely! The Bella Figura team fell in love with this design’s soft simplicity – so we just had to have it place second in our design contest.

Erin, from Social Graces, surprised us with STUNNING photos from this wedding (thank you, thank you) and we were all blown away! The invitation fit this bride’s vision perfectly! From the detailed lace dress to the luscious, monochromatic flowers, this wedding looked like a dream!

Alisha, the beautiful bride, fills us in on her and her husband’s perfect wedding day and how they chose the String Calligraphy Design:

“Picking out my wedding invitations and paper goods was one of my favorite parts of the wedding planning process! I’ve always been a sucker for art, crafts, and design, so choosing the perfect invitations for my wedding was a very fun experience. The look I had in mind for our wedding was something whimsical, rustic, organic and vintage. While searching for the perfect invitation to reflect our farm wedding, I fell in love with Bella Figura’s String Calligraphy and couldn’t settle for anything else! The invitation that I chose struck me because of simplicity, uniqueness, and whimsical feel. I loved the softness and romantic touch that the pale gray and shell color inks gave off. The colors reflected our wedding color scheme perfectly – a soft palette of pale pinks and grays.

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Working with Union Street Papery in San Francisco, California is always AMAZING!!! Stacey and her staff are the best people EVER! They are not only savvy business women, but are genuinely kind people – and they are all HILARIOUS. Love them! When you combine a wonderful dealer with a design like Vendage, from the utterly fabulous Kamal Patel, you are bound to create magic. The Vendage letterpress invitation customization features elegant hues of champagne and charcoal along with Debi Zeinert’s hand calligraphy accents in Spencerian. By eliminating the bird motif from the original design and using a vertical layout, this customization becomes romantic and sophisticated.

The beautiful bride, Emily, shared some words with us regarding her gorgeous suite!
“The design of the invitation was meant to evoke a summer garden party with a hint of modern design elements to make it current. Annadel Estate is a lovely winery located in Sonoma, but more than just a winery they have acres of rose gardens on the property. When I saw the floral print I knew it was perfect.”

… so perfect that our staff at Bella Figura chose Emily’s design as the third place winner!!!

A view inside Union Street Papery.

inks: champagne + charcoal | fonts: garamond | paper: 2-ply white | invite size: a-7 | calligraphy style: spencerian by Debi Zeinert | liner: the rustic crosshatch patter in charcoal

This design won third place 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.

A true storybook romance is played out in this recently letterpress printed Joie de Vivre (by Kamal) invitation suite customization submitted to us by our friends at Smudge Designs.

The first four lines of this adorably whimsical invitation are written in the voice of a narrator.

This creative invitation is letterpress printed in a delightful grouping of our atlantic, mediterranean and wine inks.  The letterpressed steel blue pocketfold adds the perfect final touch as the credits start to roll.inks: atlantic +mediterranean+wine | font: streamline | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: f-8 | pocketfold: steel blue |

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.

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!

Everyone loves a splash of color and that’s why we’re so passionate about a recently letterpressed Barcelona (by Lindsy Aragona) wedding invitation customization submitted to us by our good friends at Sweet Paper in La Jolla, California.

We happily believe that these invitations create the perfect first impression, giving guests a hint of what expect on the big day! We can’t help but feel the positive vibes whenever seeing this set.

inks: papaya +sea mist| fonts: jubilant + memoir  | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: a-7 | liner: the classic color pattern in sea mist |

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.

We letterpress addicts adore the simple, charming feel of the Ribbon Heart (by Kelle Anne McCarter)  wedding invitations submitted to us by our friends at Judy Paulen Designs in New York, NY.

The ribbon symbolizes a bond connected and claimed, and the heart expresses feelings that are not only precious, but solid and everlasting.

The carefree feel of rustic crosshatch envelope lining in azalea ink coordinates perfectly with the invitation.

Their marriage will be a meaningful celebration of love! Congrats to Judy Paulen Designs!

inks: azalea + charcoal | font: streamline  | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: f-8 | liner: rustic crosshatch pattern in azalea ink |

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.

The Village Invites II has done it again! This Hendrix 2 (by Jessica Hische) letterpress wedding invitation takes the art of subtle beauty to a whole new level.

The color combination of Cream and Sand inks on our 1-ply ivory cotton paper really lets the unique nature of the paper shine through. The hand calligraphy accents only add to the understated elegance of the suite.

inks: cream + sand | fonts: sans capital | calligraphy: patricia mumau harrison hand | paper: ivory 1-ply cotton | invite size: a7

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.

The second honoree in our design contest features sweet lovebirds for a wedding half-way around the world. We cannot get enough of this recently letterpressed Lovebirds (by Ian Koenig) wedding invitation set, submitted by our friends at The Wedding Company in Hong Kong.

This invitation displays the heartfelt expression of a couple showing their affection for each other.  Their new life together will open up to paths leading to fresh beginnings.

The pewter ink represents their path to adventure, and the love they feel for one another is, of course, symbolized by the use of our stunning British rose ink.

Coupled with our modern canopy envelope liner – this invitation set is the perfect match for such a romantic pair. Lovebirds — unite!

inks: pewter + british rose | font: geometric + belizio | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: f-8 | liner: modern canopy pattern in british rose and pewter inks |

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.

We’re so excited to be kicking off our first ever Bella Figura design contest! We’ve reviewed the best-of-the-best invitations sent to us by our amazing retailers, and over the next 10 days we’ll be featuring the contest honorees, as well as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Our first honoree was sent to us by the Village Invites II in New York, New York. Kudos to the Village Invites II for figuring out how to take two classic Bella designs and turn them into a whole new animal!

This bold, modern letterpress invitation customization combines the best of our Alice (by Tara Hogan) and Deveril (by Beth Ann Seal) designs, and uses ink colors that really pack a punch!

There was no question in our minds that this invite deserved a spot on our design competition lineup. A big thanks to the Village Invites II for sending us this gorgeous customization!

ink: black + spring green | fonts: danube + impression | paper: 2-ply white | invite size: F-8 |  liner: vintage stripes in spring green ink | edge painting: spring green

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.