Tag: invitation

Abstract Ocean Wedding Invitation

~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

ocean_5987You all know I love typography—especially at a large scale, and especially in a whimsical script. So of course this type-focused design was one of the first I created!

Originally designed for a beach side styled shoot, my ocean suite is abstract enough to work for a variety of events. I’m absolutely in love with the texture and color of that gorgeous light blue watercolor wash. I’ve also upgraded the paper in this suite to a textured stock that looks like watercolor paper and shows off the texture even more!

This suite can also be customized by changing the background color to match your plans for the big day. Just get in touch!

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Save the Dates With Photos!

~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 3 Comments

I love letterpress. A mechanical printing process just imbues such purpose into every piece, no matter what it is. But, it does have its drawbacks: mainly that it’s very difficult or impossible to reproduce 4-color images, like photos or watercolor.

Recently I’ve had a few couples interested in including an engagement photo on their save the date announcement, so I’ve gotten to design without the restrictions letterpress imposes, and set up a relationship with an offset printer. It’s been such fun!

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Sara reached out after seeing some of my save the date coasters on Wedding Lovely, however once I saw her hopes for her own design, I knew offset would be the way to go. They loved a hand-lettered look with lots of swashes—I loved how these turned out!

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Bride-to-be Allison has a more formal style, with classic calligraphy and romantic watercolor floral. I love how their monochromatic photo works with the rest of her design elements. Can’t wait to share her invitations with you next spring!

Adrienne & Matt’s Pink and Gold Wedding Invitations

~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ Leave a comment

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Adrienne is a classic bride planning a traditional ceremony and reception in the heart of small town Pennsylvania. Her vision for the big day was a formal affair in shades of white and ivory with accents of soft rose and warm metallics.

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Because her venue has a casual name, she wanted invitations that emphasized the formal nature of the day, which we accomplished with a formal filigree design motif and traditional typography. She also wanted to incorporate her future husband’s family crest, which I re-illustrated from an old photo and worked into their save the dates, flap of the pocket envelope, and the coasters which will adorn their reception tables (she also ordered extras to have on hand at home, which I love!).

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Once we had the design finished, I printed each piece by hand on my antique letterpress in a subtly metallic antique gold ink accompanied by a custom-mixed shade of pink. I love the mix of paper stocks that reflect her color scheme, employing my favorite bright white cotton paper from Crane, as well as rose inserts, sparkling gold envelopes and a lovely cream pocket to keep everything together.

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Krista & Chris’ Hand Drawn Wedding Invites

~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 2 Comments

For those of you who’ve been following along, the big day is finally here! No, not my big day, but the day I get to reveal Krista and Chris’ wedding invites, because they got married today!

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Since Krista absolutely loved them, I drew heavily from the Save the Dates I designed and printed for them last year. As you’ll recall, I hand-drew all the leaf and laurel elements, then vectorized them so they would print cleanly. I kept the handwriting-inspired typography, and switched out the script typeface from her save the dates for a more formal calligraphy inspired font. I’m absolutely in love with it—especially in white ink on her envelopes! So gorgeous. krista_chris_0749

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We then tied the whole thing up with a wrap in her soft rose accent color. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the custom-mixed slate gray ink I printed the rest of the suite in!  krista_chris_1760 krista_chris_0747

I always encourage my brides to order their thank you notes along with their invites. One less thing to think about after the honeymoon—plus I offer a discount when they’re printed at the same time! I love Krista’s thank you notes… they really let the laurel design shine!

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After we were finished with the more formal parts of her wedding stationery, Krista reached out for one last ingenious project: In lieu of a guestbook, she distributed sheets of custom mad libs around the tables for guests to complete. I just love the thought of all her friends and family giggling as they played this classic childrens’ game, and her and her new husband enjoying what I’m sure will contain hilarious jokes and great advice.

Want to work with 622 Press for your wedding day? Get in touch here!

 

Save the Date: Abi & Spencer’s Art Nouveau Wedding

~ Bess Paper Goods & Gifts ~ 1 Comment

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Just before the holidays, I finished up a save the date card for the boyfriend’s sister. Abi and her fiancé are planning an Art Nouveau themed soirée this fall and wanted their invitation suite to give guests a peek at what’s to come.

Once I saw Abi’s Pinterest board—full of soft candlelight, sparkling chandeliers, swirling illustrations and hues of cobalt and gold, I knew I had to use this amazing shimmery paper I had experimented with a few weeks prior. I love that while it definitely reads gold, the paper is actually more of a champagne hue, free of the brassy or yellow hues that can make gold look cheap.

I created a two-color design inspired by motifs of the era: vaguely nature-inspired, but stylized into pure decoration. The white ink I used to print it plays beautifully off the iridescent paper.

I struggled quite a lot with the typefaces for this project, primarily because I don’t particularly like fonts from this era. I offered several more modern options that fit with with the design motif, but in the end, Abi and Spencer preferred typography that was historically accurate, and I was able to find several typefaces that I liked and worked well together!

I’m so pleased with how the save the dates turned out and can’t wait to get started on their invites, stay tuned!