We’ve been working with Coreil and Charlie on wedding stationery for many months. They first came to Lunalux last November to talk about their save-the-dates. Since then we’ve also printed their wedding invitations, which are dramatically different from the colorful announcements with which they started (and which we wrote about in March). While their save-the-dates reflected the colorful atmosphere of New Orleans, where their nuptials will take place, the invitations are the most traditional we’ve ever done. The classic text was set in elegant script, and letterpress-printed in black ink on the front panel of a folded sheet of thick 100% cotton text-weight paper. Double envelopes, a simple reply card, and a white tissue insert completed this formal set.

Since the invitations have been mailed out, we’ve continued to work on other wedding-related paper goods for the couple, including this invitation to a morning-after-the-wedding breakfast. The color scheme recalls what we used on the save-the-dates. This time, we printed in kelly green ink on yellow and white duplex cover – the double-thick sheet makes for a very substantial postcard, and gives plenty of room for a nice impression without any show-through.

Along with the breakfast invitations, we also printed very simple social stationery for the couple to use as thankyou notes after the wedding. With just their names letterpress-printed on a flat 130# bright white card, the notes are versatile enough to be used for many occasions after all the toasters and china place setting have been dutifully acknowledged. And the project doesn’t end here. As their wedding date approaches, we’re putting the final touches on programs for the ceremony (traditional black-and-white) and tags to be tied to wedding favors (bright and colorful).

Lately we’ve worked with many couples who are planning destination weddings. We’ve seen an increased demand for save-the-dates in recent months too. These two trends collided in a couple of projects: two save-the-date announcements, both for weddings in New Orleans, both featuring fleur-de-lis motifs.

Coreil and Charlie knew they would be sending out very formal, traditional wedding invitations, so they wanted save-the-dates that reflect the fun, colorful location of their nuptials. Serif and sans serif fonts were combined with a detailed fleur-de-lis motif and letterpress-printed in kelly green ink on thick bright-white stock. The printed announcement was mounted on a monarch-sized vibrant yellow card, adding another splash of color.

Ashley and Ben’s save-the-date, also for a New Orleans celebration, is much more subtle, which is just what the bride ordered. We printed a large, simple fleur-de-lis silhouette in very pale tan ink, on a natural white A6 notecard. Bare-bones wedding details were printed over the graphic in cloud-blue ink. Click on the image at the right for a larger view.

With so many elements in common, it’s interesting to see how unique each one turned out. Compare these save-the-dates to wedding invitations we created for yet another destination-NO wedding – again, very different! This is a nice illustration of what we mean when we use the word “custom” to describe the work we do at Lunalux. If you’re planning a destination wedding in New Orleans, we don’t pull out a book of templates and search for the design with a fleur-de-lis on it. We create something that reflects your tastes, your interests, your plans. Whether you need wedding invitations, calling cards or business stationery, we work hard to understand your needs and deliver high-quality letterpress-printed pieces that suit you.

We originally worked with Michelle and Joe last fall, on invitations for their destination wedding in Mexico. Once those were in the mail, they returned to Lunalux for invitations to their wedding reception in Minneapolis. Michelle wanted the reception invites to be totally different from the ceremony invitations (except for the metallic papers – we kept that element), and was considering a few different directions: double happiness? a lovely floral motif? something really traditional and classic? After exploring her ideas, we settled on the double happiness theme, which tied into both her cultural heritage and the decor for the reception.

As with all of our wedding stationery, we tailored this invitation package to Michelle and Joe’s specific needs and style. We created two separate invitations: one for the bulk of the guests who were invited to the reception, and another for the closest family & friends, who were also invited to an intimate dinner before hand. We also created an RSVP postcard and a hotel information card to accompany the invitations. Each piece was letterpress-printed on warm white metallic cover stock. The invitations were mounted on a 5.5-inch square metallic gold card, and the whole shebang was enclosed in a square red metallic envelope.

With most wedding invitation suppliers, “customization” means that the bride and groom can select from pre-designed templates, and adjust details such as typeface and ink color. But here at Lunalux, we often start from scratch, creating truly unique wedding stationery for our clients.

Case in point: Dana and David. They wanted a rooster and a chicken on their wedding invitation. Do you think William Arthur or Claudia Calhoun offers such quirky motifs? Not so much! And frankly, we’d never used such a pastoral image on a wedding invitation either. But that’s the fun thing about Lunalux – we’re flexible, and we work really hard to meet our clients’ uncommon wants and needs. After browsing through a few clip-art books featuring farm animals and other weird stuff, Dana & David found the perfect pair of fowl. We letterpress-printed the birds in chocolate brown, and the text in bright turquoise, on 130# bright white bristol cover. Not formal and traditional, but lovely and fancy and just what they wanted.

We’re seeing an increasing number of couples who are planning destination weddings in tropical locations such as Mexico (nice though this time of year, eh?). Last fall we worked with Michelle and Joe to create invitations for their nuptials in Puerto Vallarta. They found an invitation in one of our sample albums that they really liked, we just tweaked the design to reflect the unique location. Invitations and RSVP cards were letterpress-printed on shimmering metallic white card stock, with colors inspired by a sandy ocean beach. To keep costs down, the couple purchased their own envelopes and hand-wrote the return addresses.

Kaaryn and David are planning to tie the knot in Mexico as well, but their wedding stationery recalls a desert rather than a sea-side landscape. We worked with rich orange and brown inks on super-thick warm white card stock to create simple #10 invitations with matching RSVP cards. My favorite piece that we created for this couple is a coaster! A sunburst motif (which was also used on mailing labels for the invitations) was letterpress-printed on thick, soft blotter paper in burnt orange ink, with sparse text imprinted over it in chocolate brown. We’ve done just a few custom coaster designs for weddings and special events over the years, and they’re always such a fun and uncommon keepsake – imagine your own, dotting the bar at your reception, or tied into little bundles as favors for guests to take home after the party.