Design + Print: gladiolus wedding invitations

We started working with Kate and Nick late last year, when they ordered a bunch Lunalux quote postcards to use as their save-the-date announcements. They got in touch with us again a few months later, excited to work on custom-designed invitations for their Big Day. With little direction aside from “We like glads,” we developed a few different concepts for the New York couple to consider. The winning design features a bunch of gladiolus in full bloom, exploding from the base of the invitation. The vibrant violet and green inks, letterpress-printed in natural white wove-finish card stock, are ideal for a summery wedding. The full set also included RSVP postcards and matching thank-you cards. Click on the photo above for a larger view.

The postcard they used for their save-the-dates featured a quote by poet James Tate. This design was originally created as a Valentine’s Day promotional postcard back in 2006, but all these years later, we still adore the lovey text unexpectedly paired with an image of an old rooster weather vain. The ruby red and cyan blue inks really pop off the bright white card stock. It’s gratifying to know that it was re-purposed as a wedding mailer, and think it was upstaged only by the invitations that followed!

Click here to read more about our graphic design and printing services. Or browse our blog archives to see other recent wedding stationery projects.

Design + Print: cattail save-the-date

We’re swooning over this save-the-date announcement we created for Matt & Stan earlier this month. The combination of a clean, simple cattail illustration and basic wedding details set in traditional type looks so lovely letterpress-printed on soft cotton card stock. Click on the picture for a larger view, you’ll see that irresistible texture that can only be created by letterpress printing. The dusty blue envelope is from Green Paper Company, which makes envelopes and cards from a well-edited palette of recycled papers. So many clients ask about recycled papers now, we expect that people will really respond to this company’s beautiful colors.

Like all of our wedding stationery, this save-the-date was custom-designed for the happy couple. Matt and Stan liked the overall look of our work, but wanted something we hadn’t done before: cattails. It’s a fun challenge when clients come in with very specific requests, and a great pleasure to make their paper dreams a reality! If you’re thinking about custom invitations for your upcoming wedding, click here to learn more about our design and printing services, or read about other wedding projects in our blog archive.

Design + Print: save-the-dates gone wild

When we started making custom wedding stationery in the mid-90s, save-the-dates were hardly a blip on the radar. But over the last few years, we’ve seen them bloom into a commonplace component to the wedding planning process. Save-the-dates get your wedding on the busy social calendars of guests near and far, and are especially helpful to those who will need to travel for the festivities. Because they’re a fairly new wedding tradition, there aren’t many strict etiquette guidelines to follow. Save-the-dates can be mailed 6-12 months before the wedding, as soon as you have the date and location nailed down. One firm rule: every guest who receives a save-the-date must also receive a formal invitation. No pre-inviting your distant cousins, then pruning the mailing list for the invitations proper.

In recent months, we’ve had the pleasure of working with couples who came to us with really fun ideas for this first element of their wedding paper parade. Molly and David, who are planning a destination wedding in Arizona, wanted to include a cactus and a calendar on their announcement. The petite 3.5×5 announcements are letterpress-printed in warm colors on plush ecru paper, and paired with a sunshine-yellow envelope (click on the photo, above-left, for a larger view). Elizabeth and Will, who live in New York but are getting married at Minneapolis’ Mill City Museum, wanted their save-the-dates to have the bold, gritty feeling of a concert poster. We combined an image of the old buildings near the museum, including the distinctive Gold Medal Flour sign, with distressed type. The image and text are reversed out, so the negative space is letterpress-printed in bold orange ink on smooth thick white cardstock. We let the ink coverage run a little light, to enhance the weathered feeling of the finished image.

Leah and Jeanie are planning their wedding ceremony in Canada, followed closely by a reception in the Four Season’s Dance Studio just down the alley from our store. Inspired by the international nature of their affair, the couple asked us to create a save-the-date that looks like a U.S. passport. A golden eagle adorns the front of the folded card, and the inside bears the brides’ stats passport-style, “stamps” for each of the events, and even a custom illustration of the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry. And we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect paper than Neenah Paper’s navy and white columns duplex cover.

Design + Print: Save-the-date, New Orleans style

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-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.