I have such a sweet spot for stationery, and stationers who simplify the process are even sweeter. Wedding Paper Divas makes ordering save-the-dates and invitations so easy – customize your design, instantly preview online, then wait less than a week for them to process. And for a limited time, you can even get up to 8 free samples with coupon code FREETRY.

Aren’t they lovely? The best thing about Wedding Paper Divas is that it’s not one-invite-fits-all. Their talented artists have created thousands of exclusive designs for all tastes and budgets, in digital, letterpress, and thermography printing. I’ve got my eye on the Custom Type collection that offers one-on-one designer attention… Can’t find just what you’re looking for? You can create a card from scratch with the fonts, sizes and colors of your choice – love it!

What are your favorite WPD designs? Oh, and check out the Wedding Paper Divas blog for even more invitation inspiration!

This post sponsored by Wedding Paper Divas

This article was originally posted on Snippet & Ink.

I LOVE paper, so the wedding has been a great excuse for me to look at pretty stationery all the time and splurge on fancy paper I wouldn’t typically buy for myself. I’ve always loved letterpress and decided early on that I must have it for the wedding.

Letterpress printing is a printing technique in which ink is rolled over an individually cast die and then pressed into the paper. Letterpress was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1400s and is the oldest form of printing in existence.

Back in the day, the letterpress-printing process started by using wood or metal type. The printer would arrange the blocks to spell out the desired message. Remember the scene in Newsies where they do this?

Image via Oh So Beautiful Paper / Photo by Starshaped Press

Today, the printing process begins by creating the design on a computer. Instead of wood or metal plates, printers now make photo polymer plates with raised text and design elements. A separate plate must be produced for every color that will be printed.

The actual printing process remains relatively unchanged. First, the printer locks the plate into the letterpress machine. The ink is mixed by hand and then applied to a roller.

Image via Oh So Beautiful Paper / Photo by Baltimore Print Studios

Once the ink has been applied to the machine, printing begins. The printer feeds the paper through the machine, the ink is rolled onto the polymer plate, and then the plate is pressed into the paper. The thicker the paper, the deeper the impression. This process must be repeated for each separate color once the ink dries.

I love letterpress because of its tactile qualities. You can run your finger over the writing and feel where the ink has been pressed into the paper. Modern letterpress printing works best on thick paper made from natural fibers because you can feel the deep impression, like reverse Braille.

Image via Bella Figura

If you really want to focus on the impression, you can even choose to forgo adding ink to the rollers and produce what’s called a blind impression.

Image via Poppytalk Handmade

Letterpress was the preferred method of printing from its invention in the 1400s through the late 19th Century, when it was replaced by offset printing. However, the technique has experienced a bit of a revival in the past two decades. I’m glad that it’s back because it’s going to be a gorgeous addition to our wedding!

Are there any other stationery nerds out there who love letterpress as much as I do?

This article was originally posted on Weddingbee.

So I started looking for ideas—like everything else in the wedding world, so many options! I wanted something a little out-of-the-box, something all our guests hadn’t seen before. I loved the idea of whatever we chose being interactive, or somehow useful, or very us. I wanted something more than a simple postcard, but had no idea what.

I totally swooned for these custom-printed balloons. I thought they were so fun and festive!

From L’Office Optimiste on Etsy

We’d have our engagement pictures, so it was tempting to have them made into a pretty little card—simple and sweet.

Image via Wedding Paper Divas

I loved these pencil save the dates! I’m also a sucker for all things personalized—these fit the bill.

From Melangerie on Etsy

With a destination wedding in New Orleans, I thought these custom map silhouettes were totally appropriate and adorable.

From DefineDesign11 on Etsy

I was obsessed with these pull-out, cut-out dates and mini envelopes. As always, Martha is killing me with the cuteness.

Image via Martha Stewart Weddings

I adored a card that “tied the knot” when opened! That’s one of my favorite wedding euphemisms, and I thought the idea was so novel.

Image via Bridal Musings / Design by Christina Moralego

With all of these darling options, I was totally undecided—so I showed them to Mr. Archer. He chose his favorite, and that was that. He’s got expensive taste, and the one he chose was spendy, so we DIY’ed. I can’t wait to share the process with y’all!

Of these options, which would you have gone with?

This article was originally posted on Weddingbee.

1. Aguas Frescas by Chank, $29
2. Ambassador Script by CanadaType, $70
3. Aphrodite Pro by Typesenses, $15
4. Attic by YouWorkForThem, $30
5. Aunt Mildred by MVB Fonts, $39
6. Baronessa by Juraj Chrastina, $39
7. Belinda by Mikas Melvas, $35
8. Belluccia by Correspondence Ink, $39
9. Bodoni At Home by Giuseppe Salerno, FREE
10. Bookeyed Suzanne by Tart Workshop, $30

11. Breathe by Lián Types, $20
12. Brioche by Jessica Hische, $79
13. Buttermilk by Jessica Hische, $49
14. Carolyna Pro Black by Emily Lime, $89
15. Cerise by Magpie Paper Works, $69
16. Channel by Mans Greback, FREE
17. Cheap Pine by Hannes von Döhren, $25
18. Chopin Script by Diogene, FREE
19. Cowboyslang by Hannes von Döhren, $30
20. Dear Sarah by Betatype, $119

21. Emily Lime by Emily Lime, $29
22. Fidelia Script by Melle Diete, $50
23. Gelateria by Flat-it, $20
24. Guadalupe by Latinotype, $29
25. Harmony by YouWorkForThem, $20
26. HoneyBee by Laura Worthington, $27
27. Jacob Riley by Magpie Paper Works, $32
28. Jane Austen by Pia Frauss, FREE
29. Jeeves by Red Rooster, $79
30. Lavandería by Lost Type Co-op, FREE

31. LiebeErika by LiebeFonts, $30
32. Mary Read by Melle Diete, $45
33. Matilde by Type Depot, FREE
34. Mishka by Fenotype, $30
35. Muncie by Lost Type Co-op, FREE
36. Nelly Script by Tart Workshop, $39
37. Packard Old Style by Red Rooster, $60
38. Parfumerie Script by Typesenses, $30
39. Respective by Mans Greback, FREE
40. Saissant by Magpie Paper Works, $54

41. Saltpetre by Magpie Paper Works, $32
42. Samantha Script by Laura Worthington, $29
43. Sudestada by Sudtipos, $59
44. Sympathique Pro by Canada Type, $30
45. Trithart by Emma Trithart, $25
46. Vermandois by Magpie Paper Works, $76
47. Verner by Fenotype, $35
48. Victoria by Eric Carlson, $25
49. Weingut by FaceType, $12
50. Wisdom Script by Lost Type Co-op, FREE

Whether you want something retro, timeless, playful or elegant, beautifully designed fonts offer affordable graphic design for your wedding projects. There are thousands upon thousands to choose from – these 50 are just a place to start, and I’d love it if you’d share your favorite font finds and font projects in the comments!

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

For a quick peek into how we make many decisions, it goes something like this:

1. I obsessively research and find things that I like and that I think Sweetie Scone might like.
2. After collecting several dozen options I share them with Sweetie Scone.
3. We pare the list down to 3–5 choices.
4. Then we try to make something that doesn’t look like a kindergartner made it.
5. The best one wins.

Here is the pared down list of STD options for your enjoyment:

Image via WeddingWire / Design by For Wedding Sake on Etsy

Image via Etsy / Design by Em & Bee

Image via Minted / Design by Andres Montaño

Image via GigPosters

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Cue Cards & Pockets—I loved their large selection of colors and immediately ordered a couple of free samples to get to see the colors up close.

*Personal Pic

I ordered six samples in white, light purple, and dark purple in both the shimmer and matte types of paper. My actual selections were: matte (Snow White, Grape, and Purple) and shimmer (Crystal, Amethyst, and Violette). I would like to pick one white shade, one light purple shade, and one deep purple shade.

Matte shades are on the left and shimmer on the right.

vs

vs

vs

*All images via Cards & Pockets unless noted

I really liked all the colors I had chosen but LOVED the Violette shimmer sample! I’m definitely including it on the invites, either as an invitation mat or in the envelope. I’m unsure of whether to print the invite on the shimmer or matte white. And have yet to pick the other purple colored paper (it will be either the Grape or Amethyst).

Should I go all shimmer or all matte on the invites, or should I mix it up using matte invites and envelopes with a shimmer mat, or shimmer invites and envelopes but a matte backer, or…etc., etc.

Have any of you used Cards & Pockets supplies for your invites?

Did you use matte or shimmer paper? A combination of both?

Help?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Our invitation suite was a DIY affair…and it ended up taking longer than I thought (which is how it always happens, right?!). I’ll break the whole process down for you, but it’ll probably be easy to do in pictures.

The first step was to create the invitation suite. As much as I loved all those modern invitations I kept talking about so many months ago, I really wanted something that looked fresh, but ultimately traditional. I spend all day, every day designing hip, modern things…for our wedding, I decided to follow my little designer-heart and create something that I loved, even if it wasn’t exactly “cool” and seemed traditional. That was my inspiration…

That and I really wanted an invitation suite with multiple pieces. I don’t know why, but I wanted our invitation to have a whole bunch of pieces for people to read and look at. This is also why I didn’t want pocket fold; I wanted just pieces everywhere. Weird, I know. I made the pieces a few different sizes so they’d “stack up” nicely.

And lastly, I wanted something that could dictate the look of other printed materials for our big day (table numbers, programs, escort cards, etc). Having one look I could essentially “re-use” over and over made things easy, and look cohesive. But more on that later!

I designed the whole set in Adobe Illustrator, using the fonts Burgues Script and Mrs. Eaves (for the small caps).

We didn’t have a theme, but since I used hearts on our save the dates, I carried hearts over into the invitations.

The Invitation (5×7″), RSVP card (3.5×5″), and Reception card (3.5×5″).

Our Map (4×6″) and Accommodations card (4×6″).

Next, I cut out belly bands while Mr. G embossed the flap of our envelopes with my Cuttlebug.

I believe Mr. G said at this point, “Now, you can’t say that I haven’t done anything for this wedding ever again.” Haha.

Well…after I got all our invitations printed (through gotprint.net), Mr. G took off for his Bachelor week of skiing/camping with our Best Man. Luckily, the Giraffe Parents picked up the slack!

The photo above shows how I used our not-theme of “hearts.” You can click the photo to make it larger and see more clearly, but there were hearts everywhere! The address labels were heart shaped, as were the return address labels, and every belly band had a heart tag  around it that listed our guests’ names.

The labels on the front of our envelopes were printed on my parents’ HP printer, and the cut out with my Cricut (the same goes for the labels on the back). Our labels on our RSVP envelopes were smaller versions of the ones you see here (but with our address, of course!).

The back with our return address labels and Cuttlebug embossing. Gotta love those metallic envelopes!

I made the envelope liners using the heart-gyle, I had designed for our website. I bought a ream of 11×17″ blue paper from OfficeMax, and was able to print 3 liners per page…of course, I also bought a ream of blue paper from Staples so I could compare the “blueness” of each. Needless to say, 6 months after the wedding, I still have a ton of blue paper.

I stacked all the pieces of the invitation from big to small (with a small wallet sized e-photo of us on the top), wrapped a belly band around it, wrapped baker’s twine around that, and attached a heart tag with the twine.

Okay, okay, Daddy G did the stacking and tying, but I put them in the envelopes!

There were so many! The DIYing went on forever!

So there they are! They whole kit and caboodle (…until recently, I thought it was ’kitten caboodle’). I’m pretty happy with the final product and I head a lot of nice things from our guests, and that’s what counts.

If I did it all over again, I probably still design my own invitations, but I don’t know if I’d go through all the work of doing the extra pieces! I spent a looooooong time trying to set up my Cricut to cut the hearts correctly and I got super frustrated at times. I loved how it looked, but I don’t think I needed all that stress at the time.

Did you take on the daunting tasking on DIYing invites? Would you do it again?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Stationery by Holly Hollon Design and Calligraphy
Photos by Jessica Wright

See more of Hannon and Cameron’s wedding right here!

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

I was quite pleased when I came across these on GiftWagon.com. They have a scallop edge to satisfy my need for a little something pretty, and they meet Mr. Dalmatian’s request of not having flowers on it. (FYI, they also have ones with a floral border for those of you who can convince your fiancés.)

Just to make my life more difficult (oh yeah, and also to make the save-the-dates look nicer), I decided to hand embroider a small heart in the corner of each one. The process went a little something like this:

Use a pencil to trace your shape onto your handkerchief.

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Have you met MagnetStreet Weddings, a long-time sponsor of Snippet & Ink? Maybe you know that they offer magnetic save-the-dates, but did you know that they also offer entire invitation suites? They even have reception items like place cards and table numbers. Styles range from classic to modern, and all of their save-the-dates and wedding invitations can easily be customized with your choice of color and font. Here are a few favorites…

In addition to these styles, MagnetStreet Weddings offers pocket invitations - with coordinating enclosure cards that are neatly organized and presented, they’re the most popular style. Want to make sure that MagnetStreet is right for you? They’ll send you free samples so you can see and feel for yourself the quality, details and colors of their wedding stationery.

This post sponsored by MagnetStreet Weddings.

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.