We couldn’t be more excited to announce that we’re heading to California next week to host a trunk show with Urbanic, one of our favorite Bella Figura retailers! Come in to Urbanic on June 16 for an afternoon of dazzling inspiration, sweet treats & bubbly, and lots of fun! You’ll have the chance to sit down with stationery experts from Bella Figura + Urbanic and view the new Panorama wedding album (which is filled with stunning foil-stamped and letterpress invitation designs!). You can even learn how to make your own DIY centerpieces! And the best part? Come in for the trunk show to order a set of invitations, and you’ll get 25 free invitation sets when you order 75 or more! That includes everything – invitations, reply cards, insert cards, embellishments – the works! The trunk show runs from 11am-4pm, so if you’ll be in the area, RSVP to hello@urbanic.com today. We hope to see you there!
Our Harp design (by Tara Hogan) is so beautiful it brings music to our ears! These letterpress wedding invitations look so beautiful here in a combination of pewter and pale gray letterpress inks. Adding that touch of color certainly enhances the elegant swirls and gives it a timeless look.
inks: pewter + pale gray | fonts: moravia + parisian | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: a7 | liner: the vintage stripes pattern in british rose and pale gray inks | client coordinator: christie jones | in-house designer: racheal decker
What could be cooler than a two page letterpress save the date booklet that’s grommeted together in the corner so it swivels open and shut? I don’t have a followup for that intro, but personally I think these are pretty rad. It’s a great way to include additional details and to make the whole card interactive and fun. This set is a customization of one of Amy Graham Stigler‘s designs, Gramercy, and besides the grommeted save the date it also features letterpress invitations with a pocketfold and a design-coordinated envelope liner. We owe the privilege of printing this beautiful set to the lovely bunch at Union Street Papery.
inks: pms 7529 + clover | calligraphy accents: harrison by patricia mumau | paper: 2-ply white | save the date size: a6 | invite size: f-8 |
A night full of dancing, pretty lights, starfish decorations, and sand captures a summer beach theme perfectly. Topping things off, close the night with a kiss and a heart shaped silhouette of sparklers for that picturesque moment! This Addison Vintage customization is a perfect simple fit for a perfect summer affair!
addison vintage customization = inks: prussian blue + antique gold | fonts: aiden + nysa | paper: ivory | invite size: f-8 | liner: vintage stripes pattern in prussian blue | corner rounding | edge painting in champagne | original design by Jessica Tierney | customized by in-house designer Racheal Decker |
embellishment suggestions: pocketfold: iris
(Photo Credits:Cheri Lehnow)
With all of the different elements to consider when ordering your wedding invitations, envelope choices can wind up being somewhat of an afterthought. After all, they’re just going to be ripped open and thrown away anyway, right? Well, yes – but that doesn’t mean that they’re not important. They are the first things your guests will see when the invitation set arrives in the mail, after all.
The old standby for envelopes is to have them match the invitations – our standard envelopes are made from a text-weight version of the same cotton paper we print our letterpress invitations on – so the paper and envelopes will be a perfect match. If you’re looking for simplicity and complete uniformity throughout your set, this is definitely the way to go. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with white or ivory envelopes, by the way! They’re elegant and are designed to coordinate perfectly with your invites.
That being said, sometimes you don’t necessarily want everything to perfectly match your invitations – sometimes you want the envelopes to have a little pizazz of their own. And that’s where colored envelopes can fit the bill nicely.
New for 2012, we now offer several different colored envelope options (available in select sizes only for now): bullion, silver, jute, steel blue, and opal. Perhaps you want to add a touch of metallic to your invites (but you don’t want the invitation itself to be foil stamped)? A silver or bullion envelope would be a great option! Looking to add a crafty, hand-made sort of vibe to your invites? Try our jute envelopes! Planning lots of pearlescent touches for the wedding? Think opal envelopes!
Oh, and the best part? Our colored envelopes are priced exactly the same as our white and ivory envelopes, so they’re definitely more budget-friendly than some other color-adding embellishment options such as pocketfolds or envelope liners. Not that these colored envelopes don’t look awesome with liners too – because they definitely do! We especially love the look of a metallic envelope paired a metallic envelope liner – think metallic bronze envelope liners paired with opal envelopes — it’s a stunning combination!
Once you’ve finalized all the details for your letterpress invitations and picked the perfect envelopes for your invitation set, add a beautiful finishing touch by having them hand addressed by one of our master calligraphers! And be sure to check out these tips for all of your envelope addressing needs.
Our new office favorite is this summery customization of our La Salle (by Ian Koenig) design. If these letterpress wedding invitations look familiar that’s because we previously featured a similar design customization. Now we can see that this whimsical design is even prettier when letterpress printed! We have Danielle from Bells & Whistles in Belmont, Massachusetts to thank for these!
inks: sea-side + light peach | fonts: conquerer + memimas | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: f8 | liner: the refined mosaic pattern in light peach and sea-side inks |
We’re a little bit land-locked up here in Syracuse, but we can dream of sand between our feet, can’t we? Speaking of dream, these sea-side inspired letterpress wedding invites are pretty dreamy, no? This one’s a customization of one of our old classics, Nautilus, designed by Beth Ann Seal, and features hand calligraphy accents by Debi Zeinert.
inks: charcoal + surf | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: f8 | calligraphy accents: spencerian by debi zeinert | client coordinator: chris gannon | in-house designer: brenda fox
If you just got engaged and have your wedding date set, the next step is to think about save the dates! If you have questions like: When should I send my save the dates? Do they have to be formal if I am having a formal wedding? What design should I choose? — don’t worry, we’re here to help!
When should I send my save the dates?
Typically sent anywhere from 6-12 months before the wedding, save the dates are the perfect way to make sure that guests have advanced notice of your wedding date, and they can also be an excellent way to set the initial tone for your celebration. Save the dates are a nice courtesy for your guests — especially those who will be traveling for your special day — as they’ll have a much easier time arranging for time off and making travel & accommodation plans. Once upon a time, save the dates were used primarily for destination weddings or weddings with a lot of out of town guests, but nowadays they’re popular for all types of weddings.
Who do I send save the dates to?
If your guest list hasn’t been finalized yet, send to as many people on your list as possible. Anyone who receives a save the date absolutely must receive an invitation, so keep that in mind while you’re planning!
What information should the save the date contain?
The bare essentials for a save the date are the names of the couple and the date. We do recommend including the location so guests can plan accordingly, though if you haven’t narrowed down to a specific venue yet you can just provide the city & state. Some couples also choose to include accommodation information, wedding websites, and even information about local attractions. If you plan to invite all of your guests to additional activities on the dates surrounding your wedding (such as a welcome barbecue or a farewell brunch), you can ask that they save the weekend and provide appropriate dates.
Do they have to be formal if I am having a formal wedding?
The wording for a save the date is typically less formal than an invitation, so you can really have some fun with it! Writing the date as 06.05.13 or June 5, 2013 is perfectly acceptable and even more common than “Saturday, the fifth of June, two thousand and thirteen.” It is totally okay to include your wedding website and is actually a great way to introduce your website to your guests. It’s traditional to put “invitation to follow” or “formal invitation to follow” on the save the date, but it’s not necessary if you choose more streamlined wording. If you have any etiquette questions you can see our suggestions or contact us – we’d love to give you more advice!
Any tips for making my save the dates extra unique?
Get creative! There are tons of ways to customize your wedding stationery when you order with Bella Figura (think edge painting, cool custom envelope liners, or corner rounding!) but you can make your save the dates extra special by adding your own personal touch! Have a really cool story about how the two of you met? Include it on the save the dates! Did your photographer take amazing engagement photos? Have your save the dates designed with a “frame” so you can mount prints of your engagement photos to each one!
What design should I choose?
We have save the dates for every style – whether your wedding is vintage, formal, modern, rustic, art-deco or completely unique – you name it, we have a style for you. All of our designs are completely customizable, so we have even more options than what you see on our web site (a lot more options!). If you are totally stumped on what design to choose, consider taking our personal shopper survey! Our survey gives us the opportunity to learn more about you, your wedding, and your style, and then we can tell you what designs and customizations we think would be a perfect fit for you. Plus, we can keep the conversation going until you find exactly what you were looking for!
After you’ve finalized your save the date order, be sure to check out these tips on envelope addressing from master calligrapher Debi Zeinert!
Mix and match! This custom letterpress wedding invite shares design elements from two different invitations- the Ollie pattern in champagne and the Amelie bird motif in watermelon. Get inspired and create your very own personalized invitations!
amelie + ollie customization = inks: watermelon + champagne | fonts: norah + slim pickens | paper: white | invite size: f8 | liner: rustic woodstock in watermelon ink | amelie original design by Ellie Snow | ollie original design by Aimee O’Boyle | customized by in-house designer Brenda Fox
embellishment suggestions: edge paint in watermelon
(Photo Credits: Bridal Musings)
Our Rose design (by Ellie Snow) looks pretty in pink in this sweet letterpress wedding invitation. The trendy willow font really gives this set some character.
inks: british rose + pale gray | fonts: willow + streamline | paper: 2-ply white | invite size: SQ7 |
Have your guests ready to celebrate at a backyard reception with this rustic-with-a-modern-twist customization of our Savannah letterpress wedding invitation (by Jessica Tierney). Looking to really make a statement? Use our Silver Shine foil on the monogram and names!
savannah customization = inks: yolk + black + pewter | fonts: willow + streamline | motif: begonia | paper: white | invite size: sq-7 | liner: classic color in black ink | original design by Jessica Tierney | customized by in-house designer Sarah Walroth
(Photo Credits: Flutter Glass & Adeline and Grace)
We love it when our brides customize our letterpress wedding invitation designs and we were thrilled when this bride submitted her own custom fonts! Our Deco design (by Elizabeth and David Mandel) looks totally retro in this timeless pairing of amethyst and chartreuse letterpress inks.
inks: amethyst + chartreuse | fonts: custom submitted | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: a7 | client coordinator: christie jones | in-house designer: sarah walroth
