We’re bundling up for the cold winter weather that’s starting to make its way to Central New York, but this wedding has us dreaming of warm summer days and fun celebrations. Candice & Sean included tons of festive design elements for their summertime wedding that made for amazing, cheerful photos filled with love and warmth. Candice gave us the scoop on what went into planning this colorful backyard bash (complete with intricate Papel Picado for decor!) and we’re in love with every last detail.
Can you share with us a bit about your wedding and your inspiration for the event?
We chose a church wedding in acknowledgement of our Catholic and Episcopal traditions and in accordance with our personal faith. We asked guests to come and celebrate our lives, our commitments, and our love. Our invitations requested that guests arrive in colorful attire, and all of the women were invited to walk Candice to the church. We had many people do small readings, and since everyone present was an old best friend or family member, we did not have attendants. Instead, all of the women who walked Candice to the church carried small roses. Our bible verse for the day, “This is my beloved and this is my friend” was a verse that framed all of our celebrations and much of our wedding planning.
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This creative Bar Mitzvah invitation was sent to us by our friends over at Lion in the Sun in Brooklyn, New York. This exquisite set is a wonderful customization for our Surya design (by Tara Hogan). The choice of our spring green ink and an eye catching custom blue (these colors compliment each other perfectly!) really bring everything together. Staying true to the overall modern vibe this suite emanates, the client opted for a reply postcard rather than the traditional reply card. All in all this is one invitation set that really captures the feel of the party to come!
inks: spring green & custom #633| fonts: burgues script + impression | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: SQ-7 | liner: the antique geometrics pattern in custom #633
With another Syracuse winter sneaking up on us, this customization of Ben Whitla‘s Lumos design is feeling especially fitting for the season. A combination of our charcoal and pool inks letterpress printed onto our snowy white 1-ply paper breathes a cool and modern breath into this popular design. We owe the honor of printing this particular save the date to the ever-awesome gang downstate at Judy Paulen Designs Bloomingdales.
inks: charcoal + pool | paper: 1-ply white | save the date size: a6 |
We recently printed these modern Serenade (by Ian Koenig) letterpress wedding invitations. Our friends at Sweet Paper in La Jolla, California dreamed up this beautiful color combination of Mediterranean and Sand inks on our 1-ply white paper. A solid surf envelope liner anchors the set complimenting these cool hues. From folded thank you notes to website and reply cards this suite simply has it all. Take a refreshing color palette, pair it with a contemporary design and these invitations are singing to a melody all of their own!
inks: mediterranean + sand | font: roe | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: a7 | liner: the classic color pattern in surf ink |
Clean lines and strong colors all build up this modern minimalist design at its posh best. We love Avant because of it’s simple classic style that has a wonderful urban tone about it. These wedding invitations let our letterpress printing style stand above the rest.
avant customization = inks: black + chartreuse | font: geometric + cabernet | paper: white | invite size: f-8 | liner: the antique geometrics pattern in black ink | original design by Ben Whitla | customized by in-house designer Racheal Decker
embellishment suggestions: edge painting in sea mist
(Photo Credits: Yueko Image)
by Racheal Decker, In-House Designer.
This next real wedding united two Air Force members, so it seemed only fitting that we feature it on Veterans Day! Overflowing with glamorous details and thoughtful touches that reflect Brenna & Larry’s interests, it’s a celebration filled with timeless style. Brenna designed the stylish yet classic invitations and came to us for printing (we featured her beautiful invites on our blog back in March), and they really set the perfect tone for this 1930’s inspired wedding.
Can you share with us a bit about your wedding and your inspiration for the event?
The wedding was held at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina. I was an art major in college, and my husband studied in Germany for his degree. The hotel is in an artful German hunting lodge style, so that was inspiring in itself. We both have a love for Art Deco style, and 1930’s music and movies.
A special performance by Brenna’s sister (a trained opera singer!) added a lovely personal touch to Brenna & Larry’s ceremony – she sang a solo from Handel’s “Messiah”.
What advice do you have for couples currently planning a wedding?
Pick something inspirational and plan the wedding around it. For us, it was Busby Berkeley Films. All the black and white contrast and lavish sets helped make all the decisions about design quickly. Keep your venue in mind, too, and work with the details therein.
How did you choose your invitation design & ink colors?
I made the design myself, and trusted it to Bella Figura to make it happen in the highest caliber. The rest of the wedding stationery matched the design, so it was easy to continue the theme. I wanted the invitation to show off the good design, so it was a cream and black letterpress; very classic and always in style.
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Soft, dreamy hues transform this vintage Wisteria design (by Beth Ann Seal). Our dusty pink and pewter inks enhance the overall feel letting the luxury shine. A sea stripes patterned envelope liner in dusty pink balances the design with clean lines and adds a simple, yet elegant touch. We think these are the perfect invitations to celebrate a winter romance.
inks: dusty pink + pewter | fonts: spencer + utrecht | paper: 1-ply white | invite size: f8 | liner: the sea stripes pattern in dusty pink ink | client coordinator: christie jones | in-house designer: racheal decker
The beautiful color combination of Geranium and Umber inks breathe new life into our Onalisse (by designer Heidi) letterpress wedding invitations. The reply and direction cards are cleverly combined together onto one card (a great way to cut down on the amount of paper and save $). The classic color envelope liner in geranium ink ties the set together. These colors really embody the feeling of the Fall season.
inks: geranium + umber | fonts: baskerville + pillar | paper: 2-ply ivory | invite size: f-8 | liner: classic color pattern in geranium ink | client coordinator: christie jones | in-house designer: kyle laatsch
We’re pretty excited about Election Day 2011 around here (it’s today! Tuesday, November 8), so we’ve decided to hold a vote of our own! From now through November 30, four of our letterpress invitation designs will be in the running to become the next Bella Figura Design of the Month. The winning design will go on sale for 20% off during the month of December, so be sure to vote! (And tell your friends to vote, too!) The 20% off applies to save the dates, thank you cards, coasters, place cards, menus, programs, invitations, and any other piece that uses the winning design.
Voting is easy: simply visit this page to view the nominated designs, then ‘like’ your favorite (you must be logged in to Facebook to do this). Already dreaming up ways to customize your favorite design? Check out these gorgeous customizations our in-house graphic design team dreamed up to get some extra inspiration.
Alice by Tara Hogan
Carte de Visite by Ben Whitla
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You can always find great looks in the city and this urban inspired Alice customization is no exception. Accenting with deep blue inks and a heavy coverage of black really makes this invitation pop. Adding a sleek single letter monogram and some geranium edge painting really sets this one apart. Our strana font finishes this invite with a nice formal touch that makes this the perfect blend of class and style.
alice customization = inks: deep blue + black | fonts: strana + aiden stripe | paper: white | invite size: f-8 | liner: rustic crosshatch pattern in geranium | edge painting: geranium | original design by Tara Hogan | customized by in-house designer Kyle Laatsch |
(Photo Credits : Cheri Lehnow)
by Kyle Laatsch, In-House Designer
We love having the opportunity to share real weddings from our Bella brides! This next wedding is filled with so much vintage prettiness — Shawna (a member of the amazing Style Me Pretty team) included lots of personal touches, soft pretty colors, lace, and the perfect dose of Southern charm for her & Matt’s springtime celebration. She even started a new family tradition! Shawna decided on our Harlow design for her invitations, and they fit her wedding style to a T. Read on for all of the pretty little details, and don’t miss Shawna’s advice if you’re currently planning your own wedding – she’s got some great tips!
Can you share with us a bit about your wedding and your inspiration for the event?
Matt and I had our wedding in Hill Country in Fredericksburg, Texas. The ceremony and reception was at the Hoffman Haus, a cottage property that’s close to the main street. We wanted a charming, home style wedding that we would love always. Our vintage and warm colored décor was inspired by the property; we had doilies, burlap, lace, vintage silver and haybales. Guests were greeted with peach lemonade and mini peach ice cream cones. The ceremony was a dream, violins played a combination of traditional and beatles songs. It was a simple, pretty garden wedding. Matt looked so handsome in his dark brown 3-piece suit and I loved my dress. The crystals on the belt were from my grandma and my short blusher veil made me feel glamorous.
Our vows were more on the traditional side and we had a tree planting with a gardenia shrub. I added photo books, handmade wedding facts about both of our families and matchbooks as additional décor. The hors d’oeuvres at our cocktail hour and our dinner menu featured a blend of Italian and Texas cuisine. Texas beers and wine were also served. The food stations were fun; we had a yummy bruschetta bar and a Bellini bar that was so pretty. Our first dance was a waltz. We danced with friends to all kinds of music including hip hop, country. Matt played the Texas Tech fighting song before the garter toss. I started a mother/daughters dance tradition in our family: me, my mom and two sisters jammed to Poison by Bobbi Brown. I think everyone had seconds of the wedding cake, it was delicious
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Featuring the gorgeous hand calligraphy of Debi Zeinert, Classic Calligraphy definitely tends to be one of our more, well, classic designs. Throw some fresh Navy ink and vibrant Watermelon edge painting into the mix though, and you get a really great splash of bold contemporary style. A brightly contrasting edge paint color is a wonderful way to make things fun and current without going too far overboard and loosing the vintage-inspired vibe of the overall set. These invitations also feature a cute website card – an elegant and eco-friendly way to direct guests to your website for additional wedding details.
ink: navy | paper: 2-ply ivory | invite size: a7 | liner: antique geometrics pattern in navy | edge painting: watermelon | client coordinator: chris gannon | in-house designer: lindsy aragona
