While I’m still hoping for some actual winter weather, I have to admit, seeing the trees budding (in February!) is making it a bit difficult to not yearn for spring. To hold me over a bit until all the flowers start blooming again, I thought it would be nice to share this invitation suite we printed last summer. These were actually printed for a local couple that were married in Raleigh, North Carolina this past fall. When going through some of our samples, the bride spotted some hydrangeas I had drawn for a previous invitation project. I made a few small changes to the illustration and after discussing some different layouts with the bride and groom, they settled on the design you see below.

Instead of the usual reply card and envelope, they chose to go with a reply postcard. We left some open space on one side for any guests that felt like writing a message.  Also, near the bottom of the postcard, we found the perfect place to list the wedding website.  To coordinate with their wedding, the bride and groom selected a pale blue ink and pearl white cotton paper. They also ordered pearl white envelopes with coordinating blue liners, as well as a box full of matching thank you cards!

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We love maps!  Especially in this day of smart phones and Google, it’s always nice to see a custom designed and letterpress printed map that you can actually run your fingers across.  They’re a really great addition to your wedding invitation suite if your wedding festivities will be held at more than one location.  Or, if you just want to provide a nice little keepsake for all of your guests, they’re great for that too!

Should you find yourself in need of a map and would like us to design one for you, here is the key information you need to supply us with:

• Be sure to provide the name, address, and phone number of each important location.
• Please make a list of all major streets and highways that need to be included on the map.
• If guests will be flying into town, you may want to include major airports as well.
• Please include a list of any important monuments or landmarks that you would like to include on the map.
• If you wish to include any written driving directions or special instructions (parking, times, etc.), please let us know. (You can see an example of this in the photo above.)

Here are some other details you may want to consider as well:

• You can include a map title if you wish.  A title may include your names and wedding date, or simply the location of your wedding.  If you would like something a little more elaborate, or perhaps a monogram, just let us know!
• If your map is complicated, you may choose to include a legend to help make your map easier to read.
• If you would like for us to include icons or custom illustrations (such as a church, trolley, champagne bottle, etc.), please let us know.
• Also, if you would like any of the small portions of the map to be magnified in their own window – we can do that as well. (You can see a glimpse of this on the right hand side of the photo below.)

If interested in a custom map, but would prefer a looser, hand drawn style – we can certainly provide that for you!  If you have any questions about our custom map design, please don’t hesitate to ask.  Also, we’ll be adding some other images of custom maps to our website – so be sure to keep an eye out.

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Every now and then we get the opportunity to work on projects that are completely non-wedding related. If you look at our current website, you may assume that weddings are all we do; but please don’t let it fool you! We will gladly take on projects for non-wedding related events.

Below are photos from such a project that we worked on last fall. The ABC store in Banner Elk, North Carolina was recently expanded and remodeled. To celebrate the occasion, a ribbon cutting ceremony was planned. We were happy to take on the invitation project which soon turned into a full custom design job. Even the logo was especially created for the event. As a nod to the moonshining roots that exist in the region, an old fashioned still was incorporated into the logo along with some blue peaks in the background to represent the Blue Ridge Mountains. It may be difficult to see in the photos, but this was actually a three color job. Two shades of chocolate along with blue were letterpress printed on ecru cotton paper to give a warm, rustic feel.

Below are some photos of the ABC store following the renovation project.  If you’ve ever had the pleasure of entering a typical North Carolina ABC store then you will definitely know how dramatic the change was!

Photo Credits - All images of the ABC store courtesy of the High Country Municipal ABC Store of Banner Elk, NC

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I thought it would be fun to share this photo of an engraved wood favor tag we created for a couple last year. We’ve created tags in both paper and wood before, but these were meant to serve double duty. The whole point of making them out of wood was so that each family at the wedding could take one home and hopefully use it as an ornament later on. In this photo you see only the date of the wedding. We created a few in this style, but all of the others were personalized with the last name of each family or individual  invited to the wedding. I think this is a great alternative to using the names or monogram of the couple getting married – especially if you hope your guests will put the tags to use in the future. As you can see, these were attached to gifts for the guests using a ribbon. However, you could certainly skip additional favors, and use these as keepsake place cards instead!

Photo Credit – real wedding photo by Francesco Mastalia

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A common question around here is whether or not we offer wood table cards. Of course we do! We custom make all of our wood table cards to order. They can be engraved with a number or name, as well as a motif. As with any of our products, you can choose from the designs in our collection or request a full custom design.  Various styles and stands are available, so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

By the way, we also offer table cards in paper that are letterpress printed with  a motif – leaving room for the numbers or names to be written by hand.  They’re a great way to show off some lovely calligraphy!

A few things to think about in regards to table cards:

• Be sure to place the cards so that they are easily spotted on the table.  If raised, make sure that they don’t block the view across the table.
• Table cards should be large enough to read from a distance.  Keep in mind that large numbers are more easily recognized from a distance, as opposed to small words.
• Using numbers is very common, though it is also popular to label tables using things such as song titles, names of significant locations, or movie titles.  As mentioned above, just make sure the words are large enough for your guests to read them from a distance.  If using long titles, you may want to consider giving the table a number as well.
• If you think that assigning individual seats is too time-consuming, you may want to consider assigning your guests to tables only. This will enable you to group together certain guests while still allowing them a little choice in the matter. It will also get everyone to their general location quickly so that when it is time to eat – everyone should already be seated.

Photo Credits – Clockwise from the top: small table number in walnut – real wedding photograph by Brandon Scott Photography / close-up of  a table number in cherry by me /  large table number in walnut – real wedding photograph by Cappy Hotchkiss

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Last summer, we had  a couple come to us and request that their invitations reflect the scenery of their wedding location by including a single large pine tree.  Always happy to take on the challenge of a custom job, I was eager to accommodate their wishes.  Honestly, I was a bit surprised that this was the first time a pine tree had been requested by a client (you know, given all that wood you see on our website!).

Before I began working on the new illustration, I searched around a little bit online in order to study photos of actual pine trees.  It wasn’t long before I realized I didn’t have to look very hard at all though.  Here in North Carolina, there never seems to be a lack of pine trees.  Just a quick glance out of a window around here will reveal quite a few nearby.  Really, they are everywhere and so are their needles; but it’s okay because their silhouettes against the setting sun are quite a lovely sight.

To further enhance the woodsy feel of the invitation set, the couple chose to use walnut wood for the invite.  A warm chocolate brown ink was used for the text and a pop of color was added by the use of olive ink.  To wrap it all up and create a cohesive feel,  ecru cotton paper was  selected for the paper elements.

Curious about our custom design process? Just send us an e-mail or visit our process page for more details.

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