Wedding Invitation Motifs
Your wedding invitation is your first chance to set the tone for your event. The style that you choose will give your guests a sneak peek into what your wedding will be like, especially if you have a special theme. One of the best ways to personalize your wedding invitations is with a signature motif.
First think about the basics of your wedding. Will it be formal? Then choose a very small motif. Have it either engraved in gold ink or blind embossed for even more subtlety. A formal wedding calls for a traditional and symmetrical invitation, as well, so you will want to place your motif on the top border of your invitation, right in the center.
Less formal weddings can accommodate more eclectic uses of motifs. You could even choose stationery which has your design printed on it, and the invitation wording printed on a vellum overlay. For example, if you were having a destination wedding, complete with a breezy wedding gown and beach wedding jewelry, a fantastic invitation would be an image of a sandy beach or a large tropical flower. If the invitation shows the beach scene, tie the vellum layer on with a piece of raffia, or use a pretty fuchsia ribbon over the tropical flower image.
A simple way to use a pretty design for a semi-formal wedding is to print, engrave, or letterpress it onto the paper in a color. You can really have a lot of fun picking your motif. Choose one that ties in directly with your wedding theme, or select a design that reflects something personal. A good example of this would be a monogram or a family crest (either real, or invented). Or if the bride and groom are both Texans, a small image of a pair of cowboy boots would be fun on the invitations. You can also design an entirely custom motif that will start on your wedding stationery and be carried throughout the rest of the wedding.
Adorning your wedding invitations with a special motif or theme is a wonderful way to introduce your guests to the style of your wedding. It will also add personality to your stationery and help to set it apart from the basic invitations that many couples use. A custom motif is one of those small details that can add so much to a wedding.
Filed under Bridal Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: beach wedding jewelry, wedding invitations, wedding motifs | Comment (0)Wedding Saving Ideas: Smart or Tacky?
Saving money has become a national obsession. Conspicuous consumption is out and living a more sensible lifestyle is in. And yet, when you are planning a wedding, it can be difficult to know how to cut corners without cutting style. These are some of the common ways in which brides try to save money on their weddings; I will help you learn which ones are smart and which ideas will look tacky.
Saving idea #1: Wedding invitations. Fine engraving and letterpress are extremely beautiful but also extremely expensive, so it is only natural that brides would look for ways to save on the wedding stationery. But your invitation is also the first impression that your guests will have of your wedding, so you want it to be a good one. Smart way to save: printing your own invitations on nice paper with a high quality printer. Tacky: hoping your guests will be fooled into thinking that thermographed invitations were engraved; they won’t be.
Saving idea #2: Wedding accessories. Once you have found your dream wedding gown, you will want to finish it off with some gorgeous accessories. Diamonds from Tiffany’s are not in everyone’s budget however; nonetheless you want to have some fabulous sparkle for your wedding day. Smart way to save: crystal bridal jewelry. With its dazzling sparkle, bridal jewelry created from Swarovski crystal will give you just the glamor you crave. Tacky: trying to pass off a child’s costume tiara as a real one. (I have actually seen this done; it was dreadful.)
Saving idea #3: Reception libations. The bar bill can add up quickly at a wedding reception, especially if you have a fun loving crowd. It can be difficult to balance the desire to throw a great party with the need to keep expenses manageable. Smart way to save: offer a signature cocktail or hold a brunch reception. A signature cocktail will add style to your reception, but it can also keep the alcohol costs down as compared to a full open bar. To save even more, have an early morning ceremony followed by a brunch reception, when most people will order very few alcoholic drinks. Tacky: cash bar. It is far better to serve what you can afford graciously than to demand that your guests pay for their own refreshments. Unless your reception is being held at a frat party, just don’t do it. It is possible to save money on your wedding while still maintaining the style and dignity of the event.
Filed under Bridal Jewelry, crystal bridal jewelry, Uncategorized, Wedding Planning | Tags: crystal bridal jewelry, wedding budget, wedding invitations, Wedding Planning | Comment (0)Wedding Stationery Terms
When you are shopping for your wedding stationery, you may feel like a fish out of water. Here is a glossary of the wedding stationery terms that you will need to know to make choosing the perfect invitations a snap.
Engraving: This refers to a printing process in which a copper plate is engraved with your wedding invitation wording, inked, and run through a press to print the lettering onto the stationery. Engraving is easily identified by its raised lettering. The back of an engraved invitation will have an indentation behind the words, which is an easy way to distinguish it from thermography. It is true that engraving is costly, due to the step of making a unique etched copper plate for your order, but it is also the most elegant form of lettering. For a formal wedding or traditional wedding with the bride in a classic gown and pearl bridal jewelry, engraving is the best choice.
Letterpress: This style of printing has been around for hundreds of years, but it has only become popular for wedding invitations in the last decade or so. Letterpress is a technique in which moveable pieces of type are hand arranged in a printing press, and then the paper is rolled over it with a heavy roller. It is perhaps not quite as labor intensive as engraving, but it is close, and the pricing is fairly comparable as well. Letterpress invitations are very popular with brides who want a chic and contemporary look for their stationery, while still having the fine craftsmanship that has made engraving the gold standard for generations.
Thermography: Another technique in which the wedding invitation wording can be transferred to the paper. Thermography consists of an ink being printed over a fine powder to give the lettering a raised look. It is intended to mimic engraving, although anyone familiar with fine stationery will immediately know the difference. The telltale signs of “fake engraving” include no indentations on the reverse of the paper, shiny ink, and some subtle unevenness of the lettering. Being a machine made process, thermography is considerably less expensive than engraving or letterpress, although for a discriminating bride, that may not be reason enough to cut corners on her invitations. Old-fashioned etiquette mavens will say that if you want to save money, simple but honest flat printing is better than trying to mimic engraving with thermography.
Now that you are an expert on wedding stationery, get out there and start shopping for those perfect invitations!
Filed under pearl bridal jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: pearl bridal jewelry, wedding invitations, wedding stationary | Comment (0)