White satin ribbons and custom wax seals,
Envelope liners with fancy details,
Sweet vellum wrappings and edges with bling
These are a few of our favorite things.
(to the tune of "My Favorite Things")
While the crisp impression of a letterpress print into cotton stock is the foundation for a timeless invitation, the personalized, thoughtful embellishments you can add to the suite can really make it sing.
Most of the couples we work with opt for embellishments like extra thick stock, envelope liners, wax seals, custom illustrations, edge painting or beveling (or both!), custom designed maps, multiple ink colors, and other event inserts to create a design that is reflective of the unique celebration they are planning. While we love all of these, here are some of our favorite embellishments.
Envelope Liners
We love envelope liners for the way they provide a stunning backdrop to the invitation cards. A bold pattern can be a perfect contrast to a classically designed invite, introducing colorful florals or pops of color to the suite that are a preview of the event design, and a great way to tie together colors across the different invitation pieces. Since they're generally digitally printed, it's an easy place to bring in a lot of color.
Not only are they the perfect component to bring your entire suite together, but also an opportunity to include more personal touches. They also serve a functional purpose of protecting your invitation and enclosures.
A liner might feature watercolor florals, a vintage or topographical map of your wedding location, a repeating pattern drawn from elements of your invitation suite, a deep letterpress textured pattern, or a custom designed monogram crest, or maybe just a solid contrasting colored stock.
Wax Seals
Wax seals are magical decorative details. Whether used to seal the flaps of envelopes, or to close a wrap or a ribbon around your invite and enclosures, wax seals evoke a connection to a distinguished history of letter writing and are the perfect romantic.
We custom design our wax seals, and while monograms and florals remain the most popular, don't be afraid to get creative or really personal - like including a portraits of your fur baby. For more inspiration on wax seals read this feature post.
Ribbon
Letterpress is all about texture - tactile impression onto a highly textured cotton stock - you can see it and feel it. Ribbons, whether satin, silk, cotton, velvet, twine, or metallic thread, build on this textural quality. Beyond their visual elegance, ribbons also create a joyful interactive experience for your guests, as they untie them to open the invitation like a gift.
Edging & Beveling
Our favorite way to add subtle color and dimension to invites is with edge painting and beveling. With edge painting, the flat edge of a thick invitation is painted or gilded. We love picking out complementary colors that add dimension and depth to the overall palette.
Beveling is the process of cutting the edges of the paper on the diagonal, exposing another edge of the paper which can then be painted or gilded. This newly exposed face is more visible, creating a dramatic border framing the invitation design.
These are some of our favorite things - what are some of yours?
All photos by Peterson Design & Photography