Weddingbee PRO

I had the great honor of printing the lettering of the ever-talented Betsy Dunlap. I tell you, I get quite a thrill out of printing hand-drawn artwork and hand lettering! But let us start from the beginning of this design process.

Rae, the super creative Art Historian & bride, initially contacted me to do her save the dates {okay, so that is the only pic I took of them, but they kind of looked like these}. Once those were complete, she sent me a folder full of wonderful and inspiring photos including arrangements by Saipua, work of her favorite artists, and one image entitled “calligraphy.” I took one look and knew it was Betsy's lettering. After viewing Rae's images I could see she was going for a very organic, flowing look, and I knew she had to work with Betsy. And she did!

The invitations were a true collaborative effort for all three of us. Betsy did the lettering for Rae and her fiance Noah's names, along with their return address, the RSVP address, and the words “RSVP”, and “Directions.” Once that was complete I set the remainder of the type for the invitation, RSVP, and directions. Before printing, I hand-lined the back of the invitations and direction cards with some wonderful paper Rae sourced. This surprise element brought color and pattern to the entire suite. The invitation was letterpress printed on super thick 220 lb. cotton Lettra paper in Pearl. The RSVP and direction card were screen printed on coordinating 110 lb. paper. The envelopes were coordinating lettra paper and I had a rubber stamp made of their return address so Rae could do those herself. Betsy hand-lettered each of the envelopes and Rae was so kind as to have Betsy do one for me!

I loved working on this wedding invitation suite as it was quite decadent, but there were a few creative ways we minimized paper and costs. I believe many couples feel letterpress is out of reach and while sometimes it is, there are ways to still have it by only letterpress printing the invitation. It is the main piece of the suite and the piece most guests are likely to keep. Printing in only one color helps keep the cost down as well. I recommend adding color by lining the back of the invitation, the inside of the envelope, or having a colored envelope. The RSVP and direction card were screen printed in one color which is less expensive than letterpress. The RSVP was also a postcard, cutting out the extra cost and paper of the envelope. Instead of me printing the return address on the main envelope, I had a rubber stamp made for Rae and she stamped away!

Well, can you tell 1. I am excited about these; 2. I hope I can letterpress more like these; 3. Would you like me to print you some like these?; 4. Why yes, I would love to!