New England Coast

This was a set we printed for a couple in Maine who designed their own invitation. It was printed on Pearl White paper and featured bermuda edge paint. Helkin and Jamie both work in the online world so they planned to provide most of the details on the Web — but they still wanted a "classic, yet unique print piece." The invitation directed guests to RSVP by email and to visit a website for all other wedding-related information.

A final detail: Thai Unryu tissue envelope liners to match the set's midnight ink. The soft, natural look of the tissue evoked wind-rumpled water. Paired with the hand-drawn look of the font, the invitation captured the casual elegance of a seaside wedding.

Photos by Sarah McCarty Arneson

wedding invitationsSarah ArnesonMay 2, 2013pearl white, 600g, 300g, edge painting, envelope liner, midnight, bermudaComment

Joyful Blue

Emily found Parklife Press through the wedding-planning site Snippet and Ink. A librarian and archivist by trade ("I totally geek out for all things paper"), she loved the idea of of letterpress for their invites.

She also loved the simplicity of the Bookplate design in particular. She felt the painted edges were "an amazing, thoughtful touch," and that the look "really conveyed everything I wanted our wedding day to be."

The invitation set featured a simple, text-based design which was printed in the dust ink, with azure accents. The couple carried the dust and azure colors through to the rest of the wedding. One of the bridesmaids, a graphic designer, created programs and menus using the same color scheme. And the bridal party members all were garbed in shades of blue, including the bride — her gown was a very pale tint of their signature color.

Emily adds that she and Sean got "about a billion" compliments on the invitation. "I have a copy of it framed in our apartment. Every time I see it, I get a thrill."

wedding invitationsSarah ArnesonApril 22, 2013pearl white, 600g, envelope liner, dust, azure Comment

Autumn Paisley

Jennie and Mark found the perfect necktie for him to wear at their autumn wedding — the pattern was a stylized paisley in orange and brown, with some lilac. That purchase turned into the inspiration for their wedding invitation. They loved letterpress, and after searching a bit for a good, independent printer, they found Parklife Press.

A friend designed the card for them, using the motif of the modern paisley swirl at top and bottom. They were excited about a single-page invitation, which gave guests contact information to RSVP and directed them to their wedding website for details.

Photos by Sarah McCarty Arneson

wedding invitationsSarah ArnesonApril 16, 2013custom ink, 600g, Espresso, ecru white paperComment

A New Year's Swirl of Silver and Gold

Katie and Seth were getting married on the eve of New Year's Eve, in Portland, Maine. They wanted a simple, elegant look — and getting married so close to holidays, they knew they wanted invitations that looked wintery without looking Christmas-y. They found the Whirl design and knew it would work well with their wedding colors of ivory, gold and silver. Katie was pleased with how, in her words, "Travis took the brief information I gave him about our 'vision' and turned that into our wedding invitations."

They used black text with gold artwork and gold typographic accents on the main invitations and the RSVP card. The wedding party was similarly attired in black tuxedos and floor-length metallic gowns. The set was printed on soft white Somerset paper and paired with oversized Arturo envelopes.

The corresponding invitation for the rehearsal dinner was done in all black. It was simple and a bit more more casual — with a graphic nod to the nautical setting — but the look was tied to the overall design by the type layout and paper stock. Rounding out the long holiday weekend of celebration, another card invited guests to a New Year's Eve party. That piece featured swirls and typographic accents printed in silver.

Katie's mother, who lives in Oklahoma, found Parklife Press through a Google search. Katie and Seth were happy she did; they live in Durham and were happy to support a local business. Katie's reaction when she first saw their invitations: "When I picked them up and saw them, I literally was obsessed with them. They could not have been more perfect!"

Photos by Sarah McCarty Arneson

wedding invitationsSarah ArnesonApril 4, 2013soft white somerset, arturo envelope, black, gold, silver, 300gComment

Winter Wedding in Spokane

Sydney and Kramer knew little about letterpress before planning their wedding, but heard that the printing style could make beautiful invitations. After some research, they found Parklife Press and loved the designs. When they got some of our samples in the mail, they were sold — they knew the elegance of the invitations would go perfectly with the winter wedding they were planning.

Kramer searched for different ideas and came up with the basic concept for the invitations. With Travis' help, he found the border design online and put together a basic mockup.

The border design was printed with a very light ink in a warm gray tone. The subtle tone blended well with the paper color, and added texture to the design without appearing as an additional ink color. On each piece of the set — which included an invitation, an RSVP card, a reception invitation and card providing lodging and directions — the border art was used, either on the edges, as a center strip, or both. The text and monogram were printed in a dark blue, which coordinated with the ivory, blue and gray colors used in the wedding. Kramer felt the mixture of small-caps and script typefaces allowed them to showcase the modern elegance of their wedding, and that the invitation design, along with its colors, gave their guests the "perfect preview" of the event.

Photos by Sarah McCarty Arneson

wedding invitationsSarah ArnesonFebruary 19, 2013custom ink, 600g, ecru white paperComment

Durham, Via ...

Megan and Ted had a bold, simple look in mind for their invitations. Both loved the clean look of the Futura typeface, which captured the wedding's modern and traditional blend of styles. They first grabbed their guests' attention with a save the date card, featuring a custom illustration by Travis, which traced the couple's route to the altar. Working from a concept Ted sketched on a napkin, the finished artwork diagrams their two paths becoming one shared journey: beginning in L.A. and New Orleans, meeting in N.Y., moving together to Virginia and ultimately, to Durham, North Carolina.

Ted also contributed the "concert poster" concept for the save the date's text layout. They were both very involved in the design process and enjoyed the collaboration, saying that Parklife "did a fantastic job in translating the concept into something that turned out beautifully on letterpress." The invitation itself was focused on clean lines, which were further highlighted by generous white space. Interestingly, the Black and Fire Truck red inks were not their wedding colors — they just really loved how those colors, especially on the bright white paper, made the design pop.

The couple had been big fans of letterpress printing before their wedding planning began — they appreciated, in Megan's words, "the tactile experience of opening up an envelope and experiencing an invitation that not only looked beautiful but FELT beautiful, too." And they valued what she described as "the permanence that letterpress represents. Even if the ink fades, the invite is still permanently there. It's a neat metaphor to accompany a wedding invite."

Photos by Sarah McCarty Arneson

wedding invitationsSarah ArnesonJanuary 29, 2013save the date, fluorescent white, 600g, custom art, 300g, fire truck, blackComment

Minimalist in Long Island City

After seeing the Parker invitation design featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Liz and Adriel were drawn to the classic look of the invitation. They knew they wanted letterpress invitations; in Liz's words, they were "choosing to send physical invitations in a digital world," so the texture of the imprinted text and the feel of the paper was critical to their selection.

invite_ElizabethLONGISLANDCITY_0274 web.jpg

The couple chose a minimalist response card so that guests could add personal notes and unique replies. They received lovely good wishes, drawings and jokes from loved ones; the response cards became keepsakes. They personalized the design of the invitation by adding their names in Hebrew (offset from the main text in Dust ink). The invitations were edged in Grass and the envelopes were lined with a matching metallic paper. The green and white matched their wedding colors and flowers. Finally, the couple ordered simple, elegant cards to be used as thank you notes after the wedding.

Photos by Sarah McCarty Arneson

wedding invitationsSarah ArnesonJanuary 18, 2013fluorescent white, tungsten, edge painting, 600g, dust, 300g, thank you notes, envelope liner, GrassComment