IN THE STUDIO // UPTOWN MODERN

It was a pleasure to work with so many creative wedding professionals (many from the IWA) on this inspiration shoot for which I did the stationery. Though not the central focus, vendors were encouraged to be as eco-friendly as possible. With this in mind I created a stationery suite that minimizes paper use and maximizes smart design. This is most evident in the invitation which is printed on both sides and is divided in the middle by a perforation. The top of the invitation has all of the pertinent information for the wedding, the bottom has a reply post card. For the back of the stationery, the top of the invitation (the piece that the guest keeps) has directions to the event, the bottom (on the back of the reply) has a return address with postage affixed. This piece does minimize paper which makes the design of the piece that much more important. Great attention was paid to the design of the invitation as a whole keeping in mind what the pieces will look like when separated.
Other paper minimizing features include signs that replace individual place cards and a sweets menu sign. Another minimalistic consideration would be a menu sign. For this shoot, however, individual menus worked better for highlighting place settings.

Thanks to Katrina Hannemann of Studio Laguna for not only organizing the shoot but for taking the gorgeous photos.
It was also wonderful working with the following talented wedding vendors:
Grace Bridal Boutique (now available at Posh Bridal)
Five Event Center
BeEvents
Sassafras Floral Design
JWP Jewelry Design
Heimie’s Haberdashery
Fabulous Catering
Jessica’s Cakes

INSPIRATION FILE // FALL LEAF ROSES

Love this for a fall wedding. Great for your bouquet, boutineers, centerpieces, favors, your hair. There are really so many uses for something like this. Find the directions at iDIY.

SHOP // GIFTS FOR YOUR GIRLS

Today I'm thinking about unique {and handmade, of course} thank you gifts to get your lovely bridesmaids. They range from things they can wear/carry at your wedding, to personalized gifts made just for them, to practical gifts they can use in their busy lives. Let's start with the personalized gifts because they are from Armato Design & Press {hey, it's my blog after all}.

Above are mini calling cards {and here is another design, with many more very soon to come}, letterpress printed on 100% cotton paper with name and contact information for that busy bridesmaid who is always meeting people. Choose the font and color that best represents your 'maid's personality.

And a great gift for the girl who wants to keep in touch with the people she meets is my personalized stationery. Letterpress printed with her name and a sweet little design. There are a couple different options {look here and here as well}.


Next are a couple of gifts that can be worn on your big day and after for her big and not so big days.

Limited edition clutch from Fiazco because who doesn't want a sweet clutch like this? But how often do we really buy it for ourselves? So buy it for her.

This necklace is perfect for a more casual wedding and so wearable for any day of the week. Little wood flower necklace by Yuki.

The next two are little gifts that are very practical but are also so unique that your girls are sure to think of you every time they use them.

On the face of it this may not look like the most practical gift ever but, who among us hasn't popped an apple in our tote while rushing out the door one late morning, only to find a bruised and mangled apple at lunch time? They may not realize it now, but your girls will consider this a must have. An added bonus: it's funny and just makes a person smile. Find the Wrapple Cozy Apple Fruit Sweater Jacket at Beautiful Bridget's Etsy shop.

I hate to think of how many trees have been sacrificed just to protect our hands from a hot cup of coffee. But since we are not giving up our morning caffeine, this is a perfect alternative to the ubiquitous and wasteful paper coffee sleeve. Cute and unique, just like your girls. Find it here from Laura Bucci.

IN THE STUDIO // SIMPLE GREEN EFFORTS

In an effort to "green-ify" our studio Armato Design & Press has gone paperless where possible. What this means for a letterpress studio that deals in paper is that receipts and invoices (well, anything) that can be sent electronically are sent via pdf in an email.

Other green efforts include:

• Composting our un-inked paper scrap and recycle our inked scrap.
• The energy used to run the press is wind power.
• We encourage creative re-use of our cards. For example, the front of the card makes a great post card. Cut the back off and pop it in the mail. Do you have other ideas for creative re-use? Please comment below.
  
• As much as possible we re-use packaging materials (though not at the expense of the safe shipping of your product).
• All letterpress wedding stationery is printed on treeless, 100% cotton paper.
  

IN THE STUDIO // EASY BEING GREEN

We all want to "Go Green" in our lives and our weddings are no exception. There are very simple ways you can be conscience of the environment without sacrificing style (and often you'll save a bit of money along the way). The following are a few ideas for greener wedding stationery:

• Skip the inner envelope. Very few brides ask for it anymore but still, it's a great, simple step to a greener, less wasteful wedding. Ditto that little blotter tissue. Not needed.
  
• Use 100% cotton paper aka treeless paper. ADP uses Crane's Lettra for all of our letterpress wedding invitations. Not only is Lettra a green choice but it is a luxury paper that is made for letterpress. The impression that can be achieved in letterpress printing with cotton just can't be achieved by any other paper. It can also lend a beautiful feel to flat printing.
• Ditch the reply card. Have guests reply via a wedding web site such as theknot.com or ewedding.com. This way you save the paper and energy that goes into printing this piece and the work of organizing your guest responses is done for you. Then you just place a line on the bottom of the invitation, after the location line, telling your guests where to respond [see detail below]. It is always best to supply a telephone number for those guests who don't have internet access. You could also make sure your wedding site has directions and accommodation information as well, saving you even more paper, energy and money.