NYC Wedding Invitations, Wedding Stationery and Wedding Etiquette

Crane Stationery and Invitation Sale

NYCWedding — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:59:45 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Now to April 2nd, Crane & Co. is providing superior price savings on just about all custom-made stationery orders and custom invitations. Purchase 75 or even more items from Crane and receive 25 free of cost.

Whether you are looking for new stationery or have just gotten engaged and need to mail a save the date invitation or wedding invitations. Now is the occasion to order your stationery or invitations and make the most of this great deal. Crane’s sale is available to you through authorized Crane retailers in retail outlets near you or at Crane’s online shop. Purchase locally with the help of a skilled stationer to see the full-range of Crane’s customization possibilities and printing options or take a look at Crane on the web.

Crane & Co. has been manufacturing fine stationery and custom wedding invitations for over two centuries. This Dalton, MA firm is recognized for its remarkable engraving, hand-painted borders and large range of 100% cotton cardstock. At present through April 2nd you can buy Crane’s elegant stationery and save money at the same time. Do not wait and check out a Crane dealer in your town or go shopping online. You will be glad you did so.

This article has been authored by NYCWedding who writes frequently about wedding invitation trends for NYC Wedding Invitations, Wedding Stationery and Wedding Etiquette - Get expert advice on planning your wedding

The Right Etiquette of Thank You Notes

NYCWedding — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:34:37 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Mailing a prompt and personable thank you card for wedding presents is simply sensible etiquette. Nonetheless, quite a few wedding couples are seemingly unaware of the best time to do this, what stationery to use along with the appropriate form of personalization to employ with their correspondence cards. Without a doubt, wedding etiquette pundits almost never see eye-to-eye about the etiquette relating to thank you notes.

The majority of seasoned stationery store owners concur that it’s simply a question of common sense and courtesy. As an example, some wedding guides claim that the wedding couples have “up to 6 months” after the wedding event to acknowledge a gift.

This six month leeway simply just doesn’t make sense. Presents obtained by the bridal couple ought to be personally acknowledged as soon as you can after receipt. Although nearly all bridal couples, in particular the bride-to-be have much on his or her plate, it only takes about 5 minutes to compose a nice personal note to thank someone for their gift. Acting immediately is quite a bit valued by the sender since it verifies that you have gotten their wedding gift.

With respect to your own correspondence, it usually is wise to obtain your individual social correspondence instead of a common “Thank You” note. Custom made correspondence with your name or monogram printed on a fold-over note or half-sheet letter is much more versatile and efficient over a pre-printed thank you card.

In the past, ladies have used fold-over cards and men correspondence note cards, but today’s modern day woman is also comfortable with either kind of personalized stationery. Though some bridal couples will engrave their stationery with both their given names and frequently their family name, it is deemed incorrect to make use of one’s married name on stationery prior to being actually married.

There are lots of lovely papers and printing choices to develop truly tasteful personalized stationery. Stationers suggest that both groom and also the bride should have their own personal correspondence as it remains useful even after writing all those wedding thank you notes.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes on a regular basis about personalized stationery and wedding invitation trends.

Stationery and Invitation Sale from William Arthur

NYCWedding — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:04:41 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

William Arthur has been making high quality stationery and custom party invitations for more than three decades. This Kennebunk, Maine business is well known for its top-quality designs and styles offering Vera Wang, Rita Renning and William Arthur’s own exclusive fashion styles. William Arthur’s wedding designs are most popular with bridal couples and offer a wide range of several printing and customization possibilities.

Currently thru April 2nd you can buy William Arthur’s elegant stationery and save yourself money as well. Get 75 or more pieces from William Arthur and get 25 free. Do not hold back and check out a William Arthur retailer in your town or explore other online wedding invitation and stationery options. You will be glad you did so.

Whether you are on the lookout for new stationery or have just gotten engaged and will want to send a save the date card or wedding invitations. Today is the time to purchase your stationery or invitations and benefit of this fantastic deal. William Arthur offer is made available to you through registered William Arthur retailers in stores in your town or at William Arthur’s online shop. Buy locally with the help of a skilled stationer to check out the extensive range of William Arthur’s personalization choices and printing options or take a look at William Arthur online.

Turquoise Wedding Invitations: Infinite Ideas for Creation

NYCWedding — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:40:22 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

In case you are planning a marriage in the close to future, invite your visitor with a contemporary and the latest pattern turquoise wedding invitations. It is enticing, has fashionable graphic and really vibrant color. Turquoise theme for invites could be very fashionable nowadays and plenty of brides wanted to have them as their motif. They are very putting when it displays with water and greens. This is the rationale that many couples wants to have a beach or backyard wedding for a concept.

Turquoise wedding invitations is a good pick to provide to your would be visitor during your wedding. This shade is sweet for summertime weddings as a result of they’re cool and matches the weather. It displays the temper by the beach and turquoise is synonymous with the seaside ambiance. Selecting concepts for summer time wedding invites can be quite simple as there are such a lot of superb thoughts available which you could utilize.

There are many totally different graphics and designs which you could choose for your turquoise wedding invitations. You may get the experience of graphic artists to design the concepts you may have for a marriage invitation. An excellent theme for a summer time wedding invitation is one thing to do with a beach scene. You may add fish, shells, sand, the ocean, which are all synonymous with the beach theme. Nevertheless, in case you opt for a backyard wedding, you should use blooming flowers, photos of flowers as your milieu.

Deciding on the best colour for the invite can be an necessary process. Nevertheless, in case you choose turquoise wedding invitations, you’ll not go wrong and it is going to be a very simple task. You’ll be able to combine different colours or just a contact of pinks, yellows and greens will full your theme. These colour combination will result to a delicate invitation. If you’d like a bolder wedding invites, use the summer time colours of orange, magenta, citrus greens, which are all nice colours for combinations.

Some couples do not pay a lot attention on the stationery of their wedding invitations. Nevertheless, the kind of paper you’ll use will reflect the temper of your wedding, especially the weather. You want one thing that will not simply crumple or wilt. Based on the way you need your invite to look, you can choose a slim, light paper, or a wider vary of stationery. So, nonetheless you create your wedding invites, from a very simple, trendy approach to one thing that is robust in its total look, there are countless fashionable concepts that you should use for turquoise wedding invitations.

Make Your Save the Date Card Labor Overtime for Your NYC Wedding

NYCWedding — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:09:00 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Organizing your wedding day is not complicated, nevertheless it does take discipline. Short of signing on with a wedding consultant, a number of bridal couples in addition to their families can take control of planning their wedding by using wedding papers properly. A save the date announcement is a most efficient vehicle that will help organize your wedding event.

Soon after reserving your wedding service with your church or synagogue and determining the location for the wedding celebration, the important days for the wedding are now established. Armed with that important information, numerous bridal couples work with a save the date announcement to provide their invited guests a “heads-up” to help with making their airline travel preparations.

Although many will elect to mail a fairly simple announcement – frequently with a picture of the engaged couple – asking their guests to make their airline reservations, other people employ it to share helpful travel details. For instance, lodging information, convenient airports and, perhaps, a wedding site can be included with your save the date announcement.

Bridal couples are sometimes under the mistaken opinion that the save the date announcement must be matched with the wedding invitation together with other wedding papers. While useful, this presupposes that one has already decided what wedding invitation they will use. This is generally incorrect.

Skilled stationers recommend using a casual save the date announcement that shows a feeling of buzz for your forthcoming wedding event. While a picture of the wedding couple is often a favored choice, bridal couples will choose a beach motif for the island wedding, a vibrant leaf for a fall wedding and, possibly, a snowman for a winter wedding.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of selections for save the date cards. Many couples believe it is simpler to choose a theme that conveys the joy of one’s wedding ceremony to cut down the invitation possibilities.

For people who possess a somewhat more time to plan, knowledgeable stationers advise including useful travel and lodging information with their save the date announcement.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes often about wedding invitation trends and how save the date announcements can be used to help coordinate one’s big event.

Preparing for your New York Wedding Ceremony

NYCWedding — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:54:28 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

There are not many things more breathtaking than a NYC wedding ceremony. This bigger than life city with its magnificent skyscrapers, stunning parks, museums, art galleries and cutting-edge dining establishments is the ideal town to host a wedding event. New York City is a town with attitude and its vitality is reflected from a seemingly almost endless range of venues to host a wedding.

Planning your New York wedding ceremony really is a case of context. With a town rich in traditions, breathtaking places and natural vitality, it’s wise to feature those elements in your over-all wedding concept. Using your natural environment effectively helps create a wonderful wedding event and might often be a motif for your wedding ceremony itself.

As an illustration, your NYC wedding invitation may feature one of the many city motifs or its surroundings to attract appreciation of the venue of the wedding event. Case in point, one might makes use of Rockefeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and downtown Manhattan skyline to serve as centralizing motif for the wedding. Using natural settings, buildings or monuments can serve as a good unifying theme to showcase your wedding event.

In reality, choosing well known attractions generally is a useful unifying concept to plan your wedding ceremony. Incorporating these landmark motifs into your save the date invitation, wedding invitation, reply card set, directions card, place cards, table cards and menu can tie together quite a few disparate functions to provide your wedding event a truly cohesive theme.

Your wedding papers, if used correctly, can create a feeling of exhilaration and expectation that almost all other forms of communication just can’t match. As texting, e-mail and posts on social media platforms become the common mode of communication, it really is calming to get paper communications. It offers a sense of intimacy that other kinds of communication simply cannot equal.

As you approach your wedding and reception, consider using your surroundings or major town landmarks to add your own touch to your wedding invitation.

Sheila May owns Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store based in Greenwich, CT. She writes often about wedding invitations, save the date cards and wedding thank you notes.

Unique Invitation Designs for Your Wedding

NYCWedding — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:01:20 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

When designing a wedding ceremony your wedding invitation definitely should take center stage. But nevertheless, quite a few other wedding functions that usually require a special invitation. As an example, save the date announcements, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and bridesmaid teas almost always require their own invitation. If you are in need of inspiration or just puzzled as to where to begin, the answer to your needs recently came to trusted personalized stationery stores across the United States.

Crane & Co. just released its latest Social Occasions Album, an album containing a number of examples of Crane’s dazzling invitation designs highlighting the company’s top-notch workmanship. This particular invitation collection signals a wanted change in focus at Crane simply because it comes back to its rich traditions of creating fine stationery and custom invitations and announcements.

The new Social Occasions Album gives you many samples of wedding invitations, save the date announcements, Bar Mitzvah invitations, wedding anniversary and company event invitations and a big assortment of reply cards, menu cards and social correspondence. Several of the paper samples are embossed, but Crane’s accomplished designers and craftspeople are equally skilled with letterpress along with other forms of printing.

For people planning a wedding ceremony, Crane’s Social Occasions Album is clearly worth having a look. While a handful of the invitation designs may not be appropriate for your wedding and reception; the text of the invitation, typeface styles and ink color styles can all be customized to mirror the theme of your wedding day.

With just a little imagination, most invitation examples for wedding anniversaries or corporate parties can often serve as a design template for a rehearsal dinner, bridal shower or some other wedding event. Making use of an expert stationer in your town who possesses Crane’s new Social Occasions Album makes it possible to produce your own completely unique custom invitation design.

Reaching deep into its roots in the time the American Revolution, Crane has produced a dazzling array of invitations, menu cards and engraved correspondence that is breathtaking in its design and sophistication. Visit your local stationery store now or visit Crane & Co. at their online website.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about regional and online wedding invitation trends and the importance of save the date cards.

Buy savvy if you’re considering wedding invitations

NYCWedding — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 23:37:00 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those of you searching for wedding invitations have a tendency to believe that paper quality is considered the most important cost consideration when selecting an online wedding invitation. Even though the caliber of the paper is relevant, other features such as the printing technique, amount of ink colors and additional elaborations frequently play a much more crucial factor in assessing the ultimate pricing of your customized wedding invitations.

Almost all quality printers utilize cotton fibers, high-grade wood fibers that’s been endorsed by the Forest Stewardship Council or a combination of both cotton and wood-based fibers. Although these papers are definitely of a significantly greater quality than recycled papers that many tout as “green,” these top quality papers very often cost somewhat more but are quite well worth the nominal premium. In addition, these papers are typically a great deal more “environmentally-friendly” and substantive than almost all papers marketed online that claim to be “green” or “tree-free.”

Criteria that usually tend to raise the price tag of printed wedding invitations are the paper weight, dark papers and the number of ink colors utilized in printing the invitations.

The paper weight: Numerous wedding papers marketed on-line are printed by industrial printers. Generally speaking, paper with a weight previously mentioned 120 pounds cannot be sent by way of a commercial printer or ink-jet printer. Therefore, a heavy wedding invitation can only be printed using engraving, letterpress or, in some cases, with thermographic inks. This conventional printing method is likely to raise overall costs, but will produce a significantly more breathtaking invitation.

Paper Color: Quite a number of wedding invitations are printed on white or ecru colored papers so that ink colors resonate. However, there is a movement towards bold-colored papers. In such cases, only using a better quality printing technique like engraving is apt to work to acquire the proper differentiation connecting ink colors and darkly-colored papers.

Ink Colors: Although flat-printing, lithography and digital printing works with papers less than 120 pounds in weight, more old-fashioned printing methods are required for more substantial papers. In such cases, each color needs to be executed in a separate press run, thereby escalating costs.

While shopping locally for wedding invitations, it really is best to consult a professional stationer who can help you decide upon the best wedding invitation designs and styles and papers for your expense plan.

Truly Collection delivers an affordable wedding invitation

NYCWedding — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:08:20 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

William Arthur has just launched their Truly Wedding Stationery Collection. At a price which is 20% cheaper than that William Arthur’s sophisticated wedding lines, the Truly Collection will definitely catch the attention of bridal couples trying to find wonderful wedding stationery and wedding invitations at reasonable prices. Brides and grooms looking for wedding invitations in New York or online wedding invitations, will surely find a special invitation that mirrors the significance of the occasion.

With scores of styles and color options to decide upon, the Truly Collection is a chance to buy top quality wedding invitations, save the date invitations and other wedding papers at an economical price. With wedding finances tight, bridal couples are invited to take a glance at the brand new designs from William Arthur. Available online or in fine stationery shops across the United States, the Truly Collection is an endeavor by William Arthur to supply you with an attractive and well-priced wedding invitation for bridal couples with a restricted budget.

William Arthur, celebrated designer of fine wedding stationery, just lately introduced the Truly Collection by William Arthur, an interesting new selection of wedding papers intended for the budget conscious bride with a sense of style. “Truly is created to possess a significant appeal, so that any bride discover something she loves,” says Karen Herzig, designer for the new William Arthur album. “The aesthetic ranges from classic to modern and colorful.”

The Truly Collection by William Arthur includes digital and thermography printing which includes a wide range of color choices for inks, ribbons and envelope linings. Bordered invitations are also available, featuring the crisp, gorgeous embossing that William Arthur is renowned for. Playful, original type formats and design motifs add to the time honored modernism in the collection.

Prices for wedding announcements in the Truly Collection by William Arthur Collection average 20% below William Arthur’s premium weddings albums, making these wedding paper stationery suites accessible to a large number of bridal consumers. To look at the new Truly Collection, visit a stationery retail store in your neighborhood. for more information. Better still, if you are organizing a wedding, find out you can use a save the date card to help plan a wedding.

More than 60 years, William Arthur is renowned for producing fine stationery. The company’s merchandise is designed and created in West Kennebunk, Maine, where they enjoy the advantage of seaside living with easy access to towns from Portland to New York City. Very informed about high-end printing in addition to the many nuances of fine writing papers, William Arthur’s staff artists and craftspeople are passionate about quality, in addition to both old-world and state-of-the-art printing techniques. At William Arthur, personnel are devoted to making the organization a great place to work, and to ensuring that every last customer is delighted with the end product.

Vera Wang: Where fashion styles and designs and wedding stationery intersect

NYCWedding — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:16:44 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Vera Wang is undoubtedly an icon within the haute couture industry. Her modern-day designs and her one of a kind sense of style have long set the standard for wedding dresses and women’s vogue. A number of years ago, Vera turned her focus to wedding invitations and fine stationery. Coupling with William Arthur, Vera brought out her very own brand of stationery which features aspects of the fashion market, her distinct oyster-colored cardstock and even a specially designed envelope.

Earlier this year, Vera totally refurbished On Weddings, her special wedding invitation album. Her completely new samples features 35 unique wedding stationery collection, offering many more colors as well as an astounding variety whimsical designs and Vera’s focus on classical wedding designs. Vera Wang On Weddings displays the traditional yet contemporary and sophisticated aesthetic which has made Vera Wang a fashion icon.

Found here are several of the remarkable unique attributes you will find in Vera’s new On Weddings launch:

Painted Edge – Fresh to Vera Wang On Weddings, Vera Wang is going to be providing heavy-weight card stock with custom-painted edges, in a wide selection of ink colors. A true assertion of extravagance, this painted edge style is engraved in Lapis and Gold. The unique monogrammed wreath provides a nod to tradition, while showing a fancy sensibility.
Garden Lace Folder – This stunning design and style is influenced by both Vera Wang’s Ready-to-Wear and wedding collections. A fancy garden of flowers together with a mesh of laser-cut wide lace cut away to expose a captivating array of background colors. From Raspberry, Peony and Saffron to Grass, Lapis and Indigo, this modern and tactile invitation talks to the refined detailing within Vera Wang’s collections.
Letterpressed Heart – Daring and fashionable, the wording and terminology for this particular heart warming invitation is nestled within the grip of a lovely over-sized heart. The frolicsome cross-hatching on this invitation enhances the tactile character of letterpress printing, while peony ink contributes an overt femininity.
Gold Border -This magnificent design comes with a broad band of gold foil on the card edge and the envelope flap. The type is at once dramatic and fragile. Displayed engraved, this fashionable invitation will most definitely charm.
Black Paper – Last fall, Vera Wang enraptured the fashion world together with her Spring 2012 collection of black wedding gowns. Here, exactly the same theatre and appeal is mirrored on cardstock. Beautifully embossed in an exclusive calligraphic font, this invitation marries heart and intricacy.

We clearly suggest visiting a stationery retailer in your area to view Vera Wang’s On Weddings in person. If this is not easy, see Vera online and I feel you will agree that this new release is very wonderful.

Wedding Invitation Choices

NYCWedding — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:45:45 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Leading up to your wedding day there are many details that must be considered. Once you have settled on the church, reception location and picked your dress, you have to think about the wedding invitations. Not only does the invitation that you choose need to convey how much you would appreciate the recipients attendance, it should also set the tone of your wedding.

Off the shelf solutions

Selecting a traditional card that is already printed is very popular with many couples. The wording will already be included; leaving you to fill out all of the important details. Information, such as the name of the bride and groom, when the event will occur, and where it is to be held will need adding. But before you make it to the addition stage you need to pick the actual card.

Selecting the style and color

There are many things to think about in your selection process. One of these is the paper type and how it is styled. The thickness of the paper, straight or scalloped edges and texture are all options. The colors of your wedding invitations will need to be discussed, and should tie in with the color scheme of the wedding.

Essential Information

It is imperative to make sure that cards for the reception are printed in addition. Detailed information should be included on these, such as where the reception is to be held and at what time it will begin. These cards can also act as a keepsake, whether the invitee is able to attend or not.

Adding a personal touch

In addition to adding the details, you also have to write the envelopes. Some even go to the extent of taking calligraphy courses so that the writing looks just right. If you don’t have time to take such classes then you could hire a specialist for the job or as a friend with lovely writing. But doing it yourself will make it special, and more personal, for you and your guests.

Getting the right supplier

Selecting the places where the wedding invitations will come from is the most important thing you will do. If any mistakes are made it could impact heavily on your wedding day planning. Always seek out some recommendations from family and friends in addition to looking for online reviews.

Emerging Trends for 2012 Wedding Stationery and Invitations

NYCWedding — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:43:27 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

First signs suggest that the 2012 wedding season is likely to be among the most robust in recent history. Although the economic situation continues to be weak, couples who have deferred their wedding appear to be proclaiming that next season is when they plan to tie the knot.

That said, wedding firms are starting to release new designs and styles in preparation for the wave of new weddings that will kick off in early January. Top printing company and designer William Arthur is starting off 2012 with a bang with two revamped wedding albums and the forthcoming launch of Vera Wang’s new wedding designs. Color, impressive new designs and wedding invitations that contain both classic and modern designs are conspicuously featured in William Arthur’s wedding invitation line.

Most importantly, William Arthur features quite a few invitations which may be printed in letterpress, engraving or thermographic inks. These printing options provide the client the choice of deciding on a printing style that reflects their needs and budget.

William Arthur offers many distinctive designs at reasonable prices and certainly ought to be on every bridal couple’s short list of “must see” wedding invitations. Also, they have a very good line of save the date cards and personal stationery.

Find local wedding resources in your town to see their line personally or shop for wedding invitations online.

Custom-made Stationery and Invitation Event

NYCWedding — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:59:24 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Right now to April 2nd, Crane & Co. is offering superior cost savings on most customized stationery orders and custom invitations. Purchase 75 or more items from Crane and get 25 free of cost.

Perhaps you are on the lookout for new monogrammed stationery or have just gotten engaged and will want to send a save the date announcement or wedding invitations. Right now is the occasion to purchase your stationery or invitations and take advantage of of this fantastic sale. Crane’s promotion is readily available to you through registered Crane retailers in retail outlets locally or at Crane’s online shop. Purchase in your area with the help of a seasoned stationer to discover the wide choice of Crane’s personalization alternatives and printing options or visit Crane on the web.

Crane & Co. has been crafting high-quality stationery and custom invitations for more than two centuries. This Dalton, MA firm is renowned for its superb engraving, hand-painted edges and large collection of 100% cotton papers. At present thru April 2nd you can select Crane’s elegant stationery and save yourself money at the same time. Don’t hold back and check out a Crane dealer in your neighborhood or go shopping online. You will be thankful you did so.

How to use Crane’s Save the Date Announcements

NYCWedding — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:41:02 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Arranging a wedding event demands great planning skills. Lacking very careful and deliberate preparation, this blissful event can become a nightmare of frustration and confusion. Many bridal couples have discovered that a well-prepared save the date announcement can drastically make simpler wedding preparation and help you to enjoy your wedding to the fullest.

Found directly below are some basic tips and thoughts on ways to use save the date announcements efficiently:

Always keep your wedding planning goals and objectives simple

The most important goal of organizing an effective wedding event is to have your family and guests from one location to another with as little hassle as possible so you can enjoy your wedding day. Many individuals think this to be a silly planning principal, but if you give it some thought and – more importantly – follow the advice, you will relieve much pointless stress for both yourself and your guests. In particular, accurate and practical guidance provided to your invited guests prior to the wedding will eliminate needless follow-up by no less than 80%. A well-timed save the date invitation is a good way to get started with implementing this strategy.

What is the function of a Save the Date Announcement?

Lots of people believe that a Save the Date announcement is merely a convenient method to let friends and family know the day of your wedding. While this is surely useful, a well-planned save the date card may also incorporate more details to help guide your invited guests into preparing their travel plans. As you have already booked the wedding ceremony and limited where the wedding celebration will take place, you can take advantage of the save the date card to offer additional travel details for your invited guests. For instance, accommodation information, nearby airports and other helpful travel tips will most certainly entice many of your guests to book their travel arrangements at the earliest opportunity.

What information is generally added to a Save the Date Announcement?

In short, you need to include as much critical information as possible to encourage your guests to take action at once. Clearly, selecting your airplane reservations as early as possible may help to save money and if you have made arrangements with lodgings in the vicinity to provide special room rates, this too serve as more encouragement to take action. Contributing a bit more advice on potential sight-seeing jaunts, sporting activities and local landmarks can be effective to whet people’s appetite for an exhilarating few days.

When should the Save the Date Cards be sent out?

While save the date cards are not always appropriate for each occasion, most bridal couples find them beneficial especially if friends and family are attending from far-away places. All in all, save the date cards need to be sent out anywhere from 6 months to 12 months in advance of the scheduled wedding date.

The primary goal of the save the date invitation is to cause guests to act. Although it is not a substitute for the traditional wedding invitation, your save the date card can include a great deal of convenient information crafted to encourage your family and friends to act now before they receive a wedding invitation. Getting your guests from Point A to Point B expeditiously is certainly done with a well-conceived save the date announcement.

Letterpress or Engraved Wedding Stationery Continue to Reflect Local Differences

NYCWedding — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:37:00 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those seeking to craft an original wedding invitation to commemorate that wondrous occasion commonly look at hundreds of wedding invitation examples and printing alternatives before deciding on their unique wedding invitation.

In the past there seemed to be a definite regional tendency in the choice of printing. Bridal couples from the West Coast tended to opt for letterpress printing and those from the East Coast normally chose engraving.

Even though this regional bias still persists, both printing styles continue to attract discriminating wedding couples who enjoy the subtle hues and modern types of letterpress printing and also the classic opaque colors of engraved wedding invitations.

The growth in letterpress wedding invites have been fueled by the appearance of talented artists who can obtain inexpensive presses to make their very own wedding invitations and letterpress stationery. A functional press can be bought for around $3,000 and $5,000 and a talented designer using Photoshop can make gorgeous designs and then transfer those designs to polymer dies that are utilized in the presses.

Engraving is a comparable printing method, but metal dies are produced by submerging light-sensitive coated copper die plates into an acid bath to make the dies. Both engraving and letterpress are often more costly as each invitation is hand-fed through the press. Given that each ink color is applied separately, the quantity of colors in the invitation boosts labor costs and, as such, the total cost of an invitation.

Although letterpress and engraved wedding invitations are usually more unforgettable, those on a budget frequently seek less expensive solutions that imitate the creativeness present in letterpress and engraved invitations. The use of thermographic inks is surely an cost-effective alternative to engraving and even a few flat-printed designs are appealing and capture the significance of the occasion.

Dealing with a skilled stationer in your neighborhood is undoubtedly the easiest way to craft a wedding invitation that meets your objectives and is also affordable. There are only a limited internet wedding invitation printers that have the design and style and printing capabilities and, above all, the service quality to produce wedding invitations that would cause you to be proud.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and save the date invitations.

Wedding Checklists

NYCWedding — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 09:43:11 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Planning a wedding for your self could be tough going, realizing when you should book or buy things as well as timings to send out the invites, this being an essential element. Without supplying individuals adequate notice you could wind up with only a modest number of people there. Preferably these should go out about two to three months before the marriage, that has a RSVP date at least three weeks before the actual date, so you have plenty of time to complete numbers. But selecting the best invitation may be carried out well in advance of delivering these out, especially if you are uncertain of what sort of invite you would want.

There are numerous Wedding Invitation Ideas that you could discover on the internet or in expert stationery shops. One special strategy is to design your invite your self, and this could save cash on them as well, and will be more personalized to you and your companion. This could possibly be within the form of photos that you have of you with each other, whether it is from a special vacation, or even a collage of different images of the two of you. These may be ones you already have, or you may choose to get some high quality pictures taken particularly for the invite. It could possibly be as simple as both of your hands held together with your engagement ring showing.

Once you have selected your design or images, you’ll be able to then choose on the card itself, could it be a straightforward one card invite, one that the guests need to fold open, as well as the type of paper it’s imprinted upon. You will also wish to choose on the phrasing of the invite and go through the different typefaces to ensure that everything appears perfect for you.

You can purchase special kits on the internet or in shop that will enable you to make your personal wedding invite, which may make things easier for you. The alternative would be to get templates via online that will also help, this can be a great way to ensure that the invite works for you and exhibits your personas, as well as trying to keep to tradition and wedding manners. Some web sites even have invitation layouts which are free of charge to download and print, again assisting to keep costs down, to devote on other aspects of your wedding.

A Wedding Planning Checklist needs to always be thought about carefully. It’s very best to give your self a minimum of 9 to 18 months organizing time to plan the wedding; this allows you to get everything in place and exactly what you may wish. Listed below will be the essential things to consider and arrange from setting the date to 6 months before the wedding

9 – 18 Months
* Setting the actual date
* Working out numbers of individuals to invite
* Deciding the best man and bridal party
* Arrange wedding location, catering companies, photographers, entertainment
* Picking colors or theme by looking at wedding publications and going to wedding fayre’s

6 – 9 Months
* Arrange honeymoon, don’t forget to verify your passports
* Choose on wedding dress and order if needed, and also the men’s suits
* Arrange the flowers
* Arrange the cars
* Organize the wedding cake and order it

Booking and arranging everything may be carried out well in advance, some individuals do that even two yrs before the event, so they are able to begin to save their cash and get the particular date, venue and entertainment they really want.

Are Online Wedding Invitations the recommended option?

NYCWedding — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:50:30 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Online search is usually a handy and speedy option to finding advice. On the other hand, the level of readily available information and facts are so large that it’s hard to determine what information and facts are useful. As an illustration one can find over 25 million search results of the search phrase “wedding invitations” on the web. Precisely how many of these search engine results are relevant? Can you truly determine whether the content you get is informative or simply a sales hype?

Found listed here are easy tactics which you may want prior to buying your wedding invitations on the internet.

Online Wedding Invitations Suggestions to Save You Money and employ Your Time And Efforts Wisely

Tighten Your Online Search with Qualifiers: Instead of employing a broad search phrase like “wedding invitations” try something that lowers the range of your search. For instance, “personalized wedding invitations,” or “custom invitations” will substantially decrease the amount of Google search results and in many cases guide you toward better selections for choosing the wedding invitation of your hopes and dreams.
Use a Local Search Qualifier: There is a prevalent belief that searching on the internet will result in more desirable advice that may help you create your wedding invitation. This is simply not the situation: search results for something as customized as wedding invitations are often skewed towards those web marketing organizations that do a better job optimizing their internet site for search. The former CEO of Google refers to the internet as a “cesspool of information.” One technique for countering this deceiving information is to introduce a city qualifier. For illustration, if you live in the New York City, type in the search keyword phrase “New York wedding invitations” in the Search bar and you will find nearby stationery dealers in your area focusing on custom stationery and customized invitations.
Check for wedding invitations that are also sold through independent retailers: One way of rather quickly determining if you are dealing with a dependable firm on the internet is whether they also sell through established bricks and mortar merchants. Printing companies that sell their products and services through independent sellers are more likely to possess an established track record in the field and provide their clients the ability to shop in your neighborhood or on the web. This is a clear sign that you’re not working with a fly-by-night printer.

Whether or not you plan to look locally or buy online, make certain you look at the options carefully. If you are searching for a truly distinctive wedding invitation, it’s best to shop with an experienced stationer in your area.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationer Guild and writes regularly about wedding invitation trends and the perils of online shopping.

Etiquette for Thank You Notes

NYCWedding — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:34:51 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Writing a prompt and personalized thank you note card for wedding gifts is simply proper social manners. Nevertheless, quite a few wedding couples are apparently unaware of when you should do so, what stationery to make use of and the appropriate form of personalization to make use of on their correspondence cards. Indeed, wedding etiquette experts seldom see eye-to-eye about the etiquette concerning wedding thank you notes.

Most seasoned stationery store owners concur that it is only a matter of common-sense and good manners. As an example, some wedding manuals advise that the bridal couples have “up to 6 months” after the wedding to acknowledge a gift.

This 6 month leeway just doesn’t appear sensible. Gift items received by the wedding couple must be acknowledged as soon as possible after one has received them. Though most bridal couples, in particular the fiancee have a lot on his or her plate, it takes only about a few minutes to compose a great personal note saying thanks to a friend or relative for their present. Acting promptly is quite a bit appreciated by the sender since it affirms you have received their wedding gift.

With regards to personal stationery, it’s usually a good idea to have your own correspondence instead of a common “Thank You” note card. Customized stationery using your name or monogram engraved on a fold-over note or half-sheet letter is far more flexible and efficient over a pre-printed thank you note.

In the past, ladies have used fold-over cards and gentlemen correspondence note cards, but today’s contemporary woman is every bit as comfortable with either kind of personalized stationery. Although some young couples will emboss their personal stationery with both their names and frequently their new married name, it’s considered improper to use one’s married name on stationery prior to being actually married.

There are many lovely papers and printing options to create truly stylish personalized stationery. Stationers suggest that the groom and also the bride ought to have their particular personal correspondence as it is still useful even after composing all those thank you cards.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes on a regular basis about personalized stationery and wedding invitation trends..

Diamond Engagement Rings – Color Grading A Diamond

NYCWedding — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:39:16 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Diamond engagement rings are ladies’ best friends. These rings represent and formalize agreements for future marriages. And for ladies, having their men ask their hands in marriage is one of the best moments in their lives.

Traditionally, it is the guy who visits the jewelry store to find the best engagement ring for his woman. Getting one is very confusing as there are so many varieties, styles, and designs in the market. Additionally, upon closer inspection of a diamond, one would see that it has a slight tint to it. That tinge of color constitutes a part of the four C’s—clarity, carat weight, cut, and color—that determine diamond quality. In this article, we will discuss the last C, which is color.

Lots of diamonds are not really colorless. The tint comes from impurities that are molecularly embedded in the carbon that makes up the diamond. But it is the pure colorless diamonds, normally called white diamonds, which all other colors are judged against.

The Gemological Institute of America (“GIA”) has created a list of guidelines to find out the true color of a diamond. The tint of a candidate diamond is compared to the color of corresponding control stones, which are pre-selected to a specific color.

The diamond that is to be color graded must be a loose stone. This means it must not be affixed onto the metal since the metal can impact the natural color of the stone. Next, the candidate diamond is placed table-down, pavilion-up with the control stone at its side. It is then viewed and scrutinized with a 10X loupe. A letter system from D to Z is then utilized to indicate the color of the diamond, with D being given to scarce, absolutely colorless diamonds.

* D to F – colorless or white
* G to J – almost colorless
* K to M – tinted in a barely imperceptible yellow hue
* N to R – lightly tinted in a yellow hue. The hue is visible by the human eye, even without special viewing equipment
* S to Z – moderately tinted, going to brown. The color is visible even when the diamond is mounted.

Consult with an experienced jeweler to help you choose the right engagement ring and diamond earrings with the correct diamond color.

William Arthur Stationery and Invitation Sale

NYCWedding — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:05:02 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

William Arthur has been producing great stationery and custom announcements for well over three decades. This Kennebunk, Maine firm is best-known for its outstanding designs and styles showcasing Vera Wang, Rita Renning and William Arthur’s own exclusive concepts. William Arthur’s wedding patterns are most popular with bridal couples and offer a variety of diverse printing and customization possibilities.

Currently thru April 2nd you can get yourself William Arthur’s sophisticated stationery and save money as well. Select 75 or even more items from William Arthur and obtain 25 free. You shouldn’t wait and visit a William Arthur retailer in your community or shop other online wedding invitation and stationery options. You will be thankful you did so.

Whether you are searching for new monogrammed stationery or have just gotten engaged and ought to mail a save the date invitation or wedding invitations. Now is the moment to order your stationery or invitations and avail yourself of this fantastic deal. William Arthur offer is made available to you through listed William Arthur retailers in shops in your town or at William Arthur’s website. Purchase in your neighborhood with the help of a professional stationer to view the full-range of William Arthur’s customization choices and printing methods or check out William Arthur online.

Using Your Wedding Invitations Wisely

NYCWedding — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:43:28 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Well prepared wedding invitations can be a very useful tool when planning a wedding. In addition to be being decorative and stylish, they are also more practical. Through careful tailoring the bride and groom can provide all manner of information regarding their big day.

Locations and Times

Most wedding invitations include information on the bride and groom, such as their names, and basic instructions on when and where both the wedding and the reception will take place. But invitations can also give guests directions and parking information for the wedding and reception.

Dress to Impress

If you have a strict dress code in mind then it is essential to make this clear on your invitations. Whether the wedding is themed or black tie, your guests will be glad to find the information they need on how to dress right in the wedding invitation.

Gift Information

Be sure to provide your guests with information on where you are registered for your gifts. In some instances it may be that you would prefer guests to chose their own present or perhaps give some money; again specify this.

Clear RSVP Info

Well designed wedding invitations should serve two purposes. First, invites let your guests know when and where to show up for the wedding. Their second role is to give the couple an idea of who they have invited will actually be attending. Including RSVP cards gives you the information you require to book many other areas of your wedding.

The Catering

Gathering everyone’s food choices when offering multiple options can be daunting. Through the incorporation of catering forms with your RSVP cards you can make the whole process much less complicated. By either ticking off or circling their chosen options guests are able to indicate which food they would like, which can be passed on to the caterers.

Letterpress or Engraved Wedding Stationery Reflect Regional Variations

NYCWedding — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:37:17 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those seeking to craft an original wedding invitation to memorialize that happy occasion quite often look at a huge selection of wedding invitation examples and printing options before deciding on their special invite.

Previously there was a definite regional tendency in the selection of printing. Wedding couples on the West Coast tended to favor letterpress and people on the East Coast normally wanted engraving.

Even though this regional tendency still persists, the two printing methods continue to attract discriminating bridal couples who enjoy the refined colors and innovative designs of letterpress printing along with the unforgettable opaque colors of engraved invitations.

The increase in letterpress wedding invitations has been fueled from the emergence of accomplished artists who can purchase cost-effective presses to produce their very own invitations and letterpress stationery. A serviceable press can be purchased for somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000 and a accomplished artist utilizing Photoshop can produce spectacular designs then transfer those designs to polymer dies that are used in the printing presses.

Engraving is actually a comparable printing process, but metal dies are produced by emerging light-sensitive coated copper die plates into an acid bath to create the dies. Both engraving and letterpress are often more expensive as each wedding invitation is hand-fed through the printing press. Given that every ink color is applied through a separate press run, the number of colors in the wedding invitation will increase labor costs and, as such, the overall cost of the invitation.

Although letterpress and engraved invitations are usually the most memorable, those on a budget often seek more cost-effective solutions that mimic the creativeness present in letterpress and engraved invites. The use of thermographic inks is definitely a cost-effective substitute to engraving and even a few flat-printed designs are attractive and capture the significance of the event.

Working together with a highly skilled stationer in your neighborhood is unquestionably the best way to craft a wedding invitation that suits your objectives and is within your budget. There are only a handful of internet wedding invitation printers who have the design and printing capabilities and, above all, the service quality to produce wedding invitations that would cause you to be proud.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and save the date invitations.

Vera Wang’s New Wedding Invitation Designs

NYCWedding — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 02:17:09 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Vera Wang is definitely an icon inside fashion business. Her fashionable styles and her one of a kind sense of style have long elevated the bar for wedding dresses and women’s vogue. Several years back, Vera turned her focus to wedding invitations and high-quality stationery. Joining up with William Arthur, Vera launched her own brand of stationery which features aspects of the fashion business, her distinctive oyster-colored cardstock and even a specially designed envelope.

Earlier this year, Vera completely revamped On Weddings, her signature wedding invitation album. Her fresh designs features 35 one of a kind wedding stationery collection, showcasing a host of additional colors and an wonderful variety of elaborate designs and Vera’s take on classic wedding designs. Vera Wang On Weddings demonstrates the traditional yet modern-day and complex aesthetic that has made Vera Wang a fashion icon.

Found here are a few of the exciting latest attributes you will discover in Vera’s new On Weddings release:

Painted Edge – New to Vera Wang On Weddings, Vera Wang shall be featuring heavy-weight card stock with custom-painted edges, in lots of ink colors. An honest statement of extravagance, this painted edge style is etched in Lapis and Gold. The unique monogrammed wreath offers a nod to traditions, while exposing a whimsical feeling.
Garden Lace Folder – This stunning style is inspired by both Vera Wang’s Ready-to-Wear and bridal selections. A fancy garden of flowers along with a mesh of laser-cut lace cut off to expose an exciting collection of background hues. From Raspberry, Peony and Saffron to Grass, Lapis and Indigo, this modern and tactile invitation speaks to the refined detailing within Vera Wang’s collections.
Letterpressed Heart – Vibrant and contemporary, the wording for this captivating invitation is located inside the clutches of a lovely over-sized heart. The playful cross-hatching on this design and style accentuates the tactile character of letterpress printing, while the peony ink gives an obvious femininity.
Gold Border -This remarkable design comes with a large band of gold foil on the card edge and the envelope flap. The type is at once dramatic and subtle. Displayed engraved, this sophisticated invitation will definitely charm.
Black Paper – Last fall, Vera Wang enraptured the fashion world with her Spring 2012 selection of black bridal dresses. Here, the exact same excitement and allure is reproduced on paper. Gorgeously customized in a proprietary calligraphic font, this invitation marries heart and intricacy.

We clearly recommend going to a stationery store in your area to see Vera Wang’s On Weddings in person. If it’s not convenient, see Vera on the internet and I do think you will know that this new release is very wonderful.

Wedding Invitation Enclosures

NYCWedding — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:51:48 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Following the sending out of your ‘save the date’ cards you should then be in the position to invite guests formally to your wedding. This means finally sending out your wedding invitations, which you have no doubt already put a lot of thought into choosing their design. Traditionally, these are sent out three months prior to the date of the wedding; however, brides have recently started to send them anything up-to five months before the wedding date. The enclosures that are sent alongside your wedding invitations are just as important. Here’s a guide to what you may want to include with your invitations.

Giving Directions

Failure to include direction cards with your wedding invitations could result in guests getting lost or being unclear as to where they can park their car on arrival. In some cases it could be that you will need to create more than one direction card due to hosting the wedding at two separate locations. Some brides even decide to produce individual direction cards for some guests. These tend to be more applicable to guests that are coming from a long way away or that do not know the area.

RSVPs

Arguably the most important part of the wedding invitation (pragmatically speaking anyway) is the response cards. Receiving a response from the guests give the couple a concrete idea as to the exact numbers they need to cater for. As a result they are then able to begin planning other details of the wedding, from the catering plan to the seating arrangements. Whilst invited guests will usually go to extreme lengths to attend, there is a good chance that not everyone invited will be able to attend.

Menu Options

Our final item to include is a food menu so that guests can indicate their choices for the wedding meal. This information is once again helpful to let the caterers know what quantities of food they will require.

Customized Stationery and Invitation Sale

NYCWedding — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:59:07 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Today through April 2nd, Crane & Co. is giving you good markdowns on just about all custom-made stationery purchases and custom invitations. Purchase 75 or more items from Crane and receive 25 totally free.

Maybe you are shopping for new stationery or have just gotten engaged and will want to post a save the date announcement or wedding invitations. Now is the moment to buy your stationery or invitations and make the most of of this great sale. Crane’s offer is easily available to you through listed Crane dealers in retail stores in your town or at Crane’s online store. Shop in the area with the help of a seasoned stationer to see the wide choice of Crane’s customization possibilities and printing options or check out Crane on the web.

Crane & Co. has been producing great stationery and custom announcements for more than two centuries. This Dalton, MA company is best-known for its remarkable engraving, hand-painted borders and large collection of 100% cotton papers. At present through April 2nd you can get yourself Crane’s elegant stationery and save money while doing so. Don’t hold back and visit a Crane retailer in town or go shopping online. You will be happy you did so.

Let Your Save the Date Announcement Work Overtime for Your NYC Wedding

NYCWedding — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:09:13 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Arranging your wedding day is not complex, however it does take self-discipline. Short of having a wedding planner, a number of engaged couples in addition to their families may take control of arranging their wedding through the use of wedding papers correctly. A save the date invitation can be a great vehicle that will help organize your wedding.

After scheduling your wedding service with the church or synagogue and determining the location for the wedding celebration, the key dates for the wedding event have been decided. Armed with that critical information, many engaged couples use a save the date card to supply their invited guests a “heads-up” for making their travel plans.

While many will choose to send a simple announcement – frequently using a photo of the bridal couple – prompting their guests to schedule their reservations, other people use it to convey handy travel information. For example, places to stay information, convenient airports and, perhaps, a wedding web site can also be added to your save the date invitation.

Engaged couples will often be under the erroneous opinion the save the date invitation must be matched up with the wedding invitation along with other wedding papers. While very helpful, this assumes that one has already determined what wedding invitation they wish to use. This is normally not the case.

Seasoned stationers suggest utilizing a more casual save the date announcement that gives a feeling of delight for the forthcoming wedding event. While a photograph of the wedding couple is often a favored choice, bridal couples will choose a seashore motif for the island wedding, a vibrant leaf for a fall wedding and, possibly, a snowman for a winter wedding.

You will discover hundreds, or even thousands, of options for save the date cards. Nearly all bridal couples believe it is simpler to pick a theme that captures the joy of your special day to limit the invitation solutions.

For people who have a somewhat more time to plan, knowledgeable stationers advocate including useful travel and accommodation details with their save the date announcement.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes regularly about wedding invitation trends and how save the date announcements can be used to help organize one’s wedding ceremony.

New Invitation Designs from Crane

NYCWedding — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:01:34 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

When arranging a wedding ceremony your wedding invitation needs to take center stage. However, a number of other wedding activities that commonly require a particular invitation. In particular, save the date announcements, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and bridesmaid teas almost always require their own invitation. If you are wanting inspiration or basically at a loss as to where to start, the solution to your prayers just hit leading stationery retailers across the United States.

Crane & Co. has just released its all new Social Occasions Album, an album containing a number of samples of Crane’s dazzling invitation designs featuring Crane’s unsurpassed craftsmanship. This amazing collection signals a welcome change in direction at Crane for it comes back to its unique traditions of making fine personalized stationery and custom invitations.

The new Social Occasions Album contains many samples of wedding invitations, save the date cards, Bar Mitzvah invitations, wedding anniversary and corporate event invitations and a huge collection of reply cards, menu cards and social correspondence. Most of the invitation samples are engraved, but Crane’s talented designers and craftsmen are also skilled with letterpress and other types of impressing.

For individuals arranging a wedding, Crane’s Social Occasions Album is clearly worth a glance. While a few selected invitation samples probably are not designed for your wedding; the text of the invitation, font choices and ink colors and shades can all be custom made to mirror the concept of your wedding day.

With a little creative thinking, virtually all invitation examples for significant birthdays or corporate parties can easily function as a design template for a wedding reception, bridal shower or some other wedding event. Engaging an accomplished stationer in your neighborhood who carries Crane’s new Social Occasions Album can help you create your own completely unique custom design.

Reaching back into its roots during the American Revolution, Crane has produced an amazing assortment of invitations, menu cards and engraved stationery that is breathtaking in its design and sophistication. Visit your local stationer now or visit Crane & Co. at their online website.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about regional and online wedding invitation trends and the importance of save the date cards.

Wedding Invitations Styles to set off your Special Day

NYCWedding — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:52:41 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

A couple’s wedding invitations play more than just a practical role. They aren’t simply a way of announcing to the world the details of your big day. Invitations are an expression of your style and designing them can actually be a lot of fun!

Finding your style

Where you are not certain what style is appropriate, there are a few ways to help you find the right option. The first stage of the process is to consider the kind of wedding dress you intend to purchase or have already tucked safely away in the cupboard. If the dress is simple or traditional, you may want your wedding invitations to be the same. You can show your guests a bit of your minimalist or classic style through your invite design. Where you are going for a more bold or daring dress then you have the freedom to go for invitations that are a little more edgy. Bright shades and crazy designs in combination with odd shaped invites can provide the style statement you want to make with your big day. Always bear in mind that it is important to ensure unity throughout the wedding by keeping colors and design similar between the dress and invites.

For themed weddings

If you are planning a themed wedding day then you can really let your imagination run wild when designing wedding invitations. Themed wedding ideas are limitless, from beach weddings to zombie weddings. The beauty of themed weddings is that they are truly unique and memorable days, just as your invitations ought to be. Design your invites to hint at the awesome twist your wedding will take.

Getting the wording right

Getting the wording correct goes a long way to setting the style of your invitations and this your whole wedding day. Where you have opted for a traditional or classical theme be certain to include the full names of bride and groom. In the case of addresses and dates they should be written out using full words as opposed to numbers. For modern or edgy weddings, abbreviations, initials and numbers can be used unsparingly.

Shop wisely for wedding invitations

NYCWedding — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:37:20 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those of you searching for wedding invitations seem to assume that paper quality is considered the most most important cost consideration when searching for an online wedding invitation. Although the craftsmanship of the paper is worthwhile, other aspects such as the printing process, number of ink colors and extras generally play a lot more significant role in trying to figure out the final pricing of your customized wedding invitations.

Most top notch printers utilize cotton fibers, high-grade wood fiber that’s been approved by the Forest Stewardship Council or a combination of both cotton and wood-based fibers. Although these papers are usually of a more substantial quality than recycled papers that a great many market as “environment-friendly, these top quality papers frequently cost a tad bit more but are really worth the nominal premium. In addition, these papers are usually more “environmentally-friendly” and substantive than nearly all papers sold on the internet that claim to be “green” or “tree-free.”

Features that commonly tend to raise the pricing of printed wedding invitations are paper weight, dark papers and the quantity of ink colors utilized in printing the invitations.

The paper weight: Lots of wedding papers sold on the net are printed by commercial printers. Normally, paper with a weight beyond 120 pounds cannot be processed by means of a commercial printer or ink-jet printer. Consequently, a heavy wedding invitation is only able to be printed using engraving, letterpress or, in some cases, with thermographic inks. This old-fashioned printing method tends to boost overall costs, but will make a substantially more eye-catching invitation.

Paper Color: Nearly all wedding invitations are imprinted on white or ecru colored papers to ensure that ink colors resonate. Even so, there is a trend towards bold-colored papers. In these cases, merely using a more pricey printing technique like engraving seems to work to produce the proper differentiation between ink colors and darkly-colored papers.

Ink Colors: Despite the fact that flat-printing, lithography and digital printing is most effective with papers less than 120 pounds in weight, more old-fashioned printing methods are necessary for weightier papers. In these instances, each color needs to be executed in a separate press run, therefore increasing costs.

If browsing locally for wedding invitations, it’s usually most desirable to confer with an experienced stationer who will help you select the greatest wedding invitation designs and papers for your overall wedding budget.

Truly Collection delivers an inexpensive wedding invitation

NYCWedding — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:07:39 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

William Arthur has just launched their Truly Wedding Stationery Collection. At a price point that’s 20% lower than that William Arthur’s sophisticated wedding lines, the Truly Collection will definitely attract bridal couples seeking out stunning wedding stationery and wedding invitations at a reasonable cost. Young couples looking for wedding invitations in New York or online wedding invitations, will certainly unearth a special invitation that mirrors the importance of the occasion.

With dozens of designs and styles and color options to pick from, the Truly Collection is an opportunity to get quality wedding invitations, save the date cards and other wedding papers at an inexpensive price. With wedding financial budgets tight, bridal couples are invited to take a look at the completely new Truly designs from William Arthur. Available online or in fine stationery stores across the the country, the Truly Collection is an attempt by William Arthur to provide you with an attractive and well-priced wedding invitation for bridal couples with a tight budget.

William Arthur, well-known printer of elegant wedding stationery, recently unveiled the Truly Collection by William Arthur, an exciting new selection of wedding papers intended for the budget conscious bride that has a sense of style. “Truly was designed to possess a wide appeal, to ensure that any bride can find something she likes,” says Karen Herzig, designer for the new William Arthur album. “The aesthetic ranges from classic to modern and colorful.”

The Truly Collection by William Arthur offers digital and thermography printing which includes a broad selection of colors for inks, bows and envelope linings. Bordered invitations are available, showcasing the clean, beautiful embossing that William Arthur is acknowledged for. Lively, unique font styles and motifs enhance the traditional modernism in the collection.

Selling prices for invitations in the Truly Collection by William Arthur Collection average 20% lower than William Arthur’s high-end weddings albums, putting together these wedding stationery suites offered to a sizable group of bridal consumers. To check out the brand new Truly Collection, take a look at a stationery retail store in your neighborhood. for more useful information. Better still, if you are preparing a wedding, learn you can use a save the date invitation to help plan a wedding.

More than 60 years, William Arthur is well-known for creating fine stationery. The company’s merchandise is designed and produced in West Kennebunk, Maine, where they enjoy the advantage of coastal living with quick access to towns from Portland to New York City. Deeply skilled about high-end printing in addition to the many nuances of fine writing papers, William Arthur’s staff artists and craftspeople are obsessed with quality, together with both old-world and state-of-the-art printing techniques. At William Arthur, employees are dedicated to making the business a superb location to work, and to making sure each individual customer is delighted with the end product.

Should the gift registry information be shown on your wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:03:33 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Wedding planners recently have observed renewed debate on if the gift registry information may be shown on the wedding invitation. The simple and easy and correct answer is: “Definitely not!” One experienced stationer who claims to have advised many hundreds of bridal couples to design custom-made wedding invitations affirms that “no one has opted to include a bridal gift registry or website to their wedding invitation. It is cheap, offensive and just poor manners.”

Suggesting a wedding gift or monetary contribution on your wedding invitation detracts from the importance of the celebration. While many insist that it is “economical” to list a bridal registry within the wedding invitation, efficiency is not a substitute for good manners and good taste. Why not just pick up the telephone, call the parents of the bride or even the bridal pair and extend your best wishes and then ask where they are registered. It is simple, quite personal and has worked effectively for a long time.

In a great many situations, bridal couples will be sending a save the date card that may contain travel and lodging advice. If you plan to build a wedding website, it’s deemed acceptable to add the Url of your website within the save the date announcement or in the supportive wedding papers.

Some will consider that this protocol or etiquette is dated. Quite the opposite, good etiquette is never out of place. When we continue to emphasize “convenience” and “functionality” in dealing with our personal relationships, we strip the enjoyment and majesty from these landmark occasions within our lives.

In short, including gift registry details in your wedding invitation isn’t advised and, indeed, many guests are likely to consider the idea impolite and inappropriate. There are lots of of ways to circumvent that problem with good planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

Promising Designs for 2012 Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:43:54 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The early indications indicate that the 2012 wedding season is likely to be among the strongest in recent history. While the economic situation continues to be fragile, bridal couples who’ve deferred their wedding seem to be saying that 2012 is when they plan to tie the knot.

With this in mind, wedding specialists are starting to launch new designs and styles awaiting the wave of new weddings that will start in early January. Top printing company and designer William Arthur is starting off 2012 with a bang with two refurbished wedding albums and also the forthcoming release of Vera Wang’s new wedding designs. Color, bold new styles and shower invitations that contain both conventional and contemporary designs are prominently featured in William Arthur’s wedding invitation line.

Above all, William Arthur provides countless invitations which may be printed in letterpress, engraving or thermography. These options give the consumer a choice of selecting a printing style that reflects their requirements and budget.

William Arthur provides many distinctive designs at reasonable prices and definitely ought to be on every bridal couple’s short list of “must see” wedding invitations. Also, there’s a very good line of save the date cards and wedding stationery.

Find local wedding resources in your area to view their line at a store or shop for wedding invitations online.

Customized Wedding Invitations Suggestions

NYCWedding — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:44:39 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

We all love marriages. The union of two people choosing to share their lives together. It’s always a pleasure to attend any marriage and celebrate with the happy couple together with their families. Those of us who have attended one or two marriages would like to envision our own marriage to be special and unique. Here are some pointers that may help you with your marriage preparation.

Plan Ahead

While many of us like marriages, planning one could take up some of your time depending on what you would like done for that special day of yours. It’s always sensible to plan ahead so that everyone seems to be knowledgeable. So set your marriage date a year or thereabouts ahead. That’s because you must plan out your marriage budget and list down all of the items and services that you need to get to make it a very important day. Have a list of guests you are planning to invite. Whether you would like it to be a particularly private marriage involving only immediate family members and good friends or a massive marriage celebration with many folks attending, it is very important to give them the right impression of the event.

Fix A Theme

Selecting a theme is easy. Once you have completed that, just get some customized wedding invitations created. These invites will show your marriage theme clearly to your guests. They could be acquired from online paperie stores that allow you to customized your marriage cards with precise wordings, date, time, venue for the reception and dinner. Your invites could carry the same colour theme that you plan for the marriage ceremony. Dependent on the amount of guests that are coming, you might then make the mandatory arrangements on the menu and place for the meal.

Where’s The Wedding?

Most would prefer to have it in the church but you’ll have to brighten the primary hall. Some couples like to have a garden or beach marriage for a change. If you’re meaning to have it out of doors, ensure you check the weather prediction and have the venue discussed in particular in your customized wedding invitations. That may help your guests to plan their transport better as some may be coming from outstation or overseas to celebrate with you.

Outline

So enjoy planning for your big day. Make it special but do not stress yourself out. Folks like going for marriages and you can set the tone for your marriage by utilizing some customized wedding invitations. Have a very good one!

Choose a theme that you will love
Invite your guests with customized wedding invitations
Plan your wedding well ahead of time

Customized Wedding Invitations

Diamond Stud Earrings As Gifts To Your Sweetheart

NYCWedding — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:47:14 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

A pair of diamond stud earrings is a perfect gift for your special woman for a momentous occasion such as her birthday or the anniversary of your relationship. Any woman desires to receive a gift, most especially if she least expects it. But the way you deliver the gift makes the act of presenting the gift even more special.

Large numbers guys aim to be the romantic partner that their women want them to be. However, not everyone have ideas on how to be romantic. Well, here are some tips on how to present her those magnificent earrings—or any other gift for that matter—in a very romantic way.

1. Dinner
Reserve a table at a high-class restaurant that offers at least three courses. Before the romantic dinner, secretly arrange with the maitre d’ to present the pair of earrings on a dessert plate which is concealed with a lid. At your signal when you finish your main course, the maitre d’ or his subordinates will bring out the covered dessert plate. Just imagine your special someone’s stunned expression when she expects to see a sumptuous cake and instead, your beautiful gift is staring back at her.

2. Pack Lunch
This is an excellent way to surprise your special someone, especially if she brings lunch to the office. Prepare her lunch yourself then secretly conceal the earrings in her meal. Try to act indifferent as if nothing special is about to occur. Find yourself smiling when after a few hours, you will be showered with emotional “I love you’s” as your woman calls you from her office after discovering the gift.

3. Gift trail
This is an extremely thrilling and lovely way of surprising your lady because it involves multiple gifts. For example, you can put a cuddly stuffed toy at the front door holding a note that another gift is in the refrigerator. Upon opening the appliance, she may find her favorite wine with a note pointing to the next gift. You can use as many gifts as you wish, but the last one must be the lovely earrings. Place the last gift in a romantic setting such as a dim candle-lit bedroom with rose petals scattered all over the place.

4. Fireplace
A blissful night in front of a fireplace is a great setting to give your gift. Switch off the lights, ignite the fire, pop in a CD of your romantic love songs, and bring out the wine. Bring out albums of your pictures together so you can reminisce special events in your relationship. In an especially special album, attach the earrings at the back cover. She will surely be surprised at the turn of the last page.

5. Adventure
If your special someone has an adventurous spirit, accompany her during one of her expeditions be it skiing, mountaineering, climbing, kayaking, etc. At the day’s end when you are relaxing at the shore with waves gently tickling your feet, or when you are standing at the summit a mountain looking at the valley far below, give her the earrings. Nothing is more lovely and more exclusive than both of you far away from all people and anything else.

6. Delivery
Buy her a number of colorful flowers and tell the florist to deliver the blossoms together with the diamond engagement rings

Letterpress or Engraved Wedding Stationery Continue to Reflect Regional Variations

NYCWedding — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:37:33 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those determined to design a singular wedding invitation to commemorate that happy event quite often view a huge selection of wedding invitation samples and printing alternatives before choosing their special wedding invitation.

Several years ago there was clearly a definite regional disposition in the choice of printing. Wedding couples from the West Coast seemed to prefer letterpress printing and people from the East Coast usually chose engraving.

While this regional tendency still remains, the two printing methods still entice discerning bridal couples who enjoy the delicate hues and new types of letterpress printing and the classic opaque colors of engraved invitations.

The increase in letterpress wedding stationery has been fueled from the emergence of skilled artists who are able to acquire affordable presses to produce their very own wedding invitations and fine stationery. A serviceable press may well be acquired for anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000 and a accomplished artist using Photoshop can produce stunning designs and then transfer those designs to polymer dies which are utilized in the printing presses.

Engraving is a comparable printing method, but metal dies are created by emerging light-sensitive coated copper die plates into an acid bath to produce the dies. Both engraving and letterpress are certainly more costly since each wedding invitation is hand-fed through the printer. Since every ink color is applied through a separate press run, the number of colors in the invitation boosts labor costs and, as a result, the overall cost of your invitation.

While letterpress and engraved invitations are usually the most unforgettable, those on a financial budget frequently seek more cost-effective possibilities that imitate the creativeness present in letterpress and engraved invites. The use of thermographic inks is definitely an affordable alternative to engraving and even a few flat-printed designs are appealing and capture the importance of the special occasion.

Working together with an experienced stationery store owner in your neighborhood is undoubtedly the best way to craft a wedding invitation that meets your objectives and is affordable. There are a few online wedding invitation printers who have the design and printing capabilities and, above all, the service quality to make wedding invitations that will make you very proud.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and save the date invitations.

Are Online Wedding Invitations the most reliable choice?

NYCWedding — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:32:12 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Online research is usually a convenient and quick option to finding information and facts. However, the level of available information and facts is so huge that it is difficult to figure out what results are important. As an example there are more than 20 million search engine results for the keyword phrase “wedding invitations” on Google. Exactly how many of these search records are relevant? Can you truly determine if the information you are receiving is informative or just a sales pitch?

Found listed below are easy tactics that you may possibly will probably like before purchasing your wedding invitations online.

Online Wedding Invitations Tips to help save You Money and use Your Time And Efforts Wisely

Tighten Your Search with Qualifiers: Instead of employing a vast search term like “wedding invitations” try something which minimizes the scope of your search. As an example, “unique wedding invitations,” or “custom invitations” will significantly reduce the number of Google search results and maybe direct you toward better sources of choosing the wedding invitation of your desires.
Use your local Search Qualifier: There is a general opinion that searching online will give you better advice to assist you create your wedding invitation. This just isn’t the truth: search outcomes for a product as customized as wedding invitations are skewed toward those online marketing organizations that did a more effective job optimizing their website for web search. The former CEO of Google refers to the internet for being a “cesspool of information.” One technique of deterring this misleading information and facts are to introduce a zip code qualifier. As an illustration, if you live in the New York City, enter in the search term “New York wedding invitations” in the Search bar and you should find neighborhood stationery dealers in your neighborhood specializing in custom stationery and custom made invitations.
Look for wedding invitations that are also marketed through independent dealers: One strategy for quickly determining whether you are dealing with a reliable firm on the internet is whether they also promote through well-known independent store dealers. Printing companies that sell their products and services through independent retailers are more likely to have an established standing in the field and offer their customers the opportunity to shop in your neighborhood or on the web. This is an unmistakable sign that you’re not going through a novice printer.

Whether you plan to search locally or order online, be sure that you think about your options very carefully. If you want a truly unique wedding invitation, it is often best to shop with an experienced stationer in your neighborhood.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationer Guild and writes frequently about wedding invitations and online wedding invitations.

The Best Etiquette of Wedding Stationery

NYCWedding — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:35:35 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Writing a prompt and personalized thank you note card for wedding gifts is simply good manners. However, numerous wedding couples are seemingly not aware of when to do this, what stationery to use along with the suitable form of personalization to use on their thank you notes. Indeed, wedding manners experts hardly ever agree on the etiquette concerning thank you notes.

Most experienced stationery store owners agree that it’s just a matter of common-sense and courtesy. For example, a few wedding publications indicate that the bridal couples have “up to six months” after the wedding event to send a thank you note for a gift.

This 6 month grace period just doesn’t appear sensible. Gift items obtained by the wedding couple really should be noted as soon as is feasible after one has received them. While nearly all bridal couples, especially the bride-to-be have much on his or her plate, it takes only about five minutes to compose a heart-felt personal note to thank someone for their present. Acting right away is much appreciated by the gift-giver as it verifies you have gotten their gift.

Concerning personalized stationery, it is usually wise to get your own personal stationery instead of a commonly used “Thank You” note card. Customized stationery with your name or monogram embossed on the fold-over note or half-sheet letter is far more functional and useful than a pre-printed thank you note.

Traditionally, women have used fold-over cards and men correspondence note cards, but today’s modern woman is every bit as comfortable with either type of stationery. Even though some bridal couples will engrave their personal stationery with both their names and sometimes their new married name, it is deemed incorrect to make use of one’s married name on stationery before you are actually married.

There are many gorgeous papers and printing options to produce truly elegant personalized stationery. Stationers suggest that the groom and also the bride really should have their own personal correspondence as it is still useful long after writing all those wedding thank you notes.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes frequently about personalized stationery and wedding invitation trends.

William Arthur Stationery and Invitation Promotion

NYCWedding — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:05:51 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

William Arthur has been crafting great stationery and custom invitations for well over three decades. This Kennebunk, Maine business is widely known for its exceptional designs offering Vera Wang, Rita Renning and William Arthur’s own unique concepts. William Arthur’s wedding patterns are most popular with bridal couples and feature a selection of diverse printing and customization possibilities.

At present through April 2nd you can purchase William Arthur’s stylish stationery and save yourself money as well. Get 75 or even more items from William Arthur and get 25 free of cost. Do not wait and check out a William Arthur dealer in town or discover other online wedding invitation and stationery options. You will be thankful you did so.

Perhaps you are looking for new monogrammed stationery or have just gotten engaged and ought to send a save the date card or wedding invitations. Now is the right moment to order your stationery or invitations and avail yourself of this exceptional deal. William Arthur sale is readily available to you through authorized William Arthur dealers in stores near you or at William Arthur’s website. Shop in the area with the help of an experienced stationer to view the extensive range of William Arthur’s personalization choices and printing alternatives or explore William Arthur online.

Up and coming Styles for 2012 Wedding Stationery and Invitations

NYCWedding — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:44:13 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Early indicators indicate that the 2012 wedding season is likely to be among the strongest in recent history. Though the economic situation remains fragile, young couples who’ve delayed their wedding appear to be stating that 2012 is when they plan to tie the knot.

Considering this, wedding specialists are starting to present new designs and styles in preparation for the wave of new weddings that should begin in early January. Major printer and designer William Arthur is kicking off 2012 with a bang with two overhauled wedding albums plus the imminent release of Vera Wang’s new wedding designs. Color, impressive new designs and shower invitations that contain both classic and modern designs are prominently featured in William Arthur’s wedding line.

Most importantly, William Arthur features numerous invitations which may be printed in letterpress, engraving or thermographic inks. These choices give the consumer a choice of choosing a printing style that reflects their needs and budget.

William Arthur offers many creative designs at reasonable prices and certainly should be on every bridal couple’s short list of “must see” wedding invitations. Also, they’ve got a wonderful line of save the date cards and personal stationery.

Find local wedding resources in your town to check out their line personally or shop for wedding invitations online.

Custom-made Stationery and Invitation Sale

NYCWedding — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:58:23 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Right now through April 2nd, Crane & Co. is giving you really good savings on virtually all custom-made stationery purchases and custom invitations. Select 75 or more pieces from Crane and obtain 25 free of cost.

Regardless whether you are on the lookout for new monogrammed stationery or have just gotten engaged and should send a save the date invitation or wedding invitations. Now is the time to purchase your stationery or invitations and take advantage of this exceptional promotion. Crane’s promotion is available to you through listed Crane dealers in shops near you or at Crane’s website. Purchase in your neighborhood with the help of a professional stationer to check out the full range of Crane’s personalization solutions and printing alternatives or explore Crane online.

Crane & Co. has been producing fine stationery and custom invitations for well over two centuries. This Dalton, MA business is well known for its top-quality engraving, hand-painted edges and great range of 100% cotton card stock. Currently through April 2nd you can purchase Crane’s exquisite stationery and spend less money as well. Do not wait and visit a Crane store in town or shop online. You will be thankful you did so.

Let Your Save the Date Invitation Work Overtime for Your NYC Wedding

NYCWedding — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:09:29 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Arranging your wedding ceremony is not complex, however it takes self-discipline. Short of having a wedding consultant, a number of bridal couples and their families may take charge of organizing their wedding event by using wedding papers properly. A save the date invitation is a most effective vehicle to help organize the wedding.

Soon after reserving your wedding ceremony with the church or synagogue and determining the site for the wedding reception, the important days for the wedding are usually confirmed. Armed with that important information, many bridal couples select a save the date announcement to provide their guests a “heads-up” in making their travel preparations.

Although many will elect to send a fairly simple card – often having a photograph of the bridal couple – prompting their guests to schedule their reservations, other people employ it to convey helpful travel guidance. For instance, lodging information, nearby airports and, possibly, a wedding website may also be added to your save the date announcement.

Engaged couples are frequently under the mistaken opinion that the save the date announcement should be coordinated with the wedding invitation together with other wedding papers. While useful, this presupposes that one has already figured out what wedding invitation they intend to use. This is usually not the case.

Experienced stationers highly recommend using a more casual save the date announcement that communicates a feeling of buzz for the approaching wedding event. While a photo of the engaged couple is a favored final choice, engaged couples will select a seaside motif for the island wedding, a colourful leaf for a fall wedding and, conceivably, a snowman for a winter wedding.

You’ll find many hundreds, if not thousands, of options for save the date invitations. Nearly all couples find it quicker to choose a theme that conveys the joy of one’s special day to identify the invitation choices.

For people who possess a little more time and energy to plan, experienced stationers recommend adding useful travel and hotels details with their save the date card.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes often about wedding invitation trends and how save the date announcements can be used to help plan one’s big event.

Latest Invitation Designs

NYCWedding — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:01:46 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

When designing a wedding ceremony your wedding invitation needs to take center stage. Nevertheless, numerous other wedding celebrations that usually call for a particular invitation. For instance, save the date announcements, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and bridesmaid teas commonly call out for their own invitation. If you are wanting inspiration or just simply baffled as to how to begin, the solution to your needs just came to leading stationery and custom invitation boutiques across the United States.

Crane & Co. has just released its great new Social Occasions Album, a sample collection that contains many examples of Crane’s breathtaking invitation designs showcasing Crane’s superior workmanship. This invitation collection signals a most welcome change in direction at Crane simply because it returns to its successful traditions of making fine stationery and custom social invitations.

This latest Social Occasions Album provides samples of wedding invitations, save the date announcements, Bat Mitzvah invitations, birthday and company event invitations and a great collection of reply cards, menu cards and personalized correspondence. Several of the invitation samples are engraved, but Crane’s talented artists and craftspeople are also skilled with letterpress along with other forms of printing.

For people organizing a wedding celebration, Crane’s Social Occasions Album is definitely worth having a look. Although certain invitation samples probably are not appropriate for your wedding day; the text or your invitation, typeface designs and ink color styles can be adapted to reflect the concept for the wedding ceremony.

With a little creative thinking, virtually all invitation examples for wedding anniversaries or sweet sixteen parties can easily work as a template design for a wedding reception, groomsment party or some other wedding celebration. Making use of an informed stationer in your town who carries Crane’s new Social Occasions Album can help you create your own completely unique custom design.

Reaching back into its roots in the time the American Revolution, Crane has created a dazzling assortment of invitations, menu cards and personal stationery that is breathtaking in its design and sophistication. See your local stationer now or visit Crane & Co. at their online store.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about regional and online wedding invitation trends and the importance of save the date cards.

Letterpress or Engraved Wedding Stationery Continue to Reflect Local Distinctions

NYCWedding — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:37:53 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those seeking to design a distinctive wedding invitation to memorialize that wondrous celebration commonly look at a huge selection of wedding invitation samples and printing solutions before selecting their special wedding invitation.

Previously there seemed to be a distinct regional tendency in the selection of printing. Wedding couples on the West Coast seemed to opt for letterpress and people from the East Coast normally preferred engraving.

While this regional bias still remains, both printing styles still entice discerning wedding couples who enjoy the refined colors and new types of letterpress printing and the classic opaque colors of engraved wedding invitations.

The increase in letterpress wedding stationery continues to be powered from the appearance of skilled artists who are able to acquire inexpensive presses to produce their own invitations and fine stationery. A functional press may well be bought for somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000 and a skilled designer utilizing Photoshop can create spectacular designs then transfer those designs to polymer dies that are used in the presses.

Engraving is actually a similar printing method, but metal dies are made by submerging light-sensitive coated copper plates into an acid bath to produce the dies. Both engraving and letterpress are often more costly since each invitation is hand-fed through the press. Since each ink color is applied separately, the quantity of colors in the wedding invitation boosts labor costs and, as such, the overall cost of your invitation.

Though letterpress and engraved invitations are certainly more unforgettable, those on a budget frequently seek less expensive options that imitate the creativity present in letterpress and engraved invites. The application of thermographic inks is an cost-effective alternative to engraving and also a few flat-printed designs are appealing and capture the importance of the occasion.

Dealing with a highly skilled stationer in your area is undoubtedly the easiest way to craft a wedding invitation that suits your goals and is affordable. There are only a limited online wedding invitation printers with the design and style and printing capabilities and, above all, the service quality to make wedding invitations that would make you very proud.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and save the date invitations.

Shop intelligently for wedding invitations

NYCWedding — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:37:38 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Engaged couples shopping for wedding invitations tend to think that paper quality is considered the most most important price consideration when choosing an online wedding invitation. Though the caliber of the paper is worthwhile, other elements like the printing technique, amount of ink colors and add on embellishments often play a lot more important factor in determining the final cost of your personalized wedding invitations.

Virtually all top quality printers use cotton fibers, high-grade wood fiber which has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or a blend of both the cotton and wood-based fibers. Although these papers tend to be of a better quality than reprocessed papers that a good number of promote as “tree-free, these top quality papers usually tend to cost a bit more but are really worth the modest premium. Besides that, these papers are usually a great deal more “environmentally-friendly” and substantial than many papers marketed on the internet that assert to be “green” or “tree-free.”

Features that commonly tend to add to the pricing of printed wedding invitations are paper weight, darkly-colored papers and the quantity of ink colors utilized in printing the invitations.

Paper weight: Quite a few wedding papers sold on the web are printed by commercial printers. Normally, paper with a weight previously mentioned 120 pounds cannot be processed through a commercial printer or ink-jet printer. For that reason, a weighty wedding invitation can only be printed using engraving, letterpress or, occasionally, with thermographic inks. This classic printing method is likely to boost overall prices, but will produce a significantly more charming invitation.

Paper Color: Nearly all wedding invitations are printed on white or ecru colored papers so that ink colors resonate. Yet, there is a movement in the direction of bold-colored papers. In these cases, simply using a higher priced printing procedure like engraving appears to work to have the proper contrast connecting ink colors and darkly-colored papers.

Ink Colors: Despite the fact that flat-printing, lithography and digital printing is effective with papers less than 120 pounds in weight, more traditional printing procedures are necessary for weightier papers. When this happens, each color needs to be utilized in a separate press run, thus increasing prices.

While looking locally for wedding invitations, it is often most desirable to consult an experienced stationer who will help you find the finest wedding invitation styles and papers for your budget.

Should the gift registry information be printed on the wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:03:50 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Wedding etiquette specialists lately have seen renewed debate on if the gift registry may be displayed on the wedding invitation. The easy and right response is: “Definitely not!” One seasoned stationer who alleges to have worked with countless young couples to create personalized wedding invitations affirms that “no one has chosen to incorporate a bridal gift registry or website on their wedding invitation. It truly is tacky, offensive and simply poor manners.”

Indicating a wedding gift or monetary donation on your wedding invitation takes away from the importance of the celebration. Although many reason that it is “economical” to provide a bridal registry within the wedding invitation, efficiency is not a substitute for proper etiquette and good taste. Why don’t you just grab the telephone, call the parents of the bride or even the bridal couple and extend your best wishes then simply ask where they’re registered. It’s easy, quite personal and also has worked effectively for a long time.

In many occasions, bridal couples will be sending a save the date announcement which may include things like travel and hotel recommendations. If you intend to establish a wedding website, it is now considered suitable to add the wedding website address on the save the date announcement or on the supportive wedding papers.

Many will argue that this standard protocol or etiquette is old-fashioned. Quite the contrary, good manners is rarely out of place. When we carry on and emphasize “convenience” and “efficiency” in dealing with our interpersonal relationships, we strip the joy and majesty from these milestone occasions in our lives.

To put it briefly, including gift registry details in your wedding invitation isn’t recommended and, indeed, many guests are likely to consider this impolite and most inappropriate. There are lots of of methods to go around that small problem with good planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

Advice on how to select your wedding stationery

NYCWedding — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:32:56 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Creating your wedding invitation is generally a challenging and difficult adventure. Many people quite simply do not possess either time or the skills to go through the infinite personalization options that can be had in the market. Whether you are planning to design and print your very own invitation, purchase wedding invitations online or utilize the assistance of an informed stationer in your local community, these practical suggestions may benefit.

Ideas on Searching for your Wedding Invitations

Pick and choose your wedding papers first. The size, texture and weight of your wedding stationery are certainly the most important aspect to consider when choosing your wedding invitation. The weight and good quality of the paper speaks to the the importance of the event. High-quality paper is, in my judgement, a prerequisite for a well-crafted wedding invitation.

If one makes your own wedding invitation, please take care that you’ve got corresponding envelopes for the wedding papers dimensions and stock that you have chosen. Far too many occasions have we experienced a well-designed Do-it-yourself invitation, but no matching envelope. Even though it may cut down your design choices, we urge loose wedding papers and envelopes that complement the invitation and the reply card set. What’s more, take note that if you are planning to print your own invitations, #96 paper is about the thickest that will fit through an inkjet printer without jamming.

While colored paper stock is generally beautiful and may work effectively with the style of your wedding celebration, it is quite often difficult to print on colored cardstock. As an example, it you choose red or navy paper stock, you more than likely will have to engrave the wedding invitation to guarantee that ink shades are correctly shown. Engraving as well as letterpress, while beautiful, raises the price of invitations. Generally, you can obtain the same exact feeling by working with white or ecru paper and just simply print in bold ink colors or use colored or patterned envelope inserts to complement your wedding theme.

Good wording etiquette is vital in a properly designed wedding invitation. Even though a qualified stationer in your area ought to know the proper wording etiquette, it might be smart to purchase of a copy of Crane’s Blue Book if you are wording your invitation.

Be sure you buy enough wedding invitations. Most companies provide wedding invitations in increments of 25 and we recommend to couples that they order at least 25 more invitations than they need just in case that someone was inadvertently forgotten or you have eleventh hour guests. A 2nd printing of your invitation is very costly so be sure you order the right amount.

Just before you post your invitations, which generally contains a reply card and quite possibly a directions card, we recommend getting the wedding invitation and enclosures weighed at the nearest Post Office. There is almost nothing more shocking than having your invitation come back because you didn’t have sufficient postage.

For more useful help and advice, please download our FREE Wedding Invitation Guide by becoming a Facebook Fan of Therese Saint Clair.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

The Understated Elegance of Letterpress Invitations

NYCWedding — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:53:41 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The increased popularity of letterpress wedding invitations, letterpress save-the-date announcements, birth announcements and letterpress stationery during the last ten years isn’t surprising. Inexpensive second-hand letterpress printers have permitted quite a few skilled artisans and designers to indulge their creative thinking to make gorgeous invitations and stationery by using this very old printing technique.

Like the process utilized in engraving, letterpress employs polymer or metal dies to “press” ink into pliable papers, mainly cotton. Each color is applied using a separate printing press run, which demands persistence and much skill to have the close registration required to correctly align colors and image designs.

Each May for the National Stationery Show in New York City, new letterpress firms take center stage to introduce their fresh designs. Even though letterpress was regarded as being somewhat of a novelty some five to ten years ago, many of the recent letterpress printers simply don’t have the good taste, originality and, oftentimes, the ability and practical experience to produce eye-catching letterpress stationery. In reality, most “new” designs provide little that is unique. To be honest, the stationery marketplace is over loaded with letterpress.

Letterpress printers with deep roots in the craft, like Julie Holcomb, Elum, Oblation, Press New York, Page and Real Card Studio continue to innovate and their firm hand and passion for the craft continues to raise the bar for letterpress printing.

While a few letterpress printers have migrated online, most letterpress artisans promote their product through experienced retailers throughout the United States. In the words of pioneer Julie Holcomb, “If you are like most people, you have never ordered any kind of custom printing prior to ordering your wedding invitations. You can benefit a great deal from the experience of your local stationer, who orders all kinds of custom printing, from many vendors, all the time. They’ll help you make sure you’re covering all the bases and making decisions you’ll be happy with for a long time.”

Julie’s advice is truly worth following. If you’ve got your heart set on letterpress for your wedding invitations, it is advisable to see an experienced stationer in your town.

Sheila P. May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store located in Greenwich, CT. A founding member of the Stationers Guild, she writes frequently about national NYC Wedding Invitation trends.

Buy smartly for wedding invitations

NYCWedding — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:37:58 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Couples searching for wedding invitations tend to think that paper grade is considered the most substantial pricing consideration when selecting an online wedding invitation. Although the craftsmanship of the paper is important, other criteria like the printing process, amount of ink colors and extra embellishments frequently play a much more significant factor in determining the final pricing of your custom wedding invitations.

Many top notch printers use cotton fiber, high-grade wood fiber which has been accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council or a combination of both the cotton and wood-based fibers. Even though these papers are usually of a significantly greater quality than reprocessed papers that many market as “tree-free, these quality papers frequently cost a bit more but are really well worth the slight premium. Moreover, these papers are usually far more “environmentally-friendly” and substantial than many papers sold on the web that claim to be “green” or “tree-free.”

Variables that usually tend to add to the price tag of imprinted wedding invitations are the weight of paper, darkly-colored papers and the number of ink colors utilized in printing the invitations.

Paper weight: Lots of wedding papers marketed on line are printed by commercial printers. In general, paper with a weight in excess of 120 pounds can’t be processed through a commercial printer or ink-jet printer. Therefore, a heavy wedding invitation is only able to be printed using engraving, letterpress or, in some circumstances, with thermographic inks. This old fashioned printing method is likely to boost overall prices, but will yield a significantly more stunning invitation.

Paper Color: Nearly all wedding invitations are printed on white or ecru colored papers in order that ink colors resonate. Then again, there is a movement towards bold-colored papers. In such cases, only using a more pricey printing technique like engraving seems to work to have the proper contrast between ink colors and darkly-colored papers.

Ink Colors: Though flat-printing, lithography and digital printing is most effective with papers less than 120 pounds in weight, more traditional printing techniques are needed for more heavy papers. In these cases, each color needs to be used in a separate press run, thus escalating prices.

If shopping locally for wedding invitations, it’s usually most effective to consult a skilled stationer who will let you decide on the finest wedding invitation styles and designs and papers for your finances.

Are Online Personalized Wedding Invitations the best solution?

NYCWedding — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:47:26 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Online search is definitely a convenient and fast strategy for finding information and facts. Even so, the quantity of available information and facts is so extensive it’s not easy to know what information is beneficial. For instance there are over 20 million search engine results of the search term “wedding invitations” on the web. Precisely how many of these search engine results are relevant? Can you actually determine if the information you get is informative or simply a sales hype?

Found listed here are straightforward techniques which you might want before purchasing your wedding invitations online.

Online Wedding Invitations Ideas to avoid wasting You Money and use Your Time Wisely

Tighten Your Online Search with Qualifiers: Instead of employing a simple search phrase like “wedding invitations” have a shot at something that minimizes the breadth of the search. As an illustration, “personalized wedding invitations,” or “destination wedding invitations” will appreciably reduce the number of search results and in many cases direct you toward better options for finding the wedding invitation of your desires.
Use your local Search Qualifier: There really is a widespread opinion that doing a search online will provide more desirable tips to help you design your wedding invitation. This just isn’t the case: search results for an item as customized as wedding invitations are skewed at those internet promotion organizations that do a superior job optimizing their internet site for searches. The former CEO of Google refers to the internet for being a “cesspool of information.” One technique of countering this unreliable information is to introduce an area qualifier. As an example, if you are living in the New York City, enter in the search term “New York wedding invitations” in the Internet search bar and you’ll find community stationery stores in your neighborhood focusing on fine stationery and custom made invitations.
Check for save the date invitations which are also available through independently owned local stores: One way of quickly determining if you are dealing with a dependable firm online is whether they also promote through proven bricks and mortar merchants. Printing companies that sell their products and services through independent dealers are more likely to possess an established reputation in the industry and provide their clients the ability to shop in your neighborhood or online. This is a clear sign that you are not working with a johnny-come-lately printer.

Whether or not you want to shop locally or buy online, make certain you consider your options very carefully. If you would like a totally distinctive wedding invitation, it’s best to buy with an experienced stationer in your town.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationer Guild and writes frequently about wedding invitation trends and the perils of online shopping.

Save the Date Invitations from Crane

RWMay — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:08:39 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The holidays are a popular time for couples to become engaged. In celebration of the “the big question” we are pleased to present this short video showing some of the latest save the date cards and wedding invitations from Crane & Co.

Crane’s newest Social Occasions Album contains many sample invitations, reply card sets, menus and seating cards for virtually every occasion. Enjoy the holidays and think Crane & Co., when planning your wedding.

This article has been authored by RWMay who writes frequently about wedding invitation trends for NYC Wedding Invitations, Wedding Stationery and Wedding Etiquette - Get expert advice on planning your wedding

The Proper Etiquette of Thank You Notes

NYCWedding — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:35:10 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Posting a prompt and personalized thank you correspondence card for wedding presents is just proper manners. Nevertheless, many wedding couples are apparently not aware of when you should do so, what type of correspondence to use and the correct form of personalization to employ on their correspondence cards. Indeed, wedding manners pundits hardly ever are in agreement about the etiquette concerning correspondence cards.

Most experienced stationers acknowledge that it is just a question of good sense and courtesy. By way of example, a few wedding publications advise that the wedding couples have “up to 6 months” after the wedding event to send a thank you note for a gift.

This six month leeway simply just doesn’t seem sensible. Presents obtained by the bridal couple should be noted as soon as you can after one has received them. Though most bridal couples, especially the bride-to-be have a lot on his or her plate, it takes only about a few minutes to compose a great personalized note saying thanks to someone for their present. Acting immediately is much valued by the sender because it verifies you have gotten their gift.

With respect to personalized correspondence, it usually is smart to have your own correspondence rather than a generic “Thank You” note card. Personalized correspondence with your name or monogram printed on the fold-over note or correspondence card is far more versatile and effective over a pre-printed thank you note.

Customarily, women have used fold-over cards and men correspondence cards, but today’s modern woman is every bit as happy with either kind of personalized stationery. While some young couples will emboss their stationery with both their first names and often their new married name, it’s regarded as incorrect to use one’s married name on stationery until you are actually married.

There are a lot of lovely papers and printing choices to produce truly elegant personalized stationery. Stationers suggest that the groom and the bride should have their very own personal correspondence as it remains useful long after penning all those thank you notes.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes often about personalized stationery and wedding invitation trends.

The Sophistication of Letterpress Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:53:58 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The growth of letterpress invitations, letterpress save-the-date announcements, birth announcements and letterpress stationery within the last several years isn’t unexpected. Inexpensive second-hand letterpress printers have made way for quite a few talented designers and artisans to indulge their creativity to produce gorgeous invitations and stationery making use of this very old printing process.

Similar to the printing process utilized in engraving, letterpress makes use of polymer or metal dies to “press” ink into malleable papers, mainly cotton. Every color is applied with a individual press run, which requires patience and much skill to obtain the close registration required to correctly align colors and design images.

Every May during the National Stationery Show in New York City, new letterpress firms take center stage to display their latest designs. Though letterpress was thought to be somewhat of a novelty some 5 to 10 years in the past, many of the recent letterpress printers simply lack the good taste, originality and, many times, the ability and knowledge to make pleasing letterpress wedding invitations. In reality, many of the “new” designs offer little that is new. Truth be told, the stationery market is saturated with letterpress.

Letterpress printers with deep traditions within craft, including Julie Holcomb, Elum, Oblation, Press New York, Page and Real Card Studio still build on their craft and their sturdy hand and passion for the craft continues to elevate the bar for letterpress printing.

Although some letterpress printers now sell on the internet, nearly all letterpress artisans offer their product by using seasoned retailers across the United States. Quoting pioneer Julie Holcomb, “If you are like most people, you have never ordered any kind of custom printing prior to ordering your wedding invitations. You can benefit a great deal from the experience of your local stationer, who orders all kinds of custom printing, from many vendors, all the time. They’ll help you make sure you’re covering all the bases and making decisions you’ll be happy with for a long time.”

Julie’s advice is well worth following. If you’ve got your heart set on letterpress for the wedding invitations, it is wise to talk to an experienced stationer in your area.

Sheila P. May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store located in Greenwich, CT. A founding member of the Stationers Guild, she writes frequently about national and major city Wedding Invitation trends.

Promising Designs for 2012 Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:44:38 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Early indicators show that the 2012 wedding season shapes up as one of the strongest in history. Although the overall economy remains fragile, young couples who’ve postponed their wedding appear to be proclaiming that 2012 is when they finally agree to tie the knot.

With this in mind, wedding companies are starting to present new styles and designs in preparation for the wave of new weddings which will start in early January. Leading printing company and designer William Arthur is kicking off 2012 with a bang with two renewed wedding albums and the impending release of Vera Wang’s new wedding designs. Color, eye-catching new designs and styles and invitations that incorporate both conventional and contemporary designs are prominently featured in William Arthur’s wedding invitation line.

Most significantly, William Arthur provides numerous invitations which may be printed in letterpress, engraving or thermographic inks. These choices give the client the option of deciding on a printing style that reflects their needs and price range.

William Arthur provides many creative designs at good prices and definitely should be on every bridal couple’s short list of “must see” invitations. Also, there is a very good collection of save the date announcements and wedding stationery.

Find local wedding resources where you live to check out their line in person or shop for wedding invitations online.

Letterpress or Engraved Invitations Reflect Regional Variations

NYCWedding — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:38:09 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those seeking to craft a unique wedding invitation to commemorate that joyous celebration frequently look at a large number of wedding invitation samples and printing solutions before deciding on their unique invite.

In the past there was a distinct local disposition in the choice of printing. Wedding couples from the West Coast tended to favor letterpress printing and those on the East Coast typically preferred engraving.

Although this regional disposition still remains, both printing styles continue to appeal to discriminating bridal couples who enjoy the delicate colors and modern designs of letterpress printing along with the timeless opaque colors of engraved wedding invitations.

The growth in letterpress wedding invites has been fueled by the appearance of skilled artists that can obtain affordable presses to make his or her invitations and fine stationery. A functional press may well be acquired for anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000 and a gifted designer using Photoshop can create stunning designs then transfer those designs to polymer dies that are utilized in the presses.

Engraving is a comparable printing method, but metal dies are produced by emerging light-sensitive coated copper die plates into an acid bath to create the dies. Both engraving and letterpress tend to be more expensive since each invitation is hand-fed through the printer. As every ink color is applied through a separate press run, the quantity of colors in the wedding invitation will increase labor costs and, as such, the total cost of the invitation.

Even though letterpress and engraved wedding invitations are certainly more unforgettable, those on a budget often seek less expensive alternatives that mimic the creativeness present in letterpress and engraved wedding invitations. The use of thermographic inks is undoubtedly an affordable substitute to engraving and even some flat-printed designs are attractive and capture the importance of the special occasion.

Dealing with a seasoned stationer in your neighborhood is unquestionably the easiest way to craft a wedding invitation that suits your expectations and is also within your budget. There are only a limited internet wedding invitation printers that have the design and style and printing capabilities and, most significantly, the service quality to create wedding invitations that will make you very proud.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and save the date invitations.

Should your gift registry be printed on your wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:04:01 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Stationers of late have noticed renewed discussion on if the gift registry really need to be displayed on the wedding invitation. The simple and appropriate answer is: “Absolutely not!” One seasoned stationer who claims to have dealt with hundreds of young couples to design unique wedding invitations states that “no one has opted to incorporate gift registry details or website to their wedding invitation. It truly is cheap, offensive and just poor etiquette.”

Proposing a wedding gift or monetary contribution in your wedding invitation detracts from the value of the celebration. Though many reason that it is “convenient” to list a bridal registry on the wedding invitation, convenience is not a substitute for good etiquette and good taste. Why not just pick up the telephone, call the parents or the bridal couple and extend your best wishes and then inquire where they are registered. It’s easy, quite personal and also has worked proficiently for a long time.

In many occasions, bridal couples will be sending a save the date card which may include travel and hotel advice. If you intend to build a wedding website, it’s deemed suitable to include the website address on the save the date card or within the supporting wedding papers.

Many will argue that this standard protocol or etiquette is old-fashioned. Quite the opposite, good manners is rarely out of place. If we carry on and stress “convenience” and “efficiency” in managing our personal relationships, we strip the joy and majesty from these milestone events within our lives.

In short, including gift registry details in your wedding invitation is not advised and, indeed, numerous guests are likely to consider the idea obnoxious and most inappropriate. There are lots of of ways to circumvent that small problem with good planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

Let Your Save the Date Announcement Labor Overtime for Your New York Wedding

NYCWedding — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:09:44 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Arranging your wedding day isn’t complicated, however it takes self-discipline. Short of working with a wedding coordinator, quite a few bridal couples in addition to their families will take control over planning their wedding by using wedding papers effectively. A save the date invitation can be a great vehicle to help you organize your wedding event.

Right after setting the date for your wedding ceremony with your church or synagogue and deciding on the site for your wedding celebration, the important dates for the wedding are now confirmed. Equipped with that critical information, quite a few bridal couples employ a save the date announcement to provide their invited guests a “heads-up” for making their travel arrangements.

While many will elect to mail a simple announcement – often using a picture of the engaged couple – requesting their guests to schedule their reservations, other people employ it to share useful travel information. As an example, lodging details, convenient airports and, perhaps, a wedding site can be added to your save the date announcement.

Bridal couples will often be under the mistaken impression the save the date announcement must be matched up with the wedding invitation and other wedding papers. While useful, this presupposes that one has already decided what wedding invitation they wish to use. This is normally far from the truth.

Seasoned stationers propose getting a more casual save the date invitation that shows a feeling of excitement for the impending wedding event. While a photograph of the engaged couple is often a popular final choice, couples will opt for a seaside motif for an island wedding, a vibrant leaf for a fall wedding and, conceivably, a snowman for a winter wedding.

You’ll find many hundreds, or even thousands, of options for save the date cards. Many couples believe it is simpler to pick a theme that conveys the joy of your wedding day to cut down the invitation possibilities.

For those that have a little more time and energy to plan, experienced stationers recommend adding practical travel and accommodation information with their save the date announcement.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes regularly about wedding invitation trends and how save the date cards can be used to help arrange one’s wedding.

Use the wedding picture for your Holiday Photo Card

NYCWedding — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:26:37 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

An excellent way to utilize your favorite wedding photograph is with your annual holiday card. It’s a sensible way to capture the joy of your event and share those memories again with your family and friends. It is difficult to visualize a much more suitable photo to commemorate your first year as a husband and wife.

Happily married couples have discovered that their favorite wedding photo works double-duty when digitally printed on a Christmas card or installed on a photo card having an eye-catching border to highlight your photograph.

Should your wedding photo has been taken by a wedding photographer, you will likely need to get permission from the photographer to reproduce the photo digitally on a photo card. Then again, have your photos commercially developed and mount them on Christmas photo greeting cards using adhesive tape that’s usually already placed on the photo card.

While it is certainly more convenient to imprint your holiday greeting card digitally, the print quality of commercially produced pictures is usually superior. If you plan to use a photomount holiday greeting cards, 4”x 6” photographs normally are preferable. Most photo greeting cards were made to accept photos in both a vertical or landscape orientation.

Buyers have a choice of selecting a greeting between many recommended by the printing company. With a number of the higher quality printing companies, you may even supply your own customized greeting. When you are adding your family names, it’s customary for the woman’s name to be first. In the case of a wedding photograph, it’s perceived as acceptable to include the date of your wedding.

If you are planning to use your wedding photograph this dhristmas season, there are a number design and printing firms you will want to consider. Certainly, Crane & Co. and William Arthur provide both photomount and digitally printed photo greeting cards along with the Stationers Guild affiliate program with Printswell offers some economical alternatives to imprint your wedding holiday photo card.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and holiday photo cards.

New Invitation Styles for the Wedding

NYCWedding — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:02:00 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

When planning a wedding your wedding invitation should take center stage. But nevertheless, a number of other wedding functions that typically require a special invitation. For instance, save the date cards, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and bridesmaid teas commonly call out for a unique invitation. If you are wanting inspiration or just simply confused as to where to begin, the solution to your needs recently came to top personalized stationery retailers all over the United States.

Crane & Co. recently introduced its new Social Occasions Album, a sample collection that contains a variety of examples of Crane’s gorgeous wedding stationery designs exhibiting the company’s traditional craftsmanship. This amazing invitation collection marks a most welcome change in track at Crane as it comes back to its rich traditions of producing fine personalized stationery and custom invitations and announcements.

The brand new Social Occasions Album has samples of wedding invitations, save the date cards, Bat Mitzvah invitations, anniversary and company event invitations along with a huge collection of reply cards, menu cards and personalized correspondence. Several of the invitation samples are embossed, but Crane’s accomplished artists and craftspeople are also proficient with letterpress along with other types of printing.

For those planning a wedding celebration, Crane’s Social Occasions Album is certainly worth a glance. Even though certain invitation samples may not be created for your wedding ceremony; the text of the invitation, typeface choices and ink color styles can all be customized to reflect the theme for the wedding day.

With a bit of creative thinking, virtually all invitation samples for wedding anniversaries or corporate parties can often serve as a design template for a rehearsal dinner, groomsmen party or some other wedding event. Engaging an experienced stationer in your town who represents Crane’s new Social Occasions Album can assist you to design your own distinctive custom design.

Reaching deep into its roots in the time the American Revolution, Crane has created a stunning assortment of invitations, reply card sets and personal correspondence that’s breathtaking in its design and sophistication. See your local stationery store now or visit Crane & Co. at their internet store.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about regional and online wedding invitation trends and the importance of save the date cards.

Useful advice on Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:33:28 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Creating your wedding invitation is usually a time consuming undertaking. Most individuals simply just don’t have either time or the experience to sort through the countless personalization alternatives that can be found in this market. Irrespective of whether you’re planning to create and print your own invitation, purchase wedding invitations over the internet or benefit from the support of an informed stationer in your neighborhood, these helpful suggestions may benefit.

Ideas on Deciding upon your Wedding Invitations

Pick and choose your wedding papers first and foremost. The size, texture and consistency and weight of your wedding stationery are certainly the most significant consideration when deciding on your wedding invitation. The substance and quality of the wedding papers speaks to the magnitude of the special occasion. High-quality cardstock is, in my estimation, a necessity for a well-made wedding invitation.

If you choose to make your own special wedding invitation, please take care that you’ve coordinating envelopes for the wedding papers size and style that you have selected. Many times have we personally seen a well-crafted Do-it-yourself invitation, but no matching envelope. Even though it may reduce your design options, we strongly recommend loose papers and envelopes that match the wedding invitation and the reply card set. What’s more, take note that if you are planning to print your own invitations, #96 paper is about the highest weight that will feed through an printing device without jamming.

While dyed paper stock is generally lovely and may work well with the style of your wedding reception, it is often complicated to flat-print on colored card stock. For instance, it you select purple or deep blue paper card stock, you almost certainly will be needing to engrave the invitation to make sure that ink colors are properly displayed. Engraving as well as letterpress, while gorgeous, raises the cost of invitations. In most cases, you can generate the the exact same outcome by using white or ecru paper and merely print in vibrant ink colors or use colored envelope liners to complement your wedding theme.

Proper wording etiquette is vital in a well-designed wedding invitation. Even though an experienced stationer in your town ought to know the correct etiquette, it might be prudent to buy of a copy of Crane’s Blue Book if you are wording your invitation.

Make sure that you order sufficient wedding invitations. Nearly all companies sell wedding invitations in lots of 25 and we recommend to couples that they order a minimum of 25 more invitations than they need in the event that someone was accidentally forgotten about or you’ve got eleventh hour guests. A 2nd printing of your invitation is very costly so make certain you order the right amount.

Before you post your wedding invitations, which normally contains a reply card and self-addressed envelope and conceivably a directions card, we recommend of having the wedding invitation and enclosures weighed at the local Post Office. There is nothing more shocking than having your invitation returned because you didn’t have enough postage.

For more valuable assistance, please download our FREE Wedding Invitation Guide by becoming a Fan of Therese Saint Clair.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

Use the Wedding Picture for your Christmas Photo Card

NYCWedding — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:26:57 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

A great way to utilize your best wedding photograph is with your annual Christmas card. It’s a fantastic way to capture the thrill of the wedding ceremony and share those happy memories again with your close friends. It is difficult to imagine a more suitable photo to celebrate your first year as a married couple.

Newly married couples have found that their favorite wedding picture performs double-duty when digitally imprinted on a holiday greeting card or mounted on a photo greeting card with an eye-catching border to show off your photo.

If your wedding photo has been taken using a wedding photographer, you’ll probably need to get permission from your photographer to reproduce the photo digitally on a photo greeting card. Instead, have your photographs commercially printed and mount them on holiday photo greeting cards using adhesive tape that’s normally already placed on the photo card.

Even though it is definitely more convenient to print your holiday greeting card digitally, the print resolution of commercially produced photographs is usually better. If you plan to use a photomount holiday cards, 4”x 6” photographs tend to are best. Most photo greeting cards are designed to accept photographs in both a vertical or landscape orientation.

Buyers generally have the choice of picking out a greeting between several suggested by the printer. With a number of the better known printing firms, you can even supply your own personal custom greeting. When you are adding your family names, it’s customary for the woman’s name to go first. In the case of a wedding photograph, it is perceived as correct to add the date of the wedding.

If you plan to use your wedding picture this winter holiday, there are quite a few design and printing firms you might want to consider. Without doubt, Crane & Co. and William Arthur offer both photomount and digitally printed cards along with the Stationers Guild affiliate program with Printswell presents some cost-effective options to imprint your wedding holiday photo card.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and holiday photo cards.

Are Online Wedding Invitations Right for You?

NYCWedding — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:48:59 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Internet based research can be a handy and fast way to find information and facts. On the other hand, the quantity of readily available information and facts are so extensive that it’s tough to determine what information is useful. As an example there are over 20 million search results for the keyword phrase “wedding invitations” on the web. Exactly how many of these search engine results are appropriate? Can you really determine whether the information you get is informative or simply a sales pitch?

Found listed here are very simple strategies that you might want before purchasing your wedding invitations online.

Online Wedding Invitations Primer to help save You Money and use Your Time And Efforts Sensibly

Reduce Your Search with Qualifiers: Instead of making use of a simple key word phrase like “wedding invitations” try something that lowers the breadth of your search. For example, “personalized wedding invitations,” or “custom invitations” will drastically reduce the quantity of search engine results and maybe guide you toward better selections for finding the wedding invitation of your desires.
Use an area Search Qualifier: There is actually a general perception that searching on the internet will lead to superior tips to assist you create your wedding invitation. This just isn’t the truth: search outcomes for something as customized as wedding invitations are manipulated in the direction of those internet promotion firms that have done a much better job optimizing their site for searches. The past Chief Executive Officer of Google refers to the internet to be the “cesspool of information.” One technique of deterring this confusing information is to introduce a local qualifier. For illustration, if you live in the New York City, enter the search keyword phrase “New York wedding invitations” in the Search bar and you may find neighborhood stationery retailers in your neighborhood that specialize in letterpress stationery and customized invitations.
Check for custom invitations that are also sold through independent dealers: One way of soon establishing if you are dealing with a trustworthy firm on the web is if they also sell by way of recognized local store merchants. Printing companies that distribute their goods through independent sellers are more inclined to possess an established reputation in the market and provide their clients the chance to shop in your neighborhood or on the web. This is an unmistakable sign that you aren’t working with a novice printer.

Whether or not you want to look locally or order online, be sure you think about your alternatives very carefully. If you want a genuinely special wedding invitation, it’s best to look with an expert stationer in your town.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationer Guild and writes routinely about wedding invitations and the perils of online shopping.

The Proper Etiquette of Wedding Stationery

NYCWedding — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:35:51 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Sending a prompt and heart-felt thank you correspondence card for wedding presents is just proper manners. Having said that, a good number of bridal couples are seemingly not aware of the best time to do it, what type of correspondence to use as well as the proper form of personalization to make use of on their correspondence cards. Without a doubt, wedding etiquette commentators almost never are in agreement about the etiquette governing note cards.

Most knowledgeable stationers agree that it’s a only a matter of sound judgement and good manners. For instance, a few wedding guides indicate that the wedding couples have “up to six months” following your wedding event to acknowledge a gift.

This six month grace period simply just doesn’t add up. Gift items received by the wedding couple ought to be noted as soon as possible after receipt. Although nearly all bridal couples, specially the bride-to-be have much on their plate, it’ll only take about a few minutes to compose a great personal note to thank a person for their gift. Acting immediately is noticeably appreciated by the gift-giver since it affirms you have gotten their wedding gift.

With respect to personal correspondence, it’s usually a good idea to obtain your own private stationery instead of a commonly used “Thank You” note. Custom made stationery utilizing your name or monogram embossed on a fold-over note or correspondence card is much more versatile and beneficial than a pre-printed thank you note.

Typically, ladies have used fold-over notes and men correspondence note cards, but today’s modern day woman is also comfortable with either kind of stationery. While some couples will emboss their personal stationery with both their given names and frequently their family name, it’s considered incorrect to use one’s married name on correspondence before you are actually wedded.

There are a lot of lovely papers and printing choices to generate truly tasteful personalized stationery. Stationers advise that the groom and also the bride should have their particular personal correspondence as it is still useful long after writing all those wedding thank you cards.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes routinely about personalized stationery and wedding invitation trends.

Use your wedding day picture for your Seasonal Photo Card

NYCWedding — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:27:22 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

An effective way to make use of your favorite wedding picture is with your annual holiday greeting card. It’s an effective way to capture the thrill of the event and share those experiences again with your family and friends. It is difficult to visualize a much more appropriate photo to celebrate your first year as a married couple.

Happily married couples have discovered that their favorite wedding picture performs double-duty when digitally imprinted on a holiday greeting card or attached to a photo greeting card having an eye-catching frame to highlight your photograph.

If your wedding photo has been taken by a professional photographer, you’ll probably require authorization from your photographer to reproduce the picture digitally on a photo greeting card. Then again, have your pictures commercially printed and mount them on holiday photo cards using adhesive tape that is certainly generally already affixed to the photo card.

Even though it is surely more practical to print your holiday card digitally, the print resolution of commercially developed photographs is usually better. If you plan to utilize photomount holiday cards, 4”x 6” photographs tend to work best. Most photo cards are created to accept pictures in either a vertical or horizontal orientation.

Buyers generally have the option of selecting a greeting between several suggested by the printing company. With a few of the higher quality printing companies, you may also supply your own personal personalized greeting. When adding your names, it’s always customary for the woman’s name to go first. In the use of a wedding photo, it is thought to be acceptable to include the date of the wedding.

If you are planning to use your wedding photograph this winter holiday, there are several printing and design companies you might wish to consider. Undoubtedly, Crane & Co. and William Arthur offer both photomount and digitally printed photo greeting cards and the Stationers Guild affiliate program with Printswell presents some cost-effective options to print your wedding holiday photo card.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and holiday photo cards.

Should the gift registry information be shown on a wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:04:18 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Stationers of late have experienced renewed debate on whether or not the gift registry information ought to displayed on your wedding invitation. The simple and easy and correct response is: “Of course not!” One professional stationer who asserts to have dealt with countless young couples to make custom-made wedding invitations claims that “not one has chosen to print gift registry details or website to their wedding invitation. It truly is tacky, offensive and simply poor etiquette.”

Suggesting a gift or monetary donation on the wedding invitation diminishes the importance of the celebration. While many reason that it’s “expedient” to list a bridal registry within the wedding invitation, convenience is no substitute for good manners and good taste. Why not just grab the telephone, call the parents of the bride or even the bridal couple and extend your congratulations and then ask where they’re registered. It’s easy, personal and has worked successfully for countless years.

In a good many instances, bridal couples will send a save the date card that may include things like travel and lodging suggestions. If you intend to build a wedding website, it’s considered appropriate to add the wedding website address on the save the date announcement or on the supportive wedding papers.

Some will consider that this standard protocol or etiquette is dated. Quite the contrary, good etiquette is rarely out of place. If we carry on and stress “convenience” and “functionality” in orchestrating our interpersonal relationships, we strip the enjoyment and majesty from these landmark events within our lives.

In short, including gift registry information in your wedding invitation isn’t advised and, indeed, many guests are likely to consider doing it rude and inappropriate. There are a lot of methods to circumvent that problem with good planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

Letterpress or Engraved Invitations Reflect Regional Differences

NYCWedding — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:38:29 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those seeking to craft a distinctive wedding invitation to commemorate that joyous occasion usually see hundreds of wedding invitation samples and printing alternatives before deciding on their special wedding invitation.

In the past there was a distinct regional disposition in the selection of printing. Bridal couples from the West Coast tended to prefer letterpress printing and those on the East Coast usually opted for engraving.

Although this regional bias still continues, the two printing methods continue to entice discerning bridal couples who take pleasure in the refined colors and new types of letterpress printing and the timeless opaque colors of engraved invitations.

The growth in letterpress wedding invites has been fueled from the emergence of talented artists that can obtain affordable presses to create their very own invitations and fine stationery. A serviceable press may be acquired for around $3,000 and $5,000 and a talented artist using Photoshop can create gorgeous designs then transfer those designs to polymer dies which are used in the presses.

Engraving is a comparable printing process, but metal dies are created by submerging light-sensitive coated copper die plates into an acid bath to make the dies. Both engraving and letterpress are often more costly since each wedding invitation is hand-fed through the printing press. Since each ink color is applied individually, the number of colors in the wedding invitation will increase labor costs and, therefore, the overall cost of an invitation.

Although letterpress and engraved invitations are usually the most memorable, those on a financial budget typically seek less expensive solutions that mimic the creativeness present in letterpress and engraved invitations. The application of thermographic inks is surely an affordable substitute to engraving and even a few flat-printed designs are attractive and capture the importance of the special occasion.

Working with a skilled stationer in your area is perhaps the best way to craft a wedding invitation that suits your goals and is also within your budget. There are a limited online wedding invitation printers with the design and printing capabilities and, most significantly, the service quality to create wedding invitations that will make you very proud.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and save the date invitations.

The Beauty of Letterpress Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:54:12 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The growth of letterpress wedding stationery, letterpress save-the-date announcements, baby announcements and letterpress stationery within the last decade isn’t unexpected. Easily affordable second-hand letterpress printing presses have helped quite a few talented artisans and designers to indulge their creativeness to make beautiful invitations and stationery making use of this centuries-old printing technique.

Similar to the process used for engraving, letterpress employs polymer or metal dies to “press” ink into pliable cardstock, principally cotton. Every color is applied with a separate printing press run, which calls for patience and considerable skill to achieve the close registration essential to perfectly align colors and motif designs.

Each May for the National Stationery Show in New York City, new letterpress vendors take center stage introducing their new styles. Even though letterpress was regarded as being somewhat of a novel idea some 5 to 10 years back, many of the recent letterpress printers and designers simply don’t have the pizzazz, uniqueness and, in many cases, the talent and practical experience to make attractive letterpress wedding invitations. The truth is, most “new” designs offer little that is unique. Quite frankly, the stationery market is over loaded with letterpress.

Letterpress printers with deep roots in the craft, including Julie Holcomb, Elum, Oblation, Press New York, Page and Real Card Studio still build on their craft and their firm hand and love for the craft continues to raise the bar for letterpress printing.

Although some letterpress printers now sell on the internet, the majority of letterpress artisans offer their stationery by way of knowledgeable retailers across the United States. In the words of pioneer Julie Holcomb, “If you are like most people, you have never ordered any kind of custom printing prior to ordering your wedding invitations. You can benefit a great deal from the experience of your local stationer, who orders all kinds of custom printing, from many vendors, all the time. They’ll help you make sure you’re covering all the bases and making decisions you’ll be happy with for a long time.”

Julie’s advice is definitely worth following. If you have your heart set on letterpress for the wedding invitations, it is advisable to see a professional stationer in your neighborhood.

Make Your Save the Date Announcement Work Overtime for Your New York Wedding

NYCWedding — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:10:10 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Planning your wedding ceremony isn’t complicated, nevertheless it does take self-discipline. Short of hiring a wedding planner, lots of bridal couples as well as their families can take control of arranging their wedding event by using wedding papers correctly. A save the date invitation can be a most efficient vehicle that will help set up your wedding event.

Immediately after reserving your wedding ceremony with the church or synagogue and determining the site for the wedding celebration, the important dates for the wedding are generally established. Armed with this information, quite a few bridal couples use a save the date card to give their invited guests a “heads-up” in making their travel preparations.

Although many will choose to send out a simple announcement – frequently using a photograph of the engaged couple – asking their guests to schedule their reservations, others employ it to convey handy travel information. By way of example, hotels details, convenient airports and, possibly, a wedding website can also be included with your save the date invitation.

Engaged couples tend to be under the erroneous opinion that the save the date announcement should be matched up with the wedding invitation along with other wedding papers. While worthwhile, this presupposes that one has already figured out what wedding invitation they intend to use. This is generally incorrect.

Seasoned stationers suggest utilizing a simple save the date card that shows a sense of excitement for your forthcoming wedding. While a picture of the engaged couple is a favored choice, engaged couples will select a seaside motif for the island wedding, a vibrant leaf for an autumn wedding and, perhaps, a snowman for a winter wedding.

You will discover many hundreds, if not thousands, of options for save the date announcements. Many couples find it quicker to pick a theme that captures the excitement of one’s special day to identify the invitation opportunities.

For individuals that have a little more time and energy to plan, knowledgeable stationers recommend including practical travel and lodging information with their save the date invitation.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes regularly about wedding invitation trends and how save the date announcements can be used to help plan one’s wedding ceremony.

Brand New Invitation Designs from Crane

NYCWedding — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:02:31 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

When arranging a wedding event your wedding invitation needs to take the lead. Nevertheless, there are several other wedding celebrations that usually call for a special invitation. As an example, save the date invitations, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and bridesmaid teas almost always call out for a unique invitation. If you are in need of inspiration or simply at a loss as to where to begin, the answer to your wishes just hit trusted stationery stores all over the United States.

Crane & Co. recently delivered its new Social Occasions Album, a sample collection that contains a number of samples of Crane’s marvelous designs featuring Crane’s unsurpassed workmanship. This particular invitation collection marks a welcome change in track at Crane for it returns to its successful traditions of creating fine stationery and custom invitations.

The fresh new Social Occasions Album contains many samples of wedding invitations, save the date invitations, Bat Mitzvah invitations, anniversary and corporate event invitations along with a great assortment of reply cards, menu cards and personalized correspondence. Many of the samples are engraved, but Crane’s accomplished creative designers and craftsmen are also skilled with letterpress and other kinds of printing.

For those of you organizing a wedding ceremony, Crane’s Social Occasions Album is definitely worth having a look. Even though some of the invitation designs probably are not created for your wedding day; the wording or your invitation, typeface styles and ink colors and shades can all be adapted to mirror the themes of your wedding event.

With just a little creative thinking, most invitation examples for anniversaries or corporate celebrations can easily work as a design template for a wedding reception, groomsment

party or almost every other wedding event. Engaging an knowledgeable stationer in your neighborhood who possesses Crane’s new Social Occasions Album can help you design your own completely unique custom invitation design.

Reaching deep into its roots in the time the American Revolution, Crane has produced a dazzling assortment of invitations, reply card sets and personal stationery that is breathtaking in its design and imagination. See your local stationery store now or visit Crane & Co. at their online store.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about regional and online wedding invitation trends and the importance of save the date cards.

When to Use Save the Date Wedding Cards

NYCWedding — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:52:27 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Save the date wedding invitations are proving to be quite beneficial in helping to organize wedding events. Typically, a save the date announcement was frequently used to give your invited guests a “heads-up” if your wedding date was planned near significant holidays, destination weddings or just after Labor Day when quite a few were returning from vacation.

Currently, the save the date invitation is now much more important in setting the stage for wedding events. People’s work schedules are considerably more complex so your wedding guests truly appreciate and, often, expect advance notice to arrange important events. Save the date wedding invitations sent several months ahead of the wedding ceremony are quite usual and many stationers are convinced that announcements are often sent one year ahead of the wedding event.

With a little bit of advance planning, a well-orchestrated save the date announcement can be a highly effective organizing method. In particular, lodging and essential travel information can be included with your save the date invitation. This practical related information is likely to energize your wedding guests who prefer to schedule hotel reservations and make advance airline reservations to save on fares. Having the appropriate information at their disposal is going to be welcomed.

There’s a common misconception that the save the date announcement has to be coordinated with the wedding invitation. This is simply not the truth. Most qualified stationers recommend using an announcement that sets the mood for your wedding event. For example, a seaside scene for the island destination wedding, colorful leaves for a Northeastern Fall wedding or possibly a rodeo for any western-style wedding party.

The wedding announcement need not be pricey, a sweet postcard will work, but it’s a useful chance to help include much needed logistical information your guests may find helpful. Planning ahead and designing a save the date wedding invitation that sets the tone for your wedding will create a sense of excitement well before your guests receive their wedding invitation.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

Guidance on choosing your wedding invitations

SPMay — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:33:52 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

If you are planning a Spring or Summer wedding, now might be a good time to think about wedding invitations. After Thanksgiving, you will simply be caught up in the Holiday shuffle so the earliest you can set about designing your wedding invitations is in January. Is this enough time? Act now and avoid the last minute stress.

Most individuals just simply lack either the time or the skills to evaluate the numerous customization choices that are available from many talented designers. Regardless whether you are planning to create and print your very own invitation, buy wedding invitations from an internet retailers or use the support of an informed stationer in your community, you may find these practical tips helpful.

Helpful Pointers on Buying Wedding Invitations

Select your wedding papers first. The size, feel and weight of your wedding invitation is by far the most significant thing to consider.. The weight and quality of the paper speaks to the the importance of the event. High quality cardstock is, in my opinion, the key to an impactful wedding invitation.
If you plan to design and print your wedding invitation, please make sure that you purchase matching envelopes for the cardstock specifications and stock that you have selected for your invitations. Many occasions have we seen a well-designed DIY invitation, but no matching envelope. Frankly, all your hard work is lost if the paper stock differs significantly from the cardstock used for the invitation. Also, please note that if you’re planning to print your own invitations, #96 paper is the highest weight that will feed throughmost home printers without jamming.
Be careful using colored paper stock. Your printing options will be limited and often more expensive if you use dark-colored paper stock. Usually, you can generate a comparable effect by utilizing white or ecru paper and simply print in vibrant ink colors or use patterned envelope liners to complement your color theme for the wedding.
Proper wording etiquette is essential in a well-designed wedding invitation. While an experienced stationer should know the right etiquette, it might be wise to acquire of a copy of Crane’s Blue Book if you are wording your own invitation. We consult it frequently.
Make sure you purchase sufficient wedding invitations. Nearly all companies sell printed invitations in increments of 25. We recommend that bridal couples purchase 25 more invitations than they need in the event that someone was accidentally forgotten or you have last minute guests. A second printing of your invitation is quite expensive so make sure you make allowance for a few extras.
Just before you send your invitations, which typically includes a reply card and self-addressed envelope and possibly a directions card, it is wise to have the wedding invitation and enclosures weighed at your local Post Office. There is nothing more painful than getting your invitation returned because you didn’t have enough postage.

For more handy suggestions, please download our FREE Wedding Invitation Guide by becoming a Facebook Fan of Therese Saint Clair.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

This article has been authored by SPMay who writes frequently about wedding invitation trends for NYC Wedding Invitations, Wedding Stationery and Wedding Etiquette - Get expert advice on planning your wedding

Use your wedding day picture for your Christmas Photo Card

NYCWedding — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:27:37 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

A terrific way to make use of your best wedding picture is with your annual Christmas greeting card. It’s a great way to capture the joy of your wedding ceremony and share those experiences again with your friends. It is hard to visualize a more suitable photograph to celebrate your first year as a couple.

Happily married couples have discovered that their desired wedding photograph works double-duty when printed digitally on a Christmas card or attached to a photo card using an attractive frame to show off your photo.

Should your wedding picture has been taken using a wedding photographer, you will probably have to get permission from the photographer to reproduce the image digitally on the photo card. Then again, have your pictures commercially made and mount them on holiday photo cards using adhesive tape that is certainly normally already affixed to the photo card.

While it’s surely more simple to print your holiday card digitally, the print resolution of commercially developed photographs is often superior. If you intend to utilize photomount holiday cards, 4”x 6” photographs normally are preferable. Most photo cards are made to accept pictures in both a vertical or landscape orientation.

Consumers have the choice of picking out a greeting between several recommended by the printing company. With some of the better known printing companies, you may even supply your own personal custom greeting. When you are adding your family names, it is customary for the woman’s name to be shown first. In the use of a wedding photograph, it is considered proper to add the date of your wedding.

If you plan to use your wedding photograph this dhristmas season, there are quite a few design and printing firms you may wish to take into account. Definitely, Crane & Co. and William Arthur offer both photomount and digitally imprinted photo greeting cards along with the Stationers Guild affiliate program with Printswell provides some affordable options to imprint your wedding holiday photo card.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and holiday photo cards.

Should gift registry information be shown on a wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:04:31 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Wedding etiquette specialists of late have observed renewed discussion on whether the gift registry information may be printed on the wedding invitation. The easy and correct response is: “Definitely not!” One experienced stationer who claims to have dealt with countless young couples to create custom-made wedding invitations asserts that “no one has decided to incorporate gift registry details or website on their wedding invitation. It’s cheap, offensive and just poor etiquette.”

Indicating a gift item or financial donation on the wedding invitation detracts from the value of the celebration. Though many argue that it’s “economical” to provide bridal registry information within the wedding invitation, efficiency is no substitute for proper etiquette and good taste. Why don’t you just grab the phone, call the parents of the bride or the bridal pair and extend your congrats and then simply ask where they are registered. It’s easy, personal and it has worked successfully for many years.

In a good many situations, bridal couples will send a save the date card which might contain travel and accommodation recommendations. If you intend to establish a wedding website, it’s considered suitable to add the Url of your website on the save the date announcement or within the supportive wedding papers.

Some will consider that this standard protocol or etiquette is old-fashioned. Quite the contrary, good manners is never out of place. When we continue to emphasize “convenience” and “efficiency” in managing our personal relationships, we strip the happiness and majesty from these landmark occasions within our lives.

To put it briefly, including gift registry details in your wedding invitation is not advised and, certainly, numerous guests are likely to consider it impolite and most inappropriate. There are a lot of methods to go around that problem with good planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

Letterpress or Engraved Invitations Continue to Reflect Regional Variations

NYCWedding — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:38:47 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those determined to create a unique wedding invitation to commemorate that happy event often view a large number of wedding invitation examples and printing alternatives before deciding on their particular wedding invitation.

In the past there was a definite local disposition in the choice of printing. Bridal couples on the West Coast seemed to prefer letterpress and the ones on the East Coast typically wanted engraving.

Even though this regional tendency still continues, the two printing methods still appeal to discerning bridal couples who take pleasure in the subtle hues and modern designs of letterpress printing along with the unforgettable opaque colors of engraved wedding invitations.

The growth in letterpress wedding invites continues to be fueled by the appearance of skilled artists who are able to purchase affordable presses to create their own wedding invitations and fine stationery. A functional press may well be acquired for somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000 and a skilled artist utilizing Photoshop can produce gorgeous designs then transfer those designs to polymer dies which are utilized in the printing presses.

Engraving is actually a comparable printing method, but metal dies are produced by submerging light-sensitive coated copper plates into an acid bath to produce the dies. Both engraving and letterpress are definitely more costly since each wedding invitation is hand-fed through the printer. As each ink color is applied individually, the quantity of colors in the wedding invitation boosts labor costs and, as such, the overall cost of your invitation.

Although letterpress and engraved invitations are certainly the most unforgettable, those on a budget typically seek less costly solutions that imitate the creativity seen in letterpress and engraved wedding invitations. The utilization of thermographic inks is surely an affordable substitute to engraving and even a few flat-printed designs are attractive and capture the significance of the special occasion.

Dealing with an experienced stationer in your area is perhaps the easiest way to craft a wedding invitation that meets your objectives and is also within your budget. There are a handful of online wedding invitation printers that have design and style and printing capabilities and, most significantly, the service quality to make wedding invitations that will make you very proud.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and save the date invitations.

The Understated Elegance of Letterpress Wedding Stationery

NYCWedding — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:54:29 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The growth of letterpress wedding invitations, letterpress save-the-date announcements, baby announcements and letterpress stationery within the last decade is not surprising. Affordable second-hand letterpress printers have allowed many skilled artisans and designers to indulge their creative thinking to produce lovely invitations and stationery making use of this very old printing process.

Similar to the printing process used in engraving, letterpress uses polymer or metal dies to “press” ink into soft cardstock, mainly cotton. Every color is applied using a individual printing press run, which demands patience and appreciable skill to obtain the close registration essential to accurately align colors and motif designs.

Each May at the National Stationery Show in New York City, new letterpress vendors take center stage introducing their new styles. Though letterpress was thought to be a bit of a novelty some a few years in the past, many of the new letterpress printers simply don’t have the good taste, creativity and, in many cases, the skill and experience to create attractive letterpress wedding invitations. In reality, most “new” designs offer little that is unique. Quite frankly, the stationery market is saturated with letterpress.

Letterpress printers with deep traditions in the profession, such as Julie Holcomb, Elum, Oblation, Press New York, Page and Real Card Studio continue to build on their craft and their sturdy hand and passion for the craft continues to elevate the bar for letterpress printing.

While a few letterpress printers now sell online, most letterpress artisans promote their product by way of knowledgeable retailers across the United States. Quoting pioneer Julie Holcomb, “If you are like most people, you have never ordered any kind of custom printing prior to ordering your wedding invitations. You can benefit a great deal from the experience of your local stationer, who orders all kinds of custom printing, from many vendors, all the time. They’ll help you make sure you’re covering all the bases and making decisions you’ll be happy with for a long time.”

Julie’s advice is definitely worth following. If you have your heart set on letterpress for your wedding invitations, it is wise to see a highly skilled stationer in your town.

Sheila P. May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store located in Greenwich, CT. A founding member of the Stationers Guild, she writes frequently about national wedding invitation trends and NYC Wedding Invitations.

Planning your New York City Wedding Day

NYCWedding — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:54:42 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

There are few things more electrifying than a New York City wedding ceremony. This bigger than life city with its magnificent skyscrapers, dazzling parks, museums, art galleries and cutting-edge restaurants is the perfect town to host a wedding. NYC is known as a town with character and vitality is demonstrated from a seemingly endless amount of sites to hold a wedding event.

Arranging your New York wedding and reception is really a matter of context. With a city rich in customs, scenic surroundings and natural vitality, it’s wise to feature those components into your overall wedding theme. Using your landscape effectively aids to design a special wedding experience and can often serve as a concept for your big event itself.

As an illustration, your NYC wedding invitation can include one of several city highlights or its nearby surroundings to draw appreciation of the place of the wedding event. Case in point, one can possibly use the Broadway, the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge and downtown Wall Street skyline to serve as the organizing concept for the New York wedding. The use of natural surroundings, buildings or notable monuments may serve as a good unifying theme to tie together your wedding.

In fact, picking recognizable points of interest could be a helpful organizing concept to plan your wedding. Including these motifs with your save the date invitation, wedding invitation, reply card set, directions card, place cards, table cards and menu can connect together quite a few disparate events giving your wedding a truly cohesive theme.

Your wedding invitation and supporting wedding papers, if used efficiently, can produce a feeling of excitement and expectation that most other types of communication simply cannot meet. As texting, e-mail and blog posts on social networking websites become the popular form of communication, it’s calming to open paper communications. It gives a sense of closeness that other forms of communication simply cannot meet.

When you arrange your wedding ceremony, consider using your natural environment or major town landmarks to add a personalized touch to your wedding papers.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store located in Greenwich, CT. She writes often about wedding invitations, save the date cards and wedding thank you notes.

The Proper Etiquette of Wedding Stationery

NYCWedding — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:32:57 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Sending a prompt and personable thank you correspondence card for wedding gifts is simply sensible manners. Nonetheless, many bridal couples are apparently not aware of when you should do so, what type of correspondence to make use of along with the proper form of personalization to employ on their note cards. In truth, wedding etiquette experts seldom are in agreement on the etiquette concerning thank you notes.

Nearly all experienced stationers concur that it is simply a question of sound judgement and courtesy. By way of example, some wedding manuals advise that the wedding couples have “up to six months” after the wedding event to send a thank you note for a gift.

This 6 month leeway simply just doesn’t make sense. Gift items received by the wedding couple needs to be noted as soon as possible after one has received them. Although many bridal couples, in particular the bride-to-be have much on his or her plate, it only takes about a few minutes to put in writing a good personalized note to thank a friend or relative for their present. Acting promptly is noticeably appreciated by the sender because it confirms you have received their wedding gift.

With regards to personalized stationery, it’s usually smart to get your own social correspondence as opposed to a commonly used “Thank You” note. Customized stationery using your name or monogram engraved on the fold-over note or half-sheet letter is far more versatile and efficient over a pre-printed thank you note.

Traditionally, women have used fold-over cards and men correspondence cards, but today’s modern woman is equally comfortable with either form of stationery. Even though some couples will engrave their personal stationery with both their given names and sometimes their family name, it’s deemed incorrect to use one’s married name on stationery prior to being actually married.

There are many gorgeous papers and printing options to create truly elegant personalized stationery. Stationers advise that both the groom and the bride ought to have their very own personal correspondence as it is still useful even after penning all those thank you cards.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes routinely about personalized stationery and wedding invitation trends..

Should your gift registry be printed on the wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:04:45 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Stationers recently have experienced renewed debate on whether the gift registry really need to be displayed on your wedding invitation. The easy and right answer is: “Absolutely not!” One professional stationer who alleges to have advised many hundreds of young couples to create personalized wedding invitations claims that “not one has decided to print gift registry details or website on their wedding invitation. It truly is cheap, offensive and simply poor etiquette.”

Suggesting a gift item or monetary contribution on your wedding invitation diminishes the importance of the occasion. Although many insist that it is “convenient” to list bridal registry information within the wedding invitation, efficiency is not a substitute for good manners and good taste. Why don’t you just pick up the phone, call the parents of the bride or the bridal pair and extend your congrats and then ask where they are registered. It is simple, quite personal and also has worked proficiently for quite some time.

In many situations, bridal couples will be sending a save the date announcement that may contain travel and hotel suggestions. If you plan to establish a wedding website, it is now thought to be acceptable to add the URL of your website on the save the date announcement or within the supportive wedding papers.

Many will argue that this protocol or etiquette is dated. Quite the contrary, good etiquette is never out of place. When we continue to stress “convenience” and “efficiency” in dealing with our personal relationships, we take away the enjoyment and majesty from these landmark occasions in our lives.

In short, including gift registry details in your wedding invitation is not advised and, certainly, many guests are likely to consider this rude and most inappropriate. There are plenty of ways to circumvent that problem with sensible planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

The Timeless Beauty of Engraved Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:40:52 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Only a few printing methods can compare with the quality of an engraved wedding invitation. Even though engraving was traditionally utilized to create wedding stationery, baby announcements and business stationery in your parent’s and grandparent’s generations, modern day printing methods are generally more efficient but don’t have the quality and vitality of engraving.

Lately, prominent stationery vendors around the US report that wedding couples are rediscovering the intrinsic beauty of engraving. Despite its higher cost, engraved wedding stationery speak to the traditions and magnificence of times past.

As the industry has moved to more cost-effective and a lot more economical forms of printing, many engraving firms have closed and the profession of engraving is quite near to disappearing. Though the resilient Heidelberg presses still exist in abundance, the production of engraving dies from submerging photo-sensitive copper plates in to a tub of an acid solution is beyond the financial capabilities and know-how of the many autonomous printers.

Featuring its “true” colors and eye-catching raised print quality, engraved invitations are experiencing a renaissance among the engaged couples who cherish a well-designed invitation. Amongst the key firms which offer different types of printing options, Crane & Co. and William Arthur offer the best printing and design alternatives.

If the engraved invitation is out of your reach, go for printing in thermograph inks. Utilizing thermograph inks mimics engraving by stamping a resin-based blend on the paper to form the raised surface which you find in engraving. Thermograph inks are usually more shiny unless the printer supplies a matte finish, but printing using this approach will provide great cost savings.

As with any fine stationery, engraved invitations should be seen in person to appreciate the print quality. Ink colors are “true” and richer, particularly when compared side-by-side along with other types of printing. In all probability, you will find skilled stationers in neighborhoods throughout the United States who can deliver support in helping to craft wonderful wedding invitations.

Richard W. May, a founding member of the Stationers Guild, writes frequently about NYC wedding invitations and wedding invitation trends across the United States.

Save the Date Cards

NYCWedding — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 01:52:48 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Save the date wedding invitations are proving to be quite practical in helping to coordinate wedding events. Ordinarily, a save the date invitation was generally used to give your guests a “heads-up” in case your wedding date was scheduled near important holidays, destination weddings or perhaps after Labor Day when quite a few were coming back from family vacation.

Nowadays, the save the date invite is now much more important in setting the stage for weddings. People’s work schedules are a lot more complex so your invited guests will welcome and, in some cases, anticipate advance notice to schedule significant events. Save the date invitations sent several months ahead of the wedding are quite usual and several experienced stationers are convinced that announcements are regularly sent a year ahead of the wedding.

With a small bit of advance planning, a well-orchestrated save the date announcement is usually a solid organizing resource. Specifically, lodging and travel information is often combined with your announcement. This useful information tends to motivate your guests who prefer to lock-in hotel accommodations and make advance airplane bookings to save on air fares. Having the right information at their disposal is going to be welcomed.

There’s a frequent belief the save the date wedding invitation must be matched with the wedding invitation. This is simply not the truth. Most experienced stationers advocate using an announcement that sets the mood for the wedding day. For instance, a seaside scene for an island destination wedding, multi-colored leaves for a Northeastern Fall wedding or possibly a rodeo for any western-style wedding party.

The wedding announcement need not be expensive, even a sweet postcard will do, yet it’s a good chance to help include things like much needed logistical information your guests may find helpful. Planning ahead and creating a save the date wedding invitation that sets the mood for your wedding will create a sense of excitement well before your guests receive their wedding invitation.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

Make Your Save the Date Announcement Labor Overtime for Your New York Wedding

NYCWedding — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:07:49 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Organizing your wedding ceremony is not difficult, however it takes discipline. Short of working with a wedding consultant, quite a few engaged couples and their families will take control over organizing their wedding through the use of wedding papers effectively. A save the date invitation is a most effective vehicle that will help arrange your wedding.

Immediately after scheduling the wedding ceremony with the church or synagogue and choosing the site for your wedding reception, the key dates for the wedding event are generally determined. Equipped with that critical information, numerous bridal couples select a save the date invitation to provide their invited guests a “heads-up” to make their airline travel plans.

While many will choose to mail a fairly simple announcement – frequently using a photo of the engaged couple – requesting their guests to make their reservations, others employ it to convey handy travel advice. For instance, places to stay information, convenient airports and, perhaps, a wedding site can also be added to your save the date card.

Bridal couples are sometimes under the erroneous opinion that the save the date announcement needs to be coordinated with the wedding invitation together with other wedding papers. While practical, this presupposes that one has already decided what wedding invitation they wish to use. This is normally incorrect.

Skilled stationers highly recommend getting a simple save the date card that communicates a feeling of excitement for your impending wedding. While a photo of the wedding couple is a popular final choice, bridal couples will opt for a seashore motif for an island wedding, a colorful leaf for an autumn wedding and, perhaps, a snowman for a winter wedding.

There are hundreds, or even thousands, of choices for save the date cards. Most engaged couples find it easier to pick a theme that conveys the rush and excitement of your special day to identify the invitation alternatives.

For individuals that have a somewhat more time and energy to plan, skilled stationers advocate adding practical travel and accommodation details with their save the date card.

Sheila May is a founding member of the Stationers Guild and writes often about wedding invitation trends and how save the date cards can be used to help plan one’s big event.

5 Helpful Hints on Selecting Wedding Invitations

SPMay — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:34:11 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Most people simply do not have either the time or the patience to examine the seemingly endless customization options that are available to bridal couples. Regardless of whether you plan to design and print your very own invitation, opurchase your wedding invitations from an online retailer or utilize the support of an informed stationer in your town, these 5 helpful hints may steer you in the right direction.

5 Helpful Hints on Selecting Wedding Invitations

The overall size, feel and weight of your wedding is unquestionably the most important consideration when selecting your wedding papers. The weight and quality of the wedding invitations speaks to the importance of the occasion.
Select paper for wedding invitations that have matching envelopes. This is particularly important if you plan to make your own invitations. Far too many times have we seen a well-crafted DIY invitation, but no matching envelope. It’s the equivalent of a great painting with a shoddy frame.
For DIY wedding invitations, be advised that #96 paper is about the thickest that will feed through a home printing device without jamming.
Be careful using colored paper stock. While beautiful it often requires you to use a more expensive printing process such as engraving. Engraving as well as letterpress, while stunning, raises the cost of invitations. Generally, you can generate the same effect by working with white or ecru paper and just simply print in bold ink colors or use patterned envelope inserts to complement your wedding concept.
Before you send your wedding invitations, which usually contains a reply card and self-addressed envelope and conceivably a directions card, it’s wise to have the wedding invitation and all enclosures weighed at the local Post Office. There is nothing more annoying than getting your invitation returned because you didn’t have enough postage.

For more valuable tips, please download our FREE Wedding Invitation Guide by becoming a Facebook Fan of Therese Saint Clair. It is full of ideas, sample images and suggestion that will help you select the best wedding papers.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

Organizing your New York City Wedding Ceremony

NYCWedding — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:55:01 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

There aren’t many events more exceptional than a New York City wedding. This larger than life town with its imposing skyscrapers, wonderful parks, museums, art galleries and cutting-edge dining establishments is the best city to host a wedding event. The Big Apple is really a town with personality and vitality is shown from a seemingly endless number of places to host a wedding event.

Arranging your New York wedding is really a case of context. With a town rich in traditions, spectacular surroundings and inherent energy, it is wise to include those features to your over-all wedding design. Making use of your location effectively can help produce a special wedding experience and might often be the concept of the wedding ceremony itself.

For instance, your New York City wedding invitation may incorporate one of many city motifs or its surroundings to attract attention to the venue of the wedding event. For instance, one might makes use of Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Lincoln Center and elegant Manhattan skyline to serve as the organizing theme for the wedding. Using natural surroundings, buildings or notable monuments may serve as a good concept to tie together your wedding ceremony.

In reality, choosing well known attractions generally is a helpful unifying theme to plan your wedding ceremony. Using these landmarks with your save the date announcement, wedding invitation, reply card set, directions card, place cards, table cards and menu can connect together many disparate events to provide your big day a truly unifying theme.

Your wedding invitation and supporting wedding papers, if used efficiently, can create a feeling of excitement and expectation that almost all other forms of social communication simply can’t meet. As texting, e-mail and blog posts on social media websites get to be the prevalent way of communication, it’s comforting to open paper communications. It adds a sense of intimacy that other forms of communication simply can’t equal.

When you plan your wedding ceremony, think about using your natural environment or defining town landmarks to add a personal touch to your wedding event.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store based in Greenwich, CT. She writes frequently about wedding invitations, save the date cards and wedding thank you notes.

Use Your Wedding Photograph for your Seasonal Holiday Card

NYCWedding — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:27:56 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

A wonderful way to utilize your favorite wedding photograph is with your annual Christmas greeting card. It’s a fantastic way to capture the joy of your event and share those memories again with your close friends. It is hard to imagine a much more appropriate photo to commemorate your first year as a husband and wife.

Happily married couples have found that their desired wedding photo works double-duty when digitally imprinted on a Christmas card or installed on a photo card having an eye-catching border to highlight your photo.

If your wedding picture has been taken with a wedding photographer, you will probably require permission from the photographer to reproduce the photo digitally on the photo greeting card. Instead, have your pictures commercially developed and mount them on Christmas photo greeting cards using adhesive tape that is certainly usually already placed on the photo card.

While it’s definitely more practical to print your holiday greeting card digitally, the print quality of commercially produced photos is usually far superior. If you plan to use a photomount holiday greeting cards, 4”x 6” photographs usually work best. Most photo greeting cards are designed to accept pictures in either a vertical or landscape orientation.

Consumers generally have a choice of picking out a greeting between several recommended by the printing company. With a lot of the higher quality printing companies, you may also supply your own personal customized greeting. When adding your family names, it’s traditional for the woman’s name to be shown first. In the use of a wedding photo, it’s perceived as correct to add the date of your wedding.

If you are planning to use your wedding photograph this holiday season, there are several printing and design firms you might wish to take into account. Undoubtedly, Crane & Co. and William Arthur provide both photomount and digitally printed photo greeting cards and also the Stationers Guild affiliate program with Printswell offers some economical options to print your wedding holiday photo card.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and holiday photo cards.

The Everlasting Wonder of Engraved Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:41:21 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Very few printing techniques can match the quality of an engraved wedding invitation. Although engraving was traditionally utilized print wedding invitations, birth announcements and business stationery for your parent’s and grandparent’s generations, modern day printing processes are more productive but don’t have the level of quality and vivacity of engraving.

Lately, leading stationery retail stores around the United States are finding that wedding couples are rediscovering the inherent attractiveness of engraving. Notwithstanding its higher price, engraved wedding invitations speak to the traditions and elegance of times past.

Because the industry has moved to cheaper and a lot more efficient types of printing, many engraving firms have shut down and the profession of engraving is quite near disappearing. Although the resilient Heidelberg presses still exist in abundance, the creation of engraving dies from submerging photo-sensitive copper plates into a bath of an acid solution is beyond the financial abilities and knowledge of the many autonomous printers.

With its opaque colours and distinctive raised print resolution, engraved wedding invitations are experiencing a renaissance among the engaged couples who cherish a well-crafted invitation. Amongst the top firms which offer different types of printing options, Crane & Co. and William Arthur provide the very best design and printing choices.

If an engraved invitation is out of your reach, opt for printing in thermograph inks. Applying thermograph inks simulates engraving by stamping a resin-based composite on the paper to form the raised surface which you see in engraving. Thermograph inks usually are more shiny unless the printer supplies a matte finish, but printing using this approach offers great savings.

Like most fine stationery, engraved invitations should be seen in person to appreciate paper and print quality. Ink colors are “true” and deeper, specially when compared side-by-side along with other types of printing. In all probability, you can find experienced stationers in neighborhoods throughout the United States who can deliver guidance in helping to design stunning wedding invitations.

Richard W. May, a founding member of the Stationers Guild, writes frequently about NYC wedding invitations and wedding invitation trends across the United States.

Letterpress or Engraved Wedding Stationery Continue to Reflect Regional Differences

NYCWedding — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:39:03 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those seeking to design a unique wedding invitation to commemorate that happy celebration commonly see numerous wedding invitation examples and printing solutions before choosing their unique invite.

In the past there was a definite regional bias in the choice of printing. Bridal couples on the West Coast seemed to opt for letterpress printing and the ones on the East Coast usually chose engraving.

While this regional disposition still remains, both printing methods still entice discriminating bridal couples who appreciate the subtle hues and imaginative designs of letterpress printing along with the timeless opaque colors of engraved wedding invitations.

The growth in letterpress wedding invites has been fueled from the emergence of talented artists who can acquire cost-effective presses to create their very own invitations and fine stationery. A serviceable press can be acquired for anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000 and a talented artist using Photoshop can make spectacular designs then transfer those designs to polymer dies that are used in the presses.

Engraving is actually a similar printing method, but metal dies are produced by submerging light-sensitive coated copper plates into an acid bath to create the dies. Both engraving and letterpress are often more expensive since each invitation is hand-fed through the press. Because every ink color is applied separately, the number of colors in the invitation will increase labor costs and, as a result, the overall cost of the invitation.

Though letterpress and engraved wedding invitations are certainly more remarkable, those on a budget typically seek less costly possibilities that mimic the creativeness present in letterpress and engraved invitations. The use of thermographic inks is surely an affordable alternative to engraving and even some flat-printed designs are appealing and capture the importance of the occasion.

Working with a seasoned stationer in your neighborhood is perhaps the easiest way to craft a wedding invitation that suits your objectives and is also within your budget. There are a few online wedding invitation printers who have design and style and printing capabilities and, most importantly, the service quality to make wedding invitations that would make you pleased.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and save the date invitations.

Should your gift registry information be printed on the wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 23:04:58 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Stationery store owners of late have experienced renewed discussion on whether or not the gift registry should be displayed on a wedding invitation. The easy and right answer is: “Of course not!” One seasoned stationer who alleges to have advised innumerable young couples to create unique wedding invitations claims that “not one has opted to print gift registry details or URL on their wedding invitation. It is cheap, offensive and simply poor etiquette.”

Indicating a present or monetary contribution in your wedding invitation takes away from the importance of the occasion. Though many argue that it is “economical” to provide bridal registry information on the wedding invitation, efficiency is no substitute for proper etiquette and good taste. Why don’t you just grab the phone, call the parents of the groom or the bridal couple and extend your best wishes and then inquire where they are registered. It is simple, personal and also has worked effectively for many years.

In a great many occasions, bridal couples will send a save the date card which might include travel and accommodation recommendations. If you plan to build a wedding website, it’s thought to be appropriate to include the website address within the save the date card or within the supportive wedding papers.

Many will consider that this standard protocol or etiquette is dated. Quite the opposite, good manners is rarely out of place. When we carry on and emphasize “convenience” and “efficiency” in orchestrating our interpersonal relationships, we take away the happiness and majesty from these landmark events in our lives.

To put it briefly, including gift registry details in your wedding invitation isn’t recommended and, indeed, many guests are likely to consider it obnoxious and innapropriate. There are plenty of methods to circumvent that problem with good planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

The Subtlety of Letterpress Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:54:42 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The emergence of letterpress invitations, letterpress save-the-date announcements, birth announcements and letterpress stationery over the last decade isn’t surprising. Inexpensive second-hand letterpress printing presses have permitted a lot of skilled artisans and designers to indulge their creativity to create lovely wedding invitations and stationery using this centuries-old printing process.

Similar to the printing process utilized in engraving, letterpress uses polymer or metal dies to “press” ink into malleable card-stock, primarily cotton. Every ink color is applied using a separate printing press run, which requires patience and appreciable skill to achieve the close registration required to properly align colors and design images.

Each May for the National Stationery Show in New York City, new letterpress firms take center stage introducing their fresh designs. Though letterpress was regarded as a bit of a novel idea some a few years in the past, many of the recent letterpress printers simply do not have the flair, creativity and, more often than not, the talent and practical experience to produce attractive letterpress wedding invitations. In reality, most “new” designs offer little that’s new. Truth be told, the stationery market is saturated with letterpress.

Letterpress printers with deep traditions in the craft, including Julie Holcomb, Elum, Oblation, Press New York, Page and Real Card Studio still innovate and their firm hand and love for the craft continues to set the standard for letterpress printing.

While a few letterpress printers have migrated online, most letterpress artisans offer their invitations by using experienced retailers across the United States. In the words of pioneer Julie Holcomb, “If you are like most people, you have never ordered any kind of custom printing prior to ordering your wedding invitations. You can benefit a great deal from the experience of your local stationer, who orders all kinds of custom printing, from many vendors, all the time. They’ll help you make sure you’re covering all the bases and making decisions you’ll be happy with for a long time.”

Julie’s advice is truly worth following. If you’ve got your heart set on letterpress for your wedding invitations, it is prudent to see an experienced stationer in your neighborhood.

Sheila P. May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store located in Greenwich, CT. A founding member of the Stationers Guild, she writes frequently on national Wedding Invitation trends.

Letterpress Wedding Stationery

NYCWedding — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:54:59 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The growth of letterpress invitations, letterpress save the date announcements, baby announcements and letterpress stationery over the last several years isn’t unexpected. Easily affordable second-hand letterpress printers have helped a lot of talented designers and artisans to indulge their creative thinking to make gorgeous invitations and stationery making use of this very old printing method.

Much like the process utilized in engraving, letterpress uses polymer or metal dies to “press” ink into soft papers, primarily cotton. Each and every color is applied with a individual press run, which calls for persistence and much skill to get the close registration needed to correctly align colors and motif designs.

Every May during the National Stationery Show in New York City, new letterpress vendors take center stage to introduce their new designs. Even though letterpress was regarded as being a bit of a novelty some a few years back, many of the new letterpress printers simply lack the flair, uniqueness and, oftentimes, the skill and practical experience to create attractive letterpress invitations. In reality, most “new” designs offer little that is unique. To be honest, the stationery marketplace is over loaded with letterpress.

Letterpress printers with deep roots within profession, like Julie Holcomb, Elum, Oblation, Press New York, Page and Real Card Studio are able to build on their craft and their sturdy hand and love for the craft continues to elevate the bar for letterpress printing.

Although some letterpress printers now sell on the internet, the majority of letterpress artisans promote their product by using seasoned retailers across the United States. Quoting pioneer Julie Holcomb, “If you are like most people, you have never ordered any kind of custom printing prior to ordering your wedding invitations. You can benefit a great deal from the experience of your local stationer, who orders all kinds of custom printing, from many vendors, all the time. They’ll help you make sure you’re covering all the bases and making decisions you’ll be happy with for a long time.”

Julie’s advice is truly worth following. If you’ve got your heart set on letterpress for your wedding invitations, it is advisable to see a professional stationer in your area.

Sheila P. May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair, a stationery store located in Greenwich, CT. A founding member of the Stationers Guild, she writes frequently about national Wedding Invitation trends.

End of Summer Clearance Sale for Personalized Stationery

NYCWedding — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:45:25 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

“Timing is everything” said one smart individual and, indeed, there’s no time like the present to buy personalized stationery, calling cards, stickers and ID tags from leading stationery creative designers.

Today through October 3, Printswell has a Summer Stationery Sale that will enable you to double up on your stationery order absolutely Free. Printswell is a world-class printing facility and customer fulfillment center for such talented designers as Rosanne Beck, Stacy Claire Boyd, Little Lamb Design and many other artists.

Printswell stationery along with their great selection of holiday photo cards are already quite affordable, thus, making this an excellent opportunity to acquire customized flat or folded notes for the whole family. Printswell’s family of designers has produced good stationery for those who prefer a lighter touch. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce your kids to stationery and the proper way to say “thank you.”

When making your order online, enter the total quantity you want to receive in the online order form. The price shown already includes the discounted price. Enjoy the rest of your summer and save with Printswell stationery.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about personalized stationery, and holiday photo cards.

How to make use of Save the Date Invitations

NYCWedding — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:53:04 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Save the date invitations are proving to be quite beneficial in helping to plan a wedding. Ordinarily, a save the date announcement was frequently utilized to give your invited guests a “heads-up” when your wedding date was planned near significant holidays, destination weddings or perhaps after Labor Day when many were returning from family vacation.

Currently, the save the date invitation has grown to be much more essential in setting the stage for a wedding. People’s schedules are a lot more challenging and your wedding guests will welcome and, sometimes, anticipate advance notice to make time for significant events. Save the date announcements sent several months prior to the wedding date are rather usual and many experienced stationers are convinced that announcements are often sent one year ahead of the wedding event.

With a little bit of advance preparation, a well-orchestrated save the date invitation can be a solid organizing resource. In particular, lodging and essential travel information is often included in your save the date invitation. This valuable advice tends to motivate your guests who prefer to line-up hotel accommodations as well as advance airline reservations to reduce air fares. Having the appropriate information at their disposal will be welcomed.

There’s a common misconception the save the date invitation must be coordinated with the wedding invitation. This is simply not the case. Most qualified stationers advocate utilizing an announcement that sets the mood for your wedding event. As an illustration, a seaside scene for an island destination wedding, colorful leaves for a Northeastern Fall wedding or perhaps a rodeo for any southwestern-style wedding.

The announcement don’t have to be costly, even a cute postcard will do, but it’s a useful opportunity to help include much needed logistical information your guests may find helpful. Planning ahead and designing a save the date invitation that sets the mood for your wedding can provide a feeling of excitement well before your guests receive their wedding invitation.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

The Classic Appeal of Engraved Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:41:40 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Very few printing methods can match up with the quality of an engraved wedding invitation. Though engraving was historically utilized to create wedding invitations, baby announcements and business cards in your parent’s and grandparent’s generations, present day printing processes are much more efficient but don’t have the high quality and vivacity of engraving.

Most recently, leading stationery stores around the United States are finding that wedding couples are rediscovering the innate beauty of engraving. Notwithstanding its higher cost, engraved invitations speak to the heritage and elegance times past.

Because the industry has adopted cheaper and more productive forms of printing, many engraving firms have closed down and the profession of engraving is perilously close to disappearing. While the robust Heidelberg printing presses exist in abundance, the fabrication of engraving dies from submerging light-sensitive copper plates in to a tub of acid is beyond the financial capabilities and expertise of the many autonomous printers.

With its “true” colours and exceptional raised print quality, engraved wedding invitations are experiencing a renaissance among engaged couples who value a well-crafted invitation. Amongst the key firms which offer a variety of printing methods, Crane & Co. and William Arthur provide the best printing and design choices.

If the engraved invitation is out of your reach, go for printing in thermograph inks. By using thermograph inks mimics engraving by imprinting a resin-based blend on the paper to form the raised surface you get in engraving. Thermograph inks are generally shinier unless the printer offers a matte finish, but printing with this particular approach will provide great cost savings.

As with any fine stationery, engraved invitations should be seen in person to appreciate paper and print quality. Ink colors are “true” and richer, particularly when evaluated side-by-side with other forms of printing. In all likelihood, you can find knowledgeable stationers in neighborhoods across the United States that can deliver assistance in helping to design stunning wedding invitations.

Richard W. May, a founding member of the Stationers Guild, writes frequently about NYC wedding invitations and wedding invitation trends across the United States.

Should gift registry be printed on a wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 23:05:12 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Stationers recently have seen renewed discussion on whether or not the gift registry really need to be displayed on your wedding invitation. The easy and appropriate answer is: “Absolutely not!” One experienced stationer who asserts to have advised countless young couples to design custom wedding invitations affirms that “no one has decided to incorporate gift registry details or URL on their wedding invitation. It’s cheap, offensive and just poor manners.”

Proposing a gift or financial donation in your wedding invitation diminishes the importance of the celebration. While many argue that it’s “expedient” to provide a bridal registry within the wedding invitation, efficiency is no substitute for good manners and good taste. Why don’t you just grab the telephone, call the parents of the groom or even the bridal couple and extend your congrats then simply ask where they are registered. It is simple, personal and it has worked effectively for a long time.

In many situations, bridal couples will send a save the date card which might include travel and lodging suggestions. If you plan to build a wedding website, it’s now thought to be acceptable to include the website address within the save the date card or in the supportive wedding papers.

Many will argue that this standard protocol or etiquette is dated. Quite the contrary, good etiquette is never out of place. When we continue to emphasize “convenience” and “functionality” in managing our personal relationships, we strip the happiness and majesty from these landmark occasions within our lives.

To put it briefly, including gift registry details in your wedding invitation isn’t recommended and, indeed, numerous guests are likely to consider doing it impolite and most inappropriate. There are a lot of ways to circumvent that problem with good planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

The Subtlety of Letterpress Invitations

NYCWedding — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:55:17 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

The emergence of letterpress wedding stationery, letterpress save-the-date cards, baby announcements and letterpress stationery over the past ten years isn’t surprising. Inexpensive second-hand letterpress printing presses have allowed a lot of accomplished designers and artisans to indulge their creativeness to produce stunning invitations and stationery making use of this centuries-old printing process.

Like the process used for engraving, letterpress employs polymer or metal dies to “press” ink into soft papers, principally cotton. Every color is applied using a individual printing press run, which demands persistence and much skill to have the close registration required to correctly align colors and image designs.

Each May during the National Stationery Show in New York City, new letterpress vendors take center stage to display their new styles. Even though letterpress was considered to be somewhat of a novel idea some a few years in the past, most of the recent letterpress printers and designers simply do not have the flair, originality and, oftentimes, the talent and experience to produce attractive letterpress stationery. In fact, most of the “new” designs provide little that’s completely new. To be honest, the stationery market is over loaded with letterpress.

Letterpress printers with deep roots within craft, like Julie Holcomb, Elum, Oblation, Press New York, Page and Real Card Studio still innovate and their firm hand and passion for the craft continues to elevate the bar for letterpress printing.

While a few letterpress printers now sell on the internet, most letterpress artisans sell their product by using experienced retailers throughout the United States. Quoting pioneer Julie Holcomb, “If you are like most people, you have never ordered any kind of custom printing prior to ordering your wedding invitations. You can benefit a great deal from the experience of your local stationer, who orders all kinds of custom printing, from many vendors, all the time. They’ll help you make sure you’re covering all the bases and making decisions you’ll be happy with for a long time.”

Julie’s advice is definitely worth following. If you’ve got your heart set on letterpress for the wedding invitations, it is wise to talk to an experienced stationer in your area.

Planning your wedding invitation

SPMay — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:34:37 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

If it’s a choice between an elegant wedding invitation and an extra pasta dish at your wedding reception buffet, I would opt for allocating a little bit of your budget toward a memorable wedding invitation. After all, who is going to remember the pasta in 6 months unless you happen to have spilled the Bolognese sauce on your dress. Nevertheless, I am biased and I help bridal couples select wedding invitations.

Designing your wedding invitation often is a challenging and arduous ordeal. Most people quite frankly don’t have either the time or the energy to examine the infinite customization alternatives that are available in this market. Regardless of whether you’re planning to create and print your own invitation, order wedding invitations on the internet or utilize the help of an informed stationer in your local community, these helpful guidelines may help.

Hints on getting the best Wedding Invitation on a tight budget

Decide on your papers first and foremost. The dimensions, texture and weight of your wedding invitations is undoubtedly the most significant factor to consider when choosing your wedding papers. The substance and quality of the invitations speaks to the significance of the event. Good quality cardstock is, in my opinion, a necessity for a well-crafted wedding invitation.

If you decide to design and print your own wedding invitation, make certain that you have corresponding envelopes for the cardstock size and style of the invitation that you have choosen. Many times have we seen tearful bridal couples show us a well-designed DIY invitation, but no matching envelope. It is simply tacky. In addition, bear in mind that if you’re going to print your own invitations, #96 paper is about the thickest cardstock that will fit through an inkjet printer without jamming.

Deeply colored cardstock needs to be engraved to insure that the print stands out. Engraving or letterpress, while attractive, raises the cost of invitations. As a general rule, you can achieve a comparable impression by utilizing white or ecru paper and simply print in striking ink colors or use textured and colored envelope liners to fit your wedding concept.

Perfect wording is vital in a properly designed wedding invitation. While an experienced stationer in town should know the correct wording etiquette, it might be wise to buy of a copy of Crane’s Blue Book if you are wording your own invitations.

Be certain you buy sufficient wedding invitations. Nearly all companies sell wedding invitations in lots of 25 and we recommend to bridal couples that they purchaseof 25 more invitations in case that someone was unintentionally neglected or you’ve got last minute guests. A second printing of your invitation is quite expensive.

Weigh your invitations at your local Post Office to insure that you have adequate postage. There is almost nothing more shocking than getting your invitation back because you didn’t have sufficient postage.

For more handy suggestions and useful advice, please download our FREE Wedding Invitation Guide by becoming a Facebook Fan of Therese Saint Clair. Our wedding invitation guide offers you a clear blueprint to help plan your successful wedding.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

The End of Summer Promotional Sale for Personalized Stationery

NYCWedding — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:45:43 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

“Timing is critical” said one experienced person and, certainly, there’s no time like the present to buy custom-made stationery, calling cards, stickers and ID tags from leading stationery creative designers.

Now through October 3, Printswell features a Summer Stationery Sale which will allow you to double up on your stationery order for FREE. Printswell is a world-class printing company and customer fulfillment center for such talented designers as Rosanne Beck, Stacy Claire Boyd, Little Lamb Design and many other artists.

Printswell stationery along with their great array of holiday photo cards are already reasonably priced, so this is a great opportunity to buy customized flat or folded notes for the entire family. Printswell’s family of artisans creates good stationery for many who prefer a lighter touch. This is a good opportunity to expose your kids to stationery and the correct way to say “thank you.”

When placing your order online, enter the total quantity you wish to receive in the online order form. The price shown includes the discounted price. Have fun with the remainder of your summer and save with Printswell stationery.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about personalized stationery, and holiday photo cards.

Double Duty: Use the wedding Picture for your Christmas Photo Card

NYCWedding — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:28:15 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

A wonderful way to make use of your favorite wedding photo is with your annual holiday card. It’s a great way to capture the excitement of your event and share those memories again with your close friends. It is difficult to imagine a more fitting photograph to celebrate your first year as a married couple.

Newly married couples have found that their desired wedding photograph serves double-duty when digitally imprinted on a holiday greeting card or attached to a Christmas photo card using an appealing frame to highlight your photograph.

If your wedding photo has been taken by a professional photographer, you will likely have to get approval from your photographer to reproduce the photo digitally on the photo card. Alternatively, have your pictures commercially made and mount them on Christmas photo cards using adhesive tape that is usually already placed on the photo card.

While it is surely more practical to print your holiday card digitally, the print resolution of commercially printed pictures is usually better. If you intend to utilize photomount holiday greeting cards, 4”x 6” photographs usually are preferable. Most photo greeting cards are designed to accept photos in either a vertical or landscape orientation.

Consumers usually have the option of picking out a greeting between several recommended by the printer. With a number of the higher quality printing companies, you can even supply your own personal custom greeting. When you are adding your family names, it is customary for the woman’s name to be first. In the use of a wedding photograph, it’s perceived as correct to include the date of the wedding.

If you plan to use your wedding picture this winter holiday, there are quite a few printing and design firms you may want to take into account. Undoubtedly, Crane & Co. and William Arthur offer both photomount and digitally printed photo cards and also the Stationers Guild affiliate program with Printswell provides some cost-effective options to imprint your wedding holiday photo card.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations and holiday photo cards.

The Classic Appeal of Engraved Wedding Invitations

NYCWedding — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 10:42:03 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Only a few printing methods can match the caliber of an engraved wedding invitation. Though engraving was historically utilized to print wedding stationery, birth announcements and business stationery for your parent’s and grandparent’s generations, present day printing methods are more productive but do not have the quality and vitality of engraving.

Most recently, prominent stationery retail stores across the United States are finding that wedding couples are now rediscovering the innate beauty of engraving. Notwithstanding its higher cost, engraved invitations bring back the traditions and magnificence of times past.

Since the printing industry has adopted more cost-effective and much more economical forms of printing, many engraving firms have closed and the craft of engraving is perilously near to disappearing. Even though the sturdy Heidelberg printing presses remain in abundance, the production of engraving dies from submerging light-sensitive copper plates into a tub of acid is far beyond the financial abilities and expertise of many independent printers.

Because of its opaque colors and unique three-dimensional print resolution, engraved wedding invitations are experiencing a renaissance among engaged couples who treasure a well-designed wedding invitation. Among the key firms that provide a variety of printing methods, Crane & Co. and William Arthur deliver the finest printing and design options.

If the engraved invitation is out of your reach, opt for printing in thermograph inks. Utilizing thermograph inks mimics engraving by stamping a resin-based composite on the paper to produce the raised surface you get in engraving. Thermograph inks are usually more shiny unless the printer offers a matte finish, but printing with this method offers great cost savings.

Like all fine stationery, engraved invitations should be seen in person to experience paper and print quality. Ink colors are opaque and deeper, especially when compared side-by-side with other types of printing. In all probability, you will find skilled stationers in neighborhoods across the United States who are able to provide assistance in helping to design beautiful wedding invitations.

Richard W. May, a founding member of the Stationers Guild, writes frequently about NYC wedding invitations and wedding invitation trends across the United States.

Letterpress or Engraved Wedding Stationery Reflect Regional Variations

NYCWedding — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 10:39:18 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Those seeking to craft a distinctive wedding invitation to celebrate that wondrous celebration typically view a huge selection of wedding invitation samples and printing alternatives before selecting their special wedding invitation.

Several years ago there seemed to be a distinct regional tendency in the choice of printing. Bridal couples on the West Coast seemed to favor letterpress and people from the East Coast normally chose engraving.

Although this regional tendency still continues, the two printing styles still attract discerning bridal couples who appreciate the refined colors and new types of letterpress printing and the unforgettable opaque colors of engraved wedding invitations.

The growth in letterpress wedding invitations has been fueled by the emergence of accomplished artists who are able to purchase affordable presses to produce their very own wedding invitations and fine stationery. A functional press may be bought for somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000 and a skilled designer utilizing Photoshop can make gorgeous designs and then transfer those designs to polymer dies which are utilized in the printing presses.

Engraving is actually a similar printing method, but metal dies are made by submerging light-sensitive coated copper die plates into an acid bath to produce the dies. Both engraving and letterpress are usually more costly as each invitation is hand-fed through the printer. Because every ink color is applied individually, the quantity of colors in the invitation will increase labor costs and, as a result, the overall cost of an invitation.

Though letterpress and engraved invitations are usually more unforgettable, those on a financial budget often seek more cost-effective alternatives that imitate the creativity present in letterpress and engraved invitations. The use of thermographic inks is undoubtedly an cost-effective substitute to engraving and even a few flat-printed designs are attractive and capture the significance of the occasion.

Dealing with a skilled stationer in your area is certainly the easiest way to craft a wedding invitation that meets your goals and is also affordable. There are only a limited internet wedding invitation printers with the design and style and printing capabilities and, above all, the service quality to make wedding invitations that will make you pleased.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitation target=”_blank”s and save the date invitations.

Should gift registry be shown on your wedding invitation?

NYCWedding — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:05:24 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Wedding etiquette specialists lately have experienced renewed debate on whether or not the gift registry information should be shown on a wedding invitation. The easy and appropriate answer is: “Of course not!” One professional stationer who claims to have worked with hundreds of young couples to make personalized wedding invitations states that “no one has opted to print a bridal gift registry or URL on their wedding invitation. It is tacky, offensive and just poor manners.”

Proposing a present or financial contribution on the wedding invitation detracts from the importance of the celebration. Although many reason that it is “expedient” to provide a bridal registry on the wedding invitation, efficiency is no substitute for good manners and good taste. Why don’t you just pick-up the telephone, call the parents of the bride or even the bridal couple and extend your congratulations and then simply ask where they’re registered. It is simple, quite personal and also has worked successfully for countless years.

In lots of occasions, bridal couples will be sending a save the date announcement that may contain travel and hotel recommendations. If you’re planning to establish a wedding website, it’s deemed suitable to include the Url of your website within the save the date card or on the supporting wedding papers.

A few will consider that this standard protocol or etiquette is old-fashioned. Quite the opposite, good etiquette is never out of place. If we continue to stress “convenience” and “efficiency” in dealing with our personal relationships, we take away the enjoyment and majesty from these milestone occasions within our lives.

In a nutshell, including gift registry details in your wedding invitation isn’t advised and, without a doubt, numerous guests are likely to consider the idea vulgar and inappropriate. There are a lot of methods to go around that problem with sensible planning.

Sheila May is the owner of Therese Saint Clair and writes frequently about wedding invitations in the New York Metro area and Save the Date Cards.

When to Use Save the Date Wedding invitations

NYCWedding — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:53:15 +0000

A post from New York Wedding Invitations

Save the date invitations are proving to be quite beneficial in helping to organize weddings. Typically, a save the date invitation was generally utilized to give your wedding guests a “heads-up” when your wedding date was scheduled near important holidays, destination weddings or perhaps after Labor Day when many were coming back from family vacation.

Currently, the save the date announcement has become far more essential in setting the stage for weddings. People’s lifestyles are a lot more challenging and your guests will welcome and, sometimes, anticipate advance notice to schedule very important events. Save the date wedding invitations sent six months ahead of the wedding ceremony are rather usual and many stationers are convinced that announcements are frequently sent a year before the wedding.

With a small bit of advance scheduling, a well-orchestrated save the date announcement can be a solid organizing method. Particularly, hotel accommodation and travel information is often included in your announcement. This valuable related information is likely to energize your wedding guests who prefer to schedule hotel accommodations as well as advance airplane reservations to save on fares. Having the right information at their fingertips will be valued.

There’s a common misconception the save the date invitation has to be matched with the wedding invitation. This just isn’t the case. The majority of qualified stationers advocate utilizing an announcement that sets the tone for your wedding day. For example, a seaside scene for an tropical isle destination wedding, colorful leaves for a Northeastern Fall wedding or possibly a rodeo for a southwestern-style wedding party.

The announcement don’t have to be costly, even a cute postcard will work, but it’s a good opportunity to help include things like essential logistical information that your guests may find helpful. Planning ahead and making a save the date invitation that sets the tone for your wedding will create a sense of excitement well before your guests receive their wedding invitation.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair