Nantucket Weddings Unveiled

Today we have guest blogger Heidi from Parchment to share her expertise with our readers:

There are so many wonderful and creative companies out there producing amazing wedding invitations. As you begin the process of choosing your invitations, it may feel quite daunting with all the choices out there! My advice to you is to visit your stationer a few times before making that final decision, don’t expect to find the perfect thing on your first visit. The more you look, the more you will hone in on the style you are attracted to. Also, when visiting your stationer, bring in any pictures or samples of styles you like. This will help us find the look you want at the right price for your budget. Remember, if we own a stationery store, we most likely LOVE paper… and we want you to love your invitations as much as any other element of your Big Day!

Now onto the fun part: the lines that I carry. I must confess, like a mother speaking of her children, I do not have a favorite. I love them all for different reasons! I think it is best to group them by category…

Letterpress: I work with 3 companies who only offer letterpress. These are relatively small companies, each with their own style. The first is Ceci New York, which is also the most recent addition to my line up. Ceci New York presents their line in four different albums, representing four styles within the line: destination, ornate, botanical and classic. Being in the capital of destination weddings, the destination album is my favorite within the collection. The designer has some unique ways of incorporating invitations to all the events surrounding the destination wedding, such as welcome parties, golf outings, brunches after the wedding, etc. Not to mentions the creativity in her designs – she offers a truly unique product! Second in the letterpress line-up is Dauphine Press, a California- based company. I can’t say enough about the “can-do” attitude of the designers at Dauphine. One of my favorite pieces is a save-the-date which incorporates a local icon, the compass rose on the side of one of our downtown buildings. They helped me pull the elements together and created a show-stopping piece for my customer. Egg Press, a small company based in Portland, Oregon rounds out the letterpress line up. Egg press has a much more clean and contemporary look than the other two letterpress companies. I love the understated elegance of their products.

Flat Printing: Three of the lines I represent are devoted to flat printing. All three of these lines tend to be a little more contemporary in feeling, although don’t rule them out if you are going for a traditional look! The first, created right here on Little Ol’ Nantucket, is Marty Kelly Nantucket. Since she lives here, Marty is familiar with all of our island icons and incorporates them in a fresh way with layered card stocks. They really give wedding guests a feeling for what Nantucket is like before they arrive. Next is another California based company, b.t. elements. Like Marty Kelly, they offer layered card stocks and colorful options for everything from save-the-dates before the wedding to adorable favor boxes for your guests. Luscious Verde is a Cleveland, Ohio based company. They also have a “can-do” attitude and the thing that makes their line unique are the die-cuts they offer. I had a bride who is an artists, so we created place cards through Luscious Verde which were shaped like an artist’s palette. It was a unique way to incorporate a very important part of the bride’s personality.

Everything Else… These next companies are larger companies who offer more than one type of print method. They tend to a slightly more traditional look, but again, don’t rule them out if that is not your look! Prentiss Douthit is an Alabama based company. They mostly offer either flat printing or engraved invitations. I think I would describe them as “sweetly sophisticated”, just the way they set their type and design elements, it has a somewhat soft look to it. Next is William Arthur, and under the William Arthur umbrella comes Vera Wang as well. My favorite thing about William Arthur is that I think they present an outstanding value for the quality of the card stock they offer. Yes, there are less expensive companies out there, but when you dip into those lower price points, you start to sacrifice the nice, heavy card stocks for the more “flimsy” ones. Also, with William Arthur and Vera Wang offering engraving, letterpress, thermography and flat printing, they are able to create any look within your budget constraints.

Tags: ceremony, invitations, nantucket wedding, paper products, style, tips

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Featured Vendors, Helpful Tips, Home Page, Nantucket Style, Real Nantucket Weddings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.