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Wedding Stationery Guide

Wedding Stationery Guide: Fonts, Part I

Looking for a swirly script for your wedding invitations? Or maybe you want something with an art deco flair or a traditional serif? No matter your preference, I’ve got you covered. Typography is an obsession of mine, and I have the font library to prove it!)

So, while you probably haven’t given much thought to fonts (besides the standard options available on your computer), I could spend hours picking out the perfect typeface for the project I’m working on. There are hundreds of thousands of fonts out there, and while I will happily comb through them all, I doubt you have the time or desire to stare at letters all day.

To keep things simple I’ve put together a selection of my very favorite fonts, perfect for your wedding invitations. View the full font guide by clicking here

how to choose your wedding invitation fonts
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Using Metallic Gold in your Invitation Suite | The Wedding Stationery Guide: Colors Part IV

Gold, and other metallics like copper and rose gold, are a favorite with brides right now. Metallics are a great addition to any wedding color palette– they’re sophisticated and glamorous, but still classic and elegant. So how can you incorporate these shiny shades in your wedding invitations?

how to use metallics in your wedding invitations
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How Many Wedding Invitations Should I Order?

Want to know the number one most asked question I get in my inbox? “How much?” Okay, so it’s usually phrased more politely, but price is a valid concern when you’re shopping for anything. While I’d love to be able to give a quick and easy answer to every price inquiry, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

Why? Well, the cost will vary a lot depending on what you’re looking for! Before I can tell you “how much”, there is one thing I absolutely need to know: how many invitations do you need?

how many wedding invitations should I order…

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Blind Letterpress and White Ink Printing | The Wedding Stationery Guide: Colors Part II

When you’re choosing colors for your wedding invitation suite, you might stop when you get to “Blind” and “White” as color options. Blind doesn’t sound like a very pretty color, and how would you even see white ink? Sound confusing? Don’t worry, I’m going to clear up the mystery about printing with these two “colors” that aren’t really colors at all.
using blind letterpress in your invitations
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Wedding Stationery Guide: How to chose the right printing style

Chances are, before researching wedding invitations, you never had to worry about things like printing processes before. And that’s absolutely normal! Prior to planning my own wedding, I had no idea there were so many different options (let alone what each technique entailed). Since this is a common source of confusion for brides, I put together a quick list of pros and cons of the main printing styles.

wedding invitation printing style comparison

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Wedding Stationery Guide: Screen Printing

So far in the Printing Primer portion of Banter & Charm’s Wedding Stationery Guide, I have shared information about flat printing, letterpress printing, and foil stamping. Between these three printing processes, you can achieve a wide variety of styles for your wedding stationery. But maybe you are looking to incorporate a subtle gold color, not as shiny as foil stamping (or perhaps foil stamping is costlier than you prefer). Or you have your heart set on using a deep, navy blue paper – but flat printing is not available on colored paper, and letterpress inks don’t pop on a dark background. What if you want to print on something non-traditional: like a wood veneer, or tote bags for your guests’ welcome gift. This is where screen printing comes in!

metallic gold screen printing…

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Wedding Stationery Guide: Flat Printing

While letterpress will always be my favorite style of printing, there are some things it is simply not suited for. That is where flat printing comes in! In this installment of The Wedding Stationery Guide, I will be sharing details about the digital printing process and how it can be used in your wedding invitation suite.

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Making Your First Impression Count | Wedding Stationery Guide: Envelopes, Part II

Nothing says “classic” like a crisp white envelope with traditional calligraphy in rich black ink. There is a reason this iconic combination never goes out of style: it’s sophisticated, elegant, and formal. In a digital age where texts and emails are the norm, receiving such a piece of art in the mail is a cause for celebration. The envelope is the first thing your guests see, and you want to make a lasting impression with this first look.
make a lasting impression with your wedding invitations
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How to Make a Lasting First Impression | Wedding Stationery Guide: Envelopes, Part I

Chances are you have never given much thought to envelopes. While they’re not the main focus of your wedding stationery suite, envelopes are the first thing your guests see when the invitation arrives. You want to make your first impression a lasting impression, so a boring non-descript envelope is not going to cut it. Think about the envelopes in the stack of junk mail that generally fills your mailbox. Shiny and slick, long and skinny, these envelopes are no more special than the “special offers” they claim to contain.
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How to Choose the Right Paper for Your Wedding Invitations | Wedding Stationery Guide

Paper is one of those things that seems simple until you need to pick just one. There are hundreds of thousands of types of paper: different colors, materials, weights, textures, and finishes. All these characteristics impact the final look of your invitation, so it’s important to know just what you’re getting. I’m going to give a brief overview of the options I offer, but nothing compares to holding the paper in your own hands. Make sure to order an invitation sample pack to see them yourself!

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Wedding Stationery Guide: Foil Stamping

If you’ve been researching wedding invitations for any time at all, you’ve likely come across an image of a design with gorgeous, shiny, gold foil pressed into cotton paper. It’s eye-catching, elegant, and adds a luxurious, formal feel to any invitation suite. You’re not sure what exactly it is, or how it’s printed, but you know you want that for your wedding invitations. Today that changes! I am going to walk you through the foil stamping process and share ways you can incorporate this stunning printing process into your wedding invitation suite.

foil stamping for wedding invitations
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Wedding Stationery Guide: Letterpress Printing

Letterpress printing. Whether you’ve never heard of it, or you have been head over heels in love with it since you first came across it, this printing process is undeniably gorgeous. But how in the world does it work? And why is it so much more expensive than flat printing? I’m answering these questions and more in this installment of the Wedding Stationery Guide! Letterpress is my all time favorite printing process – nothing compares to its look and feel. It effortlessly elevates a traditional wedding invitation from plain to elegant, and instantly transforms a simple typographic design into a work of art.

If you’ve never had the opportunity to hold a piece of letterpress stationery, order a sample pack so you can run your fingers over the paper and see its beauty for yourself.

letterpress printing for wedding invitations

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Wedding Stationery Guide: Printing Methods

So you’ve read all the books on wedding stationery etiquette, nailed down your invitation wording, and the guest list has (finally!!) been approved by both sets of parents. Your wedding planning timeline says it’s time to order invitations, so you get in touch with favorite stationery design, confident that you have all the information you need to begin. But then the stationer starts asks “what printing process are you interested in?” and you realize you have no idea.

If that sounds like you, you’re in the right place! No need to panic, I’ve got the answers to your wedding stationery printing questions in this portion of The Wedding Stationery Guide.

Chances are you’ve never had to worry about things like printing processes before. And that’s absolutely normal! When I was planning my own wedding, I had no idea there were so many different options (let alone what each technique entailed). That’s why I’ve put together this primer on printing processes: so you can make an informed decision when it comes time to choose. (or at the very least, understand what your stationery designer is referring to when they say “One Color”.

how to choose a printing process for your wedding invitations

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Samples of Personalized Wedding Invitations

Every design in Banter & Charm’s collection can be customized to perfectly to create personalized wedding invitations just for you! The sample designs are just a starting point; make it your own by choosing the colors, wording, fonts, papers, and envelopes. These signature options are included in every order! You can also choose from an array of premium options. This is where you can take your invitation suite from exceptional to extraordinary! Hand calligraphy, custom maps, unique die cut shapes, double thick paper, edge painting, envelope liners, and more.

I want you to have all the options you desire (and none of the ones you don’t need), so if you have any questions about the available customizations, please get in touch!

Personalized Wedding Invitations – Samples

The following versions of the Hope design show some adjustments you can make to personalize any collection wedding invitation design.

The first version is the original design, shown in 2-color letterpress (Powder and Pewter) on 110# Fluorescent White cotton paper.
personalized wedding invitations
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Wedding Stationery Guide: Recap

Last summer I started a “Wedding Stationery Guide” series on the blog to showcase the customization options available for Banter & Charm’s wedding collection. Over the next few months I’ll be continuing the series: talking about envelopes and fun add ons like envelope liners, edge painting, and custom maps.

Since it’s been a while, I thought it would be great to recap the Wedding Stationery Guide so far.

Printing Methods  An overview of the three printing methods offered at Banter & Charm: Flat Printing, Letterpress, and Foil Stamping.

Papers All about the colors, weights, and texture of paper.

Inks colors can be complicated! This part of the guide took three posts to cover.
Ink Colors: Part I Ink and color basics.
Ink Colors: Part II Tips for choosing your colors.
Ink Colors: Part III “Non colors” : white and blind impression.

The “Fonts” portion of the guide was split into three posts as well.
Fonts: Part I Types of fonts.
Fonts: Part II How changing a font can change the look of your invitation.
Fonts: Part III Tips for choosing fonts for your invitation.

Sizing and Shapes Standard sizing for invitations and inserts, and the die cut shapes available.

That’s all for now, but check back soon for more information and tips on customizing your wedding invitations!

Wedding Stationery Guide: Sizing and Shapes

When browsing invitation designs, you will probably notice that most are available in a standard 5″x7″ size  (also know as “A7” size). Although other sizes are certainly available, Banter & Charm follows tradition and offers all invitations and save the dates in the standard A7 size. Why? Well, there are a few reasons but the main one is envelopes.

While paper is easy to trim to different shapes and sizes, envelopes come in specific sizes. In order to offer a wide variety of colored envelopes and the pretty envelope liners that go along with them, it’s best to stick to the standard sizes available.

An A7 size invitation (along with its inserts) will fit perfectly inside an A7 envelope. If you decide to go with an inner/outer envelope set, or if you add a backing layer or pocketfolder to your invitation suite, you’ll need to up-size to the A7.5 envelope for your outer mailing envelope. Since this is a less common size, it’s only available in a Fluorescent White or Pearl White cotton with a pointed flap.
You may also want to up-size to A7.5 if you have many inserts in your invitation suite, especially if they’re printed on double thick 220# paper.

Our 4bar response card fits inside the 4bar size envelope (5.125″x3.625″).

Additional sizes are available for items that aren’t mailed individually: Insert cards are offered in A6 size, A2 size, 4bar size, and Mini size (business card sized). We also offer a 2″ square size that can be used as a seal or favor tag, and a 3.875″x 9.25″ size for programs and menus.

DIE CUT SHAPES
You can add a unique finish to your stationery without changing the size by choosing a die cut shape!

A custom die is used to trim the paper into various shapes. Standard options are shown below, but custom shapes are available.

Check back soon to learn more about the customization options available at Banter & Charm!
You can find all the posts in this series here: The Wedding Stationery Guide

Wedding Stationery Guide: Fonts, Part III

In this third installment of the Fonts portion of the wedding stationery guide, I’m going to share some tips for choosing the fonts for your wedding invitation.

When I designed the wedding invitation collection for Banter & Charm, I spent a great deal of time finding the perfect font to match the style of
each designs. However, there are plenty of other fonts to choose from if you’re looking for something a little different. Maybe you’d like a more casual look, or you don’t care for the way your name looks in a particular script. No matter the reasoning, you can customize the fonts shown in any wedding stationery designs.

Please keep in mind that fonts are an integral part of every design. While I will work to make your desired font look great, not all fonts or font combinations will be a good fit for your design. If you’re unsure about a choice or combination, feel free to ask for advice. I’m also happy to provide a proof of a few different font options so you can see how it looks before making a final decision.

You don’t have to be a type nerd to notice that some fonts pair well together while others don’t.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when selecting fonts for your wedding invitations.

Choose one simple and easy to read font for the main text, and then choose a more decorative accent font for text you want to highlight (like the bride and groom’s names, venues, or headings on insert cards). Generally, this means you’ll pick one font from the serif or sans serif category, and one from the script, hand drawn, or display categories.

Another thing to note is that some letters in script fonts have fancier/more elaborate alternates. If you like a script font, but wish a certain letter was different, ask if it’s possible. (Some of the formal script fonts also have simpler/less flourished alternate letters.) 

Hopefully these tips will help you choose the perfect fonts for your wedding invitation suite! Make sure to check out Fonts Part I and Fonts Part II in the wedding stationery guide for more information.