Our new ribbon gate-fold invitations will be launched soon but we are so excited about the range that we couldn’t wait to give you a sneak preview.  I quickly snapped these shots outside our studio before the professional photos are taken next week.  It will probably take a couple of weeks to get this range online because it will be available in a total of 37 different colours and, as with all our designs, we do our best to coordinate the whole range of products.  This means that with so many colours and so many coordinating items there will be a lot of photography to process.

The gentle floral pattern is another feature that coordinates on all the items in this range; its delicate emboss and pealescent reflection catches the light beautifully with understated sophistication.  The texture of the emboss is best seen in the flesh and you can do this by requesting a free sample when the range is online but this is one important element that we hope to capture with the photography.

I have a list of available colours to share with you and these will all be available to view online soon.

• Black
• Silver Grey
• Navy
• Dusky Blue
• Cornflower
• New Tuquoise
• Aqua
• Petrol
• Peacock
• Orchid
• Helio
• Dusky Pink
• Shocking Pink
• Pink Azalea
• Pale Pink
• Red
• Scarlet Berry
• Burgundy
• Plum
• Blackberry
• Purple
• Moss
• Khaki
• Hunter Green
• Jade
• Cuban
• Dark Brown
• Marigold
• Gold
• Yellow
• Lemon
• Orange Delight
• Rust
• Sable
• Honey Gold
• Cream
• White

Chocolate 8XP150 and Vanilla 8XP470

 We are pleased to announce that the Chocolate Brown design now has a new colourway.  Like a dollop of refreshing finest vanilla pod infused Italian Ice cream the Vanilla design above is a worthy partner to the finest Chocolate  Fudge cake in the restaurant.  The vanilla cream design is more subtle than the deep chocolate brown colour of the original and will serve most colour schemes very well.  The same gold foil personalisation is retained and looks beautiful against the cream card. 

Gold Foil Personalised Insert

When you order this invitation in either the Chocolate or Vanilla designs you will receive a pdf proof of your personalised wording in your chosen typeface (we think Typeface 419 pictured above works best for this design) .  You can make as many changes to the proof as you like and on each change a new proof will be sent.  When you approve the proof a special polymer impression plate is made which is used to press the gold foil on to the card insert.  This is gold foiling at its best and beats many of the toner foiling wedding designs that we are starting to see enter the wedding stationery market with the advent of cheaper technology.  To see for yourself visit our site for a free sample.

We decided that it was not sufficient to include just the designs that offer the best value because since we offer heavy discounts on the leading brands it would be difficult not to blow our own trumpet and include everything.  We then chose to look purely at price and focussed on the cost for 50 invitations of all our designs and draw a line at the cheapest.   This is where a further problem emerged.

Renaissance from Collison White Lace Collection

There are a growing number of wedding invitation designs that now include what traditionally would have been classed as separate items.  For example the Collisons Renaissance and Simplicity collections open out to feature an internal pocket that contain a reply card and guest information card.  These pocketfold designs have ‘additional items’ which are included in the price of the day invitation making them exceptionally good value.  Similary, the invitation in the Bound Together range from CCA, as the name suggests has a reply card bound together with the invitation.  When customers buy the wedding invitation in this range they are essentially getting a reply card for free.   In other words, the some of the individual parts of these designs would be a lot greater than their whole.

It looks like we need to give the section a bit more thought because it would be important not to exclude designs such as those highlighted above to customers looking for a budget wedding invitations especially when they need to buy other items such as reply cards and guest information cards along with their invites.

I Do Print

I have talked about CCA Occasions before. I sell them through our Olivia Samuel business so consider myself a bit of an expert. The reason for this article is that CCA Occasions have now taken a different route with their new range of stationery by moving away from their national network of reseller agents and high street stores to a web only direct sales brand.

Ido-print is a strange name for a site. I thought it was a play on words with the ceremonious “i do” but then the site displays not just wedding stationery but also a wide range of new home cards, baby announcements, christmas cards, business invitations among others.  The main selling point bhind the site is the flashy online proofing engine that powers the site.  Simply type the bride and groom’s name into a box and see it cleverly rendered into a number of images including a vintage car, the sand on a tropical beach, or a classic Vettriano Print (a mainstay design of the traditional CCA offering).  Those familiar with Moonpig and others will realise this technology is not new but this is the first time I have seen this from one of the big wedding stationery printers.

I have to say that this type of wedding invitation is not my cup of tea.  Its great for a fun 30th birthday card but I prefer something a little more traditional from a wedding invite.  Because all these cards are produced on a high end digital printing press you are unlikely to see any fancy details like clever embossing, intricate laser cut, die cut shapes or foiling embelishments which I think make an invitation stand our more than a digitally remastered image.

I am also a little dissapointed to see that on virtually all the designs there is no variation between the different items in each collection.  For instance, the bride and grooms name in the sand image that features on the design pictured above is copied through to the Save the Date card, Thank You, Reply Card and Evening Invitation.  Since the only thing that changes is the card size I feel this could get a little monotonous.  I suppose you could choose different items from different ranges but then you will start to lose some coordination.

A big plus however is the simplicity of the site.  The whole online proofing system makes these invitations incredibly easy to purchase so would suit a couple in a hurry who want to get their invitations ordered and out the way with minimum fuss.

I notice at the checkout that I do Print have a promotional code box so I will be creating an entry on our Wedding Voucher Codes site later today and contacting CCA to see if they can offer any deals for our readers.  Watch this space (or the one over at Wedding Voucher Codes )

Since last writing about laser cut wedding invitations on this site I was disappointed to learn that Cartalia have moved their gorgeous range of laser cut wedding invitations away from the UK market as the company chooses to focus more on their home markets in Poland.  I also feel that the 10 year old designs from one of the early pioneers in the laser cut card field, ISIS, are starting to look a little dated.

So where is this article headed.  Well, this site received a tip off today about a stunning range of laser cut wedding stationery from the Hummingbird Card Company that has rekindled my love of the style.  The company started in 2007 so I am surprised that I have not come across them before.  Well, hopefully this site will help share the love around.

Humming Bird Card Company

The Hummingbird Company is run by two friends, Sally-Ann & Suzi, who both have a background in fashion design.  All their designs show off the gorgeous intricate effects that can be achieved with laser cutting.  As with any laser cut card the detail is not readily defineable unless there is some contrasting colour behind the laser cut edge.  The Hummingbird style in this respect is primarily to use white or cream card and create the contrast using soft pastel shade inserts.  This subtle contrast works perfectly to create classic designs of timeless appeal that do not draw any attention to the fact that they have been made using 21st century production techniques.  Cards can be finished off with coordinating ribbons and diamontes to add a handfinised touch.   I will pick out a few particular designs that grab my attention and write about them in more detail over the coming months when I have them in my possession.  In the meantime you will probably wish to take advantage of the Hummingbird Card Company’s sample service to get your hands on some of their cards yourself.  Please share your own thoughts on their designs in the comments below.

Letters design from Hummingbird Cards

Guest books are a great way of capturing your guests thoughts on your wedding day and are a keepsake you will want to look at straight after the wedding and year after year, and if you are having disposable cameras at your reception tables you can put in the odd photo here and there next to the ‘authors’ to capture the mood of the day.  It is best to choose something that will stand the test of time since it will be handled again and again.  This fabric covered guest book from Confetti has a delicate floral embroidered pattern and is available in champagne or ivory for £24.99.  It has 60 pages for your guests to write on and there is also plastic protective sleeve available for £1.99 to keep it clean.

Really want to stand out from the crowd with some funky invitations?  These giraffe print invitations are from the Sophia collection at Two by Two Weddings and are just one of the many options you can choose from different coloured boards, different embossed boards and many different coloured ribbons.  Choose between something funky like this Sophia with animal detail to something understated, yet equally stunning like the Sophia cream with watermarked rose print shown below.  Prices range between £3.20 and £3.40 depending on the number of cards ordered and the size ordered.

Classic Script Civil Partnership

Classic Script from Olivia Samuel

This Taupe Gatefold Invitation from Vera Wang is the epitome of simple, minimalist elegance.   It features a taupe shimmer gatefold card with the opening offset to the right which is beautifully tied with ribbon, inside is a square of oyster white paper with the wedding details.  There is a design to suit most tastes from traditional to contemporary and I personally love this Red invitation with its gold ink for an opulent Christmas wedding.
  

The Vera Wang wedding stationery is available from just a few outlets in the UK including Harrods.

These vintage style Pearl invitations from Imagine are absolutely divine.  The classic envelopment style features a beautiful antique style pearl embellishment on the front, with a delicate diamante detail in each corner of the insert.  It is presented in a box which not only protects the design in the post, but gives it an air of importance which of course your wedding invitations should have.  The Pearl invitations cost £5.50 and include an RSVP with envelope