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

Strawberry Twist

Simple and stunning with a slightly retro twist is the best way I can describe the Calladream wedding stationery range from Strawberry Twist.  The semi gloss card features a posterized print of a simple bouquet of calla lilies giving a slightly ‘Andy Warhol’ retro feel.  The bride and grooms names and wedding date are printed in the same colour ink and this can be changed to match your theme.  At £2.00 each these invitations are a great price and there is a full set of matching stationery and reception items available.

Well my views changed after doing a spot of Blackberry picking with my wife and children yesterday.  Despite it being the middle of August we have have little sunshine over the last few weeks and the ripe blackberries were unsurprisingly few and far between.  What did seem to be flourishing between the thickets were a surprising number of flowering thistles.  I guess the rainy, cloudy weather we have been having was more akin to that in the Scottish Highlands.

In any case these flowering thistles shone with beauty among the rambling blackberry thorns and up until yesterday I would have probably clumped the two together in the same family.  The heads of the thistle were not at all prickly and quite soft to the touch and the beautiful purple flowers were so vivid against the green foliage.

Unfortunately, many of the thistle wedding invitations on the market seem to overplay the Scottish roots of this flower rather than concentrate, as I did yesterday, on its beauty.  So what you tend to find is that the thistle is surrounding by Tartan ribbon and bows or Celtic knots and symbols.  Well here are some more elegant thistle wedding stationery designs to show you what can be achieved with this marvellous flower.  I think it would make a wonderful choice of wedding flower whether you are Scottish or not.

Emblems Thistle from Olivia Samuel

Thistle Design - Weddinginvitesonline

Bespoke Sketched Thistle Invitation - ValCarr

Blind Embossed Thistle Motif – Letterpress Thistle - Piccolo Press

Elspeth Letterpress design with a Rambling Thistle Border – Willow Wood

These wedding invitations from artist Rebecca Stidson are truly unique, not just because they are all individually hand painted by her, but on each card the insert is printed parchment that is then sewn into the card with metallic thread for a really unusual look.  As she says, each card is a mini piece of art!  Because they are handmade, you can choose colours to suit you and she can design something especially for you.  What amazes me most though is the cost, I would expect to pay a premium for such time consuming work, but her invitations are priced at £2.20, with Orders of Service costing £2.50 and place cards just 80p. 

This interesting watercolour design is available from Pink Wedding Stationery (dedicated to Gay and Lesbian Wedding invites) or Muse Wedding Stationery.  Both sites are owned by Muse design studio so I guess your pick depends on whether you are straight or gay.  The design is called ‘moon’ and featured a watercolour impression of the full moon and its reflection in a very striking blend of midnight blue and purple.  It reminds me of a silk watercolour card that I bought for my wife when we first courting.

I have to say after five minutes of writing that opening paragraph I am now of the view that it looks more like a lone sperm in search of the egg.  If you hadn’t spotted the similarities yourself then I hope I havent spoilt this design for you.  Perhaps it is better to know now than to have one of your guests comment on the fact that the image looks like it has been lifted from a school sex education manual.   There are lots of other beautiful watercolour design from Muse Design Studio and I recommend you take a look.  We will feature more designs in coming articles and I promise to let more imagination run its course before typing the next post.