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

50XP020 Jasper from CCA Occasions

This design is called Jasper and is one of the best selling designs from CCA Occasions.  CCA have recently launched some different colourways in this design which will be featured on this site in the weeks to come.  The original Olive Green design shown here is my personal favourite.  A choice of text colours are available but the Olive Green text is best suited as it matches the thick satin ribbon perfectly. 

The wording is printed on a cream card which measures 14cm square.  This is quite compact so if you have a lot of words to fit on your invitation then it could look a little cramped.  The cream printed card is neatly mounted against a  heavyweight green pearlescent board by the way of two securing tabs top and bottom.   I was expecting some adhesive to be used as well because I felt it was important that an equal margin was required between the cream card and its mount.  This was not necessary however and I was surprised at how well these two tabs hold the card securley and neatly in place.

The layered effect is finished off beautifully with a translucent wrap with a pretty green floral print that would not look out of place in a Laura Ashley showroom.  The wrap opens at the front in a gatefold fashion and this is held in place with an opulent olive green 25mm double faced satin bow.  Don’t be afraid about tying the bow because the work has been done for you.  The bows come pre-tied and cut to the perfect length with a sticky peel strip on each length.  All you need to do is wrap the bow around the card and fix it in place with the peel and seal strip.

If you really want to set this design alight then I would recommend choosing the raised ink option which should only cost around an extra £15.  The Olive Green ink looks stunning when printed in the raised thermographic ink.  It may add an extra couple of days on to the delivery time but it is well worth the wait and extra cost.

When the finished card is assembled with its ribbon in place then your guests will probably slide the card out of the translucent wrap.  This seems a little surprising but for some reason when you have the card in your hand it seem more obvious than undoing the bow.  This is no bad thing because if your guests did undo the bow then they would ruin the look of the card because it would be very difficult to tie it back together so neatly.

There is a great range of coordinating items in this range :

50XP020 – Day Invitation
50XP022 – Evening Invitation
5QXP021 – Order of Service
5QXP027 – Menu
5QXP028 – Order of Day
5CXP025 – Thank You Card
5CXP024 – Reply Card
5ZXP023/X – Personalised Place Card
5ZXP023 – Non Personalised Place Card

This design is currently discounted at Olivia Samuel.

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.

The vintage trend is here to stay and this design from Picture Palace allows you to incorporate that ambience whilst keeping everything fresh.  The design features a white square card with  Austrian lace and a block bow, also in white which means you are not restricted to a colour theme.  The cost for 50 invitations including envelope is £288.50 
 

If you need to provide your guests with information cards and reply cards, you can opt for the Compendium Wallet which includes the invitation, envelope, and the reply card and envelope in the cost and will accommodate any other information such as directions or hotel details.  The cost for 50 compendium wallets is £444.50.  

The ever popular Jasper design above has been a real winner for CCA Occasions when it was launched a couple of years ago as part of their new Xpressions collection.  Well in August this year the Xpressions album is relaunching and Jasper is getting a family of colourways with coordinating ribbons to expand the range.  Here is sneak glimpse of the new designs but we will keep you informed of stockists as soon as they are available. The pricing will be the same as the olive green Jasper design.

The new codes will be as follows :
Chocolate with Chocolate Ribbon – 8XP360
Chocolate with Cream Ribbon – 8XP370
Pink with White Ribbon – 8XP380
Pink with Pink Ribbon – 8XP390
White with White Ribbon – 8XP400
White with Black Ribbon – 8XP410
White with Silver Ribbon – 8XP420

Butterflies seem to be all the rage in wedding stationery design in 2007 and there seems to be no change for 2008 with many more companies adding butterfly wedding invitation designs to their portfolio.

I love these stylish butterfly designs from CKK.  The design is fairly simple with bold single colour butterfly symbols that are softened by a translucent overlay.  The cards are finished with a matching satin ribbon bow.  I first came across these style of bows on the Imperial design from the Letterpress of Cirencester (previosly called Roman).  A single piece of ribbon is threaded through two machine punched or drilled holes to create a bow effect.  Simple yet very effective.

They best thing about this design is the price.  Only £1.50 each for the flat invitations shown above which includes envelopes and there are quantity discounts starting at 50 invitations which can bring the price down to less than £1.28 a card.  A real bargain.

You can request a sample of this design from CKK for £1.50 in one of six standard colours - Dark Brown, Fuscia, Plum, Dusky Blue, Rose Pink and Lilac.  If you are looking for a different colour then contact CKK and see what they can do.