A favourite of mine is the Negative Strip design from CCA which was added this morning.  This design stands out from the others in that it allows 5 photos to feature on the front of the card.  Most of the other designs just feature a single image or two (one each of bride and groom).  With the 5 photo negative strip design many of our customers choose to feature photos of themselves as children and then an up to date photo of each of them.  The 5th photo then completes the set with a close up picture of the happy couple cheek to cheek.  It creates a simple, short romantic storyboard.  This is just one example of course and the choice of photos is entirely yours.  A photo of the church or venue is another popular choice, or photos of your children or pets. 

CCA Negative Strip in White or Cream

The great thing about all the own photo designs is that it allows the customer to be a little creative with their invitations whilst still keeping a professional overall design and finish.  Most of the invites in this section are printed on a high end digital press and surpass anything that can be achieved on a home color inkjet or laser printer.  When supplying digital images it is important to remember that they can only be reproduced at the quality provided and we recommend a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.  We can always help and advise with the choice of quality of image so don’t worry if you are unsure your pictures will make the grade, we will soon let you know.  If you do not have digital images then you can send us original photos for us to scan for you.  We always worry about precious photos being sent in the post so whenever possible send a reprint  and use Registered or Special Delivery post for peace of mind.  We do not charge any extra for reproducing your photo digitally and we usually target a 600 dpi output scan for best quality.  We will return any photos to you on request.

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 )

Ok! so you love picking up the latest celebrity magazines to see who’s marrying who, what, when, where and quite frankly Coleen,  why?  (sorry, I’m sure he’s a lovely bloke).  Now you can see yourself and your partner on the front cover in this Oi! invitation from Moonpig which you can upload your own photos into and customise yourself.  The price for the standard card where you have the front cover as the magazine cover with the card opening out normally is £2.99.  They are certainly novel and I must admit I was quite surprised to find something like this on Moonpig, seriously guys, pay the money, get a better advertising agency!

For a really personal feel to your wedding stationery, these photograph invitations from Two by Two are great.   Don’t worry, you don’t have to use one of those school photos with the huge shirt collars or the one of you when you had just cut your own fringe (we all did it).  There are many different style to choose from so you can go for the cute childhood ones like above, or you could use something more up to date for a more contemporary feel.  Depending on the style you choose they cost from £2.60 each to £3.00 each, which I think is fantastic value for money for something with such a personal feel.  Having met the team from Two by Two at The National Wedding Show last year, I can honestly say that I would be happy to commission them for myself if I were getting married again as they were really friendly and knew what they were talking about.