6 Unique Ways to Word Your Wedding Invitations

One of the most common questions we get from our brides is "What wording should I use." Although there are so many guides about wording out there, today's won't be a regurgitation of formalities or common wording options, but instead unique wording options real brides have used over the years.

We really believe in showing off your personality as a couple through your wedding suite, and this definitely includes your wording from save-the-dates through your thank yous. 

Before we break this down, these are just a FEW of the unique wordings we really like and think stand out from the crowd. If you have something unique as a couple roll with it. Afterall your wedding day is all about you two as a couple, so make it fit! 

so put it on your calendar

In our eyes, Save-the-Date cards are the beginning of your wedding suite. Everything from save-the-dates through thank yous should be a breath of the same air. So go ahead an have fun and show off those personalities starting here. 

Here are a few examples of some of our favorite save-the-date wordings. Remember you don't need to say too much here! Its main purpose is to let your guest know where and when your wedding will be held.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Save-The-Date cards:

1. FYI, you have plans...
 

2. August Twenty Fourth 2019, we're getting married...
 

3. We'd love for you to join us on...
 

4. We set the date...
 

5. Mark your calendar for...
 

6. We are getting married {month, day, year}. We'd love you to join us.

On pretty paper

Your wedding suite often contains many pieces in order to communicate everything your guest need to know about your wedding and all the details and events that surround it. For this post, we are going to cover the basics of your invitation, rsvp, and detail cards. However, there are many more items that may be included such as your rehearsal dinner card, brunch card, map + directions, accommodations, etc. 

and watch us kiss

Your invitation is typically the most formal piece of your wedding suite, but that doesn't mean it has to be stale, boring or common. So here is our take on some fun ways to be a little more formal.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding Invitations:
 

1. You inspire us. You ground us. You fill us with endless joy and gratitude. We would be honored and privileged to have you join us as we exchange vows.
 

2. Because you have shared their lives with your love and friendship we joyfully invite you to celebrate
 

3. With full hearts we invite you to join us as two love birds become husband & wife.
 

4. It is because of your love, support & friendship which has guided and inspired us that we invite you to join us as we exchange our vows.
 

5. Please join us for a weekend getaway in celebration of our marriage
 

6. {Bride and Groom} warmly invite you to share in celebration of their marriage

 

Would you like Fish or Chicken?

Most RSVPs are rather plain and frankly not exciting. That doesn't have to be your RSVP though. We love adding graphics for food choices, or couples who want to know their guests song request.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding RSVPs:
 

1. ¿Sí o no? 
 

2. Happily accepts | sadly declines
 

3. Can't wait to party at the wedding | unable to attend (and very sad about it) 
 

4. yes! Woudln't miss it. | no. sorry to miss it!
 

5. ____ out of ____ guest(s) will attend
 

6. Yes! We will have our dancing shoes on | No, Sadly we'll have to miss out on the fun

or join us for brunch

Although this card is sometimes optional, we find that most of our couples need at least one extra piece beyond the invitation and RSVP. Cue a lovely details card that lets your guest know about your wedding website, where to find accommodations or even some things to do while they are in town. 

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding Detail Cards:
 

1. Find all the details at: meandyou.com
 

2. Drinks on us!
 

3. All the weekend details: meandyou.com
 

4. Here is the who, what, when, where and why for the weekend.
 

5. Unplugged and Adults Only
 

6. A few of our favorite things

---

If you like a few of the wordings from above, no need to scroll up and screenshot them. We have crafted a download of them here so you can save them to that ever-growing wedding folder on our desktop.

We really hope this guide helped you think about what ways you may make your wedding wording have more personality and less common. These are just a few wording options, during our consultations we brainstorm with each of our brides, and help them find wording unique to them.

xoxo,
Amanda and Melissa

6 ways to keep your letterpress suite on budget

We know. You know. Letterpress ain't cheap. But there are ways to make it more affordable. We're all about showing you how to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to your dream invitation suite. That's why we created this quick guide for you! (and because we get this question a lot from our brides!)

Here are 6 tips to help get cost down, without skimping on what's really important to you.

1. Skip the extras

You know how sometimes you get a wedding invitation and there are 14 pieces that fall out? Cards, bands, additional envelopes... a lot of that stuff is totally unnecessary. Sure, they're fun to look at before they get tossed in the trash, but your guests really only save the invitations. Sticking to the essentials keeps your suite pieces to a minimum and allows your few pieces be more impactful.

 

Our Essentials Are:

• Save-the-date
  THE INVITATION SUITE
• Invitation
• Reply Card
• Reception Card
• Thank you note
• Envelopes (save the date, invitation, reply card, thank you note)
• Return Address

 

But you can really get by with:

• Save-the-dates and Envelopes
• Invitations and Envelopes
• Reply Cards
• Thank Yous and Envelopes

---

2. Keep it to one color

Remember, even if we just print one color,  your invitation has 2 colors - the paper color and the ink color! Adding more than one print color can be nice, but it isn't necessary, and it is one of biggest ways to reduce cost.

Each color adds a new plate and adds another run through the press. Going from one color to two doubles printing production time, so you can see how the cost can add up quickly. 

If you are sold on a two-color design but want to cut cost, keep the two colors on the invitation, but simplify to one color on the other pieces. Or try using different colored papers.

 

Your guest will never remember your reply card was one color but your invite was two!

---

3. Use a rubber stamp

If your up for a little DIY, a rubber stamp is a great way to save. 

Getting a custom rubber stamp made is a great way to add your return address to all of those envelopes (because trust us - there are a lot of them).

 

save-the-dates | invitations | reply cards | thank you notes x your number of guest

---

4. Choose the right stock

 

Stock is just our word for paper..

So don't let that intimidate you. So many brides worry about picking their paper, but we make that process as easy as possible.

We only use premium stocks, so even our thinnest stock (1 ply) has more texture and is thicker than your average stock. 

We offer 1 ply and 2 ply stocks for our wedding suites. Choosing 1 ply stock for your wedding suite will stretch your dollar the most. 

If you're really loving the thicker feel use it for your invitation, and then keep your details and reply cards on the thinner paper.
 

---

5. Save on postage

#POSTCARDS

We are totally crushing over some beautiful postcards lately, and we think it is such a fun way to send out your reply card. Bonus it saves you money in envelopes and postage! Which makes it much more environmentally friendly.

The reply card is a great place to save some money - they're only in your guest's hands for a short period of time before they mail them back to you.

 

TIP: We don't recommend save-the-date postcards however because they get damaged in the mail, and won't look as nice on arrival to your guest!!

---

6. Include your website

 

Whoever says putting your URL on your invitation is taboo is living in another century. Everyone uses wedding websites for all the info from booking rooms to buying gifts. Including your wedding website URL somewhere in your invitation suite can be a great way to streamline the info you need to print. Which may may mean you can print less cards, or smaller cards, saving you money.

---

We hope you learned a few ways to make your letterpress printed wedding suite more affordable. If you found this blog helpful let us know what tips you liked most in the comments below.

Our Holiday Cards- Twenty Eighteen

Everyone loves seeing what goes on during production here at the studio. So for this blog post we are giving you a sneak peak into our process as we make our 2017 New Years card!

A behinds the scenes of our 2018 New Year's card!

You probably know this by now, but we have a thing for letterpress (e.g. Wedding Invitations & Suites, Envelopes, Greeting Cards, Stationery). It is an obsession.

We’ve even shared a little about our letterpress process before! But when we have the opportunity to make something for ourselves, we couldn’t help but share our most recent letterpress obsession: OUR NEW YEAR'S CARD!

Our New Year's card is something we both get so excited to design and produce during the holiday season! In the beginning, we always start in one direction and land in a different world it seems. 

During our process of designing and working through several ideas, we came to the conclusion that we wanted to collaborate with one our friends and a local designer and artist, Reed Knauth. (Check her out more of her work here) Knowing we wanted something soft yet playful she went to work creating us some beautiful watercolor art. 

Check out more of Reed's wonderful work here:

 

Deciding the details

After narrowing down to our favorite watercolor image (don't worry you will see our other favorites soon!), we began to set different lockups of typography and exploring different accessories. 

We have been really loving grommeted tags, wax seals, and diagonally tied string this month, but next month is sure to bring new favorites. 

Once the invite is fully designed we send all things to be flat printed to the printer, and all designs to be letterpress printed off to get plates made. 

We duplexed the flat printed piece, so that every invite would be thicker, and feel a little nicer on every hand that it touched. 

ON THE PRESS

We letterpress printed all of the tags on our Vandercook press, cut them all down to size, and then the invite was ready for assembly.

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER

During this time of year, we love putting on a sappy holiday movie as we assemble our holiday cards, enjoy the season, and spend time crafting something we have put so much time and thought into! 

We will be sending out our New Years card soon, and hope you enjoy having one in your hand as much as we enjoy making them! Want to be on our mailing list for next year's card? Join our mailing list at the bottom!

xoxo,
Amanda & Melissa

5 ways to tag your invite

We love adding something a little special to every wedding invitation suite that is created in our studio. One of our favorite ways to add that "something special" is by adding a tag to an suite piece. Adding that simple element takes the whole suite to a new level of detail. 

 

5 ways we love adding tags

1. mark it with your date

A great way to remind all of your guests to mark their calendars is to attach a tag with your wedding date. It is simple and fun. 

2. add your monogram

If you are already wanting a monogram on your invitation, this may not be the way to go, but if your not, it's your lucky day. Adding your monogram can be a great way to add that extra detail.

3. hashtag it

We love couples who include this detail on their tags! It is a great way to incorporate that you want your guest to help record your day without printing in on the invite or on a details card. 

4. show your wedding location

Some weddings are a hop and skip away for their guest, and some are a bit further away. In either scenario, a tag letting your guest know where to join you is a great way to mark your invite. Our personal favorites are with coordinate degrees or by state. 

5. say something special

A quote is a great way to set the mood for your wedding. It is a sneak peek into your personalities, and a fun way to greet your guest as they dive into your suite. 

---

There are so many other ways to tag your invite, but hopefully, we introduced you to a new idea and a way to add a little something special to your suite. 

We have included a little something special for all of our readers. Click the link below to download your free printable gift tags. 

A Tour of Our Studio

Before we jump into the lovely images of our studio, here is a quick intro.

 

Here's our timeline:

2008 | alee & press was founded in Midtown Atlanta
2009 | alee & press moved to a new location in Chandler Park
2012 | alee & press moved to its current location in Brookhaven
2016 | the impressionist was founded and launched under the same roof as alee & press

The impressionist is a paper + invitation studio that specializes creating custom letterpress wedding invitation suites. Meeting with brides in person at our location inside alee & press allows us to really get to know their vision. And also, we get to show off the presses!

TAKE A LOOK AT OUR SPACE: 

A quick peek inside the letterpress production room of Alee & Press.

---

Now let's jump into the pretty paper and our presses!

---

Alee & Press | where all of our printing and production work happens.
 

OUR TWO PRESSES ARE: 

Vandy | Vandercook Proofing Press
   (SP-15 for anyone out there would like that tidbit of information)
Herman | an original Heidelberg

VANDY IS OUR BREAD & BUTTER.

We print daily on this guy, and the majority of our projects through The Impressionist are printed here. 

HERMAN IS OUR BEST MAN. 

He is our go-to for our larger runs, and where most of our larger wholesale orders through Alee & Press are printed.

---

Our production table rarely looks like the image above though! It's typically filled with paper waiting to be pressed, orders that are ready to be cut down to size, invitations ready to be shipped, and boxed orders ready for delivery.

Mixing Colors

All our colors are custom mixed ink to match Pantone colors, and it is a pretty mesmerizing process. 

If you want to catch some videos follow us Instagram and check out our stories.
~link here~

The Impressionist | our paper studio

This is the space where all of our consultations, brainstorming, and the start of every suite begins.  

Check out one of our recent blog posts here to see how we go from meeting brides to creating custom suites for their weddings.

~A Suite Story of Adventure~

 

Our Archive Wall

On our archive wall, we have a few of our favorite pieces displayed so our brides can browse for inspiration, or just to give us a feel for what they are drawn to.

---

We hope this brief tour has given you a small glimpse inside the studio, and the environment. 

We always joke that the only thing formal here is our invitations. We keep all of our consultations relaxed and informative. Ensuring that each bride gets the suite they have been dreaming of, even if they didn't quite have a vision when we first met.

“We always joke that the only thing formal here is our invitations.”