Wedding Blog
As many of you already know, I am in the process of having my wedding invitations designed by a letterpress printer and have previously posted proof options.
Here’s the “final” proof for the invitation. It still needs a little tweaking, but I really like how it came out in the end. I have to admit, I was a bit worried in the beginning of the process (worried that it might turn out horribly and nothing like what I envisioned), but I’m feeling much better now.
Here’s a sneak peek:
Original proof:
Second round / almost final proof with all of the wonderful suggestions given to me by our readers:
The invites are 2-color invites with white ink on blue paper and gold, chocolate, or blue for the main ink color (TBD).
I really want to write about/share what company I used for my invites, but I feel that it may be too early in the process to give an accurate review, but I will share what I know so far.
The Story:
What led me to choose this letterpress company was the price. Plain and simple.
After countless hours of poring over websites and going through EVERY SINGLE letterpress printer on iloveletterpress.com (a site I was referred to by a previous weddingbee blog), I found one that would custom design my invitations for an OUTRAGEOUS (as in a good outrageous) price.
This company is a 1-man operation, but he is really efficient, quick to answer your questions, and very thorough. I was very impressed with the level of customer service and the response time considering only 1 guy, Sean, works there designing and hand-printing the invitations from start to finish.
He started giving me design ideas right away and I was very impressed with them! I was really excited to see how the finished product would turn out. He kept me updated every step of the process (so far) and let me know exactly when I could expect the paper samples, the proofs, etc. And even when he was running a bit behind, he let me know exactly when he would be finished.
The Money
My quoted price for my invitations was $439 for 100 pieces with printed envelopes in 2 ink colors. He later threw in a 3rd ink color for free just because I had contacted him so early in my wedding planning process ( 8+ months in advance), so ladies, planning early really does help!
Considering all of the prices I had previously seen for custom invitations (and non-custom starting at $1200 for only 50-100 invitations without the printed envelopes and extra inks), this was crazy! So of course, I put my deposit down right there and then and mailed in the contract. 
Pretty good, eh? If you decide to contact him, tell him that Thuy or Miss Plum from WeddingBee sent you! I’ll post up pictures of the various paper/ink samples he sent me soon.
What do you think of the current proof?
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i like the flourish design of the second proof. less hand-held-mirror-shape-like than the first option. and it looks less top heavy. well done!
I agree with Miss BOP. It looks much better than the original proof. Good job! But I think it would be easier to read if the font were enlarged a little.
Wow, your second proof looks amazing! I love the details–great selection!
Miss BOP: they are 6×9 invites with 3 5/8 x 5 1/8 reply cards and envelopes.
Thuy, does that price include rsvp and map cards? If so, that is a great price!
Amazing deal! How’s the paper stock? Good weght and feel? I, like you, scoured the web for affordable, elegant letterpress. But, you actually found it. Congrats on these.
yes! they include response cards with printed envelopes. I’m working on the map though… I’ll let you know how much that ended up costing….
the paper stock is actually really nice. It feels like a cotton blend, but not as thick as some other really DEEP impression-letterpress.
I am doing letterpress also! I think your flourishes will look really amazing with the printing technique. I hope your text is aligned and you just blanked out for web…..?
what fonts did you choose? i’m having a tough time picking mine.
are you letterpressing your maps also?
nicely done.
you did a really really nice job. I’m interested to see the whole she-bang once it’s all done.
yes - the text is aligned… i just blanked it out for the web
and yes - i think i am going to letterpress my maps as well….
i’ll keep you updated whenever I get anything else in!
I know that miss raspberry is starting a wedding invitation business and she does awesome work - check her items out!
there is mention of small type- does the proof allow you to print it and check it for actual size and readability? i’m sure it’s fine though. you don’t want huge type
the type only seems small because when I post it, my blog automatically resizes my pictures to a smaller size, but in real life, yes, the print size is readable/a good one
Miss Plum,
What’s he charging for shipping? I know a guy locally that could probably come close to matching these prices. Actually I’m a graphic/web designer and we are in talks about working together on exactly this type of stuff.
By locally I mean Dallas by the way.
I don’t think he’s charging us anything for the shipping. I’m not sure though, we didn’t discuss that in the contract. Just the whole package deal.
I’ll let you know whenever I find out!
Hey Miss Plum! I e-mailed you directly about this earlier today, but I just realized that sometimes when people e-mail my lily@weddingbee acct it goes to my junk mail… just wanted you to know there should be a message from me lurking in your e-mail somewhere
hmm uh oh - i already emptied my junk folder! can u resend?
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Mrs. Plum, Dallas
Age and Occupation in 06: 22, Accountant by day/Floral and Event Designer by night and weekends
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Security Admin
Engagement Date: December 31, 2004
Wedding Date: June 29, 2007
Venue: Marie Gabrielle Restaurant and Gardens
About Me: I have been engaged for about two years now - yes, a long engagement, because my fiance and I wanted to wait until I graduated college, which I did this past summer! He proposed after dating just two months - crazy, I know, but 2 years later, here we are, still crazy in love :-). We are having not one, but TWO weddings and TWO receptions in one weekend - American-style and Vietnamese-style - in Dallas, Texas, where I was born and raised!
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