The Stationers Guild

The first indications suggest that the 2012 wedding season appears to be one of the most robust in history. Though the economic climate remains fragile, couples who have delayed their wedding seem to be stating that next season is when they finally agree to get married.

Considering this, wedding specialists are beginning to launch new designs and styles awaiting the wave of new weddings that will start in early January. Major printer and designer William Arthur is starting 2012 with a bang with two revamped wedding albums along with the impending unveiling of Vera Wang’s new wedding invitation designs. Color, bold new styles and designs and invitations that incorporate both conventional and contemporary designs are prominently featured in William Arthur’s wedding line.

Most importantly, William Arthur offers you countless invitations that may be printed in letterpress, engraving or thermography. These choices give the client the option of choosing a printing style that reflects their needs and price range.

William Arthur offers many one of a kind designs at affordable prices and certainly ought to be on every bridal couple’s short list of “must see” wedding invitations. Also, they have a great line of save the date invitations and personal stationery.

See a William Arthur dealer in your area to check out their line at a store or visit them online.

Early indications suggest that the 2012 wedding season appears to be one of the strongest in history. Although the economy continues to be weak, bridal couples who have postponed their wedding seem to be saying that 2012 is when they finally decide to get wed.

With this in mind, wedding companies are beginning to introduce new designs and styles in anticipation of the wave of new weddings which will begin in early January. Top printing company and designer William Arthur is kicking off 2012 with a bang with two renewed wedding albums and also the upcoming release of Vera Wang’s new wedding invitation designs. Color, striking new styles and designs and shower invitations that incorporate both classic and modern designs are conspicuously featured in William Arthur’s wedding invitation line.

Most importantly, William Arthur features many invitations that may be printed in letterpress, engraving or thermography. These options provide the customer the choice of deciding on a printing style that reflects their needs and price range.

William Arthur offers many unique designs at good prices and definitely ought to be on every bridal couple’s short list of “must see” wedding invitations. Also, they have a wonderful collection of save the date invitations and personal stationery.

See a William Arthur dealer in your town to view their line in person or visit them online.

Not many printing methods can match up with the quality of an engraved wedding invitation. Even though engraving was customarily utilized create wedding stationery, birth announcements and business cards for your parent’s and grandparent’s generations, today’s printing processes are much more efficient but lack the level of quality and vigor of engraving.

Most recently, leading stationery stores across the US are finding that wedding couples are now rediscovering the inherent beauty of engraving. Notwithstanding its higher price, engraved wedding invitations bring back the heritage and elegance of times past.

Because the industry has adopted more cost-effective and much more economical forms of printing, numerous engraving firms have closed down and the profession of engraving is quite close to vanishing. Though the robust Heidelberg presses still exist in abundance, the fabrication of metal engraving dies from submerging photo-sensitive copper plates in to a tub of an acid solution is beyond the financial abilities and experience of many private printers.

With its “true” colours and exceptional 3D print resolution, engraved wedding invitations are experiencing a renaissance among engaged couples who treasure a well-crafted invitation. Amongst the leading firms which offer a variety of printing methods, Crane & Co. and William Arthur offer the best design and printing choices.

If the engraved wedding invitation is out of your reach, go for printing in thermograph inks. By using thermograph inks mimics engraving by stamping a resin-based blend on the paper to form the raised surface which you find in engraving. Thermograph inks tend to be more shiny unless of course the printer offers a matte finish, but printing using this approach offers great savings.

As with any fine stationery, engraved invitations should be seen in person to experience the print quality. Colors are opaque and deeper, specially when compared side-by-side along with other types of printing. In all likelihood, you will find skilled stationers in neighborhoods across the United States who are able to provide assistance in helping to design wonderful wedding invitations.

Richard W. May, a founding member of the Stationers Guild, writes frequently about NYC wedding invitations and wedding invitation trends across the United States.

A question we are frequently asked as stationers is whether it is appropriate to use the monogram of the bridal couple on their wedding invitation.  The simple and correct answer is “No!”   I realize that there are many wedding invitations that now use monograms, but it is not proper etiquette and, if you will bear with me, doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Simply stated, “It is not appropriate to use your ‘married name’ monogram, because the couple is not actually married at the time the wedding invitation is sent.”  Some self-appointed “do your own thing” wedding consultants may disagree, but common sense dictates otherwise.   Others feel that it is bad “Juju” and that one may jinx the wedding by anticipating the ceremony that has not yet been officially recognized by either civil or religious authorities.

To most experienced stationers, it is pretty straight-forward, so imagine our surprise when we saw a beautifully engraved monogram on a Crane wedding invitation in their recently released new Wedding Invitations Album.  We assumed that there was a “boo-boo” since the monogram initials did not seem to have anything in common with the names of the wedding couple.

After some forensic science, namely reading the fine print,  we discovered that the beautiful engraged monogram was the monogram of the mother of the bride!  In a note citing Crane’s Blue Book (the reference source of choice for wedding invitation wording and etiquette), Crane states that “As the social hostess for the family, the bride’s mother’s monogram is traditionally printed on the invitation.”  Now, this is news to me, but I will conduct further research to determine the origins of this custom.

In all fairness, I think that the mother’s beautiful monogram overshadows the importance of her daughter’s wedding.  Common sense suggests that it might be more appropriate to let the attention fall on the bridal couple.  Found below is some beautiful engraved stationery for the bride:

Regardless of the wedding etiquette in play here, I think we can all agree that Crane surpasses itself with the quality of its engraved stationery and invitations.  That being said, I would recommend that bridal couples avoid using the monogram of the bride’s mother despite some precedent for this tradition. 

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

Sometimes I feel like Don Quixote charging digital windmills on the rapidly changing landscape of the Internet.  I have long given up hope that the etiquette, civility and  interpersonal relationships will ever be the same after a generation has been brought up believing that Jersey Shore and the Kardashians is as good as it gets in expressing yourself.

Fortunately, I do realize that there are kindred souls out there who share my concern that “good taste” is still relevant.  This morning I came across this delightful article describing someone’s shock at receiving her first Facebook wedding invitation.  With great sensitivity and delicacy, JMW, who writes A Place to Dwell blog, documents her reaction to receiving her Facebook wedding invitation.  Despite every conceivable rationalization to justify this strange behavior which includes a request to his guests “to bring a dish for the potluck reception” she finally concludes with:  “I’m going to say it: you just don’t do that!”

I am in your corner on this issue JMW and, judging from most of the comments to your Blog post, we are not alone.  How refreshing. 

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

William Arthur, a leading designer and printer of fine stationery and custom invitations, has extended its promotion for custom wedding invitations and fine stationery through May 31st. 

William Arthur Wedding Invitation

Now through May 31st, buy 75 custom wedding invitations or more and receive 25 free.  Simliarly, buy 75 notes or stationery cards and receive 25 free.  We recommend shopping at a Guild member store in your neighborhood to take advantage of the expertise of your local stationer.  Appointments are recommended.

Rita Renning is always a popular choice for elegant wedding invitations for bridal couples on a strict budget.  Now through August 31st,  save 20% on Rita Renning wedding invitations ordered from the Rita Renning wedding album carried at many Guild member stores.

Rita Renning Wedding Invitation

Rita Renning wedding invitations are designed and printed by William Arthur, one of the leading fine stationers in the United States.  Sheila May, the owner of Therese Saint Clair, says that “Rita is a popular choice for budget-conscious brides.   With Rita you get a quality custom wedding invitations without breaking the bank.  This is one of the first albums I bring out when asked for a great invitation at an affordable price.  Furthermore, you are getting William Arthur’s outstanding service capability.”

If you are looking for an attractively-priced custom wedding invitation alternative, Rita Renning should certainly be on your radar scope.

With some of the most talented designers in the country, Louella Press has been breath of fresh air in the stationery industry.   Using the ancient and noble printing process of engraving,  Louella Press creates luscious engraved invitations for weddings, Bar & Bat Mitzvahs and milestone events.  Words are not enough to describe their stunning custom invitation designs which are rich color, texture and boldly printed using engraving.

Engraved Invitation by Louella Press

Now through June 30, the folks at Louella Press are offering to engrave the outer envelopes free of charge with one ink color (or, get 2-color envelopes for the 1-color price).  This is an exceptional offer for those looking for an engraved custom invitation, but trying to keep the budget in line.  Schedule an appointment with a Guild member store in your neighborhood who carries Louella Press to take advantage of this great promotion.

Louella Press Custom Invitation

Important events should be celebrated in style.  Doing so with a custom invitation from Louella Press could be the start of something big.

Real Card Studio is offering free return address printing or 50% off coordinating stationery with your invitation order through May 31st.   This creative design studio located in Seattle, WA has some exceptional letterpress invitations that are very popular for weddings and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. 

While many sample invitations in their portfolio are displayed on Real Card Studio’s website, most wedding invitations and other letterpress invitations are custom designed around the color and design preferences of the client.  Heather van Breda, the owner and chief designer for Real Card, has a knack for color and contemporary design which truly distinguishes her work within the industry.

Dealers in your neighborhood who carry Real Card may be found on their website.  As with all custom invitations, it is wise to consult with an experienced stationer who can show you samples of many fine papers and help explain color variations using different printing process and, most importantly, work with you to insure that your invitation is worded properly.

We recently received a 20 page brochure from Krepe-Kraft presenting “the next revolution in invitations.”  Powered by Uinvite, Krepe-Kraft describes this as “the future of traditional invitations.”   While I will leave it to the reader to explore the Uinvite website, the sales pitch is that “tradition and technology can coexist peacefully and gracefully – the elegance and beauty of the traditional paper invitation and the technology to make the whole experience for hosts and guest more convenient and enriching.”

In an era where online resellers are masquerading as fine paper companies, there is no reason why paper companies can’t pretend to be tech-savvy online retailers.  No wonder the consumer is confused and disoriented.  Krepe-Kraft’s sally into the world of high-tech seems ill-advised and certainly doesn’t augur well for the “next revolution in invitations.”  Krepe-Kraft’s “revolutionary” idea is to provide the invitation packaging of a color-coordinated Uinvite CD which houses all kinds of user-friendly goodies for the recipient.  In effect, the invitation is simply the packaging for the CD.  My question:  Why bother?

If this is the future of invitations, it certainly won’t have a long life.  I don’t mean to throw cold water on Krepe-Kraft’s or Uline’s plans, but distributed CDs are sooooo yesterday that they are probably next in line for extinction after the Dodo bird.  Even people my age (and I’m not a Spring chicken) download music, video, files and software to their iPod, Blackberry, Smart Phone or other similar devices.  Gosh, they don’t even hand out CDs at tech conferences anymore.  If I can be brutally honest, this is a corporate planning exercise gone awry.