When it comes to wedding invitations, couples nowadays have a huge range of options and styles to choose from - reflecting everything from budget-conscious choices to gorgeous, one-of-a-kind designs.

Many couples will explore local stationery stores to generate ideas for their own invitations, while others are turning to the Internet to find unique invitations, save the date cards, and other custom paper needs. Not only can ordering wedding invitations online save a lot of money, the turnaround time is often faster than a local dealer.

Invitation design can range from casual and fun, to elegant, traditional, modern, or you can even have cultural wedding invitations created to suite the theme of your wedding. To help achieve your unique look and set the tone for your overall wedding style, consider different textures, colors, fonts, inks, etc.

As you begin to look around online, you’ll come across different printing techniques and options. A very popular trend today is William Arthur letterpress invitations, such as those by wedding paper divas and others, whereby custom metal plates are created in order to “press” each invitation with design and ink, creating beautifully imprinted text and/or other design elements on the invitation.

At the other end of the spectrum, you might explore the growing range of do-it-yourself invitation kits from the large office supply chains, or for the creatively inclined, an art supply store might offer some unique ideas for combining card stock with stamps, vellum or other artistic enclosures.

If you would like to have a calligrapher address your invitations and announcements, consider hiring an art student from a local college to save money. You might also think about having a graphic design student design your wedding invitation if you are looking for invites which are a bit more unique and “one-of-a-kind,” while still remaining within your budget.

Before ordering invitations, consider which of the following related stationery items you might also need (you might be able to save on the cost of purchasing these items separately): Read the rest of this entry »

The bridal gown needs to look grand and make the bride appear like a princess - or a queen - on her special day.

The Elegance of White Bridal Gown

White has always been associated with purity and innocence, virtues that brides are supposed to possess. While brides in the olden days did wear white, it was a matter of preference rather than custom. Brides wore the best dress they own or could afford to buy on their wedding day, regardless of the color. The only colors shunned by brides are black, the color of mourning; and red, the color of the prostitute or fallen woman. Read the rest of this entry »