Custom Stamps

Being a designer, I love to have everything match! One of the best additions that has come along is the ability to customize your own stamp. I have done a few for my personal holiday cards as well as a few for clients. Hitched Invites is able to design you your own custom stamp to match your invites. We will design the stamp for a small fee and we will give you a file you can upload to your favorite custom stamp site. A couple are Zazzle.com and Photostamps.com.

Another trend is to use vintage stamps to dress up your design. Take a look at Championstamp.com, they offer all different types of stamps sure to fit your need.

Below are some stamps I have created for myself and my clients, take a look and if you think this something you may want, just ask us we are happy to assist.

Blue and White "French Country"

There is a hot new color trend sweeping through retail, I have seen it in many stores and adorning the latest home fashions... Pillows, quilts, dinner ware etc. Even certain clothing has trended this way. The colors blue and white but more importantly dark blue and white. Dark blue and white create a striking look. I decided I wanted to design an invitation in a blue and white but not go the nautical route or a classy-plain look. To me blue and white reminds me the most of "Country" or "French Country" toile patterns, checks and flowers. I used a round poppyish looking flower that is not so detailed in like a toile print would be. I also wanted to incorporate a check pattern that reminds of me of a table cloth that would be set on a table underneath a tree out in a field or deep at the end of a backyard. Below is what was created. The wedding is in Galena at a home that can be rented and allows for weddings and has vast acreage which ties into my checkered pattern idea. This is an invitation set but could be paired nicely with a pocket fold if you were having your wedding where guests would need to travel. The pocket fold could include all the travel info and festivities that are going to be going around before and after the wedding! So take a look and as always if blue and white are not your thing it can always be changed to suit your color needs, like black and white, black, white and a deep red or even black, white and yellow.

You know what they say about Imitation...

The focus of this post is my sister. She has found the man of her dreams and she sure does have some ideas as to how she wants her invitations designed when she does get married! She is a horse lover and lived out in Colorado for almost 10 years. She came across this wine called the Show which featured letterpress labels from a company called Hatch Show Prints. Hatch Show prints creates "Gig" posters. They are awesome and I hope one day to get down to Nashville and take a tour of their shop. Here is a link to their site. http://countrymusichalloffame.org/our-work/
Her save the date is a version of a Hatch "Gig" poster and the wine label combined, please note the Cowboy art is low resolution. I told her when she gets engaged I will get a hi res version! The save the date is a 3 color design and has a holder for the save the date with a black band or ribbon. The monogram could be carried through out the invite or other items being used in the wedding. The monogram is made to look like a bandanna folded. The envelope is personalized with touches from the save the date and the monogram. The invite is still in the works and once that is complete I will post.

Two New Designs

With reworking my website and finishing up some client projects I now have some time to post some new designs. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few more out after these. These are horizontal in orientation, I do not have a lot of those so I figured I would create a few.

The first is Vignette. It is done in red and black and is classical in style with a wallpaper type pattern frame with an oval inset for the text. The oval is enhanced with a little border.

The second is Bracket. I love using typographical elements in design. This is done in brown and celadon and has a few patterns running through out. This is fun and modern but classy as well.

As always these can be created in any color scheme of your choosing and font choices as well.

Proofing Your Invitations

As a designer, I get information for the wedding invitations I create in various forms... I will get everything typed out the way the bride and groom would like it, I get basic info and I choose the wording that fits best. I work on these day in and day out and do catch things and also catch things that may need to be reworded or look for continuity with dates and times. Before anything I design gets printed I have the bride give it a once over and tell her to feel free to have others look as well. I am not an English Major and most are not as well. As a designer, I think one of the main issues is that clients can often forget that we don’t know the details of their event as intimately as they do, and unfortunately, proofreading isn’t part of the service. I can’t say that I don’t “read” your invite, but I don’t know how to spell your father’s first name correctly or what time you’ve decided to start cocktail hour, so that means the responsibility of proofing has to rest completely with you.


Proof from a printed source
If you have received a full physical sample of your invite, you should always proof from your printed invitation. If you received only a digital proof, it’s best to print your invitation and accessories and proofread a hard copy rather than relying on the on-screen version.

Read your invitation out loud
Proofread all parts of your invitation suite by reading it out loud. If possible, have another person listen and read along while you read it. This method is a good way to catch missing words or doubled words, as well as general grammar issues.

Read it backwards
Read it backwards, focusing on the words themselves. It may sound strange, but this is a powerful tool for finding spelling errors, as sometimes, your mind will subconsciously fix errors, making it appear as though everything is correct when it really isn’t. Taking time to concentrate on each word out of context will make your proofing that much more effective.

Check names
Check the spelling of all names on the invitation (including parents, children, etc.). You would be surprised at the errors you might find!

Check addresses, dates and numbers
Check all dates and numbers carefully. This includes things like making sure dates are correct, day and date match, addresses are complete and correct (especially street numbers, if included) and also checking telephone numbers, etc.

Check response methods and additional information
Check to ensure your RSVP information is correct, along with information like website addresses, etc. Make sure to proofread any cards with additional information.

Check the overall invitation layout, graphics, etc.
It’s important that you make sure the details of your invitation are accurate, but it is also very important to proof the entire invitation for errors in color, spacing, fonts, etc.

Find a proofreading partner.
Once you have proofread the invitation a few times, have someone else proofread it, as well. It is easy to overlook a mistake on your invitation when you know what the invitation should say. Have a few people who aren’t familiar with all the details (co-workers, neighbors, friends) go over your invite for an unbiased review.