Hello Santa Barbara brides! Spiffy Press is your new resource for custom-designed letterpress wedding invitations and stationery.

Booklet-style invitation

The new letterpress kid in town has 20+ years of graphic design and printing experience. Each wedding invitation is originally designed to reflect your style, image or theme. Have a look at our recent projects:

• Winery wedding invitation booklet
• Winery wedding program, menu, name cards
• Travel passport booklet invitation

Spiffy Press wedding invitations are different because they are:

• Custom designed from scratch, no two are alike
• Locally letterpress printed by hand in Santa Barbara
• Made with eco-friendly, tree-free paper and envelopes (other options available)
• Printed in a solar-powered studio

We recently moved from Pasadena and will continue to serve the greater Los Angeles area.

Looking forward to meeting with you soon to create amazing, unique wedding invitations and stationery for you!

Call Scott at 626-676-5342 or email at contact@spiffypress.com

I loved this project and am a little sad it’s over. But, today is the big day for the Bond-Tandon wedding. Congrats to Molly and Neil!! It was a pleasure creating their look, setting the mood and style for the event, and getting to know them.

I designed and letterpress printed wedding invitations for them months ago. I was thrilled when they came back for all of the paper pieces that go with a beautiful formal wedding. It was easy creating a visual story for a couple with so many interests, ideas and open minds.

The invites took on the feel of a winery and label to reflect the reception location. I created a logo for the event (can’t wait to see it on the cake) and then carried it through with funky text (they wanted a little edge with their elegance…love that) and applied it to all pieces:

• Programs
• Menus
• Table tents with their incredibly cute wine glass charm
• Coasters
• Anniversary wine labels

These behind-the-scenes photos were taken a couple days ago in the exciting, mad rush to complete a project. You’ll see the calligrapher at work on the place cards (they matched the invitation envelopes).

Wedding program, front

Wedding prgram, inside

Menu. I'd like the Chana Masal please.

Name cards with wine charm

Place card, back with logo (same design on the coasters, but flat

The devil is in the details. Hand-finishing each item.

Callgraphing each name on the place cards

Savina Crosetti my calligrapher and MIL. She's been doing this since the mid-70s!

Call me when you’re ready to create a memorable suite of wedding materials. You’ll have them forever.

Call Scott at Spiffy Press, 626-676-5288

Bond-Tandon Letterpress Wedding Invite and Envelope

Here’s a brand-spankin’ new, hot-off-the-press wedding invitation  for the Bond-Tandon Wedding.

It’s a booklet-style letterpress invitation, designed around their winery event locale (although they love beer), with a healthy dose of funky type! This is the ideal client…fun to work with, looking for an eclectic mix of fonts, packaged in a beautiful, formal wedding invitation.

Here’s a run down of the design process. The couple told me what they were looking for, which gave me inspiration to create.

• Eclectic type >> I created a logo and a big mix of type, a custom logo for the event (used on stamps and cake too)
• Open to funky details >> I included a date edge detail, with the dates hole-punched out (see detail pic below) and tie closure
• Yellow, tiffany blue, and grey wedding colors >> Yellow on the inside as a bright surprise after you see the blue envelope
• Winery event locale >> Stylized vines on the cover and background art; subtle wine-related wording throughout
• Booklet style >> Included photo album pages (they’ll have a photo booth at the reception) and interior vellum sheet printed with their logo on inside front cover

Letterpress printing details:

• Paper:  Crane’s Lettra 110# cover, fluorescent white
• Size:  8.5″ w x 5.5″ h
• Colors:  Yellow PMS 1205, dark grey, medium grey, light grey
• Number of pages:  7
• Impressions:  21 per invitation

More photos anyone? Here you go!

Vellum overlay printed with their logo on inside front cover

Back of the invitation, with closure detail

The invitation page...OK, I'll be there!

Date detail bar, hole punched dates for month, day, year. Hand-made date!

Map and general hotel info...to match the RSVP card

RSVP postcard....with that cute logo on the stamp too

Photo album detail so guests know how to use the page

Call me (626-676-5288)! I can’t wait to custom design your wedding or party invitation too!

Letterpress invitation for Thomas and Debra Shreve

Check out this article on Greetings.com about what brides are looking for in invitations in 2010. It has a lot of handy info and statistics, which is interesting to see where your budget is compared to averages. If you were or are planning on being married in 2010, you are one of the more than 2 million weddings this year!

The letterpress wedding invitation designed for Thomas and Debra Shreve is included in the article. It’s a fresh take on the traditional look of letterpress, wtih a modern design, color and format. Check it out in detail on our site.

Enjoy!

Passport to a memorable wedding, Photo credit: Aaron Gil, www.fotonuova.com

I’m excited to say I saw this article in the L.A. Times recently showcasing Kevin Lo and Maggie Tsai’s wedding … because Spiffy Press designed and printed the letterpress invitations. This was a really fun project, not only were Kevin and Maggie fun to work with, they were the ideal clients because they were looking for a non-traditional invitation and they completely understood how the invitation sets the tone for the entire event.

Today, many couples are looking for something completely customized to reflect their personalities, event and who they. This was a great match for how I like to work and create a truly one-of-a-kind invitation.

The look was inspired by vintage, travel ephemera to conceptually look like a turn-of-the-century passport to tie into the couple’s travel theme (they were married on a yacht in the Marina del Rey harbor). The invitation also doubled as a photo book keepsake with pages to hold the souvenir photos they had arranged for guests to take during the wedding.

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A few details for you invitation junkies, like me:

• Cover and inside letterpress paper is Crane’s 100% cotton
• Envelope is recycled brown-paper kraft, with a string closure
• Cover showcases a debossed monogram of the couples initials in vintage styling
• Booklet binding; colors matched the couple’s wedding scheme
• Invitation included a luggage tag pre-wedding invitation
• Two spreads of photo album pages for souvenir photos
• Vintage atlas pages were bound with the letterpress pages, no two invitations are alike
• Tear-away RSVP postcard with a custom map

Enjoy the photos of this invitation. I hope it inspires you to think creatively about what a wedding invite can be. At the least it’s a lasting keepsake for you and your guests.

Thank you to Aaron Gil of FotoNuova Photography, wedding  photograph for this event for a couple of these professional photos. You can find his work at:

Contact Spiffy Press today!

Luggage tag pre-wedding event invitation

Vintage map pages with letterpress invitation page

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Cover with mongram debossed detail

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Photo album pages for guests' souvenir photos

Detail of passport-style date of the wedding on each page

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Big news for the big day!

Montage of the day

Vintage maps were bound into the invitation for a touch of old-world flair, Photo credit: Aaron Gil, www.fotonuova.com

Sweeter than a real one

My wife recently visited a friend in Toronto who makes the most amazing cakes, and I’m not exaggerating. See for yourself. She gave my wife a beautiful souvenir, something totally unique that can’t be found in stores, which is pretty cool in our globalized retail world where you can get everything from just about every city on the planet. This lovely flower is always fresh and brightens her desk.

My wife said this flower looked so real when she saw it among trays of flowers in her studio. It took a double-take to realize it’s frosting! Roxy makes these fresh beauties by hand to adorn her cakes. She can sculpt just about anything from frosting to look real, not to mention elegant and completely beautiful. Check out her blog.

And I’m poaching a photo from her blog to show you a recent special-tea cake. Breathtaking.

A special-tea cake

All of the flowers on her cakes are hand-made, pieces of art. I see that most wedding cakes today use real flowers, which are pretty, but a frosting flower is an unexpected gift. Your mind’s eye assumes it’s a real flower, but then you take a double-take and realize it’s hand-made, sculpted from frosting! It’s unreal and fun, and then you stare it again and again.

Most of all, I love that Roxy Cakes embraces artistic, handmade objects. Just like Spiffy Press’ wedding invitations and greeting cards.

Hi everyone.

I’ve been on a bit of  a summer vacation from my Blog, but I’m back. And am (finally) adding this wedding invitation from May…been meaning to do it for a while now.

This invitation for Maggie and Kevin got their guests ready for their ceremony on board a yacht, with reception to follow. There’s room for photographs taken at the event and the whole concept was a passport invitation to create a travel theme.

I love it and hope you do too. The “luggage tag” inserts invited some guests to a pre-wedding event at the bride’s parents’ home.

Enjoy these pics and share with a friend who needs custom wedding invites like no other!…or maybe you need them…?

See you soon.

spiffy

spiffy

Hi brides who are dealing with budgets. It’s me Scott at Spiffy Press.

Maybe you have already seen this bridal survey from The Knot, maybe you haven’t.  I’ve included the regional differences. For some reason this struck me as terribly interesting. More interesting than the regular budget stuff, although that’s included in the survey too.

Here’s a related article from Salon.com about brides managing weddings on reduced budgets. I couldn’t agree more that this is an opportunity to get creative, not discouraged. Spiffy Press can work with you to create an invitation that sets the right tone, makes a memorable keepsake and stays within your budget. We are creative and proud of it

Onto our regional differences:

• New York City has the oldest brides and grooms, with average ages of 31 and 33. Respectively, Utah has the youngest, with average ages of 25 (bride) and 27 (groom).
• Iowa and Nebraska couples have the largest weddings, with more than 200 guests.
• Hawaii, Maine, and North Carolina have the most casual weddings. Connecticut, South Florida, Chicago, Detroit, and New York City (and surrounding areas) have the most formal (black tie).
• Central Pennsylvania has the lowest average wedding budget ($20,653), reflecting an 18% drop over 2007. Long Island, NY has the highest average wedding budget ($56,823), followed by New York City which rang in at $52,904 (an intriguing 5% drop-off compared to 2007). Las Vegas, Nevada, weddings experienced the highest jump in overall bridal spend at 19%.
• The top 10 “most expensive” places to get married are: Long Island, New York; New York City; Northern New Jersey; Hudson Valley, New York; Chicago; Connecticut; Los Angeles; South Florida; Rhode Island; and Orange County, California.

Love at first click. Check out Marlo's wedding collection.

Today’s blog brings you a recommendation for a top wedding  photographer in the Southern California area. Marlo Yoshimoto Photography will shoot your special day, leaving you only the most memorable and cherished moments in pictures.

Check out her website at www.msyoshphoto.com.

And if you are planning a wedding, check out Spiffy Press’ custom wedding invitations. They reflect the personality of the happy couple in a way off-the-shelf, template invitations can’t even come close to. We will have new examples to show you in the coming months, but they are in the works now. Our clients are very creative; we promise you’ll like what you see. Stay tuned!

I’ve found that most brides want an invitation they’ve either: a) seen before or b) use because that’s what they think an invitation should be. I’m offering some things to think about to break the mold and generate a little creativity along the way. Sorry, it’s a long blog again today. I promise to cut back soon.

Here’s a short list of what’s below so you can jump ahead if you’d like:

1. Be yourself (and that means both of you)
2. Color
3. Mood
4. Format
5. Fonts
6. Postcard RSVP
7. Wording
8. Graphics
9. Customize
10. Create your story

For your consideration, in no particular order:

1. Be yourself (and that means both of you) … Make a list together of the things you and your finance like to do: hobbies, cultural background, lifestyle, work, sports, books you read, music, travels, whatever. Use these cues as inspiration to incorporate a little bit of yourselves in your invite. No, not literally include baseballs and bats, but maybe the idea of baseball stitching comes through in a subtle way, like a dashed line in a smooth curve, instead of a solid line, when graphics are needed, see #8. It not only makes the design process fun and personal, it ensures you both get an invite that reflects both of you. Ladies, this isn’t insignificant. It’s easy for your Handsome Groom to get lost in the planning shuffle and feel like the things he’s interested in don’t matter. Include what he wants throughout the process too.
2. Color … No one said the bridesmaids’ dresses need to match your invite. I guarantee you that this invite didn’t match any dresses, yet it perfectly set the tone. Your invitation sets the feeling and style for the wedding. It tells your guest what to expect and should match their experience after the fact. If you feel like you need your colors in your invite, no problem. Consider adding a color to set the right mood or use in an eye-catching way that’s consistent with your day.
3. Mood … speaking of mood, what is the tone you want to set? Super formal or fun and quirky? Whatever you do, I highly urge you to consider thinking about this and pushing the mood you want to set before you do anything, especially before you design or select your invitations. It gets people even more excited about your wedding day. It’s fun for them too.
4. Format … Anything goes! We’ve seen all sorts of layouts, sizes and shapes. If you want a small invite that folds out into a poster, go for it! Don’t settle for the standard sizes, unless that’s what you really want. If so, do it ,after you’ve considered your options.
5. Fonts … Mixing fonts is fun and has a huge impact on setting the tone of your event. Consider mixing a traditional font (that would please your mom or future MIL) with a contemporary font. Maybe something eclectic that reflects the happy couple. Balancing the look is possible, especially when using two very different typefaces. Here’s a sample of using fonts by scanning handwriting and forgoing traditional fonts altogether, yet leaving a traditional impression.
6. Postcard RSVP … A great way to cut costs is to use an RSVP postcard. It can either be a standalone card or a perforated part of the invitation. An RSVP postcard cuts down on postage and envelope costs.
7. Wording … Write your own. This is an especially nice touch if you and your fiance are writing your own vows. Or tweak the traditional text to add a word or two that reflects your personality. It’s OK to say Mr. and Mrs. Parents invite you to share in the wedding of Bride and Groom as they unite their love with the one another….Reception immediately follows to boogie down and celebrate!
8. Graphics … Please consider something other than flowers. Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers, but they are really overdone when it comes to weddings. How can they possible help your invitation stand out? Really think about it. Avoid the clip art look too. You can have custom graphics or even photographs in your invite that are completely unique. Here’s a sample of an invite that feels a little modern and a little traditional. A graphic flourish instead of a flower.
9. Customize … Your invite is one of the few physical keepsakes of your day that lasts a lifetime. As I’m sure you know, many people frame them, put them in scrapbooks, etc. Make it worth the effort. No one said custom has to be expensive. For Spiffy Press, custom means being resourceful, whether that’s finding affordable materials you may not consider for an invitation or focusing your decisions on where to spend your invite budget. For example, to afford a unique format, use one color to cut costs. There are always trade-offs to explore. Bottom line is we meet your bottom line.
10. Create your story … As you consider all of these things, you’ll have a great story to tell when your guests say, “I loved your invite!” You can pick the detail to explain, “Thanks! We added the dashed line like baseball stitching because, as you know, Groom looooves baseball!” This creates an extra bond between you and your guests. It gives them a little more insight into what you are like as a couple. It brings them into your circle and excitement of your special day.

Whatever you do don’t’ forget it’s your day, your story, your design.

Creating something unique is what it's all about.