With some light and direction for a road map for the future of weddings post-Covid, couples can start to plan Covid-secure weddings which, with a few adjustments, still match their dream day.

Bespoke multicultural wedding stationery suite by Ananya | Hayley Gell Photography

WORKING CLOSELY WITH YOUR WEDDING STATIONER

Initially, identifying your wedding stationer is the best place to start as you decide which designs (your favourite flower or animal, for example), themes, print techniques and any personal touches (including lined envelopes, wax seals or calligraphy) you may want to include in the stationery suite. Having these discussions early on allows time to plan for different outcomes depending upon current restrictions when it comes to your wedding day. For example, if the venue or date of the wedding changes, your stationer can create a card based upon the design of previous invites to send either digitally or via post to your guests.

Elephant Royale bespoke wedding invitations by Ananya | Hayley Gell Photography

Personalised touches FOR YOUR WEDDING STATIONERY

Currently, digital invitations are becoming more popular in adhering to government guidelines and allowing for information to be sent quickly to all, whether they be close family and friends or international. Having a digital invite does not mean to say that they cannot look beautiful and in fact, over the last six months, we have designed several e-invites that incorporated the same colours, patterns and theme of the weddings just as the paper stationery would have been. With an e-invite, you can also include personal elements. This may be addressing each guest personally, adding music or even a Google map/calendar link to ensure the day cannot be missed.

Seizing each opportunity to express your personality and style as a couple is important as this is a day you will always treasure and so we want to make it as memorable as possible under the circumstances.

PRINTED KEEPSAKE WEDDING STATIONERY

You can also print a few invitations for your close family as a treasured keepsake, cherished for many years to come, whilst having digital invitations for the rest of your guests.

If you opt for digital invitations, you can still have elegant printed on the day stationery from placecards and menus to welcome signs and seating plans. This could include personalised favours, bespoke illustrations, or hand-finished touches.

‘Advice for the newlywed’ cards by Ananya | Fiona Kelly Photography

With no print costs to consider with digital, there is room to be creative and put an individual stamp to your digital invitations. Some ideas have been to produce multiple e-cards, which include quirky ones such as ‘advice for the newlyweds’ or a ‘DJ request card’, allowing guests to request for music to be played ready to dance the night away.

digital, ELECTRONIC WEDDING INVITATIONS

Going digital with a wedding website is also useful as with regular changes to restrictions, this can be a good place to update guests on any changes to the day. Creating a WhatsApp group for weddings with a smaller guestlist can also be a good way to provide any last-minute changes, as well as get guests connecting before the wedding day.

Digital cherry blossom invitation for a Sikh wedding by Ananya

MAKE YOUR WEDDING GUESTS FEEL INCLUDED

It would also be advisable to include any Covid-specific information to inform guests of the precautions being taken on the day by yourselves and the venue to ensure their safety. It may also be important to highlight to guests that due to the uncertainty of regulations, last-minute changes are likely and so flexibility would be appreciated.

Even with a Zoom wedding, it is important to make your guests feel included and able to share this special day with you. As you are not restricted to numbers, you can invite more people than you may have originally intended and those who may have been unable to travel, whether that is because they are abroad or too elderly to, can now be there to celebrate this special moment with you. Providing your guests with an invite allows for a keepsake – and may become a talking point in the future, of a time when the world went virtual!

Monogrammed multicultural wedding invitation by Ananya | Hayley Gell Photography

How is your wedding planning coming along? For any advice on your wedding stationery, or you would like to work with us here at Ananya, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Until next time,

Vaishali x

So, it’s time to choose wedding stationery and all things gorgeous for your day! But, do you know your laser cut from your letterpress? No? Don’t worry, you aren’t expected to unless stationery and printing is your business! But, when it comes to your wedding, you want to be able to make the right choice. Read on for Ananya’s essential guide to wedding stationery types.

Letterpress

Let’s start with Letterpress. It's the ‘Grand Dame’ of printing in that it’s one of the oldest stationery printing techniques in use. Essentially, letterpress is a ‘relief printing’ technique, in which the design is ‘raised’ on a metal plate. Using a printing press, an impression is made into the paper by pressing into it from one side. It’s usually done with ink but can also be without ink. If you run your hand across the finished print you can usually feel the indentations in the paper.

Letterpress printing is high in quality but is slower than other printing methods. For example, the printer has to place each letter of type into a special holder that they also have to place ‘mirror image’ to what the finished print will be. In other words the type for the press has to be set left to right and upside down. Wow, that’s a lot of work!

Taking letterpress from assembly to proof and then to print is time consuming without a doubt. But, on the upside, it is lovely for a vintage style or traditional wedding.

Screen printing

Ananya''s 'Trio of Life' bespoke screen printed wedding stationery: parrotPhotography by Fiona Kelly Photography — Ananya''s 'Trio of Life' bespoke screen printed wedding stationery: parrot
Photography by Fiona Kelly Photography

Ananya's 'Trio of Life' screen printed bespoke wedding stationery: elephantPhotography by Fiona Kelly Photography — Ananya's 'Trio of Life' screen printed bespoke wedding stationery: elephant
Photography by Fiona Kelly Photography

Screen printing is one of our favourite mediums of printing at Ananya. We love it! Many of our favourite designs, especially using metallics such as gold or silver, use the screen printing technique, including Mandala Love and Trio of Life.

In screen printing, ink is pressed through a mesh screen using a rubber blade or ‘squeegee’ to move across it and fill the open ‘windows’ with ink. When the blade is reversed back across, the screen touches the paper (or media) that’s being printed on to create your design.

Ananya's 'Mandala Love' screen printed wedding stationery

For Mandala Love, the screen printing for the delicate hand printed mandala motif required an exceptional level of technical skill. Ananya’s craftsmen had to print each piece four times no less; a single colour printed each time. Deep blue and gold are the feature colours of this design, with the deep blue printed first, followed by the gold elements of the mandala. Yellow was applied after that and finally cyan. Accurate positioning without overlap or gaps was critical to ensuring that each element of this intricate design printed perfectly. The design really pops with its vibrant colours and juxtaposition of matt and metallic elements. Only hand printed silk screen in our opinion at least gives that level of covetable artisanal quality.

Offset printing

In comparison to letterpress printing, offset printing is a more indirect print technique. It’s popular for big volume production, and is also known as ‘flat printing’ or ‘litho printing’. Offset, by the way, is just another way of saying ‘transferred’. So, essentially, images on metal plates are ‘offset’ to rollers (or rubber blankets). Once that’s done, the image is printed onto the paper or print media that you've chosen. The metal plates and paper (or other media) don’t come directly into contact with each other during the process.

Digital printing

Digital printed floral wedding stationery

Modern, fast and accurate, digital printing is almost the polar opposite of letterpress! Digital printing uses tiny dots (a lot of them of course!) to create text and images. Digital printing is good for smaller quantities and is cost effective. What are the disadvantages? It’s likely that there'll be limits to the type of paper that you can use. This technique tends to suit thinner paper styles and quality can be variable dependant on the printer. Digital printing is also not suitable for accurately printing metallics – for example, you will not get a shiny bright gold or silver but instead a duller brown gold or grey silver.

Laser cut

When it comes to Laser cutting it’s a whole different world of precision and design. Creating and cutting out paper into different shapes isn’t new of course. In China they create ‘Jianzhi’, intricate symmetrical designs created with knives and scissors. And who hasn’t created their very own ‘origami garland’ as a child? Laser cutting definitely moves those hand created designs on a few millennia! Fast and accurate, laser cutting enables the production of intricate designs on an industrial scale.

How is laser cutting done? It’s a non-contact process utilising a laser to cut the material i.e. paper. Directing the laser beam through a nozzle to the media or material, a combination of heat and pressure creates the cutting action. Laser cutting is popular for the modern and vintage bride. It's good for delicate lace designs and works well with 3D designs such as cityscapes or representations of your wedding venue.

Embossing and Debossing

Embossing produces a raised textured image or text. But, unlike letterpress, it uses two engraved metal moulds to create your chosen design. The moulds used are often copper or brass, designed to fit into each other. During printing, the raised mould forces the paper into the recessed mould and creates the embossed impression of your design, as you can see on our envelopes for our notecards and personal stationery.

Debossing creates an indent in the paper rather than a raised design. Both of these techniques work well with a personal monogram design. Another of Ananya’s favourites!

Engraving

And finally, we must mention engraving. It’s perhaps the most formal and classic of the printing styles for wedding stationery. It’s also one of the most expensive! During engraving an etched metal plate is used to create the design. When pressed into the back of the paper it creates raised lettering on the front which you can feel and leaves a slight indent on the back. The printer will apply ink to the raised lettering afterwards. Impressive to receive, we love luxurious engraved stationery at Ananya.

Which type do you think you are? Whatever you choose, Ananya would love to help you design your perfect wedding stationery. Say hello at info@ananyacards.com and let’s talk!

Vaishali x