Mary Beth + Daniel

This Santa Barbara wedding was a destination for some of the guests, so this bride wanted a hand painted map of the area for the Save the Date design. I had a great time painting this map, I love how cute and fun it turned out! The Save the Dates were printed flat with a double thick paper for a postcard. 

The rehearsal dinner invitations were also hand painted, the bride wanted a simple lemon tree at the top, and the felt textured paper to go with the watercolor look and feel.

The invitation suite was a simple and elegant design printed in one-color taupe letterpress. I love this invitation for the classic bride who still wants something a little different. 

The simple and elegant monochromatic theme (in taupe) was carried throughout the place cards and the menu design. 

I had such a great time creating these for this bride and groom, and just like all of the designs I create, they can be purchased in any type of printing for future orders, and any color. 

Invitation Timeline

Invitations are a very important part of your wedding not only because they set the tone and are the first impression, but they also provide guests with all the information they need for your BIG day. Here is a timeline that we encourage bride's to follow with all their paper goods:

1. When should we send out the Save the Dates (and are they necessary)?
Save the Dates are important to send out if you are engaged for over 6 months. If you do not send out the Save the Dates, we suggest mailing your invitations a little earlier (10-12 weeks before your wedding date as opposed to 8-6 weeks before). If you are having a hometown wedding, mail out your Save the Dates at least six months before your wedding. If you are having an out of town wedding, or your wedding is on a holiday weekend, we suggest mailing them out 8-9 months in advance. Remember that Save the Dates do not always have to "match" or go with the design of your wedding invitations. Many brides like to have a little fun with the save the dates with either a magnet, photo card, calendar, painted map, coaster, or something that is a little more creative and less formal than the wedding invitation.

2. When should we make the deadline for RSVPs on the wedding invitation?
Make your RSVP date three weeks before your wedding date. I would also check on the timeline that your caterer or wedding planner needs to know the head count of your guests. Three weeks gives most venues and caterers enough time, and keep in mind that you also need to know the quantity of ceremony programs, menus, escort cards, etc in this amount of time. I actually love to have this information earlier than three weeks, because wedding season is busy, and it is nice to have your order placed before it is stressful on everyone with rush printing, rush designing, etc.

3. Do we need a wedding website, and if so, where do we put it?
The wedding website is important to let your guests know all of the information that you may not be able to provide in the wedding invitation-- and it helps you save money by not having to purchase an extra set of cards for "directions", "accommodations", "parking", "registry" (which you should NOT put on your invitations), etc. The wedding website should be included on the Save the Date so that guests know ahead of time where to book their hotel, etc. If you decide not to do a wedding website, you will need to provide all of this information on the Save the Date, either with an extra card, a fold out card, or on the reverse side of the card. We can always design something unique and fun for you! When sending out your invitations, it is always nice (but again, not necessary if you sent out a Save the Date with the website info) to include a small card with the website information printed as a reminder card to visit your wedding website.

4. How do we let guests know about the gift registry?
As I noted above, bride and grooms should NOT put their registry information on the Save the Dates or wedding invitations. The only invitation that you can print the registry information are shower invitations. Including this on your wedding invitations or Save the Dates may sound impolite to your guests as if you are expecting gifts. You can let your wedding party and close friends know where you are registered, so they can let the guests know as well, and you can put this information on your wedding website.

5. We would like an adult-only reception. How can we let our guests know without sounding harsh?
Inner and outer envelopes are the traditional way that guests should know who is specifically invited to your wedding. The outer envelope is addressed to the household, and the inner envelope is addressed to the people in the household invited to your wedding. If you do not have inner envelopes, address your invitations to all the people invited to your wedding. Another way that brides can let their guests know who is invited is by having "we have reserved (blank line) seats in your honor" and the bride or calligrapher fills in the number for each reply card and/or "number attending" underneath the line where the guests write the names of those attending. If the guests happen to put their children's name on the line, you can politely call them and let them know that your wedding is adults-only. You can also politely put this on your website, and have a babysitter service for your guests to call in the area.

6. How do we let guests know our dress code?
If you are having a "black-tie" or "black-tie optional" wedding (which means tuxedos for the men and formal for the women), this can be printed on the lower right corner of the invitation. You can also have a separate card for the dress code, and usually the time of the wedding or the formality of the invitation design will give your guests a clue as to how formal your wedding is. You can also have the dress code on your wedding website.

7. When should we place an order for Invitations and Save the Dates, invitations (and all other materials)?
This is a VERY good question, as I have some brides who think they have plenty of time, and order their wedding invitations a bit late, and then they are confused as to why it cannot be printed and designed in a few days. PLEASE, PLEASE order your invitations and Save the Dates as early as you can! ESPECIALLY during wedding season. While you know from question #1 when you should mail the invitations and Save the Dates, you should order these as soon as possible. It usually takes a week or two to design and approve invitations (after signing the contract), and then it takes another 5-10 business days to flat print invitations (during wedding season) and 12-18 business days to print letterpress and foil. If we are assembling invitations, add another 3 business days to the order. If you want to order beveled edges or engraving, these can take 6 weeks due to the wedding season. Custom designs (meaning you are not choosing a design that is on the website) takes 2-4 weeks during wedding season. If you want to rush the process, there is a 40% of the total rush fee for flat printing, and designing. We cannot rush letterpress, flat, foil, thermography, or engraving because the printing process is very time consuming in itself. We want you to get EXACTLY what you want with your wedding invitations, but please be on time with ordering them and please be aware that this is not something that you can just order and have in a few days or even a week (unless you pay for rush print and order an existing design)! We work as quickly as possible, but please be aware that you need to place your order 2 months before you would like to mail them out. Ceremony, escort card wording are appreciated at least 1-2 months before the wedding if you are flat printing. Letterpress we need at least 2 months before your wedding. This means that we need all of the information that you would like printed in this amount of time.

6. What are all the materials that we can order from Tickled Ink?
We can pretty much do anything that you would like with printing and designing. Save the Dates, Invitations, koozies, napkins (all sizes), plates, cups (all kinds- from clear wine glasses to stadium cups), custom designs, signage, printing of the addresses (calligraphy), programs, itineraries, coasters, boxes, gate folios, die cutting, laser cutting, wood (we can also print your monogram or name on cutting boards as a wedding gift), thank you cards, escort and place cards, table numbers, menus, hand painted maps, you name it, we can probably (or have probably) done it before! Please ask and we will let you know! We look forward to hearing from you, and if you have any other questions that are not answered, please email us at tickledink@gmail.com. We will be happy to hear from you!

Emily + Winston

This invitation design was created for a custom wedding in September 2014, and was printed in gold foil. It turned out beautifully! The lovely bride and groom are from Chattanooga, Tennessee, but had their wedding in Alys beach. She wanted a banner monogram with hydrangeas, since those were flowers that were used in her wedding. The glitter belly band and glitter envelope liners added such a fun element to these invitations! She used this monogram on all of her wedding materials including the itinerary, napkins, koozies, and programs. Monograms are such a wonderful way to tie everything together with a wedding, and we have so many to choose from (we are slowly finding time to update our blog and website!).

We had another bride order this design for her June wedding, and she wanted it printed flat in gold. Brides can order any of our designs in letterpress, foil, or flat printing, and of course the colors can be changed (and anything can be added- belly bands, etc). We also love custom orders!

As I said, any of our designs can be printed in letterpress, thermography, flat printing, foil, and engraved. Here is the same monogram and invitation design for a different bride that was printed flat for a bride in Chattanooga, she had gold metallic paper mounted on the back for an extra thickness and shine:

Wood Prints

Now that it is officially Fall, I wanted to post a blog about the wooden veneer wedding invitation option that brides love having for their Fall (or rustic/outdoor) weddings. Brides can either have the invitations letterpress printed (the ink is "kissed" on the veneer, so it is not pressed into the paper) with the reply cards/postcards letterpress printed on our Crane Lettra paper (or you could have them letterpress printed on kraft paper). Below is this option:

Tickled Ink also gives the option to flat print on the wooden veneers. This is pretty much the same look and feel of the letterpress, just printed digitally, so you can actually print watercolors on the wooden veneers. We can also print posters, paintings, labels, etc, on the wooden veneers. If you want to have something engraved or laser-cut in the wooden veneers (tags for your invitations) we can do that, too! Here are the photos of the flat printed options:

Custom Designs

As a graphic designer, I am professionally trained to create logos and branding... which is what our wedding monograms are! A custom logo is a great way for a couple to brand their wedding. If you look on our website under logos, you can see many different wedding monograms to choose from that you can purchase with your own initials/names/wedding date, and I am constantly adding more designs to the collection.

The great thing about a wedding monogram is that it can be printed on all the materials... from invitations, programs, thank you cards, menus, coasters, welcome cards, napkins, koozies (or huggers), wine glasses (or any glass/cup), posters, signs, etc... so it really does tie everything together. I have had couples purchase their wedding monogram to print on pillows for their home!

Whatever your style, I can create it... here are some examples of wedding monograms that I designed in 2015, for other wedding monograms that I have designed, please view our collection here. 

Printing Types

Oh, the choices that a bride needs to make with her invitations (or anyone ordering cards and invitations, for that matter)! Starting with the design, fonts, wording, and paper choices, the options can be very overwhelming!

One of the first questions I ask my client is "what type of printing are you interested in?". Below are descriptions of each type of printing that we offer, and when discussing your order I am here to answer any questions and guide you in the best decision for the look you want to achieve and, of course, for your budget.

1. Flat Printing: The first option is flat (or digital) printing. We have quality paper choices for our designs (and tons of options to choose from), and we almost always mount an extra card on the back to add extra thickness and a pop of color or texture. The beauty of flat printing is that it is the most budget friendly option, but there are still many things that you can do to "dress it up". You can add belly bands, pocketfolds (or card) invitations, printed envelope liners, (or colored card stock liners), rounded edges or die-cut shapes, and we can print white on colored card stock (which most flat printers cannot do). You can also have your invitations printed on metallic paper to add shimmer and shine without paying for foil. We also have the option to print laser cut, and if you are going for the "earthy" or "rustic" look, we can have your invitations printed on a wooden veneer (this option is also available for letterpress printing, although the ink is not pressed into the wooden veneer... it is "kissed" with ink).

2. Letterpress: If you are like me and appreciate the art of paper and printing, this is one of my favorite options. Our letterpress prices are VERY reasonable compared to most print shops, and the paper and quality of the printing is top notch. If you are willing to invest a little more than flat printing to have your invitation design beautifully pressed in our soft, luxurious 100% cotton (Crane Lettra) paper, let me tell you it is worth it! Letterpress printing is the oldest type of printing, and the plates are pressed into the paper. The result is beautiful and timeless- you can see and feel the indentations of your design and wording. Letterpress printing can make a single word in a simple font look exquisite! One thing to keep in mind about letterpress printing is that if you have a painting, it cannot be letterpress printed. We make plates of your invitation/stationery, so the design needs to be in vector art (or drawing). We can flat print the painting, and then letterpress the line art or text on top of the painting (or on the same paper as the painting).

3. Foil: This type of printing is hot right now... like a marble or quartz countertop in a white kitchen... everyone wants the shine of foil on their wedding invitations. And because I am a trend follower, or maybe because it is just so good looking, I LOVE foil. Our foil prices are higher than our letterpress, but... if you want the look, you do have to invest a little extra for it. The foil is pressed into the paper, so not only do you still get the indentations of letterpress, but you also get the true shine that no other printing can give you. Gold is also hot right now, and everything looks better foil printed in gold. But keep in mind, we have tons of other colors that can be printed in foil. You can also print foil on metallic paper, which is double shine... and letterpress cannot be printed on metallic paper. 

4. Engraving & Thermography: The other options that we have are engraving and thermography. The look is the opposite of letterpress- the design and lettering is raised instead of indented. Thermography is the more budget friendly of the two, but engraving is the type of printing that my grandmother and my mom had for their wedding invitations. It is classic, timeless, and exquisite... just a little different look than the letterpress, but just as beautiful, and also timeless! 

Keep in mind that there is no "right" or "wrong" with the printing that you choose. Every option is beautiful, it just depends on the look that you want to achieve and the amount that you want to spend. You an purchase samples of our printing, and we are happy to converse with you about our printing options, or if you are in the Chattanooga area, let's set up a time to meet in person!

Kentucky Derby

One May 2, 2015, the Laurelwood Garden Club (a social club on Lookout Mountain) had their annual Spring Party with the Kentucky Derby theme. It was such a fun party, and we were honored to be able to have the party at the beautiful home of Chattanooga's very own (and famous, might I add) interior designer, Michelle Workman. Michelle is actually from Los Angeles and moved to Lookout Mountain and we are so blessed to have her here! Michelle's beautiful home is on a farm, so the party was located outside of her barn. It was such a perfect location for a Kentucky Derby themed party!

Because I was in charge of the invitations and planning, I had a great time with the Derby theme. I designed names for the horses that were strung on each stable, glasses with the Derby logo that I designed, napkins with the logo, invitations, a Derby day sign, and stir sticks. Here are some of the photos that I designed for the party (and yes, you can order these for your own Derby party!), and some of the design elements. We had such a great time cheering on the horses, drinking mint juleps, and wearing our big hats!
 

Featured in Ruffled Blog!

I cannot believe that January is almost over! It has been a great start to 2015, and we are honored to be featured in Ruffled's blog. Tickled Ink participated in the Big Fake Wedding, (which used to be called the Not wedding) Chattanooga's first wedding show with this unique company. The concept of the Big Fake Wedding is that it actually puts on a real/fake wedding (or vow renewal) with real vendors participating, and real couples, guests, etc. The theme of the show for Chattanooga's first Big Fake Wedding was a lush vintage summer garden theme with roses and fall colors. I hand drew the roses and the invitations were letterpress printed with red and eggplant (which were the colors of the wedding). The ceremony programs were flat printed with kraft backers mounted on the back. We loved being part of such a fun and creative bridal show! Below are the photos of the two colored letterpress (and hand drawn) invitations, and the flat printed ceremony programs. I have lots of photos, because there different photographers taking the pictures. I love having my invitations professionally taken! Here is the link for the photographers that took these beautiful photos.

The first Not Wedding in Chattanooga

So much has been going on with Tickled Ink this summer. I have been working on some great new custom designs, and this Fall Tickled Ink is excited to be a part of the first Not Wedding on November 19th! We will write more about this exciting upcoming "alternative" bridal show. In a nutshell, the Not Wedding is a big fake wedding that actually has a real couple renewing their vows (so not truly fake) and I am one of the vendors that is a part of this event. It is a creative way for brides to see how we work with weddings. I cannot wait!

OK, now to the fact that this is the first blog post.... I am not sure if we can still recover our old posts from our last website that we had for almost five years, but if not... I will try to go back and rewrite them (huge bummer!) or just write new, even better blog posts :)! Til then!

xoxo, Emily