In our
current issue we ran a story about destination wedding planning, featuring Alison Hotchkiss from
Alison Events. Her new book,
Destination Wedding Planner - The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Wedding from Afar is a fabulous resource for anyone considering holding their wedding away from home.
Destination Wedding Planner $39.95 available at all good bookstores nationally.
Our story from Issue 13.So, it was with much anticipation I opened the lovely envelope on my desk this week from Alison. Inside the kraft envelope was this wonderful card wishing me the best for the new year.
Stitched onto cardboard is a canvas, screenprinted illustration by
Jenny Pennywood depicting a log cabin, deers and a bear. Certainly not something I get to see everyday on my way to work, that's for sure. A touching sentiment about staying warm and cozy is printed on the back - now this is something I have no trouble doing in the middle of our summer! I love the tactile quality of the canvas and stitching - it makes this card really unique.
It may sound odd but my favourite part of the whole card is that the stamps coordinate beautifully with the address label and the kraft envelope.
The right stamp can really make the presentation of an envelope. Definitely something to consider when mailing out wedding invitations - a ghastly stamp will ruin all the hard work you've put into choosing the perfect envelope and typeface or calligraphy.
Australia Post always have a variety of
stamp designs available at different price points so ask to see what they have in store, then buy up in bulk. And if you can't find anything that is just right, ask about a 'postage paid' rubber stamp which most major branches are happy to do if you bring in bulk envelopes for mailing. A simple single coloured impression is often better than a multi-coloured paper stamp that clashes with everything else to ruin the overall effect.
Australia Post also offer their
personalised stamp option. A word of caution here - choose your images wisely or your stamp may end up looking like something from a Barbara Cartland novel and perhaps not the stylish, sophisticated addition you had hoped. To my mind the designs they offer a too corny but you may be able to wing it if you couple them with a fantastic photo of your own.
Vintage stamps are one of my trusty standbys - if you look you'll see I often use them in stationery shoots. I have a fabulous stamp album full of samples from many eras. Some of the designs are so exquisite they add another dimension to the overall design of the envelope. Of course you can't mail them but you can photocopy them and use them as a design element, perhaps on an inner-envelope.
A stationery shot from our Lush Blush story in Issue 6.
The other alternative is to make your own. Use an illustration you've drawn, a photo you've taken or a favourite piece of copyright-free clipart and print out as many as you need. Again, you can't use them for mailing but you may be able to use them as decorative elements on your stationery items. I found a wonderful article on
Something I Made about making your own stamps if you're interested in giving this a go for yourself.
I guess the message is consider every little detail when preparing your wedding stationery. It's worth the effort as the result will be wonderful.
Posted by Jane Cameron
