A wedding invitation is the first clue your guests will receive about your wedding. It sets the formality, style and theme for your event. It gets guests excited about your wedding and helps them decide what to wear. The trend for 2008 wedding invitations is glamorous, upscale and retro. Letterpress invitations will be an especially hot trend for weddings in 2008, with couples designing custom invitations and graphics to reflect their personality and style.

Letterpress invitations are made just as they sound; that is each letter is set and then pressed into the card stock. Letterpress originated in the 14th century as a cheaper option to hand calligraphy. Today, the craft of letterpress is made from metal typeset and custom engraved plates. The raised surface of these plates and letters are inked and then pressed into the paper to obtain an image in reverse. The process requires a high degree of craftsmanship and labor. Top of the line letterpress work is crisp because of its impression into the paper, giving greater visual definition to the type and artwork. Letterpress invitations offer a tactile quality and a nostalgic feeling that cannot be achieved with any other printing technique. Wedding invitations made with this method are very unique, one of a kind, works of art.

When designing your letterpress invitations keep in mind the color or colors used and the size of your type and graphics. To bring out the best in a wedding letterpress invitation, select one color for your typeset. Since letterpress printing only prints one color at a time, printing multiple colors can be challenging, but can be done by a most experienced artisan. Also note that the inking system for letterpress is less precise than offset printing, so small areas, small type and detailed areas may fill in with ink and lose their definition during the printing process.

Since letterpress invitations can be quite costly, not every bride to be may be able to afford this wedding trend. However, there are affordable options. Consider purchasing an at home screen printing kit to achieve the same feel, or even an affordable letterpress at your local craft or hobby store.

Another idea is to print your wedding text from your computer and accent each one with a custom stamp. There are many rubber stamp artists who can custom design a graphic for you to use on your invitations and envelopes. If you rather not hire someone to design your stamp, another option, is offered by Michelle Ward, Owner of Green Pepper Press, a chic rubber stamp company. Although Green Pepper Press does not design single stamps for weddings, Michelle suggests, "a custom or personalized stamp can be manufactured from camera ready art (in other words, black and white). Most copy service centers provide this service or an online source can be located. Combining stamping with heat embossing yields an elegant look but can be time consuming so plan accordingly."

Learning letterpress, screen printing, inking and embossing can be time consuming process so be sure to purchase extra ink and paper to practice on before beginning to print your final wedding invitations.

And don't forget, if you are looking for the latest wedding favor trends be sure to view all of our new wedding favors.