Fresh Flora for Fall Wedding Invitations

While I personally think our Orchid and Oahu designs are the perfect invitations for any season, the right ink color choices will seriously “wow” the guests of your fall wedding ceremony!

Oahu looks stunning printed in orange ink on ecru, 100% cotton paper.

While Orchid looks rustic and chic with brown and sage ink colors printed on ecru, 100% cotton paper.

Orchid looks equally awesome in other ink and paper colors as well!

Do you love orchids? I think they might be the perfect motif for a fall wedding.

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Written by Katie

Pantone’s Fabulous New Colors for Fall

We love Pantone over here at Invitations by Ajalon! It is our go-to color guide when designing new wedding invitation designs, and especially  when we are customizing our existing designs to match our couples’ wedding color schemes!

Pantone’s Fall 2012 Fashion Color Report contains more bright hues than neutrals. Yesterday we took a look at the deep and dark French Roast, while today we’re going to get a closer look at Bright Chartreuse!

Bright Chartreuse will be an ideal color choice as summer fades out and Fall creeps in with it’s warm days and cool nights. I personally think this color is perfect for any season!  There is not a doubt in my mind that it will rock Fall 2012 hard.

Like French Roast, Bright Chartreuse is also great paired with other colors (especially those within the Color Report!). Use Bright Chartreuse as the accent color for you wedding color scheme for a seriously chic fall celebration.

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Written by Katie

What trend are you giving in to on your big day?

We love these wedding trends over at Best Wedding Sites! Ombre cakes, confetti and chalkboard menus are all things we’ve seen pinned on Pinterest, and we just can’t get enough.

Two of my favorite trends on the list were invites with hand-drawn illustrations and signature drinks!

Invitations with Hand-Drawn Illustrations

Hand-drawn graphics are an especially excellent touch for letterpress wedding invitations. The drawing is actually impressed into the paper, adding definition and charm to the art.

Signature Drinks

Everyone has a signature drink! Whether it is a virgin margarita or a whiskey sour, your signature drink is an expression of your personality, and everyone enjoys the way they taste. ; )

What are your favorite 2012 wedding trends?

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Written by Katie

An elegant invitation design for true love birds…

“Live, laugh, love” is an inspiring quote we hear, but often take for granted. Invite your guests to experience the beginning of your new journey into marriage with a stunning invitation design fit for ceremonies of all kinds.

Let Beaumont’s adorable “love birds” motif set the tone for a classic or casual wedding ceremony.

Guests will take delight in the subtle, yet classic aura of ourBeaumontwedding invitation design, whether you choose digital or letterpress printing.

Matching enclosure cards will ensure no one forgets your upcoming big day!

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Written by Katie

Affordable letterpress and digital invites for everyone’s budget!

Are you and your love obsessed with letterpress printing but in your research have found that it is entirely out of your wedding planning price range? Look no further! Invitations by Ajalon has an awesome letterpress wedding invitation deal just for you!

Place your order by April 30, 2012 and receive 100 one-color letterpress printed wedding invitations with 110 blank envelopes, and 100 one-color letterpress enclosure cards for only $559!

This is an awesome deal not to be missed. Even if you have more than 100 guests, the price of adding on a extra cards STILL seriously beats the competition’s high prices!

And if you haven’t yet been charmed by time-old tradition that is letterpress printing, perhaps our digital wedding invitations will strike your fancy!

Place your order by April 30, and receive 100 one-color digitally printed wedding invitations with 110 blank envelopes, and 100 one-color digitally printed enclosure cards for only $350!

The crisp, clean aura of our digital wedding invitations will be adored by guests, while our letterpress is truly a sight to see. If you are having a bit of trouble deciding which print method is best for you, be sure to order samples!

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Written by Katie

Invites for a Destination Wedding at the Beach

Destination weddings are tons of fun, especially when there is a beach involved! Well, okay, MOST destination weddings are a ton of fun. ; ) If you are saying “I do” in a tropical beach scene, think about matching your invitations with your venue or theme!

Seashells

Finding your soul mate is like finding a perfect seashell within the sands of a beach. Radiate your joy throughout your wedding stationery.

Send Me My Free Samples of Key West

Send Me My Free Samples of Cape Cod

Pineapples

Hawaiiis full of beautiful pineapple plantations, perfect for luxurious tropical wedding celebrations.

Send Me My Free Samples of Malulani

Palm Trees

If you are taking your vows to the sandy beach, think about working a palm tree into your wedding motif.

Send Me My Free Samples of Oasis

Send Me My Free Samples of St. Croix

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Written by Katie

Symbols say it all…

Religious symbols are an amazing way to embrace tradition and culture in a subtle yet impressive manner. If you are carrying religious affiliations into marriage with you, let guests know with religious symbols within your letterpress wedding invitation design.

Here are just a few examples of the religious symbols we have used in our invitations recently:

Hindu Symbols

Catholic/Christian Symbols

Jewish Symbols

Sikh Symbols

What religious symbols will you use within your own letterpress wedding invitation design?

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Written by Katie

Programs for Your Wedding Ceremony

One of the most important pieces of wedding day stationery is your ceremony program. Weddings are becoming elaborate, diverse, and unconventional, making programs extra handy for guests who don’t know what’s going on.

Even if you are having a traditional wedding ceremony in your perspective house of worship, your friends and coworkers may not know about the ceremony customs and traditions.

Providing a program for your ceremony guests will ensure they do not feel lost or out of place. There are multiple ways to create a wedding program, and we’re not going to deny that some are more fun than others!

A fan, as opposed to a flat card, will give guests something to hold onto and cool themselves off with on a hot day. A booklet with a custom crossword puzzle in the back will keep children busy while the “I dos” are being said.

What you put in your wedding program is entirely up to you. Include your love or proposal story, the lyrics to the song you dance to for the first time as a married couple, or simply state ceremony parts along with your wedding party.

Send Me My Free Samples of Wedding Programs 

What’s going into your wedding program?

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Written by Katie

We love printing non-English invitations!

Even though Invitations by Ajalon is located in Sonoma County, California, we have found ourselves working with brides and grooms all over the world! We love designing and printing culturally-inspired wedding cards, and nothing excites us quite like the look of a language other than English letterpress printed on a piece of Crane’s Lettra. ; )

Our bilingual invitations have been quite popular, but lately we’ve been seeing more and more wedding invitations printed in one foreign language. It really reminds you how much culture we have right here in America.

Even our digital wedding invitations look amazing printed in languages like Spanish, Hebrew, German, and more.

What language(s) will you speak on your wedding day?

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Written by Katie

Congratulations on your engagement, and let’s begin to plan the most incredible Celtic wedding that anyone has ever seen! 

Show Me the Money

It would be a good idea to explain the importance of the Irish Wedding Coin. For those who are not familiar with this important Celtic custom, the groom presents his bride with his family’s heirloom coin. The words “I give you this as a token of all that I possess” are spoken by the groom as he hands it to his bride. Those who are just starting this as a tradition needn’t worry. They can use a brand new coin bearing the year of their marriage and start their own tradition with the Irish Wedding Coin.

Show Me the Bling

No wedding ceremony is complete without an exchange of rings. A Celtic wedding simply wouldn’t be traditional without Celtic wedding bands. There are a wide variety of styles to choose from which hold true to Celtic jewelry styling. Be sure that you and your betrothed know your proper ring sizes so that you won’t be disappointed or embarrassed at the altar.

Honor the Hand-fasting Tradition

The hand-fasting ceremony was originally something like a trial marriage which ended one day after the one year anniversary. Although we no longer have trial runs for tying the knot, this is how it started in the Celtic culture. You can still employ the hand-fasting into your wedding ceremony. Simply purchase some thick ribbon that coordinates with the color scheme of your bridal party. The priest or other celebrant will wrap the ribbon around both of your hands after the exchanging of the rings. It is a beautiful way to incorporate your Celtic culture into your big day.

The Two Shall Become One

Many religions and cultures use the Unity Candle in their wedding ceremonies. The truth is that this was originally a Celtic tradition that was adopted by many other cultures. This symbolizes the new union between husband and wife as well as between the two clans. You will need to purchase a large pillar candle and two smaller taper candles. The tapers will be joined to light the larger candle. Nearly any venue will allow this practice.

Pennies from Heaven

Once the happy couple has been pronounced husband and wife, it is a Celtic tradition for the groom to throw coins to the guests. Today’s society will not allow that to happen inside of a church. In present day, this tradition takes place outside of the church. The coins have been swapped out for chocolates wrapped like coins. It is a much tastier and safer thing to throw for your guests.

Let Them Eat Cake

Finally, we get to the traditional Celtic wedding cake. Most cakes are made of fruit and frosted with fluffy, white icing. It is customary for a brother of the groom to hold the cake over the bride’s head as she sits in a chair. One of the bridesmaids, more often than not the maid of honor then cuts the first slice of the cake. Many brides don’t want to take the chance of something bad happening so most forego this Celtic tradition.

This guest post was written for Invitations by Ajalon by Sine Treanor and Steven Forsyth of www.celtic-weddingrings.com.