Morgan and Arley are ladies after my own heart- they are working artists and when they found a big gap in the wedding industry, they went to fill it. Morgan went to RISD for printmaking and Arley graduated from Parsons School of Design. So you got two amazing artists, who have won awards and been showcased in museums. But something funny happened. Even though they had been printing together for 4 years, when it came time to look around for same-sex wedding invitations, they were disappointed. You could almost hear the balloon deflate in the room.
So Ladyfingers Letterpress was born- yes, this year, as they’re planning their wedding. With talent up the wazoo, they decided to specialize in custom letterpress designs. We are talking original illustrations, hand lettering, and designs made just for you. They aren’t grabbing some clipart and calling it a day. They want to make each piece reflect you. Down to the itty bitty details like paper you can’t find (but they can ’cause they’re obsessive).
At the end of it all, we hope that our clients don’t think of us at all, because they’ll be so focused on the most important task at hand – celebrating their love – and not worrying about their invitations! But if they do happen to look back on our experience of working together, they may say to themselves that they never thought that a few torn out pages from a magazine, several odd comments about the type of music being played at the reception and what they like to do on the weekends could result in a suite of invitations so truly personalized and memorable. We also hope they feel all warm and fuzzy in knowing that they are helping to change the status of equal marriage in our country through the contribution Ladyfingers Letterpress makes in their honor.
Oh, didn’t I mention? Ladyfingers Letterpress is LGBT owned and operated. Annnnd…wait for it…..they donate 10% of every order to the Human Rights Campaign because they believe in equality and love. And every time they get an invitation order? We get a little closer to the goal of equality. Now don’t you feel good? You’re helping equality and getting awesome, custom invitations?!
So if you’re going to Rhode Island Pride, run, don’t walk, to the Ladyfingers Letterpress tent. You get a free souvenir (omg, someone please send me a photo) and they will be offering special discounts just for Pride. Go team! Because right now, they are really really wanting to to expand their LGBT portfolio.
And you guys are going to hit the floor when you hear their prices. Like, in a good way. Like fainting because you just had the best piece of cake ever. Since everything is custom, pricing varies…but trust me, people.
Don’t assume that letterpress is out of your budget! There are more and more small letterpress shops popping up across the country, some even offering classes or one-on-one printing tutorials. The web may be dominated by larger off-the-shelf letterpress invite companies that charge a fortune, but chances are there is a small letterpress shop near you that may offer custom services at a cost nowhere near what online services charge. Be sure to ask for samples of previous work, give yourself plenty of time (at least three to four months out from the date of your wedding for custom design and print work) and most importantly – don’t settle for something that’s not exceptional. Your invitations set the tone for your wedding and play a key role in letting your guests know the personality of the event.
I’m drooling over here. That black and white save the date looks incredible. I have such a soft spot for thick paper and letterpress printing.