Today’s real invitations come to us from Jen and Starshaped Press, one of my fantastic sponsors, and were printed using antique wood and metal type and ornaments – each of which are 50-100 years old!  In order to preserve these delicate materials Jen creates a gentle impression (known as a “kiss”) on each invitation, with a result that feels timeless and elegant.  For these invitations, Jen used antique type and ornaments for a poster-style invitation that evokes old-school Chicago.  Oh, and since today is Jen’s birthday (Happy Birthday Jen!), make sure you read all the way through for a special promotion that Jen is offering to Oh So Beautiful Paper readers!

From Jen: The bride, Aleks, really wanted an invite that felt old-school Chicago, but from more of a working class, insider’s perspective.

They definitely wanted to use the quote from architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham on the front panel, as it felt appropriate to their marriage (make no small plans!).  The front panel was the visible element when the invitations were folded and inserted into the envelope.

Since this was a Black Tie affair, we wanted to keep some formality to the invitation.  The colors were a more muted navy and gold with corresponding navy envelopes, while the antique typography kept the invitations grounded.

What I love about these invitations is that they really showcase a great mix of wood and metal type, and make the invitation more of a poster than a traditional invitation, even though we are still able to fold and mail it at the first class rate.  This particular style (from our Wanted! collection) can be customized through different colors and formats to resemble anything from a wild west poster to a carnival broadside. And much of the type we use probably printed both of those items 100 years ago!

You can check out additional wedding invitation styles from Starshaped Press right here, as well as on their flickr page.  And as I mentioned above, to help celebrate her birthday, Jen is offering 10% off the Starshaped Press Wanted! wedding invitation collection to OSBP readers!  Just be sure to mention the code “Beautiful Paper” when you contact Jen to receive the discount.  Thanks Jen!

{image credits: starshaped press}