Once upon a time a bear and a bunny decided to wed, and invited their friends and family to celebrate the occasion in beautiful Palm Springs, Calif. They wanted invitations that not only exuded the same sense of fun that they shared together, but that would also celebrate the exotic, slightly kitschy ambience of the city itself. Boutique design and letterpress company Swell Press were only too happy to oblige with a laser-cut wedding invitation design like no other.
Better known to their friends and family as Chris and Jeff, the couple planned a 3-day, event-filled weekend for their guests and wanted to get all the relevant information into the invitation.
The pieces of the invitation unfold like a story. Starting with intrigue, the creative team at Swell Press invited all recipients to “ Pack your bags” with an extremely detailed, laser-cut overlay [PRO Guide to Laser Cutting] including silhouettes of Palm Springs vegetation, made from Neenah Astrobrights Lunar Blue.
The second part of the invitation outlines the weekend’s itinerary, all letterpress printed in a bright pink and blue on 236 lb. Reich Paper Savoy Brilliant White. [PRO members: Get Swatchbook!]
This is done against the backdrop of a blind-printed interlocking wedding ring logo – mimicking the bunny and bear theme – designed by a friend of the couple.
The invitation for the main event – the ceremony itself – is the final and largest piece in this 3-tiered suite.
Letterpress printed [PRO Guide to Letterpress Printing] in the same two colors, the starburst-like line work framing the information feels as intense as it looks thanks to deep impressions left by the printing process.
For a final flourish, the edges of the invitation were then edge painted using a pink and blue gradient.
Finally, two pink elastic bands hold all three pieces of the laser-cut wedding invitation together, and everything is tucked neatly inside a Neenah Astrobrights Pulsar Pink envelope. The envelope, too, features the interlocking rings logo.
In short, this is an invitation designed to be kept, discussed and admired for years to come.
“We wanted something modern with a bit of Palm Springs kitsch,” explains Swell Press Founder Britt Rohr. “It was a ton of fun to design!”
