Knock Knock.

Who’s There?

Your future Husband!

Well, it wasn’t quite that quick and easy, but there was definite chemistry when Jessi moved into condo #609 in Fort Lauderdale and met her neighbor Michael in condo #606 in the same building.  Michael had bought his condo in Fort Lauderdale in January of 2008 and Jessi moved in six months later.  They each had a roommate and the foursome became tight and spent a lot of time together, along with their combined group of friends.  Those around Michael and Jessi could see the spark, but it took the couple a little bit longer to take the plunge from friendship to relationship.

The couple’s very unique Save The Date card for their upcoming April wedding reflects their theme of “Neighbor’s…Best Friends…True Love”.  Jessi decided to play upon the fact that the couple met because they lived a mere 15 steps away from each other in the same condominium building.  The card was designed to look like the doors to Jessi and Michael’s apartments, then opens up to a gorgeous photo of the engaged couple.  Jessi knew what she wanted and created the template, then took it to Debra who “brought it to life and made it look more beautiful than we could have ever done ourselves!”

Check back soon for Jessi and Michael’s Wedding Invitation……….

And I saw the whole thing.  It didn’t hurt, although it was a bit messy.  Announcing the arrival of……….Letterpress by DM Paper Designs.  Born Thursday, November 18 at 4:20pm, weight 2,500 pounds.

The latest Addition to her line is the technique of Letterpress, a very old form of printing that has made a recent comeback.  Many invitations and announcements are embossed or engraved, which means the letters are raised.  Letterpress creates the opposite effect.  The letter, artwork, and/or images are actually pressed into the paper so that when you run your fingers over them you feel the indentation.

Debra is now able to create any one of her usual custom lettering or designs onto a plate, which she then takes to the extremely talented “Pressman” that she uses.  Her Pressman, using a Heidelberg Printing Press, puts a light coverage of ink onto the rollers.

He then can adjust the pressure so that more or less of the ink is pressed into the letterpress paper to create the texture.  The Pressman that Debra uses is extremely talented, and can mix inks to match any Pantone color perfectly.

In fact, he is so good that he was once employed by the CIA to create documents.  I could tell you his name and where he works, but then I’d have to kill you, so let’s not go there.

Debra created a plate and selected the colors for her new business cards to be produced in Letterpress.  The picture below shows the plates, one for each color which are then pressed onto the paper one at a time.

You can see how beautiful the end product looks, but you’ll have to ask Debra for one of her cards so that you are able to feel as well as see the uniqueness of Letterpress printing.

(By the way, she looks fabulous so soon after the birth of her new product!)

One would hardly call this wedding invitation “darling”, that’s like calling the Eiffel Tower a “cute” building.  I only call it that because the married couple’s last name is Darling.  If you are planning an elaborate and amazing fairytale wedding at the esteemed Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, then your wedding invitation needs to be equally elaborate and amazing.  This is why Carrie and Matthew chose DM Paper Designs to design their invitation.  They knew of the quality of Debra’s work because she had designed Carrie’s sister and brother-in-law’s wedding invitation the year before.

Carrie met with Debra with the concept in mind that she wanted for her invitations.  It was to look like a storybook, have multiple pages, and she felt strongly about using her and Matt’s engagement photos throughout.  Debra painstakingly created 7 components for the wedding, including Save the Dates, a Custom Monogram, the Invitation, Wedding Program, Thank You notes, plus Table Cards and Escort Cards.

Personally, I have received and sent out emails to people saying “hey, save such and such date for this event”, or even done it via a phone call.  Not quite as formal as the Save The Date card the future Darling couple mailed to their guests.  It was filled with multiple pictures, travel, contact, accommodation and local activity particulars.  The back page included a personal message from Carrie and Matt explaining why North Carolina is so special to them and how excited they were to share their wedding with friends and family.  In order to include all of the information, Debra designed a four panel gate fold.  The lavender and green colors echoed the photos taken of Carrie and Matt at the Biltmore Estate.  Keeping with the fairytale storybook theme, Debra incorporated love birds and vines to set the romantic tone.

 (image of save the date by Crystal Connelly Photography)

After welcoming such a highly crafted save the date notice, I’m sure their guests could not wait to receive their Wedding Invitation in the mail.  This invitation put Prince William and Kate Middleton’s invitation to shame.  Maintaining Carrie’s theme, Debra designed the intricate five page invitation to look like an elaborate fairytale storybook.  The envelope alone is a piece of beauty, in a shimmer champagne gold paper with a beautiful medium blue pearlized liner.  Debra designed the artwork and created a personal Monogram for Carrie and Matt which was printed on the back flap.  According to Carrie, “Debra is a true professional, and her way of creating digital proofs, and then a physical proof just shows how much she cares to get it just perfect!”

**Spoiler Alert – Please do not let your young children read the following if they still believe in the Disney princesses.**

The royal purple cover of the storybook repeats Carrie and Matt’s monogram, was set with a crystal embellishment, and revealed the wedding date.  As you turn the page, the story unfolds the official declaration inviting guests to the wedding…. ‘Once Upon a Time.. In a Faraway Land, “Darling” met his “Beauty’, referring of course to Matthew Darling and Carrie as his Beauty.  And here’s the spoiler – the princesses at Disney are actually real people wearing costumes and makeup.  Carrie had a previous job at Disney World playing the role of “Belle” from Beauty and The Beast in the stage shows.  And if you don’t remember your Disney trivia, Darling is the last name of Wendy’s family in Peter Pan.  Are you having an “A-ha” moment?

The following two pages of the invitation story included a whimsical map of Asheville, NC and a pocket fold with three separate cards.  Debra designed the RSVP, Reception, and Details cards to fit in the pocket.  They were each printed on the beautiful champagne gold paper with royal purple ink, carrying through the lovebird and vine decorations.

 (images of invitation by Crystal Connelly Photography)

The Wedding Program.  And calling this a “program” is like calling “War and Peace” a short story.  For the ceremony itself, Carrie wanted to present her guests with a beautiful keepsake program that was both formal and clean on the outside, yet filled with information within.  This is where she wanted her and Matt’s story to be told, how they chose their wedding theme, information about the Biltmore Estate and its importance to them, and more.  It is truly a tale of their own personal fairytale.  Debra fashioned an eight page booklet with a cover, bound with a gorgeous royal purple silk ribbon down the side.  The couple’s monogram was situated prominently on the front of the soft and glistening pink paper.

 (images by Crystal Connelly Photography)

Carrie came up with the clever idea of having her Escort Cards in the shape of leaves and set amidst a flower display.  Debra created a custom die and the artwork for the leaves, which had each guest’s name on one side, while the flip side directed them to their table.  Wanting to keep the Disney theme subtle and elegant, Carrie named the dining tables after Disney quotes and love songs.  The Table Cards again carried through the romantic theme and colors, using the medium blue and lavender pearlized cardstocks, lovebirds and vines, and a crystal embellishment.

 (images of table cards by Crystal Connelly Photography)

So the fairytale wedding was perfect, food delicious, setting beautiful and gorgeous paper designs by Debra found throughout to complement the day.  Time for everyone to sit back and relax.

Except Happily Ever After can’t quite begin until after you have finished writing all of your Thank You Cards.  Once the photographer had developed the photos from the wedding, Carrie sent them to Debra who created the custom thank you notes by incorporating photos of the Darling couple at their wedding.

 (images of thank you cards by Crystal Connelly Photography)

The Darling Wedding stationery showcases the creative work by DM Paper Designs.  Perhaps said best when sung by Jiminy Cricket in When You Wish Upon A Star, Debra is able to bring to life “Anything Your Heart Desires…..”  As the new Mrs. Darling said, “Sometimes when I hear myself explaining the things I want to her, I am sure she is going to tell me I am crazy, but she just listens, and somehow makes it happen!”

The last time I went somewhere to have an invitation custom made was a little over twelve years ago, right after my first daughter was born.  Being in a sleep deprived haze, clearly I have little memory of the experience of picking out her birth announcement.  Two years later when my second daughter was born I ordered the announcements over the internet.

Twelve years later I am now planning my eldest daughter’s Bat Mitzvah.  Obviously, the invitation must be FABULOUS.  I can only wonder how the world of custom made invitations has evolved, and what the process will be like.

I showed up for my appointment at DM Paper Designs with an open mind.  My only criteria were that the invitation reflect her personality, be unique, contemporary, beautiful, and will set the tone for the celebration.  My daughter only had one criterion.  Purple.

My event planner (you didn’t think I would be doing this on my own did you?), Hilary Feldman, and I met with Debra, the owner and designer of DM Paper Designs to start the process. Debra, who is actually a very good friend, already knew that my daughter’s favorite color is purple so she was prepared.  “I just pulled a few purple swatches for you to see what catches your eye” she said when I walked in.  Well, the few swatches actually consisted of amethyst, lavender, royal, grape, plum, periwinkle, orchid, lilac, violet, eggplant….you get the picture.  I thought purple just meant purple.  So we finally decided on a really pretty darker shade that is kind of sparkly.  If anyone asks what color my daughter’s invitations are, I will be able to tell them with much confidence and pride, “Sparkly Purple”.

Except we weren’t quite finished.  Debra kindly let me know that next we had to select a color or combination of colors that would complement Sparkly Purple.  We picked a shade of silver, as well as – and this gets a little bit wild for me – a pattern – that both look spectacular with the Sparkly Purple.  Next up was the design element.  “Were you thinking square, rectangular, circular, a flat card, folded card, with or without a pocket.  What do you think about adding a ribbon, or crystal, a band, or having a logo?”  Um……..I don’t know.  Fortunately Debra had many samples of invitations she has done so I could visualize.  And she let me know that whatever I saw could be changed.  If I liked the square one, it could be made bigger or smaller, and any pockets could be moved to fold over from the left or right or on the bottom.

Whew. A little over two hours later, I felt an enormous amount of relief that I had selected the color combination and design of the invitation and could now check one thing off of my party planning To-Do list.  Sure, I could have found nice invitations on the internet, or at a local stationery store.  But herein lays both the beauty and the curse of having a custom DM Paper Designs invitation made.  Anything that you or Debra can think of, she can make.  If you are a creative person (unlike me), she can make your vision a reality.  If you are not so creative (like me), Debra has a way about her of guiding you through the process and extracting your taste and she will create a vision that you didn’t even know you had.  I left DM Paper Designs with the beginnings of the invitation for my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, which will reflect her personality, be unique, contemporary, beautiful, and set the tone for the celebration.