Most people think of the white wedding gown as being one of the oldest traditions in the book.  When I was looking for my wedding gown, the thought never entered my mind to step outside of the white/off-white color realm.

However, trends have emerged pointing to a more nontraditional approach to the wedding gown.  A day doesn’t go by that I don’t stumble across some sort of colored wedding dress while thumbing through a bridal magazine.  Just recently, Diva Dialogue blogger Lea shared a photo of a gray dress with me:

Contrary to what you may think, colored wedding dresses are nothing new.  As a matter of fact, white dresses didn’t become popular amongst all class levels until the late 18th century.  In the case of the gray dress, this was traditionally worn by the lower class in the 18th century.

Step back in time even further and you’ll find that traditional wedding dresses in Medieval times were rarely white when planning an extravagant wedding.  Instead, they focused on jewel tones such as ruby, sapphire and emerald, and were often worn by princesses and the upper class.  Today, these choices still exist, such as this red Fiorenza dress from Maggie Sottero:

…And another example straight off the runway in emerald green…

So you tell us!  What do you think?  Do you like the colored wedding dress trend, or do you prefer to stick to the traditional varying shades of white?

In honor of Wedding Paper Divas’s newest luxury letterpress line, I decided to devote an entire entry about letterpress printing. What is letterpress? If you are not planning a wedding, it’s possible that this word is not a part of your regular vocabulary.

Letterpress is a type of printing used hundreds of years ago that involves the pressing of movable type onto paper creating an impression of the image in reverse. This is how you get that great textured look and depth characteristic of letterpress invitations.

Chinese woodblock printing started as early as 750 AD with well-known printer Johannes Gutenberg being cited as the inventor of movable print in the 1400’s. This was originally created as a faster alternative to hand written calligraphy.

What was once a fading art for hobbyists has now emerged into a cultural revival. One place where you will see letterpress printing as popular as ever is in wedding invitations. Because of its beautiful, rich look, it’s obvious that this type of printing will remain in style and continue to capture the hearts and attention of couples for a long time.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterpress

Valentine’s Day cards have been shared in Europe for centuries, but the American tradition of sending Valentine’s Day cards was pioneered by one innovative and creative young woman. Esther Howland, “The Mother of the American Valentine,” was inspired by an ornate English valentine she received shortly after graduating from college in 1847. Determined to make beautiful valentines of her own, she ordered paper lace and floral embellishments from England, created a few samples and was overwhelmed by the volume of orders placed at her family’s Massachusetts stationery shop.

Operating during the height of the golden age of valentines from 1840-1860, Esther grew her business from a small valentine production line in her family’s home to full-blown flourishing and in 1879, The New England Valentine Company was created. Her business thrived until she retired in 1881, when she sold it to the George C. Whitney Company. Esther’s highly intricate and romantic paper lace designs, as well as many others, set Valentine’s Day cards trends in America for over thirty years.

Image courtesy of Donna Albino, http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~dalbino/

At Wedding Paper Divas we’re inspired by Esther’s dedication to creativity, romance and above all, innovation. As a modern tip of the hat to our pioneering, visionary sister, our state-of-the-art personalization options allow you to make our Valentine’s Day designs your unique cards. Newlyweds and couples can easily customize a quick, heartfelt thank you note to loved ones or transform a valentine design into a moving or marriage announcement.

With the Sweet Paisley Valentine Red Photo Card, choose to keep “Happy Valentine’s Day” at the top but incorporate “Your wedding date” where the family member names are. Like Esther Howland’s exclusive paper lace creations, our personalization options and designs combined with your sentiments and style offer the perfect opportunity to create your own exclusive and indelible Valentine’s Day card trends.

Source:
http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Valentines/howland.htm
http://www.jsbeads.com/esther-howland/