Congratulations to Anjuli & Charles for their wedding in the English countryside! We are enamored of this set with its combination of bold lines and soft florals, printed in a deep green ink. We did a full set of cards for their wedding, including a card for their Hindu wedding ceremony in a coral pink, and a very fun weekend timeline. We think the design is elegant and befitting a wedding at an English estate.

Congratulations to Angela and Samuel who were married by the sea in Florida this weekend! We love their seaside themed wedding, complete with soaring seagulls, a roaring wave and a custom monogram.

Congratulations to Lorien & John for their wedding across the pond this week! This lovely couple chose to use our Pictorial design with imagery to match their wedding at a beautiful country home. The soft blue-green and gray colors of this design have us dreaming of the English countryside in the spring.

Sticking with the monograms theme this month, we wanted to share some options for incorporating these on wedding stationery. Monograms are one of our favorite design elements to print. They add a decorative detail and a sophisticated elegance to wedding invitations. Plus, the design can be carried through all of the wedding stationery, from thank you note cards to programs and menus.

We recommend couples adhere to traditional etiquette, noting that the bride’s initials come first on the stationery until the wedding has taken place. After the ceremony, the groom’s initials may come first (on the menu, escort cards and thank you notes) and/or the couple can use their shared last name, if relevant.

Even simple initials like this L + A (below) can elevate items like escort cards or menus and give the stationery a personal feel.

This couple opted for the nautical flags in lieu of letters.

Sticking with our “March Monogram” theme, we’ve added a couple new note card designs to our collection. We always love an elegant script monogram but for many people, this may feel too formal for their style of letter writing. A card with custom printed initials is going to get much more use.

If you’re inspired to order some monogramed stationery of your own, visit our note card collection here: Sesame Note Card Collection

The simplicity of crisp, letterpressed initials always looks elegant. Monograms have been used for centuries from Roman era coins to modern era royal wedding invitations. We started looking into the history of monograms and here are some of the interesting things we learned:

• Initials/monograms symbols have been used for centuries, dating back to 350 BC. 
• Currency during Roman times featured the initials of the Greek and Roman rulers to mark their reign
• In the Middle ages, artisans used initials to sign or brand their work
• Early monograms consisted of just two initials. Around the 17th Century, it became more common to use the three letters. In the early 1600’s, Rembrandt signed his early paintings with “R” or “RH” but later added a third initial (and eventually moved on to signing his name).
• British Royals use the 2 letters and these are intertwined to form a cipher, which is a monogram design for the reigning sovereign.
• In the Victorian era, monograms were associated with the aristocracy and therefore, were perceived as a sign of prestige. 

If initials feel too minimalist, a small illustration can be added to personalize the stationery a bit more. Here are a couple we’ve printed and love this month!

Congratulations to Laura and Daniel on their wedding this beautiful, spring weekend! So often we use beautiful floral illustrations on wedding invitations, but this couple wanted something a little different. These ferns and fronds, printed in a mix of black ink and a blind emboss, are a nice alternative for an early Spring wedding.