Kathy & Aaron

Invitations – Hot Off of the Press

I got an email on Monday from Amanda over at alee & press, the Atlanta, GA stationary and printing shop that is responsible for my wedding invitations. I thought this would be a great time to talk about my invitations, namely, why did I even get them? I’m sure you guys know how eco-conscious I am trying to be for my wedding (and my life!) but there is something intangible, lovely, and timeless about getting an invitations in the mail.

I happened upon alee & press after I discovered that I couldn’t seem to let go of the idea of a wedding invitation. Not to give up on eco-awesomeness entirely, I had the following requirements:

• Tree free. I was looking specifically for cotton paper invitations since cotton paper is made from the remnants of the garment industry.
• Letterpress. Ok ok. This isn’t eco-friendly. This is what I just wanted.  I’m a font nerd and all.
• RSVP postcards. A lot of extra paper is taken up by RSVPs because of the reply envelopes. A more eco-friendly option is to have a postcard. Plus it cuts down on postage!

alee & press does all of this and more! They use an old vintage press for all of their printing (a Vandercook SP-15 that they’ve named “Vandy”) and have made it a company priority to protect the environment by using cotton paper, soy-based inks, re-using packaging and donating 1% of their sales towards environmental causes.

Amanda even worked with me to get a bit of customization to one of their invitation suites so I could have my own personal touch. I can’t wait to see them in person!!