I can not say enough about Ruth/ Concertina Press. It was just crazy luck that I found her designs. While perusing the Pinterest board my sister created for my wedding, an invitation she had pinned caught my eye. It was the style that stuck out.... I clicked on the pin to read more about it, and found a magical online shop called Concertina Press.
Until I saw Ruth's beautiful designs, I was seriously having doubts about having everything for our wedding take on a nautical theme. I mean, I like boats okay - and Ruth has some beautiful products featuring ships - but for me, getting married by the sea is something I am doing because I love the ocean. I love all the things about it. So, the standard navy on white invitations with a compass embossed across the pages with an anchor charm dangling off of it, did nothing for me. That didn't feel personal enough for me.
So, when I found the wedding invitation page at www.concertinapress.com, I knew I had found something special. The inspiration for her work comes from old scientific illustrations - which has it's own special meaning for my fiancee and me - and she really brings her subjects to life, and the colors are beautiful. Having recently received the actual invitations in hand, I can say that I am ecstatic about the end product, and the online pictures don't do justice to the beauty of her work.
The product is great, and I couldn't be happier, but just as great as the product, is Ruth herself. We coordinated everything over email, and despite some personal challenges I had getting my email to work properly, Ruth made the whole process streamlined and stress free. She was personable (not always easy yo do via email), courteous, and totally efficient. She has her craft honed, and her business runs like a well oiled machine. The turn around time for response, proofs, printing and shipping were all well within the time frame stated up-front, and in my case, everything happened much faster than expected. She was also very quick to answer any questions we had about the process, and willing to make a special trip to the post office to get us our envelopes early for addressing. The product was carefully wrapped and packaged to protect it during transport, and everything arrived, in tact, neat, organized, and more beautiful than I had let myself hope for. Along with our order, was a handwritten note from Ruth, that included some information about the printing of our invitations. Also, as if that weren't enough, she included a set of beautiful thank you cards, and some post cards with her design. I will definitely be going back to Concertina Press for any stationary/ paper needs in the future. You can be sure that when we decide to start a family, our announcements will feature a bouncing baby seahorse/ squid/ cuttlefish... Thank you, Ruth, for the most amazing invitations I never even knew were possible.