Oyster Save the Dates for a Chatham Bars Inn Wedding on Cape Cod

Save the Dates for your Coastal New England Wedding

If you've been searching high and low for the perfect save the date for your Cape Cod wedding, look no further than this new watercolor oyster shell design! Your guests will love the high-quality textured card stock I use in my designs, and they'll have a fridge-worthy picture of the both of you with your wedding date...because I can print a photo of you on the back for free! (or if you prefer no photo, I can continue the beautiful watercolor oyster shell design across the back too). This oyster design is timeless and beautiful, and appeals to everyone who has enjoyed walking on the rocky beaches of New England, looking for sea glass and shells hidden among the smooth gray stones and soft sand. You can get an instant quote here.

Why is Cape Cod so special to me?

I'm Ruth, the owner and designer for Concertina Press. I started my business in 2011 in Falmouth, Massachusetts, after seeing a need for tasteful, high quality coastal wedding invites that weren't plastered with flip-flops or starfish (nothing against those...but I wanted something a little bit different for the Cape!). My husband and I were married on the Cape, too, and lived there for 11 years before moving down to Florida to be closer to my folks. Happily, I still get to live by the ocean, and I can work with you online...and enjoy stand up paddle-boarding year round!

Why order from Concertina Press?

I've seen lots of wedding invites come through my mailbox as my friends and family get married. There are some huge varieties in quality! Some invites are thin and flimsy. Some of them have boring, all-black addressing in tiny fonts, or the wording is crowded and hard to read. Some of them get smudged in the mail. I know that when I send out an invite to the biggest event of my life, I want people to stop and say, "wow!". I want them to get an impression that my wedding is going to be a beautiful, tasteful, memorable and fun day to remember! That's why my goal at Concertina Press is to create invitations that are spectacular AND stress-free. By working directly with a designer (me!) you can be sure that your wedding stationery will be gorgeous! You can even order a sample to check out the quality of my invites - and I'll apply the cost of it toward your order when it's time to get your invites! I have a full matching suite including:

 Oyster Wedding Invitations, Menus, Programs, Table Cards, Place Cards and Thank You Cards.

What can I say that encompasses how much I love my order?! We ordered these for our wedding save the dates and they were exactly what we were looking for. They spoke to our personality, wedding setting and we couldn't be happier with the final product. Ruth was also extremely responsive and easy to work with when we had questions about a few tweaks. Thank you, Ruth! - Ali & Pat

You can see pricing or purchase samples on my website or in my etsy shop here:

Oyster Shell Save the Dates available in my online shop

(you don't need to sign up for an account for this one)

Oyster Watercolor Save the Dates on Etsy

(great if you have an etsy account)

Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact me! -Ruth

Shark Invitations for a Monterey Bay Aquarium Wedding

A wedding invite...with a shark?

I created these shark wedding invitations specially for a wedding at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Having your wedding at an aquarium is such a fun idea because you and your guests will have an unforgettable experience tying the knot with a gorgeous backdrop of sea life. Most aquariums have an event planner who can help you  - couples I've worked with have gotten married at the Florida Aquarium, The Georgia Aquarium, New England Aquarium, North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll,  Birch Aquarium in San Diego, California and the Seattle Aquarium in Washington.

Wedding invites that will make your guests say"wow!"

These shark wedding invitations are the perfect fit for an under the sea wedding, and they have fully illustrated backs. Your guests will love how unique they are, with schools of fish swimming across a bright coral reef. I was inspired to create these by the time I spent working a the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. I worked at a science library there scanning old illustrations to be part of the public domain. I absolutely loved the antique illustrations, and brought them back to life by digitally restoring them on the computer to have new life as wedding invitations!

Order a Sample and I'll apply the cost as a discount toward your future order!

Full suite of wedding stationery available

In this design I offer a Save the Date, Invitation, Menu, Program, Table Card, Place card and Thank you card! You can see the full Shark Wedding Collection on my website.

You can see pricing or purchase samples on my website or in my etsy shop here:

Shark Wedding Invitations on Etsy

(great if you have an etsy account)

Shark Collection on Concertina Press Website

(you don't need to sign up for an account for this one)

Read about the experiences of real couples who have worked with me in the past: 

Wedding Wire,  The Knot.

An underwater wedding would be amazing too! This beautiful photo was taken by Lands End Films during a scuba wedding in Cabos, Mexico.

I also absolutely love snorkeling, and I'm also dive certified (although honestly I think I still love snorkeling the most because you don't need so much equipment) so being underwater gives me so many great ideas for my invitations. Sharks might seem scary, but they're an important part of the ocean's eco system as apex predators, and they're more scared of you than you are of them...usually.  

stunning engagement photo session at Georgia Aquarium by Enmuse Art Photography

Oyster Watercolor Beach Wedding Invitations for a Wedding in Harwich Port Cape Cod

Watercolor Oyster Shell Invitations - the perfect fit for Cape Cod

These oyster shell wedding invitations are the perfect fit for a New England beach wedding, and your guests will love them. I designed the fronts and backs of the invitation and RSVP with beautiful watercolor painted oyster shells in blue, purple and gray. The illustrations decorate the backs of each piece of stationery too, for a beautiful and unusual touch that your guests will love. 

Matching oyster shell save the dates, menus, programs, place cards, table cards and Thank You notes are also available! Explore the Oyster Collection.

You can see pricing or purchase samples on my website or in my etsy shop here:

Oyster Watercolor Beach Wedding Invitations on Etsy

(great if you have an etsy account)

Oyster Shell Wedding Invitations available in my online shop

(you don't need to sign up for an account for this one)

Read about the experiences of real couples who have worked with me in the past: Wedding Wire,  The Knot.

Order a Sample and I'll apply the cost as a discount toward your full order!

(photo via Wychmere Beach Club)

I'm pleased to share this great review from one of my customers who was married at the Wychmere Beach Club in Harwich Port, Cape Cod: 

I received the invitations and am absolutely thrilled. Not only is the printing gorgeous, but your customer service is impeccable. It was so exciting to get that neat little package with each group of pieces wrapped in attractive paper. And the thank you note is a wonderful touch. Working with you has been an altogether enjoyable experience, and I look forward to using your services again! Thanks for taking such great care to deliver a beautiful product.  - Carol Anne W.

Matching envelope addressing is also available! If you have any questions, please contact me! (and by me I mean, Ruth, the owner and designer of Concertina Press - hi there!)

Waves Beach Wedding Invitations - Simple and Modern with RSVPs and Website Cards included

These Waves Invitations are a new and fresh take on an old woodcut illustration I came across while I worked at a marine science library after college. I digitally restored the black and white image of beautiful waves crashing in the sea, and made them different shades of blue to create this simple, modern and fresh beach wedding invitation. This clean blue and white waves invite is perfect for your wedding at the Beach, whether you live in California, New England or Florida (like me!). I was married on the beach, too, up in Falmouth, Massachusetts, a charming small town on Cape Cod. As the sun rose over the water, we said our vows and it made for a memorable and beautiful ceremony. Now that I live in Florida, I still think these are the perfect sophisticated but playful beach wedding invites.

You can see pricing or purchase samples on my website or in my etsy shop here:

Waves Beach Wedding Invitations on Etsy

(great if you have an etsy account)

Waves Wedding Invitations available in my online shop

(you don't need to sign up for an account for this one)

Read about the experiences of real couples who have worked with me in the past: Wedding Wire,  The Knot.

(photo via Seacoast Science Center)

I'm thrilled to share this lovely review from one of my customers who was married at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire: 

My invitations from Concertina Press came out just stunning. The colors are elegant and the style is the perfect mix of classic and whimsical. One of the things that I really love about the invitations (I got the waves) is that even though I have the pattern on 3 different cards (invite, RSVP, rehearsal dinner invite), they are all slightly different - so it's a less manufactured looked. Additionally it was really a pleasure to work with Ruth, who was very responsive and really took the time to make sure that I felt good about everything. She has a great eye for design too and made my invitations look fantastic despite my not-always-entirely-coherent ideas. Thank you! - Stephanie G.

Matching envelope addressing is also available! If you have any questions, please contact me! (and by me I mean, Ruth, the owner and designer of Concertina Press - hi there!)

Shrimp Christmas Cards for When You Shrimply Want to Say Happy Holidays

These shrimp Christmas cards are perfect for a beach Christmas in Florida. I designed them with an antique science illustration of a shrimp. Anyone who has ever prepared fresh shrimp or seen them in an aquarium knows what long antennae they have. When I was brainstorming ideas for a new Florida-themed shrimp Christmas card my friend Ellen was the one who came up with the idea of decking the halls...er...antennae with colorful Christmas lights! "Maybe that's too hard", she commented. Well, I'm always up for a challenge! I digitally restored a beautiful antique shrimp illustration collected in 1908 by a scientific expedition and added in the colorful lights one by one.

Each folded 4.25"x5.5" card in this set of 8 says "I shrimply wanted to say Happy Holidays!" inside and is sure to put a smile on the face of whoever you send it to! They are printed in the USA and come with red envelopes (also made in the USA!)

You can find these on my website and also in my etsy shop:

Shrimp Christmas Cards on Etsy

Shrimp Christmas cards on Concertina Press site

Merry Fishmas - Funny Nautical Christmas Cards Made in Florida

Add caption

The Christmas cards are piling up here in my sunny studio, I'm gearing up to sell at the Atomic Holiday Bazaar in Sarasota this year for the first time and I'm sure my funny nautical cards are going to be a hit! Who doesn't love a good pun? You can find these "Merry Fishmas" cards in my online shop here: Funny Fish Christmas Cards or on etsy here: Nautical Christmas Cards Merry Fishmas.

I work with a printer here in Florida to do all of the printing for me using eco friendly soy-based ink, and the envelopes are made in New York. I'm proud to offer Christmas cards that are made in the USA! The fish design wraps around to the back of the card - the original illustration came from a scientific journal from the late 1800's that I digitally restored and added a Santa Hat to:

Updated Compass Nautical Wedding Invitations

Compass Invites Guide Guests to your Wedding

I'm delighted to introduce my freshly-updated Nautical Compass Wedding Invitation . This navy blue and white design is fresh and classic, perfect for a yacht club wedding or wedding with a nautical theme.

When I first started creating nautical wedding invitations in 2011 when I lived in Cape Cod, wedding websites were not very common. Now most of my couples have websites they'd like to include, but not on the more formal wedding invitation. That's why I've created this beautiful small insert card that says "For more additional information, please visit our wedding website". You can have it say other things, for instance if you're having your guests RSVP online it can say something like "Please RSVP by January 1st on our website:". The size is 2.5"x3.5", half the size of the RSVP card, so if you need to include more information, I also offer an add-on insert card that's larger. 

Concertina Press is a small independently owned stationery company located in Cocoa Beach, Florida (formerly in Falmouth, Massachusetts) that specializes in nautical wedding invitations, beach wedding invitations and aquarium wedding invitations.

Why Concertina Press?

I take great pride in helping my clients have an effortless wedding invitation ordering experience. When you work with Concertina Press you're really working with one person, (that would be me, Ruth) and so I have the flexibility to customize designs to fit your needs that other big companies don't. Also you can feel confident ordering online knowing that you have a second pair of eyes on your invites, from design to shipping. Lastly, who doesn't love to support small businesses these days? I do all of my printing and envelope sourcing right here in the US. If you're interested in these wedding invites for your nautical wedding I invite you to check out these links:

You can see pricing or purchase samples on my website or in my etsy shop here:

Compass Wedding Invitations on Etsy

(great if you have an etsy account)

Compass Wedding Invitations in Concertina Press Shop

(you don't need to sign up for an account for this one)

Read about the experiences of real couples who have worked with me in the past: 

Wedding Lovely Blog, 

If you have any questions, please contact me! (and by me I mean, Ruth, the owner and designer of Concertina Press - hi there!)