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How to navigate to the rest of the site: navigate to birthday cards: | personalised birthday cards with butterflies & dragonflies | personalised handmade birthday card with animals | personalised  birthday cards with flower illustrations | range of birthday cards with abstract floral images |  personalised birthday cards with flower photographs | personalised handmade birthday cards for kids | handmade birthday cards with Welsh castles | personalised birthday cards with Welsh cobs | birthday cards with Welsh landscapes | handmade birthday cards with Welsh trains navigate to Christmas cards: | Christmas cards with Welsh cobs and animals | Xmas cards with illustrations and photography | personalised Christmas cards with traditional watercolour landscapes | handmade Christmas cards with photographs | Christmas cards with illustrations of Welsh steam trains and Welsh castles | Christmas cards with windows navigate to wedding stationery:  | exciting new range of designs with abstract flowers in watercolour | personalised wedding stationery with butterflies and calligraphy | handmade wedding stationery with windows | personalised weddings invitations with iconic images | wedding invitations with ampersands and petals | creative wedding invitations with gate folds and watercolours miscellaneous: | personalised engagement and wedding anniversary cards | new baby christening cards | handmade Dydd Santes Dwynwen cards |   Saint Valentine's day cards | handmade Easter Sunday cards | Saint David's Day cards | Mother's Day cards | Father's Day cards | thank you cards | get well soon cards | with sympathy cards prints and original work by Peter Kitchin: | watercolours of Welsh landscapes | watercolours paintings of Ffestiniog trains prints and original work by Rebecca Kitchin: | Welsh cob paintings | illustrations of cats and dogs | watercolours of Ffestiniog trains general pages: | contact details | site map | about us and contacts | terms | resources | new concepts | about buying | postage | home page

Handmade personalised greeting cards from Wales plus signed prints and originals Watercolour illustrations of Welsh iconic images by Rebecca. Click on any thumbnail below to view a larger image and make a purchase. Click here if you need translations into Welsh for your invitations. *If you wish to learn how to write and speak Welsh just click here. wedding invitation with celtic cross wedding invitation with cushion heart wedding invitation with celtic knot wedding invitation with single heart wedding invitation with love lettering wedding invitation with yellow flower wedding invitation awaiting design wedding invitation with three hearts wedding invitation awaiting design How the design works To see the very latest wedding stationery designs from Celtic-Weddings just click here.   The unusual design of your personalised wedding stationery works with the front cover trimmed 'short'. This allows the vertical lettering on the inside page to show through as illustrated above and below. Special design service from Celtic Cards Although Celtic Cards have developed a huge range of personalised wedding stationery occasionally some clients do not find what they are looking for. This is when you may find the personalised design service useful. The illustration below is an example where a client had developed a strong liking for the sweet pea and, after discussions with the bride, Rebecca produced the beautiful watercolour painting below which was then used as an integral visual image across all the stationery produced. Sweet peas were of course used in the church and at the reception. Below is also an example of doing everything possible to meet the client's requirements. On the left the illustration of the Celtic Cross is the design that is used in the web site. Although the illustration of the cross was exactly what the bride was looking for, the colour presented a problem because the wedding was to take place in the winter and the dominant colours were warm. After discussions, the warm reds and oranges were changed using special software to the cold blues, purples and winter red berries. Again, this illustration was carried through all the personalised wedding stationery. The development of wedding stationery It wasn't until the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1447 that wedding stationery became firmly established. Before that time the Town Crier would make the announcement and, traditionally, anyone close enough to hear would automatically become a guest. Monks would be commissioned in the Middle Ages to write the invitations using their refined calligraphy. But it was only the rich nobility could afford this method of announcing a wedding and inviting guests. Much time went into handmade paper or parchment as well as the illuminations, painting the coat of arms, calligraphy and adding a wax crest or seal. Many of these elements are used today in modern invitations to add feel of wealth and aristocracy on the bride's side. Until 1642 the quality of printed wedding stationery was poor but the invention of metal-plate engraving by Ludwig von Siegen brought superior quality wedding invitations within the reach of most people. This process mean an engraver would cut into a metal plate the lettering in reverse so that the printed sheet would be the correct way when printed on a press. Often the guest's names would be hand-cut for every invitation. Later the introduction of lithography by Alois Senefelder in 1798 made it possible for even higher quality printing and introduced the mass-marketing of wedding stationery. Due to the unreliable postal system, wedding invitations were often delivered by horseback or by hand with a double-envelope to protect from damage. Immediately following World War 11, specialists in etiquette emerged like Amy Vanderbilt and Emily Post to advise the ordinary man and everybody was now in a position to copy the life-style of society's elite. Recently the old-fashioned letterpress process has seen a revival plus the use of the glossy raised letter called thermography. Modern wedding stationery design often mimics old-fashioned printing processes including hand calligraphy and the use of ribbons and mock seals - in fact, anything that will give the impression of wealth and quality. If you need to discuss specific design, typographic or illustration requirements, especially if it is a challenge, please do do hesitate to contact Peter or Rebecca at enquiry@celtic-1.co.uk   PLEASE NOTE HOLIDAY SCHEDULE: At present we have no holidays scheduled. Please note actual delivery is totally out off our hands although we normally print the same day (orders received before 3.00 pm) and post 1st Class the following morning. ORDERING CARDS TO ADDRESSES OUTSIDE THE UK For orders outside the UK please order a minimum of 6 cards (you can mix designs if you wish). GOOD NEWS FOR WELSH LEARNERS If you want to write your own Welsh message we have now added more pages to help you here. If you want to investigate the Welsh language further and perhaps learn a few phrases we have added a totally new section here. Don't forget - you can write ANY message on ANY card with ANY image - just enjoy yourself ! IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2010 / PWYSIG DYDDIADAU I 2010 New Year's Day: January 1st Dydd Santes Dwynwen* (Saint Dwynwen Day): January 25th Saint Valentine's Day: February 14th Saint David's Day (Patron saint of Wales): March 1st St Piran's Day (Patron saint of Cornwall): March 5th Mother's Day: March 14th Saint Patrick's Day (Patron saint of Scotland): March 17th Good Friday: April 2nd Easter Sunday: April 4th Easter Monday: April 5th Saint George's Day (Patron saint of England): April 23rd Early May Bank Holiday: May 3rd Spring Bank Holiday: May 31st Father's Day: June 20th Summer Bank Holiday: August 30th Saint Andrew's Day (Patron Saint of Scotland): November 30th Christmas Eve: December 24th Christmas Day: December 25th Boxing Day: December 26 Saint Stephen's Day: December 26th New Year's Eve: December 31st *Welsh equivalent of the English Saint Valentine's Day. Handmade personalised greeting cards from Wales, signed prints and originals. NODWCH GWYLIAU RHAGLEN: Dim gwyliau rwan. Am traddodiad: yn amlwg darparu gwirioneddol yn hollol allan oddi ar ein dwylo er ein bod bob amser yn argraffu ar yr un diwrnod (archebion a dderbyniwyd cyn 3:00) ac ar ôl 1 Dosbarth y bore canlynol. ARCHEBU I ANNERCH Y TU ALLAN I'R DU Ar gyfer archebion tu allan i'r DU os gwelwch yn dda er o leiaf 6 cardiau (gallwch cymysgedd dyluniadau os ydych yn dymuno). NEWYDDION DA I DDYSGWYR CYMRAEG Os ydych chi eisiau ysgrifennu neges eich hun Cymru erbyn hyn rydym wedi ychwanegu tudalennau mwy i helpu chi yma. Os ydych am i ymchwilio i'r iaith Cymraeg ymhellach ac efallai ddysgu ychydig o ymadroddion rydym wedi ychwanegu adran hollol newydd yma. Peidiwch ag anghofio - gallwch ysgrifennu neges ar y cerdyn UNRHYW UNRHYW gyda delwedd UNRHYW - dim ond mwynhau eich hun!