I shaved this morning. It might not seem like a big deal, but the details make it a big deal to me. It’s because, for the last few months, every razor I own has been dull and chipped and tuggy. The kind of shaves you get when you see that the cartridge on your Mach3 is a little rusty and clogged with the hair of a few dozen shaves.

It was unpleasant.

For Father’s Day, my wife got me the tools I needed to fix this problem. I got a handmade leather strop from a man widely revered as the kind of stropmaking (this was his budget line and is one of the nicest examples of leatherwork I’ve seen). I also received a coticule – a natural stone mined from the farmlands of Belgium.

This is something that’s required a substantial bit of research on my part. And the truth is that I could have sent my razors out to be honed. There are some folks out there willing to do it for postage. But that wasn’t the point.

The point is that I shaved on a piece of history that I brought back to usable condition with my own hands.

I was connected to the experience.

And I find that many of the couples who come to A Fine Press for their own inviting experience are cut from the same cloth. They want to be involved – be hands-on. I hear wedding planners saying the same thing. And I can’t tell you how cool I think that is. It just feels good to be connected to the process. It brings us one step closer to the friends and family that will celebrate with us.

There are all sorts of ways you can be involved in the crafting of your inviting experience.

• We normally send invitations completely assembled – we can instead send them as separate pieces, allowing you to hand-assemble each one (and maybe even include a personal note or inside joke)
• If one of you has handwriting you really love, we can print (all or part of) the invitation in your handwriting. It’s pretty straightforward and is a great personal touch.
• Likewise, you can elect to hand-address your own envelopes. We normally employ a calligrapher or digitally address envelopes, but an invitation addresses in your hand has a great sense of familiarity – the recipient will know it’s from you!
• You can visit our shop during production and be there for a “press check”
• You can source unique materials to include in your invitations yourself – fabric from your grandma’s attic or a locally-made paper.

Or…you can leave it all in our hands. The choice is yours. We’ll love you either way.

And craft for you an inviting experience that’s unmistakably yours.