Monthly Archives: August 2014

An April Wedding

Ah, weddings. I love designing for weddings. The invitation is the first hint your guests will see of your personal wedding style, and can set the tone for every other choice you make in the planning stages.

For this particular wedding, the mother of the groom was my contact throughout the whole process – I never actually spoke with the couple. It was a unique challenge for me because the only information I had to work with was the basic “Who, What, When, and Where”… I had no idea what look or theme the bride and groom were going for. I decided to create four very different designs and emailed them to the future MIL, hoping one would catch their eye.  They in fact loved two of the styles, so I printed out proofs of both (sometimes seeing the actual invitation in your hand can make up your mind for you).

The wedding colors were red and yellow, but I wasn’t sure which color was going to be the main hue for the event. Since it was an early spring wedding, I felt that a light yellow would be a great color for the invites – reminiscent of  daffodils and fitting for the time of year.

For the first option I used pale yellow for the background, overlaid with lacy heart graphics in light gray and white. This was my “romantic” design, simple and pretty.

First option
First option
Invitation and response card
Invitation and response card

The second style they liked was my “typography” design. This invitation style has become increasingly popular over the last few years, much to my delight. Focusing on the fonts instead of images and graphics can make a visually appealing and fun design. For designers, it’s almost like putting a puzzle together when all of the pieces are completely different sizes – it takes a lot of thought, planning, and careful placement.

Second option
Second option
Invitation and response card
Invitation and response card

And the final choice was…. Option #1!  “Romantic” for the win :)

A Family Tradition

Every year for Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law hosts a massive dinner for the whole extended family. With sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and grandparents, the head count comes in at around sixteen, give or take a few.  All of the “kids” (my husband, his sister, their four cousins, my brother, and myself – still referred to as “the kids” by my in-laws) would always end up in the basement, drinks in hand, playing pool.

Well, a few years ago, my in-laws decided to retire to South Carolina. They are still in the process of transferring their belongings down there, but one of the first things they took was that wonderful pool table, and with it the possibility of continuing our Thanksgiving After Party tradition. Determined to keep the spirit of our little ritual alive, I decided to host a game night party for all of the “kids,” complete with formal invitations.

Thanksgiving Party Invitation, with my lovely basil plant as a backdrop.
Thanksgiving Party Invitation, with my lovely basil plant as a backdrop.
I was able to use the Neenah Environment - Desert envelopes I had left over from my wedding :)
I was able to use the Neenah Environment – Desert envelopes I had left over from my wedding.
I liked the light showing through the paper here.
I liked the light showing through the paper here.
With this design, I added a wine bottle graphic to emphasize the alcoholic nature of the party. I then added a leaf and vine illustration to keep it classy ;)
For the interior design, I added a wine bottle graphic to emphasize the alcoholic nature of the party. I then added a leaf and vine illustration to make it look a little classier ;)
I used Neenah Classic Linen 80lb. Cover. I just love this textured paper - almost looks like woven cloth.
I used Neenah Classic Linen 80lb. Cover. I just love this textured paper – almost looks like woven cloth.

This was a very enjoyable project for me. I’m drawn to the rough, rustic design style (you’ll see Blackbeard show up in my font rotation quite often), but I love to mix it up with some flowy script or swirly graphics.  The party was a hit, and I’m already brainstorming invitation designs for this November.

 

 

Beach Wedding in September

My very first wedding design project was for my own wedding, a beach-themed affair on Long Beach Island in late September. The color scheme was mainly navy with bright pops of pink, green, and orange throughout. All of the stationery was printed on Neenah Environment paper in Birch – I just love how eco-friendly that line is and use it for all of my personal projects.  All pictures were taken by the very talented Lauri Tripaldi of Lalee Photography.

Navy and orange text with a sand dollar graphic.
Navy and orange text with a sand dollar graphic.

My husband loves sharks so of course they were incorporated into our theme.  Below are some of our table cards – instead of numbering our tables, we named them after different shark species.

blacktipgreatwhite nurse thresher tigerThe whole experience of creating unique pieces for my own wedding was so much fun that I decided to start a side business dedicated to event invitation design.  I hope to use this blog to document the creative process of current and future projects.  Check back for new posts!