Between the shortages throughout the industry and the very distinctive shade of blue I was looking for, we ended up going with a custom-dyed silk ribbon to hold all our pieces together. We paired it with a pale pink custom wax seal and vintage styled postage.
The vibrancy of this suite is just perfection - with custom envelope liners, full floral invitations with patterned backers, modern calligraphy, and the perfect wax seal.
Jekyll Island, Georgia
Tropical | Bright | Elegant | Linen
an invitation suite for a wedding at:
The Four Seasons, Oahu, Hawaii
We wanted to create a bold, tropical pattern that could be used throughout the paper and reception spaces in varying ways. We were aiming for tropical but wanted to create a feeling that was slightly more upscale and elegant alongside the more casual island feel.
We chose two main methods for elevating the overall design:
Linen bound folio to house the suite
and
Overall embossed pattern
The linen bound folio in a natural linen color was carried throughout the suite. We backed several pieces in the same linen and layered it into our menus as well.
You know how much we love embossing, so we created an embossing pattern based on the watercolor and embossed everything. Embossing is such an elegant and unusual way to add texture and elevate the overall suite.
We also had to die-shapes created for this project - one in the shape of the island of Oahu, and one in the shape of the hibiscus flower we used throughout the suite.
The island was used as an insert for the invitation, as well as tags for our welcome bags. The flowers we used everywhere else!
Now that we have all our elements laid out, let’s talk about the invitation itself.
Elegant and on the simple side, our invitation was printed with the couple’s crest on top of bright white cotton. The invitation was then backed in a bright pink and the entire piece was embossed with an overall texture, front and back.
We then created our folios, which we shaped line envelopes. The inside of each linen-bound folio was lined in custom-printed mulberry paper to match the suite.
The left hand side held the stack of a reply card and envelope, reception card, and info card, all tied together with seafoam green grosgrain ribbon.
Our finishing details included a second color of vintage grosgrain ribbon, lots of linen, tons of texture, and an invitation that rewards you for interacting with it!
Moody | Roses | Fall Greens | Velvet | Romantic
an invitation suite for a wedding at:
The Mount, Lenox, Massachusetts
We wanted to create a romantic garden invitation suite without feeling dainty or pale. Our lovely bride, Nicole, wanted a bit of deeper colors and drama in with her more traditional roses. It was a pleasure to help create unexpected moments throughout her suite, including the blind press details and little brass bee apliques for her garden wedding at The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts
We began our design process with the idea of roses and bees. Once I had a good idea of what artwork I had in mind, I went into devising adorable little additions to her design. We designed her reception cards to be a simple design (to balance out the other artwork heavy pieces) and then added an overall bee impression pattern to bring texture and visual interest to the dark green cards.
Our reply cards were also fairly simple with a couple fall leaves and little bees pressed into the pale purple papers.
Let’s talk about these envelopes. It’s no secret that envelopes are one of my favorite thing to design. They’re difficult to print, require precision and imagination. I also think they are a wildly under-designed space in wedding invitations. Think how naked this overall suite would feel if the only artwork-heavy piece we had was the invitation! I love being able to use simple pieces like the reception card and reply card to keep a balance in the overall suite.
Our envelopes were printed front over to the back flap, creating an entire piece when they opened, while not feeling incomplete when closed. We also pressed a few little bees into the corners for added detail and texture.
For postage, we went with our usual mix of current issue and vintage.
Also in our usual fashion, both our mailing envelopes and reply card envelopes were lined in matching artwork.
Last, but certainly not least, lets talk about the invitation itself.
Printed on pale blush paper, the invitation was designed to be a punch of moody artwork. I wanted layers of design elements, so we started with 300lb paper, printed deep florals, blind pressed little bees, and then added our brass bee appliques amongst the flowers.
We added a few finishing details, including the vellum wrap around our insert cards, the tiny little wax dots with brass bees, and deep green velvet ribbon.
For her programs, we bound white cotton paper with embroidery string in a perfect shade of French blue. Her escort cards bore her large, 2" custom wax seal on pale blue paper, with her guest names in pale gold.
Photography: Love & Light Photographs | Cinematography: Endless Wave Studios | Event Design: Gilded Lily Events | Floral Design: Reynolds | Wedding Dress: Mark Zunino | Cake: Carlo's Bakery | Stationery: Design House Of Moira | Jewelry: Jenny Packham | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Monique Lhuillier | Makeup: Make Me Up Eva | Hair: Up & Out | Band: Almost Easy Band | Groom's Attire: Calvin Klein | Groomsmen's Attire: Calvin Klein | Officiant: Reverend Donald Gebhard | Ceremony Music: Shrewsbury String Quartet | Transportation: ShooBoo Shuttle | Venue: Mallard Island Yacht Club | Bridal Boutique: Kleinfeld Bridal | Bridesmaid's Accessories: Olive + Piper | Bridesmaids' Robes: Cloud Hunter | Cake Topper: Table Setting is My Life | Candleabra Rental: Two of a Kind | Ceremony Lighting: Ocean Tents | Custom Hair Accessories: Foolish Ginger | MOB + MOG Robes: POSY | Maid of Honor Dress: Adrianna Pappell | Rentals: Dovetail Vintage Rentals | Ring Bearer Pillow: JfyBride | Signage: Design House Of Moira | Veil: Mark Zunino | Vintage Hat Box: Trousseau & Co | Welcome Gifts: That's Darlin'