Kate + Nick: Wedding Invitations

Skeleton Key Letterpress Wedding Invitations by Kate Gabriel

Hello there!  It’s Kate from Wit + Delight, filling in with Jane while Nole takes a well deserved blogging break.  Nole featured our Save the Dates almost a year ago, and I thought it’d be fun to share our wedding invitations with you all.

Skeleton Key Letterpress Wedding Invitations by Kate Gabriel

We knew that we wanted the invitations to be simple and classic, with a vintage twist.  We decided on a somewhat unconventional format, using a blind hit with letterpress for most of the typography, emphasizing our names.  The vellum sheet served as a place to put additional information.  We added subtle details, such as gold edges, vellum wraps, and guests were asked to tear the perforated edge of the rsvp card to return.

Skeleton Key Wedding Ceremony Programs by Kate Gabriel

Our programs integrated some design elements from our save the dates, but still felt classic and refined.  We printed the entire piece digitally, punched holes along the center fold, and tied the piece together with twine.  They turned out beautifully!

{image credits: kate gabriel}

Nikki + Josh’s Balsa Wood Wedding Invitations

These wedding invitations come to us from my very own ‘hood!  Nikki and Josh were married just across the river in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, this past May.  Nikki and Josh’s photographers, Holland Photo Arts, thought I might be interested in Nikki and Josh’s beautiful and creative wedding invitations (and of course, I totally was).  The invitations were designed by one of my local favorites, Saima Says Design, and printed on balsa wood with letterpress enclosures and coordinating day-of pieces, including fan ceremony programs.

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Nikki and Josh had a vintage-inspired wedding theme based around one of Nikki’s father’s childhood toys.  The invitations reflect the overall vintage inspiration while retaining an overall modern feel.  So pretty!

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{image credits: Holland Photo Arts}

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Marcy + Edward’s Creative Art Museum Wedding Invitations

These gorgeous booklet wedding invitations come to us from Marcy over at Be Frank, an invitation studio in Philadelphia that Marcy runs with her business partner Jenny.  Marcy just got hitched a little over a week ago (congratulations Marcy!) and sent over photos of her invitations.  I love the way Marcy incorporated elements from the art museum reception venue throughout the invitation suite.

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From Marcy:  Creating these invitations was a blast!  I spent alot of time coming up with ideas on how to incorporate the art museum feel into the invites.  Since our reception is in a gallery at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, I love the feel of the white walls against the displayed artwork.  I wanted to reflect this in the invitations.

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The saddle stitched invitation booklet contained all the wedding details.  I loved the idea of having everything contained in a book for easy reference.

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The silhouette theme was carried through the rest of wedding pieces and the cover was letterpressed by Colleen of Cleanwash Letterpress in Philadelphia.  I was really happy with how they turned out!

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Each of the RSVP cards displayed a unique painting that is part of the Academy’s permanent collection.  I was pleased with the pops of color the cards created against the solid colors of the book and the envelopes.

Congratulations Marcy!  The invitations are stunning!

{image credits: be frank studio}

Melissa’s Golf-Themed Wedding Details

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of featuring Melissa and Jerome’s elegant letterpress golf-theme wedding invitations and save the dates.  Melissa and Jerome were married in September at a local golf club, and Melissa carried some of the more subtle elements of her theme through to the wedding day details, including the menus, ceremony programs, even the wedding cake! Today I’m thrilled to welcome Melissa back to share some lovely photos – courtesy of Joe Elario Photography – and the inspiration behind the details!

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From Melissa:  As a graphic designer, I brand projects and design for clients all day long.  When I started with the the golf tee save the date, I wasn’t sure how far I would take the golf theme, but knew at that point that I really wanted to push the logo, the green and white color palette, and the overall aesthetic.

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The venue, being a golf club, is very green outside and very brown inside.  Because the interior is so brown, I chose not to bring in any brown elements, but rather played only to green and balanced it all with white and cream flowers.

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I decided to keep the ‘golf’ theme subtle, but brought in elements here and there — like using driving range golf ball baskets to hand out programs and for welcome baskets.

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For the ceremony programs, I knew that I wanted to create an accordion fold, using photos from our engagement shoot on the back.  The cover of the program uses a portion of the golf course image I used on the invitation design.

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For the escort cards, I knew that buttons with phrases like “I’m a dance machine” or “Which way to the bar” would really lighten the mood.  It also gave me another opportunity to play off the bellyband on the invitation design, which had a die-cut circle show casing the logo.

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I had to have a green candy bar, no question!  It was just another great way to break up the heavy brown in the venue.  I knew the decision to have a candy bar meant extra work to create the labels, but in the end the candy bar created a great display of color.  It also gave me a great excuse to bring in the quote on the candy bags.

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We played to the argyle as much as possible.  The guestbook exterior used a more pronounced green and white pattern, where as the cake used a more subtle pattern bringing the argyle influence through texture.  For the rehearsal dinner, we used socks as place cards – which was a great way to give our family and everyone in the party just a little something extra to remember the day.

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We wanted to create a very modern feel with a lot of these elements—while still being elegant.  The table numbers, which are quilled, really gave a playful feel to each table.  In the end, I think all the little touches—like the drink stir sticks, chair sashes and labels really made for a unique experience.

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Melissa was responsible for the design for all of the details in her wedding, but she was kind enough to provide a list of the different production resources that she used for other couples looking for something similar for their own wedding.  Thanks Melissa!

Stir Sticks: Lemon and Lavender
Quilled Table Numbers: Paper Daisy Card Design
Candy Bags and Chair Sashes: Bella Bride Designs
Buttons: Not Made in China
Guestbook: To Have and To Hold
Ceremony Programs: UniqueActive
Letterpress Hang Tags: Sideshow Press

{image credits: Joe Elario Photography}

Amy + Forrest’s Modern Illustrated Wedding Invitations

Today’s second set of real invitations comes from Amy Hardy, a freelance designer who was married in Nashville this past June!  Amy put together a fun, modern wedding invitation suite with hand lettering (and letters individually constructed from paper!) that also incorporates her husband’s background in landscape architecture.  So cool!

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From Amy: I am an art director and graphic designer, and my husband Forrest is studying Landscape Architecture.  We met through a mutual friend in 2007 and got to know each other as running partners.  Once we finally started dating, our friendship quickly became romantic and real.  Within the first year of dating, we knew this was it.  On June 26, 2010 we made the promise of marriage to one another.  Our wedding was in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Our wedding stationery represented our creative and detail-oriented personalities, as well as our wedding’s charming Southern summer theme.  This included save-the-dates, invitations with a belly band and RSVP card, programs, favors, signage, and thank you cards.

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I considered every detail in the stationery, from the stamps to the envelope liners. After constructing individual letters out of paper, I added vine details and Delicato as a secondary typeface.

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I love bright colored accents (note my husband’s bright red hair!) and hand-rendered typography, so we knew our stationery had to be typographic and colorful. Because of his blue eyes, red hair, and fun personality, Forrest wanted to wear a bright blue bow tie. That led to a bright, jewel blue as our founding color, with yellow as the accent.

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Because printing was digital, we used Mohawk Via Vellum to slightly raise the type.  The paper’s subtle and soft texture also complimented the cut paper typography.

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I was inspired by our unique obsessions and the details that define us as a couple.  For instance, Forrest has a plant background, so I detailed the typography with vines. For favors, we made packets of wildflower seeds.  Each packet read, “Wildflower Seeds: Please plant these to celebrate the beauty of this day.”

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We had a blast at our Save the Date photo shoot, as seen in the photo we chose.

Beautiful Amy, thank you so much for sharing your wedding invitations and stationery!  For more from Amy and Forrest’s gorgeous wedding just click right here, and you can check out more of Amy’s design work right here!

{image credits: invitation photos by Amy | reception photos by Kristyn Hogan}

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