Amy + John’s 3D Decoder Surprise Wedding Invitations

Happy Monday everyone! We’re starting the week with these unique 3D invitations from Amy of Saint Gertrude Design + Letterpress. After several years together, Amy and her now-husband decided to finally tie the knot. With their friends and family already gathered together to celebrate their daughter’s 2nd birthday, they handed out decoder glasses and surprised everyone with a wedding! How fun!

3D Decoder Surprise Wedding Invitations by Saint Gertrude Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (6)

From Amy: Despite being a wedding invitation designer, I’m not your typical ‘get married’ kinda gal. I love a wedding… but as a guest. The idea of ever being a bride was such a daunting prospect that my partner and I just kinda skipped over it, made a home together, had our daughter and were living in happily unmarried bliss. But 2012 dealt us a few blows and what came out of a really rough year was the realisation of the strong and unconditional love we had for each other. The only thing that stood in the way of us ‘being married’ was ‘getting married’.

3D Decoder Surprise Wedding Invitations by Saint Gertrude Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (5)

On the 29th of December, our daughter Hazel’s 2nd birthday, we hijacked her party and got married. I wanted to create invitations that held a hidden message and also had a very subtle theme of ‘written in the stars’. Our guests received these invitations in the mail and on a beautiful summer day, a small crowd gathered in our back yard for what they thought a kid’s birthday party.

3D Decoder Surprise Wedding Invitations by Saint Gertrude Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (4)

3D Decoder Surprise Wedding Invitations by Saint Gertrude Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (3)

At 2:30, we handed out some envelopes, inside which were the invitations but this time they came with 3D decoder glasses that revealed this birthday was also a wedding. My friend and photographer captured some beautiful moments of our families realising what was going on. Our unsuspecting sisters were our witnesses and we danced our first dance (to John Lennon’s ‘Across The Universe’), not on a dance floor in front of 100 people, but in our garage with just the last few guests standing.

3D Decoder Surprise Wedding Invitations by Saint Gertrude Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (2)

3D Decoder Surprise Wedding Invitations by Saint Gertrude Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (1)

Thanks so much Amy, and congratulations!

Design and Letterpress Printing: Saint Gertrude Design + Letterpress

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more tal­ented wed­ding invi­ta­tion design­ers and the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Luke Lornie Photography

Friday Happy Hour: The Love Letter

Hi everyone! It’s been a long while since we last wrote a Friday cocktail post. In our defense, we’ve been really really busy. So to get the ball rolling again, here’s a fun cocktail that I concocted especially for Nole, and she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. It’s sweet and a bit tart and very very floral, just the way she likes her drinks, and beautifully deeply red, perfect for Valentine’s Day: The Love Letter.

Cocktail Recipe: The Love Letter via Oh So Beautiful Paper (10)

– Andrew

Read below for the full recipe!

The Love Letter

2 oz Hibiscus-Infused Gin
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz Grenadine

To make the infusion: simply add an hibiscus herbal tea bag or two to a bottle of gin or genever, wait a couple of days, then remove the bags and strain out any sediments (if any) with some cheesecloth. Make sure that it’s just hibiscus; if there’s any actual tea leaves in the bag, infuse for just a few hours or else the tannins in the tea will leave the spirits too bitter.  (Note: The 2:1:1 ratio of spirits to sweet to sour is a good go-to ratio for making any Sour.)

Cocktail Recipe: The Love Letter via Oh So Beautiful Paper (1)

Shake all the ingredients with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and enjoy. For the adventurous, try adding an egg white before shaking to give the drink a silky texture and nice froth on top.

Cocktail Recipe: The Love Letter via Oh So Beautiful Paper (11) Cocktail Recipe: The Love Letter via Oh So Beautiful Paper (5)

Infusions are also a great way to put your own spin on a bottle of spirits. Alcohol is a fantastic solvent that will pick up lots of flavor from pretty much anything it touches (which is why whiskey gets all that wonderful oaky flavor from aging in wooden barrels and why we are cursed with so many flavored vodkas). They’re easy to make and leave you with something that can make a great gift or make for a personalized cocktail for someone special. Just make sure you’re careful with the timing of ingredients like tea or lemon peels that can leave an infusion too bitter if left in for too long. Enjoy!

Ed Note: You know what might be the sweetest thing ever? A husband that invents cocktail recipes just for his lady wife. And then calls said recipe The Love Letter. Yep, I’m a lucky lady indeed! – Nole

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

{happy weekend!}

As much as I grumble about housing prices and other various DC-related headaches, this week reminded me of how much I really do love my city. We took Sophie to the Natural History Museum for the first time, mostly on a whim and only about an hour before it closed, but the museum was practically empty and it was so perfect. We enjoyed the live butterfly pavilion, but she really loved the gemstone exhibit – and who can blame her? Sparkly things in bright colors? Perfect for babies! Our afternoon at the museum made me even more excited for spring and summer, when we can do more outdoor things with Sophie. But in the meantime…

  

All photos by me via Instagram

…a few links for your weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

We’ve got a little pre-Valentine’s Day treat coming up for you this afternoon… I don’t want to spoil the surprise, so check back a bit later this afternoon! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

DIY Tutorial: Vintage Fern Wedding Invitations

Vintage botanical artwork is one of those things that truly never goes out of style. The lifelike renderings of plants and flowers take a very skilled hand to create and happily bring the outdoors into an indoor space (without the upkeep of real plants!). With the outdoor wedding season approaching, we were inspired to create this lush and lovely suite that is like sending a beautiful garden through the mail! – Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria

DIY Tutorial: Fern Inspired Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper

This fern invitation suite is a wonderful compliment to our Botanical + Watercolor Save the Date Tutorial!

DIY Tutorial: Fern Inspired Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Tutorial: Fern Inspired Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step One: Lay an A7 (5″ x 7″) card down on a firm surface. Ink your stamp (we used our Fern Forrest Invitation Stamp) thoroughly and center it over your card. Once it is positioned correctly, press down to make a print. use both hands to ensure even pressure. Lift off and let the print dry. For more information on this process go here.

DIY Tutorial: Fern Inspired Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step Two: Repeat the same process from step 1 for your reply card (we used our Fern Forrest Reply Card stamp) on an A2 (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″) card.

DIY Tutorial: Fern Inspired Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step Three: To incorporate more botanical elements to the suite, we used our fern A2 envelope template as our reply envelope. Simply cut the pattern on the lines, fold in the sides and glue the bottom to the side flaps to create your own envelopes! Stamp your address (we used our Floral Calligraphy Return Address Stamp) on the front so that guests can easily return the reply card to you.

DIY Tutorial: Fern Inspired Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step Four: Adding an envelope liner adds a bit of luxury to your invitation suite. It’s also really easy to do yourself! Simply trace the shape (using a liner template) onto your paper and cut along the line. Use stick glue or double sided tape to affix the paper into your envelope.

DIY Tutorial: Fern Inspired Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step Five: Lastly, you’ll want to stamp your return address onto your A7 outer envelope. We used the same stamp as the reply address (our Floral Calligraphy Return Address stamp) but used a different color ink for this piece. In order to change ink colors, you’ll want to clean your stamp. To do so only requires making a paper towel damp and wiping off the acetate stamp image. Never use anything other than water to clean the stamp as it can damage your print image. You also never want to submerge your stamp in water as it could dislodge from the mount.

Address those bad boys, add postage, and send them off to delight your guests! You can also tie the suite together with a nice ribbon if you like!

Materials:

Fern Forrest Invitation Stamp

Fern Forrest Reply Card Stamp

Floral Calligraphy Return Address Stamp

Stamp Pad in Chestnut and Moss

A7 cards in Luxe White

A7 envelopes in Sage

A2 cards in Luxe White

A2 DIY fern envelopes: available soon from Antiquaria

Liner paper – available soon from Antiquaria

Envelope liner template:

Ribbon

Anti­quaria is a mem­ber of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of their beau­ti­ful work right here or visit the real wedding invitations gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Antiquaria