Menden + Jonathan’s Travel-Inspired Destination Wedding Invitations

I will always be fond of travel-inspired wedding invitations.  This destination wedding invitation suite from Momental Designs features both a travel theme and antique modes of travel, from old timey bicycles to hot air balloons!  Designer Kristy Rice and her team at Momental Designs added their signature hand painted touches on top of letterpress printed text and illustration elements.  So pretty!

Momental Designs Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper (2)

From Kristy: Menden’s ideas for her wedding invitations were entirely inspired by vintage travel: hot air balloons, early bicycles, and the like.  She also was obsessed with letterpress and our hand painted look.  We launched into creation of the save the dates first – mini booklets designed to fill guests in on all the important details for this destination wedding in Greece.

Momental Designs Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper (4)

Momental Designs Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper (5)

Inspired by vintage tags, the save the date booklet was all tied up with airmail-inspired baker’s twine.  We hand painted stripes in red, white and blue inks atop the letterpress text and illustration to complete the look.  The save the date mini-booklets made sure guests were prepared to “email away,” “enjoy your stay,” and “find your way.”

Momental Designs Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper (6) Momental Designs Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper (7)

Boarding pass invitations were the perfect fit for the wedding’s travel theme.  We added a swooping banner inviting guests to a “wedding getaway” as they slid out of each brightly striped sleeve.

Momental Designs Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper (8)

The color palette was made up of chipboard materials in various shades of tan in addition to bold red, blue and crisp whites.  Deep letterpress impressions mixed with the super thick chipboard made a big statement and had a certain sense of restrained luxury to the touch.

Momental Designs Wedding Invitations via Oh So Beautiful Paper (9)

Thanks Kristy!

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

Photo Credits: Momental Designs

Christy + Matteo’s Screen Printed Woodland Wedding Invitations

Lindsay from Paper Bloom sent over these nature-inspired screen printed invitations that she created for an upcoming wedding in Oregon.  Lindsay collaborated with the bride, a talented artist, combining Christy’s illustrations within the overall design.  To complete the natural feel of the invitation suite, Lindsay and Christy chose a green and white color palette screen printed on recycled kraft paper.

Woodland Wedding Invitations by Paper Bloom via Oh So Beautiful Paper (6)

From Lindsay: When Christy first contacted me about designing her invitations, she had a pretty good idea of what she wanted – illustrations of trees and Mt. Hood, a natural feel, and fun fonts.  I was even more excited about working with her when she told me she would like to draw the illustrations herself.  I love collaborating with artists!

Woodland Wedding Invitations by Paper Bloom via Oh So Beautiful Paper (5)

We chose recycled kraft paper for the invitation suite.  I knew screen printing would be the best method for ensuring nice ink coverage, particularly for the white design elements.

Woodland Wedding Invitations by Paper Bloom via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Woodland Wedding Invitations by Paper Bloom via Oh So Beautiful Paper (1)

I made a rubber stamp of the tree graphic that Christy used on a small tag and the back flap of the envelope, which we’ll also use on her reception items.  The natural jute string was a fun addition to tie it all together.

Woodland Wedding Invitations by Paper Bloom via Oh So Beautiful Paper (2)

Thanks Lindsay!

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

Photo Credits: Paper Bloom

Lindsay + Steve’s Hand Lettered Wedding Invitations

Happy Monday everyone!  I’m thrilled to be starting the week with these gorgeous hand lettered wedding invitations from Molly Jacques.  I love Molly’s whimsical calligraphy and illustration work, so it’s no surprise that she would produce such beautiful wedding invitations!  Molly collaborated with the bride, a former designer and art director, who provided the overall art direction and produced the invitation design.  Molly also provided hand lettering for the bride and groom’s wedding website.  Stunning!

Hand Lettered Wedding Invitations by Molly Jacques via Oh So Beautiful Paper (1)

From Molly: This invitation was inspired by my sketchbook drawings and was a collaboration between myself and the bride, Lindsay Keach.  Lindsay’s wedding will take place on a farm in Kentucky, so she really wanted a fun and illustrated feel to her wedding stationery.

Hand Lettered Wedding Invitations by Molly Jacques via Oh So Beautiful Paper (6)

The invitation suite and stationery was letterpress printed on white paper with gray and yellow inks.  Their wedding logo was also created into a return address stamp to use with their stationery.  Lindsay created the overall design aspects, including the belly band and textile pattern for the RSVP.

Hand Lettered Wedding Invitations by Molly Jacques via Oh So Beautiful Paper (2)

Hand Lettered Wedding Invitations by Molly Jacques via Oh So Beautiful Paper (5)

From Lindsay: Molly’s lettering is just amazing – it is exactly what I envisioned for our casual farm wedding, and she was willing to work with me to meet an incredibly tight deadline.  The blessing (and curse) of being a former designer is that I had a strong vision for our invitations and was able to create many of the supporting elements and produce the suite myself.  Molly’s handiwork really brought it all to life.  Our friend Rocket Caleshu at San Francisco Center for the Book lovingly letterpress printed everything on pillowy Holyoke paper.  The vintage Kentucky stamps, found on Etsy ages ago and squirreled away, were one of my favorite little touches.

Hand Lettered Wedding Invitations by Molly Jacques via Oh So Beautiful Paper (8)

Lindsay and Molly also worked together on Lindsay + Steve’s wedding website, which features Molly’s hand lettering, Lindsay’s design, and Jenifer Wofford‘s illustration of the couple.  The site was programmed by Max La Riviere-Hedrick from Futurpruf.

Hand Lettered Wedding Website by Molly Jacques via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Beautiful!  Thanks Molly and Lindsay!

Art Direction: Lindsay Keach

Hand Lettering: Molly Jacques

Illustrations: Jenifer Wofford

Letterpress Printing: Lindsay and Rocket Caleshu, via San Francisco Center for the Book

Website Development: Futurpruf

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

Photo Credits: Molly Jacques

Friday Happy Hour: The Papa Doble

Ernest Hemingway was a great many things, including a Nobel laureate in literature.  For our purposes here, he was also prolific drinker and among his vast legacy are several great cocktails, including the rum-based Papa Doble.  Whether celebrating his life and work or trying to beat the sweltering heat we’ve been suffering under lately, enjoy one this weekend.  – Andrew

Papa Doble Cocktail Recipe via Oh So Beautiful Paper (6)

Read below for the full recipe!

 

Papa Doble

2 oz Clear Rum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur

Combine all the ingredients with crushed ice, shake well, pour everything into a chilled cocktail glass, and enjoy!

The Papa Doble is very tart, a little sweet, fantastically cold, and very refreshing.  I should emphasize, this is not very sweet.  If you want a sweeter drink than Hemingway did, you can increase the Maraschino Liqueur to 1/2 oz; this is quite tasty, but the sweet taste of Maraschino, reminiscent of almonds, can easily overwhelm a drink.  The clear rum can easily be overshadowed by the strong flavors of all that citrus and Maraschino, so consider experimenting with a more robust rum, like a Rhum Agricole or Cachaça.

 

Hemingway spent a lot of time in Cuba, visiting in the 1930s and living there for a time in the 1950s.  It was in Cuba that Hemingway helped develop the Papa Doble, his take on the Daiquiri (and for that reason known as the Hemingway Daiquiri). He wasn’t a fan of sweet drinks and wanted to take the sugar out of the Daiquiri; the original recipe probably included only a dash or two of Maraschino liqueur to balance all the sour citrus juice.

Papa Doble Cocktail Recipe via Oh So Beautiful Paper (5)

There’s a huge range of Papa Doble recipes out there, many of which sound terrible.  I’m not sure which is the most authentically Hemingway, but I’m not sure it matters much either – play around with these proportions until you find a recipe that works for you!

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

{happy weekend!}

It’s finally here, the summer Olympics!  Are you all as excited as I am?  It’s so funny to think that this time four years ago my husband and I were on our way to Peru for our honeymoon!  We watched the Beijing opening ceremonies from the Toronto airport while waiting for our connecting flight to Lima.  Now I can’t wait to watch the spectacle that is the opening ceremonies – not to mention all the competitions, from gymnastics to diving.  But in the meantime…

Photo Credit: Julian Bialowas 365 Day Project

…a few links for your weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

We have a fun cocktail coming up for you this afternoon, so check back a bit later for the recipe!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!  xoxo