02/15/2018

Mediterranean Inspired Watercolor Wedding Invitations

With these beautiful deep blue tones, these stunning Mediterranean-inspired watercolor wedding invitations could be for an al fresco dinner party in Tuscany or an exotic getaway to the Greek Isles! Instead, we’re bringing the Mediterranean a bit closer to home, for a wedding in Houston, Texas! Sarah McKeon of Bluebonnet Press designed these stunning invitations with blue letterpress printed text on white handmade paper. The watercolor tile-inspired envelope liners are the perfect bold touch!

From Sarah: This was one of my favorite custom designs! I love that inspiration can come from anywhere and I’m only limited by my imagination. The inspiration for this invitation suite was the beautiful venue, The Gallery in Houston, which has lots of Mediterranean style architecture and Spanish vibes with all the gorgeous terra cotta tiles. I knew I wanted to use blue because there was going to be blue glassware used in the table settings. I painted a watercolor piece mimicking patterns used in old Spanish tiles, which I then digitized and turned into custom liners for the suite.

I kept the design of the invitations simple with some beautiful typography to not have it compete with the busy liners. To add texture and give the suite that old world feel we were going for, I letterpress printed them on gorgeous handmade paper. The natural feathery edges of handmade paper get my heart every single time! The finishing touches were the blue vintage stamps that pulled everything together.

To continue the theme, the place cards were brush lettered, with the same blue watercolor used in the liners. To save on cost we ended up digitally printing the menus, but gave them a rough deckled edge along with the place cards to echo that detail used in the invitations suite.

As a stationer, when designing wedding invitations I am often one of the first pieces of the puzzle and get to brainstorm and create with brides as everything starts to fall in place. However, sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall at the weddings to see how everything came together. Which is why I absolutely love getting photos, it’s such an honor to work with other creative vendors and see how each of our talents play off each other to create a fabulous event!

Thanks Sarah!

Design: Bluebonnet Press
Handmade paper: Fabulous Fancy Pants
Vintage stamps: Verde Studio

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more talÂented wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂers and the real inviÂtaÂtions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Nicole Young

02/08/2018

Inspiring Calligraphers: Bien Fait Calligraphy

Hey everyone! If you’re someone who pores over the little details, (like I do), I think you’re in for a real treat today. When I was choosing images for this post, spotlighting calligrapher Joi Hunt, I just couldn’t narrow down all the images of oh-so-pretty envelopes. Because when you think about it, an envelope is often the very first impression of the big event. Let’s go look at some beautiful lettering work! Here’s a peek at Bien Fait Calligraphy. – Jen

What’s in a name? Bien Fait is a French phrase that means “made well”, which is a nod to the way Joi approaches calligraphy â€” made well and made with love. Joi specializes in pointed pen calligraphy styles. Favorite projects? Says Joi: “My favorite projects are collaborations between other creatives, like stationery designers and watercolor artists. All our strengths come together to create something more beautiful than each individual element.”

Joi considers herself a classically trained calligrapher, but that doesn’t mean she’s a perfectionist. “The beauty of handwritten script is the variation, the personality and emotion that comes through mind, heart, and hand, onto paper,” says Joi.

On envelopes, Joi says, “I love to address envelopes! Each one is a little piece of art, totally unique and a labor of love. A client that gives me the freedom to flourish a name or address is a bonus.” And of course, it’s so special to see a name beautifully penned.

Joi finds inspiration for her lettering work from historical examples. “I love to study calligraphy books and I am lucky to own quite a few vintage books. I could spend hours with my nib, dipping it into ink, and listening to the sound of that nib on paper,” she shares.

Sending a big thanks to Joi of Bien Fait Calligraphy for sharing a look into her fanciful, beautiful lettering work!

p.s. Even more inspiration from more inspiring calligraphers right here!

All photos via Bien Fait Calligraphy

02/05/2018

Romantic Deckle Edge Wedding Invitations with Red Wax Seal

Ethereal calligraphy, soft deckled edge paper, and bold red wax seals? Yes, please! We’re loving these romantic deckle edge wedding invitations by Tricia of Fourteen-Forty! The clean, minimalist design is absolutely dreamy on the beautiful handmade paper â€“ and the pop of red in the wax seal is so fun!

From Tricia: When my good friends Clara and Edward came to me for their invitations, all kinds of inspiration and ideas came to mind. They wanted something romantic and modern and throughout the process, was pleasantly surprised again and again by their attention to design and detail. In the end, this deckled edged suite was truly a labor of love!

Up until now, our clients have always preferred a cleaner edge and thus we always hand tore our invitations. Clara and Edward fell in love with deckled edges and so we used them for both the invitation pieces and envelopes! We just love the texture and naturally frayed edges of deckled edge paper. After testing all kinds of combinations we decided ivory and lead gray were the perfect combination: subtle and modern. Their names were calligraphed and printed in gold foil. To top it off we added a vellum overlay tied to the invitation by gold string and a bold red wax seal.

It was clear from the start that calligraphy, both hand and digital, would play a large role in their suite. Each envelope was hand calligraphed and completed with an array of vintage stamps inspired by the coupleâ€™s personal interests. The bright colored stamps were a fun contrast to the subtle sparkle of the gold ink. For their day-of pieces we knew we couldnâ€™t say goodbye just yet to the red wax seal and so we sealed both their menus and escort cards! Each escort card was sealed with the guestsâ€™ table number. On the day, it was so much fun seeing a hundred red seals side by side!

We wanted to make sure that the details didnâ€™t end there and so we also tied each program with the same gold string we used for their invitation. While it isnâ€™t necessary to match your day-of pieces to your invitations, in this case, we were so glad Clara and Edward were excited to bring back aspects of their invitations on the day.

Thanks Rachel!

Design: Fourteen-Forty
Calligraphy: Papersoul
Floral Design: Days of May Florals

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more talÂented wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂers and the real inviÂtaÂtions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Fourteen-Forty

01/24/2018

Food Birthday Cards

Cake, candles, presents…all time-honored birthday traditions. Another often includes a dinner out with friends, a breakfast with family or a home cooked meal made by a loved one. Food has long played a role in many a celebration â€“ and birthdays are no exception! Whether it’s hot dogs and hamburgers, ramen two ways, or sushi and sparkling wine, your special birthday cuisine is totally unique to you. Why should your birthday greeting be any different? Soups on with these twelve food birthday cards! â€“Shauna

From top right:

1. Oodles of (long life) noodles seem a more than appropriate choice for any birthday celebration. From Anne and Kate.

2. One banana, two banana, three banana, birthday banana! Loving this cheeky party fruit illustrated by Justyna Stasik for Paperole.

3. Continuing on the theme of anthropomorphic food is this wide-eyed wonder from Lucky Horse Press.

4. Ahh, freedom fries. The perfect meal for birthdays (also: Wednesdays). From Violet Clair.

5. This Egg Press noodle card comes with both a birthday message and free advice (but sadly, no actual noodles).

6. I sleep soundly knowing that these fruity partygoers surely must be smiling on the inside. Illustrated by Jon Klassen for Red Cap Cards

7. It’s a taco HOLDING TACOS. There’s no such thing as too meta in my book. From Shorthand/Iron Curtin Press.

8. My Darlin’ wishes you sunny days and perfectly runny eggs.

9. Send this card from The Good Twin to the hottest birthday recipient you know. Extra points if you can add additional puns to your message.

10. You aren’t getting any younger, so might as well embrace all that ages well. From Hello!Lucky.

11. Really appreciating the food and drink pairings as specified by Party Sally. Also, that sashimi looks delicious!

12. Birthdays do only come once a year, so if there was ever a day to order everything on the menu, this certainly is it. Another gem from Lucky Horse Press.

01/16/2018

Classic Neutral Italian Destination Wedding Invitations

The invitations from Rachel Kim of Fourteen-Forty include all the goodies: hand calligraphy, a wax seal, gorgeous vintage stamps, and spot illustrations. The classic and clean neutral palette with pops of blush and gold is the perfect choice for these Italian destination wedding invitations. Clean, classic, and executed to perfection!

From Rachel: Cayla and Brian celebrated the end of summer with their friends and family by planning a destination wedding in Ravello, Italy just above the Amalfi Coast. Ocean views and traditional Italian architecture made this wedding one of the most beautiful weddings we’ve ever seen!

Cayla and Brian wanted to keep a neutral palette with touches of blush and gold here and there. After their very first meeting us, it was clear that their invitations would include all of our favorites: hand calligraphy, a wax seal, and vintage stamps. In keeping with the elegance of their venue, we went with a double thick letterpress invitation complete with gold edge painting for a little something special. To top it off, we designed a beautiful monogram using their first initials and tied all the pieces together with a blush ribbon. We like to think that any type of wrap whether it’s made of vellum, string or a bellyband makes guests feel like they’re unwrapping a present!

For their main envelope, we sourced a variety of travel inspired vintage stamps in shades of pink, red and burgundy. In addition to charcoal ink calligraphy, we sealed every invitation in our classic gold wax. As much as we love all the other colors we offer, you canâ€™t go wrong with a gold seal!

Day-of pieces like menus, programs, napkins, matches and welcome notes are opportunities to have a little more fun, especially for a more classic wedding. We always recommend a map and events card to our clients getting married abroad. Theyâ€™re a great way to get your guests excited about the trip ahead! Cayla and Brian fell in love with our accordions and so we designed two different maps; one that gave guests a general idea of where Ravello is and another that combined the weekend events, transportation details, and hotel options.

Thanks Rachel!

Design: Fourteen-Forty
Planning: Exclusive Italy Weddings
Calligraphy: Papersoul

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more talÂented wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂers and the real inviÂtaÂtions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Greg Finck

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Mediterranean Inspired Watercolor Wedding Invitations

Inspiring Calligraphers: Bien Fait Calligraphy

Romantic Deckle Edge Wedding Invitations with Red Wax Seal

Food Birthday Cards

Classic Neutral Italian Destination Wedding Invitations