The Invitations, Part 1

Having sent our Save-the-Dates, we had plenty of time to design our invitations… which was probably a good thing with the amount of detail & content that we included… these couldn’t be “run-of-the-mill”, they HAD to be different!

The packaging… Because of the size of the invitations, we decided to send them in a box which we wrapped in parcel paper & finished with parcel string (just like our save-the-dates). The exterior of the box featured a tag where the guest names were written.

Opening the box guests were presented with a tissue lining which revealed an invitation to join us for the weekend. You may notice that the invitation did not give information about the venue… that’ll be because we decided to keep the location a secret until the day of our wedding… {I Love surprises, don’t you?}

Then, lifting the invitation… to reveal a book! Yep, you read it correctly. Having taught myself the “art” of book-making specifically for our invitations, I set about designing a hardcover 16-page book featuring snippets of information that were presented in a way that gave the impression of an annotated journal.

The exterior of the book, the invitation, the tag on the front of the box and the bookmark (it’s a book, of course it NEEDS a bookmark!!!) were all thermo printed which creates a beautiful texture… perfect for anyone who loves tactile pieces.

The first few pages of the book referred to the plans for the weekend with each day having it’s own page… We produced a small invitation from our parents which invited our guests to a reception preceding our marriage ceremony. This would enable us to get all of our guests in one place to transport them to the ceremony venue.

With punting planned for the Sunday, we inserted a vellum overlay which featured a map of the River Cam…

… and for those who’d never been punting, we gave them some instructions!

Every invite needs directions… ours just didn’t direct guests to the ceremony venue, just the pre-ceremony reception!!!

We popped a loose menu into the book as our guests were able to pre-order their food.

Lots of other relevant information was also included… Gift information, details of our Photographer (Hayley Ruth) with details of her website so they could find & view images of the wedding, and Transport information as we were laying on a coach between venues.

Our RSVP cards were held in place within the book together with a return addressed envelope.

The RSVP cards were quite extensive, we needed a fair amount of information from our guests to allow us to plan each day effectively.

The final section of the book gave an insight into the theming of the Children’s element of our wedding day… A Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. My daughter, Evie, was sending her own invitations (which you’ll see in Part 2 of the invitations) to the children being invited… but so no-one was left out we included the caricature we had commissioned, together with a small amount of information.

The complete invitation suite… with the Children’s invitations to follow in Part 2.

With thanks to Hayley Ruth for taking such lovely photos of our stationery! xxx

To see more of the stationery we created for this wedding take a look here.

As a Wedding Stationer I guess it was expected that our own wedding stationery would be a bit “special”… so, with the expectation level being quite high… we had to deliver… and deliver we did… A little parcel {look}.

After our Engagement in May 2010, An Essex Wedding Magazine requested a photo of us for a small feature within their magazine… not having anything we deemed suitable, the fabulous Hayley Ruth. came to our rescue and took us for an Engagement Shoot on my parents farm. The results were fantastic… we were over the moon with the images, so much so we wanted to share them with everyone, immediately… BUT, instead, we opted to keep them to ourselves (with exception to the image that was sent off to the magazine of course) choosing to share them with our nearest and dearest in a far more intimate format. This is where the idea of using the images for our Save-the-Date cards was born.

Initially, we discussed creating a concertina style album and wanted to present it in a format that gave the impression of a leather bound book, or an old style journal. After deliberating over the possible elements forming a design we decided that the individual images enclosed within a pocket would be most feasible and cost effective, and would add an additional element to the design when the card was opened. Our immediate choice for the printing of the images was moo (having used them before for a client project and being extremely impressed with the quality of print and speed of service). It also meant we could add some details to the reverse of the individual images.

The next task was to create a package that not only gave a bit of a vintage feel but also represented our initial idea of a leather bound book. Using a brown leather effect card, some suede cord and some rather fabulous buttons (which we spent hours trawling the internet for) we managed to create a look that not only fulfilled the leather bound book idea, but also the vintage journal appearance. Printing the wording content in Brown Ink in an old style handwriting font also helped achieve this.

We don’t expect that all of our guests understood the idea or the concept of the design, but we had an amazing response to them. We were delighted to hear that one of our guests had taken all of the images and had them framed… would she have done this if we had shared them with her via Facebook or some other electronic means.

So, if you’ve got an Engagement or Pre-Wed Shoot with your photographer, have a think about how best to use the images they produce from the shoot… do something different!!!

For more about our wedding & the stationery we created, take a look here.

The stationery we created for the day of their wedding continued in the same theme and design as their wedding invitations. The items we produced included: a Table Plan; Table Name Cards; Place Cards; and Order of Service.

The venue, Spains Hall, have an Easel with a frame fitted to it for the table plans to be displayed. We create the table plan to fit within this frame perfectly… giving it the look of being framed!

We provided a sample of the Ribbon stock we had used on the invitations to Exquisite Wedding & Event Services so they could colour match the Sashes for the Chair Covers.

Marie George of Beautiful Flowers sourced seashells which she wired into the bouquets, floral arrangements, placed into the base of the vases and scattered on the tables.

So, I’ve found 2 amazing tools that EVERYONE should use…

1. Pinterest! I was a little dubious about the whole pinning concept initially. But, now… wow, this could be seriously addictive! There are several ways that I’ll be using this fab little tool which I’ll explain in  a minute, but how will it benefit the bride/groom-to-be? Well, that’s simple… we all have our ever expanding files of “wedding planning” stuff don’t we? Endless bits of paper, magazine cuttings, notes about websites that have great stuff on them, suppliers info etc, etc, etc… Pinterest will help reduce that file a bit! You can create a series of boards to collect your stuff on instead (and its a darn sight quicker & tidier!), which you can then show online to your stationer, florist, hair/make-up stylists, dress shop etc… You can follow others (friends, potential suppliers, bloggers, famous people) that will additionally provide you with an endless stream of loveliness & inspirational bits and bobs to look at… And, here’s a handy little tip… you’ll be able to tell a lot about a potential supplier with the things they pin… if you love what they pin equally, you’ll no doubt love the service/style they offer!

My boards are a little on the small side at the moment:

So, how will we be using Pinterest? Well, pretty much in the same way as everyone else on a personal score… collecting the things I love & gathering inspiration etc… But, I also intend to use it as a business tool… potentially opening boards to work on with my clients so we can create mood boards for design ideas, finding other creatives to network with & showcasing those extra special things that you feel the world should see and appreciate! The only floor I have found so far, is that you can’t have a “private” board… everything you pin is laid out bare for the whole world to see! Perhaps that’s something they’ll offer in the future… It’d be nice to work on a little project with someone without everyone seeing the inspiration and ideas come together.

See what’s being pinned from our website here.

Pinterest then lead me to the second discovery…

2. Design Seeds! WOW… WHAT A WEBSITE/BLOG!!! This website oozes fabulousness… I’ve been pouring over it… The images are stunning and the palettes created from them, divine! This is an excellent source for everyone working on a colour scheme or theme… just look, it’s full of these…

Putting it to the test, I have this fabulous Envelopments card stock called “Fashionista” (it’s Fuschia Pink), and sometimes people can find it hard to imagine what other colours to put with it as a contrast, or often assume that its too bold to use with other colours… so, what would your suggestion be? How about these?

Inspiration to help you… discuss and choose colours and flowers with your florist…

Inspiration to help you… Pop your bridesmaids in different colours…

Inspiration to help you… visualise colour concepts for your stationery!

I fell in love with this website so much, that I followed the link to blurb to buy and download the iPad version book… now I can salivate over the colour pallets any time I want!!!

I am a colour geek… so much so I have a “Colour Geek” Pinterest board!!! There may not be much on there so far… but it’ll grow!!!

So, if the only other thing you do today is sign up to Pinterest & drool over Design Seed… it’ll be time well spent!!!

The inside front cover featured a passage that the couple liked and a list of the bridal party opposite.

We included a full A-Z guest list in the back of the Order of Service… it’s a nice little touch…

See Jennifer & Stuart’s Wedding Invitations here.

Maud & Chris named their tables after poignant events, places and items relating to their relationship.

Maud supplied mini chocolate eggs for the favours, keeping in theme with their wedding being held over Easter.

The order of service booklets we prepared were bilingual giving all of the guests the opportunity to follow the service. In addition, they featured a guest listing.

Good Friday 2011 certainly was a beautiful day… just look at Hengrave Hall!!!

See Maud & Chris’ invitations here.

The images featured, by the very talented Hayley Ruth, include everything from our invitations to the decor on the day… and obviously the odd one or two of us & our guests  thrown in too!

Over the coming few weeks, we plan to share all of the little elements of our day including more detailed views of the stationery as well as information about the suppliers we chose. As the story unfolds, follow this tag “Our Wedding” to view all of the posts.