Invitation Paper

One of the first things I shopped for in the wedding planning was paper for the invitations. I spent days looking at websites for design inspiration, sources, and pricing. I considered using Waste Not card stock, or other fun colored papers but settled on Arturo Fine Stationery from Jerry's Artarama. It is a beautiful soft white cotton paper made in Italy for just a little more money. This is a classic, slightly more formal, traditional mold made paper that would indicate "handmade", not "homemade". When ordering from Jerry's, this paper comes flat or folded in a choice of three colors, in various sizes, and matching envelopes, in boxes of 100. Other websites have smaller quantities, but are more expensive. This quantity worked well for me since I had extras for mistakes, misprints and an unexpected addition of the rehearsal dinner invitation to add.

When planning a wedding, the guides recommend first picking your colors, theme, and formality, and make sure everything matches that plan. I had a hard time knowing what message each item I chose would connote. Was the paper too formal for a beach wedding? Ultimately, it did set the right tone for our semi-formal beach wedding.

A Handmade Wedding in Florida

Last summer, my sweetheart Paul and I got engaged on the banks of the Seine River in Paris. Our wedding was a little over a month ago on May 23rd, on Clearwater Beach where I grew up. Being the artist and crafter that I am, I had to have my hand in every aspect of the wedding. Nothing was purchased for the wedding that I couldn't have made myself. This created a very personal, and economical wedding, but also a labor intensive one as well. Now that we are settled back at home, I am ready to share my wedding projects, and how they were designed and made.

The Save the Date Postcard

My best friend Kristin was married in Florida a few years ago on Anna Maria Island. On the flight to the wedding, my then boyfriend Paul, took a great picture through the window over Clearwater Beach which we ended up using for our save the date postcard. We wanted to use it to set the tone for the beach wedding we were about to have.

For the front of the postcard, I added text to the front utilizing the orange color from the plane wing in the photo. On the back, I did a pen and ink drawing of palm trees which I scanned, and brought in to Illustrator to finish the layout. When I was finished, I emailed the files to the printer and picked them up a few days later. This was the only piece in the invitation set that I didn't print myself by hand. It was a great collaborative postcard between Paul and me.