After 3 months, I am so excited to finally be able to share with you images from my wedding- both the actual event and the planning process! Each week I will be breaking down the process of inspiration, design and what actually happened during our wedding, from the invitations to the dress to the tablescapes to the welcome bags to everything else in between. I originally thought I wanted to try to get this wedding published in Style Me Pretty or in some print magazine, but after realizing that I would have to wait forever to share the photos and still not be able to share my actual story, that it would be best to share it right here on theStyleSafari with you all!
First up this week was the wedding invitations. Invitations can be a daunting task because there are so many stunning designs out there. There are ultimately so many directions to go, whether it be in style or price. I outlined some of my favorite wedding invite inspiration in this post, and you can see I took direct inspiration from some of those ideas.
Since we knew we were getting married at San Francisco City Hall (more on that later, but it was a full wedding and reception, not an elopement) I wanted to celebrate but modernize the classic San Francisco monument. I was and still am in a ‘marble’ phase, so I originally drew inspiration from the marble floors and staircase in SF City Hall as the starting point for our background. Somehow the marble didn’t give the punchy ‘wow’ factor that I was going for, as I really wanted my guests to open the invites and see something bright, colorful and modern, while still feeling familiar. I decided on a beautiful blue-green malachite that I altered in photoshop, and absolutely loved the color pop that it gave.
I layered additional escort cards each with a different but connecting theme that added an eclectic but collected feel. The rehearsal dinner card was grey with a wavy hint of malachite, which matched a small square card with a malachite S&J logo which had our wedding website information on the back.
My favorite card however was the RSVP card, which we decided upon a postcard size – which has cheaper postage (!), and requires no envelope. I wanted the card to look like a vintage postcard, and since SF City Hall was built exactly 100 years before our wedding, in 1915, I was able to find a vintage photo of it’s construction that gave everyone a taste of the glamour that they would see at our wedding.
The final few details were all around packaging. I wanted a bold, contrasting pattern for the back of the invites and our envelope liners, so I designed a wide black and white brush-stroke pattern that was modern and intentional, which I also think combined well with the other prints and black and white photo. I hand-popped grommets into the mini-cards and used them to hold a black ribbon to tie the entire invite together in a nice bundle, that I hope was beautiful and fun to open. Overall, I loved the result of the invites and I think they told our story beautifully- we had a glamorous modern wedding in a vintage setting, which combined Mr. R and my respective love for the traditional and the new.
Here are my top 5 tips for designing your wedding invitations.
1. Draw inspiration from your venue- may it be the scenery, an architectural detail, or a zoom in of a particular flower – it will help with a starting point
2. Don’t be afraid of color and pattern! I know it’s hard to decide on one or two but color has the ability to transform a mood, and you want your guests to feel momentarily transported when they open your invites.
3. Don’t forget packaging! The tiny details like the liner and the ribbon were some my favorite parts of the invite and were actually very cost-effective (we printed and cut the liners ourselves), but manage to tie the entire invite together, literally.
4. Save money by not sending RSVP cards! We did, but we love when a couple asks us to log-in to their website to RSVP and it saves money on additional cards and postage.
5. Consider lower-priced options like Wedding Paper Divas, who have tons of awesome options for affordable prices, or hire me to design your invites (or shower invitations, save the dates, baby announcements etc.) for you- and have them printed with Wedding Paper Divas as I did for mine! Email me at stefschoen@gmail.com for more information!
Other posts from my wedding here:
