Picking an invitation for your own wedding can be quite a challenge. The style is very personal and really sets the tone for the day. Therefore I decided to make something myself. I started with gathering inspiration. What a great way to get in the right mood for the big day!
An orchard wedding
We got married in the fall month October in an orchard and glass house. I wanted the invitation to unveil a bit of the day we had in mind. Something with soft colors, a romantic feel, but a the same time an invitation that would also make Daan happy. So not too feminine and sugary… Which can be difficult when you are floating around on a fluffy pink cloud ;).
Harvest time
In October, the harvest of Dutch apples is in full swing. Especially in the Betuwe, an area in the province Gelderland, where most apple orchards (and our wedding location) are located. We really wanted to get married underneath the old apple tree behind the glass house (and lucky us, the weather gods permitted it!). So of course, apples could not be missing from the design. The two apples leaning against each other look so cozy. A very fitting picture for the the day Daan and I would say our I-do’s.
The perfect font
It was not easy to decide between a handwritten font and a more modern font. I decided not to use a handwritten font (although I love handwritten fonts, words, names, pretty much handwritten everything, haha) because I think the typography makes for a nice contrast with the soft character of the water color illustrations. I ended up with the very elegant font Champagne & Limousines, designed by Lauren. The stylish ‘&-character’ is such a great touch! For the body text I used Gandhi Sans. For the text color I chose a refined greyish-blue with cerise pink details.
Water color & collage
For the illustrations I painted several water color sheets. I then scanned the sheets, and my hand drawn apples, flowers, leaves and berries, and transformed them into a collage style illustration. The contrast between the soft water color fill with the crisp outlines of the illustrations makes for a nice playful design. Below you can find the colors scheme that I created for the wedding and designs.
Lined envelopes
When I saw these envelopes at my favorite paper store in Amsterdam, De Vlieger, I was sold. A sophisticated grey tone, that matched the soft style of the invitations and the off-white of the laid paper perfectly. For an extra festive touch, I lined the envelope with and apple pattern. A real treat to open!
Personal stamps
I just went through the roof when I found out that I could design my own stamps at the Dutch post company PostNL. For hundred stamps (stickers on a roll), you pay €79,- (for a normal stamp you pay €0,73). So for an extra 6 euros, you add a really special touch to your invitations. One stamp is enough for a card up to 20 grams. The personal stamps are a bit larger than normal stamps, so the design really stands out.
Of course I managed to cut it pretty close, because i just HAD to wrap a cute string around the wedding invitation and information card to hold everything together (to Daans disbelief). This made our card weigh 20 grams precisely… Luckily everybody received their invites in good order.
One happy apple design
The fun thing about scanning and working on your illustrations on the computer, is that you can use them again and again. After I finished the invites, I made place cards to reserve seats for special guests and for the table setting. The individual cards were tied to apples, which made the long dining tables really festive. I also made cards for the home made pies. Instead of one big wedding cake we had ten gifted friends create the most delicious treats. It was so much fun to see how the cards gave everybody their well deserved credits. As we speak, I am writing our thank-you cards. All in one happy apple design :).
Wedding invitation orchard theme
Would you like to use this design for your wedding? Of do you have something similar in mind for a different occasion? Take a look at my Pricing & Possibilities page or send me an email. I would love to hear from you!
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