Tips On Designing Your Wedding Invitations

We welcome Guest Blogger, Bryan Passanisi, with Shutterfly, today for some great tips on wedding invitation design! Shutterfly has some great budget-friendly resources for those of you on the hunt for wedding invitations! I first became familiar with Shutterfly from my sister who has been using this company for creating photo books of her children each year. I'm so jealous because I have yet to finish mine and Jagger is almost 4! I have a lot of catching up to do! Be sure to check them out! They have a lot of really awesome and creative ways to add details to your wedding OR make great gifts for your family.

Things to Think About When Designing Wedding Invitations

Invitations are one of the most important parts of preparing for a wedding. Not only do they notify your guests of the marriage and convey important information like time and place, they also set the tone for the rest of the wedding. It’s important to have a good first impression, but there are so many options out there for wedding invitation design that choosing the right style can be difficult. Here are a few tips that can help guide you as you create the perfect invitation.

Consider the Ceremony

First of all, make sure that the tone you pick for your invitation reflects the rest of the wedding. Are you hoping to have a fun, casual celebration? Or do you want a formal tuxedo and ballgown affair? More formal invitations look very different from more casual ones. The difference can extend from wording choices to the paper used—formal invitations tend to be on thicker, more expensive paper than informal ones.

Color Choices

Consider choices such as the colors and design of your invitation. Formal invitations are typically more limited in their palette; you may wish to stick with traditional neutrals such as cream, black, or gold. One color might be used as an accent or highlight. Less formal invitations, though, have a lot more latitude when it comes to the use of color—you can choose vibrant blues, bright yellows, or whatever combinations will match with your wedding theme. Try not to include too many shades, though, or else the invitation can come across as too loud; stick with a set of related hues or go for two or three contrasting shades.

Creative Shapes

If you really want to get creative, then experiment with the shape of your invites. Traditional invitations are rectangular, although elegant quatrefoils may be acceptable. If you’re having a less formal wedding, though, feel free to experiment with rounded corners, scalloped edge, or even circular or square invitations that reflect your personality.

Font Options

The font is important too. You’ll probably want some sort of script for a formal invitation, whereas nontraditional fun fonts such as Comic Sans or Informal Roman are a great choice for casual invites. If you’re having trouble choosing, a basic font like Times New Roman, Garamond, or Verdana can work well, although serif fonts usually have a bit more formality (and in some cases personality) than sans-serif ones do. You might even consider doing an invitation with mixed fonts, using script for the couple’s names and plainer fonts for the time and place, although it’s important not to make these two fonts drastically different or the invitation will look sloppy. Whatever font you choose, be absolutely certain that it’s legible at every size; some of the fancier and les traditional choices can be hard to read when they’re small and the last thing you want is an invitation that nobody understands.

Picture Perfect

Do you want to include a photo? Not all wedding invitations include pictures, but adding a picture of the happy couple gives you more opportunity to let your personality shine through. Black and white pictures tend to be more elegant and classic, while colorful photographs look more approachable and realistic. Make sure that you have a number of pictures of the two of you to choose from; this will help you find a picture where you both look your best. Try to find photographs that match the colors of the invitation so that the colors don’t clash.

Backgrounds

Also, determine how much the setting of the photograph matters to you; if all you’re looking for is a shot of the couple’s faces then the background won’t be very important. For other pictures, though, the background is an important component in the design of the invitation. You can choose a traditional setting like a garden, mountain, or beach, or you can go for modern city shots. If you really want to get creative, take your photos in unorthodox locations like art museums, graffiti-covered walls, or amusement parks. You can even choose to include night or evening photos rather than typical daytime ones.

Arrangement

Finally, determine how many photos you want to include and where you’d like to put them. If you have a lot of pictures that you like, you can choose to create a collage or have a single large photos with smaller insets. You can also pick a single classic photo and put it in a frame on your invitation. Another great idea is to take a single photo, blow it up to fill the whole page, and then use it as a background for the text.

Making it Great

Other considerations you should take into account while designing an invitation include the wedding theme (if you’re having a themed wedding), the wording of the invitation (formal or casual) and whether you want to include extras such as foil stamping, ribbons, or rhinestones. Whatever you end up choosing, make sure that the wedding invitation reflects the style of the ceremony, the personalities of the bride and groom, and—above all else—the love that you have for each other.

Bryan Passanisi is online marketer and writer living in Redwood City, CA. He graduated from The University of San Francisco with his Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. Bryan has managed a popular wedding blog and has created viral content. He currently is a blogger for Shutterfly.

All images provided by Bryan Passanisi, Shutterfly

Table Makeover Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Tutorial

via Snippet and Ink

French Country Inspired Table

Those of you that know me or follow us on Instagram or Pinterest know that I have a real adoration for the French Country style. I would say it's my favorite. Unfortunately, when it comes to sourcing these stunning tables... we're talking $1500 - $4000 per table!!! There is absolutely no way we are ever going to be able to swing that high price, nor are any of our clients. So, it's time to get creative! Let me introduce you to my go-to paint! First, we'll share the the design concepts from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. How lovely are these pedestal style options and out of this world "farm tables".

Meet Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

There are a variety of chalk paint options. I first started by making my own DIY chalk paint and it was a hot mess. So, I started doing my research and found that Annie Sloan is an exceptional option. I went that route and haven't ever turned back. I've been so pleased with the versatility of this paint and it is so gorgeous! It's a learning curve to work with chalk paint, but totally doable and the more you do it the better you will get. Annie Sloan paints are fun to use, work on almost all surfaces and offers ultimate flexibility with colours that can be mixed well together, lightened or darkened. Chalk Paint® can be thickened or thinned, used as a wash or even a dye. Seal it with Clear Soft Wax and age it with Dark Soft Wax. I have yet to try all these gorgeous colors, but do have experience with: Pure White, Old White, Paris Grey, French Linen and Coco. I will warn you that the Old White tends to have a little yellow to it and when the wax is over it, it definitely is not white white. So, for those of us wanting white white, go with the Pure.

DIY French Country Vintage Table

I found this beauty on craigslist this morning and immediately jumped on it! I've been on the hunt for a table that is dining height or taller, not too large, but not small like an entryway hall table... I needed something that would fit a large feature wedding cake on. Most dining tables are just too big. Searching for pedestal tables has just resulted in too high of a price tag. We are only a few years old business, so we watch every penny!

PERK, it came with a matching custom glass top! THIS IS AWESOME! For our clients who want tons of dripping candles, tables and linen always get damaged if we don't have glass to protect the surface. This table has a protective top to cover the wood, or if you want to place a sequin or specialty linen the glass can cover it for protection. Candles and fine linen are lovely, but logistically, you need to think through damages.

The Steps

1. Check the structure of your furniture, make sure no repairs are needed for stability, cracks, tightening legs etc. We will talk about furniture repair later.
2. Wipe down your table with a damp cloth, cleaning all the grime off. Keep in mind furniture from garages, thrift stores etc are pretty grimy. Take the time to clean it now, or you'll regret it if you don't...
3. Time to paint! WAIT WHAT ABOUT SANDING?! Nope! Welcome to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint! No sanding needed! HELLO lovely! If you've sanded furniture before, you know it takes forever! Not with chalk paint!
4. I've included this awesome tutorial below by Annie herself :) Start painting! No need to get concerned about brush strokes. The paint will dry very quickly, another perk! You can complete your project all in the same day!
5. I painted three light layers of French Linen on the table first. I like a nice full coverage. I pour the paint into a container and add in some water to create a milk like consistency. That's the fun part! You can either have the paint thick, or like a milk consistency or really watered down for a white wash effect. I recommend trying the same consistency I do in order to preserve your paint. It's pricey and you'll blow through your paint if you keep it as thick as it comes in the can.

I then did more of the white wash effect with Paris Grey mixed into the remaining amounts of the French Linen I had left in my container. I didn't want to have too strong of a contrast. I use my Annie Sloan paint brush, which I highly recommend, but you can use an old brush if you don't want to splurge on the brushes. This takes practice! You'll have to play around with how to apply it. I like to keep the bristles as dry as possible to add on the lighter tone.

Time to wax! I did both dark and clear wax on my table and it was exactly what it needed! Don't overdo the wax and make sure to wipe it down and work in small sections as you go. I like to scoop some wax onto the paper plate and dab my wax brush into the wax and then take some of the excess off on the plate. I use old t shirts to buff the wax into the table. You should be able to slide your hand easily over the furniture. If you have drag on the furniture, then you need to keep buffing the wax out.

Get the Look For Less!

Be sure to check out our other inventory options perfect for those of you loving the French Country style!

Annie Sloan Tutorials

https://youtu.be/mjxKGQrO1UE

https://youtu.be/v_EaaCZVYv8

Ira + Lucy Design and Coordination Services

Ira + Lucy Design and Coordination Services

It's so fun to update our service package covers with images from some of our couples! Ira + Lucy first began as a vintage rental business and quickly expanded to offer both coordination and design. It's much like being an interior designer, there is a need for designers, here's an analogy for you: for many of you, if given a bunch of home decor dropped at your front door...you'd first get excited, you'd jump in, sifting through boxes and trying to arrange furniture and then you'd get overwhelmed and end up sitting on the floor eating pizza, crying all while surrounded by a lot of "stuff" and no idea how to pull it all together. For many of our renters, they would rent decor and then feel frustrated figuring out how to make it look the way they saw it on Pinterest. This is WHY we offer design services, either "Enhanced Day-Of" for the DIY'r out there who has a good handle on the majority of your decor and then the Full Designer service, in which you have a designer's touch on everything! Think of us as your "interior designer" for your wedding! You can learn more about our different design and coordination help under the "services" and sub-page, "packages" page. We have a variety of options to fit your budget!

Here's a great article from Bride's Magazine "Should You Hire a Wedding Designer?"

"For starters, you can think of a wedding planner kind of like a house contractor and a wedding designer (or stylist/architect) like the interior designer for the home. "Wedding planners excel with the logistics, such as timelines and budgets, and are often certified in event management, whereas wedding designers excel at visual presentation and creating the overall cohesive look of the event from start to finish," says Lynn D'Ascanio of D'Asigner Events. In fact, many wedding designers are licensed interior designers and fashion designers too.

They can help you with all of the aesthetic and creative decisions, according to event designer Tracy Taylor Ward. "This includes floral design, floor plans, lighting design, linen, furniture and rentals selection (china, glassware, flatware), bride and bridal party styling, invitation design and reception stationary consulting."

If you're still not sure if a wedding designer is right for you, here's how to decide" READ MORE HERE

Stephanie Mballo Photography Ira + Lucy, Wedding Design Behrens Artistry