3-Days Wedding: the Invitation, the Guest Book and the Party (Nunta de 3 zile si 3 nopti: invitatia, cartea de oaspeti si petrecerea)

Sorry, I had to choose from publishing just the pictures or no post at all. The story is too long to tell and I am tired, sore throat and really not feeling like writing a long post.

Din pacate azi nu am dispozitia necesara publicarii unui articol lung. Asadar va las doar cu imaginile.

Vintage Stationery for a Lovely Bride (Papetarie vintage pentru o mireasa incantatoare).

Almost a year after her wedding Elena sent me these photos as she had promised and gave me permission to share them with you. Photo credit: cristianmereuta.

I made her invitations, table numbers and money envelopes/place cards.

She was one of those great-to-work-with brides who knew what they wanted yet gave m enough artistic freedom.

Her stationery has a story to tell, one I will always remember.
We started as usual with a discussion about her vision, a few inspiration pictures, then an initial design session I call "Sketches". Here are a few of my favorites.

And  my work table at the end of the day.

STEP 2 - FINE TUNING and FINAL CHOICE

STEP 3 - PRODUCTION

I couldn't find crochet lace that was delicate enough and looked vintage at the same time so I decides to take white lace and die it with watercolors.

FINISHED INVITATIONS:

A handmade dimensional envelope and vintage gold monogram wax seal completes this wonderful invitation.

The place cards and table numbers were made to match the invitation design.

How gorgeous does this table look?!

STATIONERY IN THE MAKING:

These money envelopes are actually hand-stamped, 8 stamps each (6 with the script background  2 with the corner flourishes  at least 10 minutes/envelope for this step only. Of course I could scan and print the design, which I did for a cheaper version, but the result is incomparable.

An almost finished version that I like even without the lace rosette.

Thank you, Elena, for the opportunity of working with you and for sharing your wedding day pictures with us.

Delicate and Vintage (Delicat si de demult)

I think these two words are enough to describe Iuliana's wedding invitations.

Cred ca cele doua cuvinte sunt indeajuns pentru a descrie inviattiile Iulianei.

Her design also has a special place in my heart because of the use of monochrome which has  lately been one of my favorite color techniques.
I love working with one color in multiple shades and textures and Iuliana has allowed me to do just that with her invitations, then added contrast with the vintage floral pattern and brown flower on the envelope.  We used pearls for the flower centers to balance the delicacy of the invitation.

Acest model ocupa un loc special in inima mea pentru ca foloseste tehnica monocromiei, care imi e foarte draga in ultimul timp. Poti crea lucruri minunate folosind mai multe nunate ale aceleiasi culori si jucandu-te totodata cu diverse texturi.

I almost forgot the money envelopes.

Era sa uit plicurile de bani.

The Wedding of 800 Invitations (Nunta celor 800 de invitatii)

I already showed you the design yesterday.

It took me and my team 1 month to make them and probably another month to come up with a design before that. They filled up a mini van for transportation. I didn't count how many boxes there were, but I can imagine how much work the bride and groom had to put in to hand out or post each one.

Sunt invitatiile pe care vi le-am prezentat ieri. Ceea ce nu v-am spus e ca am lucrat pe ele timp de 1 luna, si inca o luna pentru a ajunge la un design final inainte de asta. 800 de fundite... 800 de bijuterii pe plicuri, o duba plina de cutii cu invitatii si satisfactia pe masura. In schimb mi-a fost cam mila de miri la gandul ca vor trebui sa le imparta pe toate 800 si la efortul pe acare o implica o astfel de operatiune.

gluing the jewels to the envelope flaps

(lipirea bijuteriilor pe plicuri)

one of the initial design options

(una din variantele initiale)

Lavender Invitations: Something Delicate, Something Extravagant (Invitatii in culoarea lavandei: ceva delicat, ceva extravagant)

Same design, with just a few changes makes a new invitation for a totally different kind of wedding.
Acelasi design, cu cateva mici modificari si am trecut de la mireasa delicata si romantica la o mireasa mai extravaganta.

I had designed this diamond and lavender invitation for Loukia's wedding.

Later, Cristina asked for an invitation that would make an impression yet keep it at a reasonable budget since hers was a 1000 person event.
I would have never put a jewel on a mere envelope. I am saving them for invitation boxes. And yet this has quickly became one of my favorite designs.

Creasem primul model pentru nunta Loukiei.

Mai tarziu, Cristina si-a dorit o invitatie cu care sa-i impresioneze pe cei 1000 de invitati si totusi sa se incadreze intr-un pret rezonabil. Nu m-am gandit niciodata ca as putea pune un bijoux pe un simplu plic. De obicei le pastrez pentru cutii. Si totusi, acest model a devenit repede unul din preferatele mele.

Loukia's Lavender and Diamond Invitations (Invitatiile Loukiei in culorile diamantului si lavandei)

Writing last night's post made it all come back to me and I couldn't stop blogging about these invitations. The design is not something completely new, but the relationship I developed with Loukia while making them is something special I will always cherish in my heart.

It all began with an e-mail froma future bride in Cyprus.
She was looking for something lacy to match her lovely dress and incorporate lavender and white, her wedding colors.

Articolul de ieri mi-a amintit de  Loukia si placerea de a lucra cu ea la realizarea invitatiilor pe care si le-a dorit: albe cu lila/lavanda si dantela. Iata si rochia cu care trebuiau asortate.

I made a few different samples based on her requests.

Am facut patru modele dupa descrierea ei, iar aleasa stiti deja care a fost.

By now you know what her choice was.

And it was such a pleasure to work with Loukia and make her invitations. I was even inspired to make a flower from her ribbon scraps.

Lucrul la realizarea invitatiilor a fost de a semnea o placere incat dupa ce le-am terminat am mai avut chef sa incerc o floare din resturile de panglica.

Vintage Garden Party Invitation

Ana has chosen her vintage garden tea party invitations so I am continuing to show you the designs she didn't choose.
For this one I replaced the wax seal with a large paper bloom made by my friend Laura. I am loving the large blooms although they can only be hand delivered.

Along with the distressed flowers the linen finish envelopes and paper play a big part in the vintage feel of these invitations, yet they also feel fresh like early spring air and moss odor.

I know you can't smell an image but I am sure that one day when we meet in glory and our senses will be perfect we will be able to do that. How about touching sounds or tasting food with our eyes?

A Touch of Vintage

With every request that I get it is becoming clearer that this year is going to be a very romantic one in terms of weddings. Soft colors, pinks, whites, lavender, roses, flowers, lace, and just a touch of vintage.

This design is no exception. It is basically a remake of an older Vintage-romantic butterfly invitation  I made 2 years ago.

I just changed the envelope with a pearlized white one and replaced the flowers with whatever I had in my flower box at the moment.

As with many of my designs, reproduction is dependent on availability of materials. I am often using supplies I have in my studio and create just for the sake of creation. By the time I post a picture online and you see it, these materials might be discontinued.
The fun part is creating a similar, yet different invitation for every bride.

How about a matching dress?

[photo source]

Garden Tea Party Invitation 1

I have promised you a more romantic theme for my future invitation designs, so here it is:
Introducing......

GARDEN TEA PARTY COLLECTION

They are inspired by more serene times, when people had time for an afternoon visit and tea. They are inspired by my dreams of lords and countesses, by all the romantic novels that make my fantasy world a better place than reality.

I have been having a lot of requests for Jane Austen inspired invitations, vintage floral, vintage tea parties, so that is  what I am working on now. I have a few more designs on the same theme, so I will put numbers for easy identification.

See you soon!