Wedding Invitations: The Lawrence

I think I've probably complained enough about being busy... it's time I share a little of what I've been up to! Early in March, my dear friend Keitha asked me to design her wedding invitations and I jumped at the chance. Invitation designs are some of my favorite projects. I don't have to worry about conveying a message or properly representing a business... the design is all about a party, and everyone loves parties.

The invitation, response card, and custom map in purple, gray and small pops of yellow

I'll be honest, coming up with a design for Keitha was pretty challenging. She isn't having a themed wedding, per se, and told me to design whatever I felt like in her wedding colors (purple and gray.) Sometimes having no direction on a project lets my mind run free... other times, like this, I run into a bad case of designers block. I had to sketch and draft several designs before coming up with the free-form leaf/petal design that you see here.

This was also challenging because Keitha wanted to typeset the entire invitation in a script font. I usually use 2-3 fonts in most of my work, so I had to figure out a way to use color and scale for emphasis in this design. And do we even need to talk about how difficult it is to find a unique and legible script font? They're hard to come by. After seeing a few options, Keitha decided on Lavanderia for her font and I think it's perfect. It's an elegant font without being too stuffy, and has a slightly retro feel. I could seriously write an entire post on this font alone... I'm such a typography nerd.

I love the new trend for designers to style and photograph their work in the printed form. This was my first attempt at styling one of my designs, and I've found that it's much more difficult than simply uploading a JPEG of the design, but I really love the sense of space it creates. To add a little interest to these photos, I grabbed an old key from my stash and plucked some purple flowers from my backyard (by the way, does anyone know what these flowers are called? They're fairly tiny and grow in clusters behind our shed, covering the patch of grass in a purple blanket.)

Working with Keitha was a dream, of course. She's a good friend and has been incredibly easy-going about her wedding (or at least her invitations, haha.) If you can't tell from the invite, her wedding is actually this Saturday! I have the honor of standing up with her as a bridesmaid (and will be wearing this fantastic dress from Ruche) and am so excited to celebrate with her. I'll have to share some pictures of the party next week. Hooray!