live. breathe. design.

another set of seal and send wedding invitations! the bride and groom are doing a giving tree themed wedding, so the invitation is modeled after the tree from the book. check out their save the dates here.

if you are looking to do something eco-friendly for your wedding, these invitations are all in one and you don’t have to use any envelopes for them!

i realized as i was photographing some invitations i have coming up for this year that i never got to posting a few from last year’s wedding season. below is a bold and modern seal and send, custom designed for local clients in buffalo, new york. seal and sends are a great eco-friendly way to send out wedding invitations. they are all in one, no envelopes needed. i have them printed digitally which is non-toxic and there is of course always the option to have them printed on 100% PCW paper.

these sweet little invitations fold up and fit nicely into an A2 envelope. the bride and groom wanted invitations that would compliment their reception venue. easy to do since they are getting married at the gorgeous Buffalo and Erie County Historical society. the bright green wrap on the exterior of the invitation pulls a pattern from the windows while the illustration on the interior is based on a railing found inside the building. the text and beautiful laid finish paper is very formal making these invitations the perfect compliment to their day!

wedding stationery tip: want custom and unique stationery for  your wedding but unsure of a design theme? using architectural elements from your ceremony or reception venue is the perfect way to tie everything together!

the purpose of the save the date is just that – share the date! however they can include a bit more to help your guests:

• you should indicate the town/state you will be married in. this gives anyone who might be from out of town a chance to plan travel arrangements for the weekend.
• did you reserve a block of rooms for a hotel? let your guests know on the save the date so they can plan accordingly. most room blocks require reservations to be made 30 days prior to the wedding for the discount. a save the date will give your guests more time than the invitation to make their reservations.
  
• have a wedding website where you want to keep your guests informed? put it on the save the date. then instead of lots of paper in the invitation you can have them check the website for things like parking and directions.

look for follow up posts in this series:

• the how…  how do you do it? post cards? magnets? etc?
• the green… ideas to keep it eco-friendly.

or check out:

• the when…the best time to send out your save the dates
• the who…who on your list should get a save the date?

this year it’s all about the bold and bright colors plus some black for an elegant and classy look!

some color themes i am already working with this year:

still picking colors for your wedding? check out this great tool at Dessy. you can create a design inspiration board pulling together all kinds of elements from dresses to flowers. the best part? you can send you board to all kinds of vendors so they all understand the look you are going for!

check out my color inspiration board below. not only was turquiose chosen as the patone color of the year for 2010, but it is a bold vibrant color that can give your wedding a fabulously elegant feel.

using this inspiration board i put together this wedding day color palette.

images in my inspiration board came from the library on dessy and web searches. the cake was made by my talented friend elizabeth kamien and was photographed by rachel lusky of puremotif!