Self-Mailing Art Nouveau Wedding Invitations

February 29, 2012

The Hungry Workshop seems to constantly be creating unique and totally crush-worthy letterpress goodies, and these gorgeous, Art Nouveau wedding invites are no exception. The swoon-inducing, Art Nouveau-style invitations were designed to match the wedding venue – the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon – and Jasmine & Jared’s wedding and story, as well.

The understated exterior of the self-mailing (love it!) letterpress invitations belies an interior filled with a bold and gorgeous Art Nouveau pattern that features interesting facts, details, and ratios relating to the couple tucked amongst stylized leaves and florals. A perfectly pretty and pretty logical design for Jasmine, a statistician, and Jared, an IT professional.

image source: The Hungry Workshop

Art Nouveau by the Sea Wedding Invitations

February 28, 2011

Be still, my beating heart. I’m in invitation heaven, thanks to Molly from Paisley Quill and this stunning letterpress invitation suite that she created for a wedding by the sea in Cannes, France. The soft aqua blue and wave-like, Art Nouveau style swirls were inspired by the wedding’s seaside location, and the black elements provide a wonderful contrast and further the seaside Art Nouveau feel.

Because guests from all over the world are expected, Molly created a coordinating booklet with all of the information that they’ll need for the French affair, including travel options, details about hotels, and things to do while they’re in Cannes. The letterpress printed booklet cover echoes the lovely swirl elements found on the wedding invitation, and it’s tied with a variegated cord (also used to wrap the entire suite together) in shades of blues, greens, and aqua. What a lovely way to, both literally and figuratively, tie everything together.

image source: Paisley Quill

Teal Blue + Gray Art Nouveau Save the Dates

February 25, 2011

Wow, have a gander at this incredible letterpress save the date card by Norman’s Printery. The lovely Art Nouveau-inspired design was letterpress printed with gorgeous deep teal and light gray inks on a luxurious German paper called Hahnemuhle Copperplate Bright White, which has such a luscious texture. Ah, absolutely swoon-worthy.

image source: Norman’s Printery

2011 Wedding Invitation Trends : Style and Inspiration

December 22, 2010

This is my last post before the holiday break, and I’d like to thank all of you who have visited Invitation Crush during the first few months since it launched. I’m excited about what’s to come in 2011, and I’ll see you back in January, when I’ll be sharing many more awesome invites! Happy Holidays, and here’s to a happy, healthy 2011!

Several style trends started to come to the forefront as 2010 went along, and I think that their influence will only grow throughout 2011. A few of these styles have threads connecting them. For example, I think that patterns will explode in popularity in 2011, at least in part, as a result of the trend in designs influenced by both early 20th century and mid-century style. And I believe that the majority of the predictions that I’ll be sharing represent an overall trend in revisiting the past and getting back to more personal, meaningful ways of creative expression.

Vintage Ephemera Inspired

This was a HOT trend in 2010, and I think it will continue through 2011. Airmail, old school playbills, telegrams, late 19th and early 20th century ephemera, and posters from the Old West served as the inspiration for some of the most beautiful, original wedding invites of 2010, and I can’t wait to see what’s to come in 2011. I think that we’ll also start to see designers taking more inspiration from the typography, layout, and illustration in vintage books.

Shown above (left to right): Old-Fashioned Hitchin’ letterpress wedding invites by PTARMAK; Train-Themed letterpress wedding invitations by Lunalux; Vintage Love Letter / Airmail Inspired letterpress wedding invitations by Lucky Luxe; Erin + Jeremy’s vintage ephemera-inspired invitations by Hello! Lucky; Lone Star save the dates by Jennifer James of Two Paperdolls; Carolina letterpress wedding invitations from Curious & Co.’s Claremont Collection

Mid-Century Modern

This is one of my personal favorites, and I’ve already seen signs in design competitions and 2011 line previews that lead me to believe that mid-century-inspired designs are going to explode in 2011. Flags + banners, burst medallions, great typography, and whimsical illustrations will be well represented.

Shown above (left to right): Herald letterpress wedding invitations by Ben Whitla for Bella Figura; Preppie wedding invitations from Dizzy Wizzy; Emily + Dan’s Retro Teal and Red invitations by Erin Jang; Album Cover Invitations by Alyssa Zukas and Joshua Korwin; Mid-Century Modern Typographic wedding invitations, designed by Drew Hodgson and printed by Studio on Fire; Parisian Grammar School wedding invitations by J. Bartyn Design for Minted

Ultra Clean and Modern

One and two color designs with sleek typography and understated patterns and emblems are a perfect match for the art of letterpress, which offers additional dimension through luxe papers and its trademark tactile appeal. But clean, modern designs will gain popularity in the non-letterpress arena, too, as couples search for options that are both beautiful and subtle.

Shown above (left to right): Parallel invitations by Elum; ultra modern invitations from Beyond Beyond’s Made Collection; Charleston Stitch letterpress invitations from Delphine Press; Cocktail Hour wedding invitations by Ariel Rutland for Minted; Beautiful Blue Patterned letterpress invitations, designed by Curious & Co. and printed by Cleanwash Letterpress; Grey + White letterpress wedding invitations, designed by Chris Hannah and printed by Blush Publishing

Pattern

I’ve already touched on pattern’s increasing popularity, particularly in talking about the trend in patterned envelope liner designs, but we’ll be seeing pattern in all shapes and forms in 2011 – herringbone, diagonal stripes, plaid, houndstooth, chevron, used as everything from the main graphic element to the embellishment for the cover of storybook style invitations to the decoration on the reverse of the main invitation.

Shown above (left to right): Labyrinth wedding invitations by Elum; Modernist letterpress wedding invitations from Anemone Letterpress; Purple Plaid wedding invitations by Kate Miller Events; Aubergine + Fuchsia patterned wedding invitations from Wiley Valentine; Black and White letterpress wedding invites by Bespoke Press; Winter Wedding invitations by Paisley Quill (photo by West Park Photography)

Hand-Lettering and Calligraphy

Hand-lettering and calligraphy can add anything from whimsy to elegance, depending on the style chosen. And more great calligraphy and handwritten fonts are coming out, too, which means that designers who don’t specialize in these disciplines can still create invitations with a hand-lettered or hand calligraphed look. I think that we’ll see a mix of both hand-lettering + calligraphy and calligraphy style typography used as the main visual element that carries throughout wedding invitation suites.

Shown above (left to right): Kevin + Satsuki’s patterned and hand-lettered invites; Ruthie + Dylan’s hand-lettered wedding invitations by Anna Bond/Rifle Paper; Balsam Calligraphy letterpress invitations by Patricia Mumau for Bella Figura; Hand-Lettered wedding invitations, designed by Anchalee Chambundabongse and printed by Studio on Fire; JP + Kiera’s dreamy pink + gold typographic wedding invitations; Whimsical Hand-lettered invitations by Chelsea Petaja of Oh My Deer

Booklet and Storybook Invitations

Guidebooks, storybooks, booklets, passports – storybook style wedding invitations allow the couple to tell their story and/or give guests information, usually in a clever and often funny way. It’s like designing a little book that you can fill with whatever you’d like, and I can understand the appeal of these types of invites, which I think we’ll be seeing more of in 2011.

Shown above (left to right): Jordana + David’s modern storybook invitations, designed by Love the Card; Stitched Booklet wedding invitations, designed by BBDO New York and printed by Studio on Fire; Bollywood Meets French Canadian booklet invitations by Blank; Modern Stripe storybook wedding invitations by Seamless Creative; Vintage Guidebook wedding invitations by Urban Influence; Raquel + Gerry’s passport wedding invitations by Lion in the Sun

images from their respective owners

Vintage Inspired Save the Dates by Hello Tenfold

December 16, 2010

I featured these lovely, vintage-inspired save the date cards from Hello Tenfold over on Paper Crave yesterday, but I’d be remiss in my duties as a hopelessly crushing invitation addict if I didn’t add them to my collection over here.

Ellie from Hello Tenfold was inspired by Art Nouveau designs and classic, vintage wedding style to create these soft and beautiful save the dates, which feature many gorgeous details, including a fantastic mix of vintage style fonts and a floral-embellished frame. This design is available in the Hello Tenfold shop as postcards or with envelopes and can be customized with your own colors and information. You can see the beautiful inspiration board for this lovely project over at Paper Crave.

image source: Hello Tenfold

Art Nouveau Wedding Invitations by Jeremy & Kathleen

September 20, 2010

This is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau inspired wedding invitation suites that I’ve seen. Jeremy & Kathleen, who created this custom suite for Samantha and Robert, used stylized, organic pattern and type to perfectly capture the period feel, and the earthy color palette creates a lovely, romantic tone that really gives the invitation suite a modern touch. Antique gold envelopes add a bit of sparkle, but in a soft and subtle way that meshes wonderfully with the rest of the pieces.

And you must have a look at the rest of Jeremy & Kathleen’s portfolio, which includes stunning wedding invitations like these beauties that they created for their own wedding. Vellum paper, silhouettes, gorgeous typography … swoon:

images from Jeremy & Kathleen

Nouveau Peonies Save the Date Cards

July 07, 2010