Lucy + Van’s exuberant watercolor floral invitation suite
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
Lucy and Van were so low key and relaxed that I honestly didn’t think they’d want to do much for their invitations, but instead, we created something so spectacular that I think it’s one of my all time faves. They had a blowout wedding weekend in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia, and their suite had so many pieces that it was a struggle to get them all in one shot!
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
Staring with the invitation, one of my favorite details that we, along with their insanely talented wedding planner, Stephanie of Viva L’Event brought throughout their entire day, was the crest I created for them. Going for a more modern monogram, we included soft watercolor flowers, and their two sweet pups, Colonel Mustard (the best name for a dog) and Larry. You know I’m a sucker for including your pets in your invitation, and this was no different - I loved painting those sweet boys.
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
Their invitation was letterpressed, which I always recommend when you want to keep the typography simple and traditional - when you add cotton paper and the tactility of letterpress, it just elevates it to a completely new level, and the piece suddenly feels so special.
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
Another favorite card was their morning-after brunch invitation - I went nuts with the flowers on this one, but the coolest part was the little bits of gold foil detail that we added to the flowers. It was a really subtle effect that made it feel so special in person.
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
I loved creating their map of Charlottesville, to show their guests all the city had to offer. I actually went to Charlottesville with David on an anniversary trip about a month before Lucy and Van’s wedding, and it was really cool to see all the places I painted in real life!
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
Another great card was their rehearsal dinner invitation - we went with blue paper just to break up all the white cards we already had, and the gold foil monogram just took it over the top. Paired with the white digital ink printing, it feels so fresh and springy, I love it!
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
Tying it all together is the most epic belly band I’ve ever created - custom tissue paper, tied with an oversized grosgrain ribbon, and topped with a gold foil monogram card. I knew this was going to be a really special weekend for their guests, and I wanted it to feel like they were opening a beautiful gift - I hoped the experience of seeing the invitation would give them a taste of the wonderful experience of the wedding weekend to come.
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
We used a french blue outer envelope to hold it all together, and the envelope liner featured a custom illustration of the tree that Lucy and Van were to be married under. It was seeing that tree that sold them on their venue, and so we definitely wanted to make sure it was featured somewhere in their invitation suite.
Photo by Mikkel Paige, photo styling by Janet St. Clair
I loooved working on Lucy and Van’s invitation suite, and it was so fun to carry these details through to the day of - but I’m going to leave that post for another day, as this one is long enough already!
