Printed by Print Icon NYC photographed by Carly Michelle planned with KG Events & Design
What a beautiful labor of love! Kristen came to me with Irene and Ryan, the newly engaged duo from NYC. We started designing this suite in January for their June wedding on Martha’s Vineyard.
The Elements of Chinese Heritage
This invitation suite was designed by Irene and I from the very beginning. She was clear that she wanted to incorporate special Chinese symbols, her heritage being Chinese! So we started with making a crest with their first initials and the Chinese symbols for “happy” or “good fortune.” In the same vein, Irene wanted to include a hot pop of red, a color of cool fortune and luck in Chinese culture. We brought that red in with the wax seal and the beautiful RSVP envelope with gold foil press.
Color Palette
Her wedding color story was delivered in this pale pink invitation suite, with elements of cream and gold. We did the beautiful pale pink envelopes for her outer and inner envelopes, lettered in gold calligraphy. We brought in the gold with the use of gold foil in various spots all around the invitation suite. We added a gorgeous golden map illustrated by Tiffany Willey, showing off important spots in Edgartown, Massachusetts.
Florals
I especially love the small drawn bouquets of peonies and roses done by Tiffany, which Irene had made into the laser cut belly band, and wrapped it around the whole suite. Peonies and roses were the flowers used heavily in the wedding (and quite perfect with their red and soft pink color) so we brought that in to the couple’s crest used throughout the suite. We later used this same motif in the wedding signage, welcome bags, menus, and even the couple’s Thank You Note stationery. This invitation suite was done on duplexed card stock, letterpressed, and gold foil stamped.
Beauty in the Challenges
Irene and Ryan’s wedding suite tested a lot of design boundaries for me! It was the first time I had worked with clients who had a very specific picture in their heads, and throughout the process, a lot of their ideas changed. We did a whopping 11 proofs, which is pretty unheard of. The calligraphy that I used was put through a lot of changes and tweaks, which was tough. But the elements came together beautifully, and you forget all the challenges when you see it laid out so peaceful and pretty.