Are you interested in taking the plunge and going for illustrated wedding invitations? Why should you even opt for illustrated wedding invitations?
In the past, wedding invitations have been more traditional, simple in colour and often written in black calligraphy. But as weddings become less about old traditions and more about expressing who you are as a couple, more people are choosing to go for illustrated wedding invitations, as well as sometimes having one core luxury stationery suite designed as an heirloom suite that can be framed as a work of art and passed down through the generations. It adds so many personal touches to your illustrated wedding invitations. Whether you want to have your favourite sport, wedding venue or even paint something you are passionate about, it adds so much meaning to your big day. Alongside illustrated wedding invitations it also means finding new and exciting ways to stand out and make your wedding truly unique.
Above luxury wedding invitation design created by Crimson Letters.
Gone are the days of the simple white wedding (unless that’s your style of course!). With so many options now available to couples, it is possible to select interesting themes for your big day, with many weaving this theme into even the smallest details.
As part of this, illustrated wedding invitations are becoming more popular. These custom designed, hand crafted invites are beautifully finished and extremely sophisticated. Not to mention they are the ultimate personal touch for your day. If you’re planning a wedding right now, here’s why illustrated invitations should be at the top of your list.
Above luxury hand painted stationery design by Crimson Letters.
Illustrated wedding invitations are becoming more popular
When you first begin budgeting for your big day it can be tempting to think ‘I don’t want to spend too much money on the wedding stationery’ and often times couples really have no idea how much their wedding stationery will cost.
Couples tastes are developing and certainly becoming more discerning.
Of course, with the influx of Pinterest many brides have exposure to so many types of wedding stationery that they already have a particular aesthetic already in mind. Some couples opt for a cheap design. It’s easy to assume that guests will just discard your invite as soon as the day is over, which of course they will if you’ve chosen a cheap design that suggests even you didn’t care about it. But if you’ve poured your heart into an elegant and beautiful custom design, your guests are going to want to treasure this as a keepsake of sharing your big day with you.
Not only this, but your save the dates and wedding invitations will set the tone for the day. If you bought a Prada handbag as a present, would you wrap it in newspaper? You would certainly want to present that handbag in a premium gift box, or something fitting. Choosing something sophisticated and personal immediately sets up expectations and suggests that your wedding will be the same. That’s why it’s important to put time and love into choosing your wedding invitations and make sure you get the details right.
Why choose illustrated wedding invitations?
If you’re looking for something undeniably beautiful, then look no further than illustrated wedding invitations. Why? Because you can have a completely custom design that is totally unique to you as a couple. Perhaps you have a wedding venue that is an old private villa in Italy. It has beautiful antique green wallpaper and gold interiors. You can add accents of that very design and use it to influence your overall colour theme, crest design and anything else you might desire. Is there a special memory, or an activity that you as a couple love or that bought you together? You can illustrate all of that and add it into a custom design crest. The options really are limitless. Plus you can ask the artist to perfectly match your theme, and personalise your invites like no other.
What are your options when it comes to illustrated wedding invitations?
If you choose the right artist you’ll open yourself up to a whole range of stunning designs and options. You could choose from watercolour, ink work, sketches that can be made into digitally printed designs or you can go for an extra touch of luxury and add hand painted touches with acrylic paint and add spots of hand calligraphy. Below you can see a hand painted envelope liner that really adds a whole lot of sumptuousness. You might even want to consider a combination of more than one technique, the artist will be able to advise you on what works best together.
Designed by Crimson Letters and photographed by Joanne Keighery.
When it comes to the main body of your wedding invitations, why not opt for classic flora and fauna designs, beautiful flowers or botanicals. These can even feature the flowers you’ll be using on your wedding day, perhaps from your wedding bouquet, or even from the flowers surrounding your wedding venue to add the personal touch. The previous clients below chose to do this for their wedding day.
Why should you use your wedding venue as inspiration for your illustrated wedding invitations?
Alternatively, it is becoming more and more popular to take inspiration directly from your chosen venue so your invites truly reflect your big day.
If you have a lower budget you can opt for a simple wedding venue sketch to be added to your wedding stationery suite for £70 – 150 depending on the amount of detail you would like.
If you have a higher budget you can have a highly detailed, beautiful watercolour rendition of your wedding venue that you can later print out as a fine art print, which ranges in price from £200 – 350, depending on the amount of detail.
You might want to have a wedding venue sketch, this could be of the inside or outside of the building and can also be done as a simple sketch, a detailed watercolour or a combination of mediums.
If you want to use the venue as inspiration, but you don’t want an image of the venue itself, look more closely at the patterns from the mouldings or interiors to create intricate designs for your bespoke stationery. You can work with your designer to agree on what is going to look best depending on your style and theme. From below you can see a photo from Chateau de Chantilly in Paris. The main curvy, ornate design is used to create a piece of bespoke artwork that is highly detailed and combines layers of calligraphy penmanship, gold gilt painting, white watercolour and gold foil. This level of illustrated work is for those with a higher-level budget. This idea could work well for those planning an elopement or a small destination wedding wanting a small number of special pieces to offer their guests. In fact more and more brides request a few special pieces to be shot by a photographer as part of a flatlay to compliment their wedding vow renewal shoot to their chosen location.
Illustrated wedding maps
Many couples that plan elopements or small destination weddings also like to include a custom designed map of the local area and how to get to the venue. This could be something that could be used as a framed gift to offer your guests as a souvenir of your wedding weekend.
Why not continue the theme throughout your illustrated wedding invitations.
Your invites don’t have to be stand alone pieces either. You can weave the hand painted or illustrated theme throughout your big day. In the first instance, you could have your artist produce beautiful save the date cards before you send out your invitations. You can also have illustrated envelopes and wraps to accompany your invitations or save the date cards. If you want to take it one step further, why not also have custom designed table numbers or menu cards. This way you can keep your elegant and hand crafted theme running throughout your day.
Choosing the right artist
When it comes to choosing the perfect artist, you want someone who is passionate and totally devoted to their craft. You also want someone who can advise on the best designs to suit your style, as well as giving create ideas and feedback.
That’s why here at Crimson Letters I take great pride in every illustration I do and put my heart into every design. I take inspiration from the world around me to produce beautiful and immaculate artwork. So if it’s luxury you’re after, my illustrated designs tick all the right boxes.
If you’re considering ordering your wedding invitations from Crimson Letters, please check out my timeline to stress free wedding invitations, here.
If you’d like to see some radically different abstract floral illustrations visit here.
If you’d like to see the process of my design, see how I worked with my previous client on her bespoke designs here.
