When I was planning our wedding, I thought I would stay away from pink. I've never been really into pink, plus I thought it would be nicer to the groomsmen to not have to wear pink ties, or pink vests, or pink flowers, whatever. If I'm being completely honest, I saw about one whole episode of that series where the first Bachelorette was planning her wedding... remember Trista? I happened to see the episode where she had a total meltdown with her wedding planner about how she really, desperately wanted everything to be pink. Here's the proof:
I watched her pitch a giant baby girl fit over the color pink, and in my mind that day I swore to myself, when I got married, I would NOT BE HER. So pink, for me, was never an option.
All this to say, I'm a changed woman. I don't know what exactly happened. I don't know if it was the perfect bouquet of blush ranunculus and pink peonies, or maybe some delightful Vera Wang confection of chiffon in a hazy rose... but one day I realized: what's not to love? So, when Meghan told me that her priorities with these invitations included three things: simple, pink, and lilies of the valley - my heart leapt with excitement and I got to work!
This set ended up feeling very polished for two reasons: we mounted the invitation on a coordinating sheet of Envelopments (tourmaline pink) paper, and the bride requested double envelopes. Double envelopes are quickly becoming a thing of the past, and a lot of people have some misunderstandings about them, so let's have a chat!
Double envelopes were originally used way back when mail was delivered by horse. The post would come to a home, a person from the house staff would accept the mail, and rip off the frequently dirty outer envelope. Then, they would present the undisturbed mail in the fresh envelope to the master of the house. So, as you can see, these days inner envelopes aren't really a necessity. They can be useful for specifying who the invitation actually includes when sending to a household. For example, you may put "Mr. and Mrs. Jones, address" on the outer envelope, then specify "John and Jan" on the inner envelope. This is a way to be more personal with the invite, and also show that perhaps Johnny and Jan shouldn't bring Baby Bonnie, you feel me?
However, I meet many brides who heard from an aunt or friend that not using an inner envelope is "tacky." This is untrue. From a conservationists standpoint, it is a horrible waste of paper. From a traditionalists standpoint, it's a charming fixture in tradition that is worth keeping. Either way, it's your choice. The big picture is that your invitation will still get mailed, the envelopes will still be opened and tossed in the garbage. I like to spend more time and attention on the pieces that get pinned up and put in frames. I can't say it isn't nice to get a properly dressed piece of mail - kind of like it's nice to see a guy in a tuxedo every once in a while. Like I said, it just depends on your personality. Back to the invitations!
After perusing many images of lilies of the valley, I realized that doing them "cute" or "graphic" just doesn't work. They are a delicate flower with beautiful lines... something that begs to be etched or pencil-drawn like an old French botanical. Once I got the word French stuck in my head, all other ideas were useless. Here's a close up of the thank-you notes and some little favor tags:
I also designed and printed the rehearsal dinner invitations along with the set to save time and cost - but that meant we had to keep the same ink colors. We used more of the black and a much more masculine feel, which the groom's mother and I decided was appropriate since they were being sent from the groom's family.
We also did black-and-white square programs mounted on wooden handles to be used as fans. I didn't save any of them for myself, but maybe I will get a few pictures from the couple after the event to share later!
I think in all, the invitations are feminine and classic, delicate and detailed. I could see this same idea translating very well to an array of colors or floral subjects... although NOW I'm partial to the pink!
