Warren/Thurman Wedding Invitation

The thought process

I saw the invitation as an opportunity to look back as well as forward. To make it a reflection of the last seven years and to celebrate all the little things that cumulatively brought the couple to this point.

By gathering pictures, postcards and symbols of everything that was meaningful and memorable, their likes and dislikes, big and small (from flights of stairs leading to their fifth floor walk-up to a trip to Dubrovnik, as well as the university where they met, their cat, and their interests). I made the experience of making the invitation fun and involved the clients in all the right ways. It was not about what font was chosen— more about laughing about and reliving their life to this point.

I anticipated the card would be equally fun for the guests who would recognise some details and be intrigued and ask about others, so tried to include as many significant experiences as possible. My brief to them was "Gather stuff, tell me things about each other." HANNAH told me "he likes dragons, frogs and big sandwiches..." MIPAM told me "she loves gardening, Central Park at sunset and Ajax, their cat..." Images they didn't have, I sourced, photographed or made up. When I had everything toghether, I composed it and photographed it.

Aside from the bride and groom, the most important people at the wedding are the parents. I put pictures of both parents on the back of the invitation so that guests from either side would know who was who, even if they had never met.

Inside the invitation, I put a picture of Hannah and Mipam together in their kitchen–where they both love cooking.

I made a little monogram out of their initials that looked like two people holding hands.

The RSVP invited friends—who couldn't attend but wanted to be included in the wedding album—to "attach a recent photograph."

As a wedding gift, I had a poster size print made of the invitation photograph. The print had a broad white border for guests to sign. The couple framed the print and hung it in their new home. Unlike a traditional guest book which is kept on a bookshelf, the loving words and wishes from their friends and family are visible, every day.

Not everyone takes photos or gets to see the wedding album, so I continued the theme and designed the Thank You card as a keepsake featuring the favorite wedding shot of the couple and highlights from throughout the day.

What the clients said:

Thank you card