A Bride, a Groom, and Two Llamas, oh My!

Add a lot of color, a bit of vintage flair and two furry llamas and you get one amazing wedding day! Jenny and Tommy celebrated their wedding day at the gorgeous Chapel Hill Carriage House. The carriage house sits on acres and acres of farmland, ponds and trails. It's an actual working farm and depending on the season, one can buy flowers, seeds, vegetables and herbs. It's such a lovely and inspiring setting!

Jenny and Tommy hired me to design their colorful Art Nouveau-inspired wedding stationery and I could not be more pleased with the results! The imagery in their design echos back to those lovely William Morris tapestries and wallpapers from the 1800', as well as the Art Nouveau floral motifs at the turn-of-the-century. I love those in-between periods... where one style is merging into the next. To me, those are the most beautiful aesthetics! It has not yet reached it's epoch and nearing almost cliche, rather, the mix of designs represents something unique in the design journey.

The moody and dramatic photography was done by Something Blue Photography. Owners Matt and Crystal offer a wonderful blend of traditional and photojournalistic styles when they shoot.

A colorful vintage-inspired wedding shot by Crystal and Matt marsh at Something Blue Photo & Portraits

Photography: @somethingbluenc Venue: @chapelhillcarriagehouse

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Vintage Botanical Wedding Invitations

Vintage botanical wedding invitations are sure to add a colorful, organic and timeless feel to your special day with lush greenery and abundant blooms! Nature-based weddings are always captivating for the inderent beauty they convey. Various themes exist within the botanical category and can be a lovely theme to execute: mountain, lake, garden, forest, tropical, cultural and vintage to name a few.

Because of the natural abundance of all things botanical in nature, the botanical theme can permeate all aspects of your wedding from your Save the Date to the reception decor, tabletops, bouquets, flower crown, dresses, boutonnieres, signage, drinks and food. It can sometimes be much less expensive given the profusion of natural flora that surrounds us. Getting married in a garden, beach or arboretum can sometimes cost much less than a hall, mansion or hotel. And of course we can go crazy with the colorful paper goods in any theme!

Adding a vintage twist on any botanical theme is always a favorite of mine. My husband and I had a vintage tropical theme at our wedding at the beach in Malibu complete with orchids, banana leaf plate chargers and lots of tropical fruit and cocktails. My husband painted vintage hula dancers and I created the invitation by varnishing the illustration onto cut 5x7 pieces of wood. A faded memory of a limbo contest keeps momentarily surfacing, but I can't confirm.

One of my latest invitation suites is based on the horticultural illustrations of seed packing of the turn of the century. Years ago, gardeners would mail-order all of their seeds for the upcoming year based on these beautiful illustrations. Over time, the packages turned from lovely hand-painted artwork to realistic photographs. Botanical illustrations from scientific journals is another one of my favorite vintage botanical themes. The colors are vibrant, swirling, organic and dramatic! Many of my wedding invitation designs are inspired by vintage illustrations like these. I then use that theme to permeate the "day of" wedding stationery paper goods such as menus, signage, programs, guest books, and thank you notes.

There is not a person alive that does not experience joy looking at nature. No matter where you are getting married-- in the north, south, east or west or what season, there will be a natural organic theme just waiting for you.

Colorful Vintage Botanical Designs

Photos 1, 3, 5, 6 and 13 by @peterson.design.photo

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Love is Not Canceled... All About Change the Dates Cards

Rescheduling your wedding plans is a monumental task. We are all learning to be more flexible than we ever thought we could be. Now is the time to channel your inner Grace Kelly- plunge forward and do it with style, elegance, and well, grace!

MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT

The most important task at hand is to let your guests know that your plans have changed. Even if you do not have your new date secure yet, it's best to alert those closest to you involved in your planning by telephone. Next, you should think about emailing and texting your guests to let them know a change is afoot. You don't necessarily have to have your new date set yet. Just letting your guests know that the original date is not happening is essential. You should also update your website at this time. I have a few social media graphics here for you to download and use at your leisure.

SEND A PHYSICAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Once you have secured your new date, you can send a physical card that your guests can save to mark their calendars. This can also remind them to check your website for updates. Your Change the Date card can match your wedding invitations or even be a bit different-- something fun and engaging that tells your guests your event is still on, and you will all be making the most of it. The Change the Date card can be as simple as a self-mailable postcard or a more formal card that requires an envelope.

THE SOONER THE BETTER

Booking travel arrangements can be time-consuming and expensive for out of town guests, so the sooner you send your Change the Date cards, the better.

SAVE THE DATE = CHANGE THE DATE

All 50+ of Gilded Swan Paperie wedding invitations can be converted into a Change the Date card. Please check out a small sampling in the gallery below. Visit my ETSY SHOP to check out all of the designs you purchase straight away. Your proofs will be emailed to you within 24 hours. Printing takes two weeks.

FORMAL INVITATIONS

If you have ordered wedding invitations from Gilded Swan Paperie, or are thinking of ordering full wedding suites, please note that I have secured very reduced re-printing costs. So if anything were to happen, we have your back! Re-printing is easy-- perhaps one of the easier tasks of planning your wedding.

FINALLY...

Printing to me is so special- it's such a beautiful form of communication. We cannot let the current situation ruin our wedding plans. Love is not canceled. When you celebrate your Golden anniversary in 50 years, imagine pulling out your gorgeous invitations. The colors and tactile nature will remind you of that phenomenal day, no matter how postponed, rescheduled or revised it was.

Change the Date cards can be fun and colorful!

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