If you assumed I’d be designing my sister’s save-the-date cards, wedding invitations, and programs, you were right! I’m knee-deep in her wedding design, and I love it.

Our starting point was some of my wedding inspiration boards. The two boards I really liked for her were Youthful Pink and White and Crisp Coral and White. We had a couple of back-and-forths about how to apply one of these color palettes, when it occurred to me that we could combine the two.

My sister really liked the idea of a softer color with something brighter and punchier, so I sat down to brainstorm how it would all come together. I wanted to give her a visual before going much further, so I created a collection of spring dresses from Banana Republic:

And a collection from J.Crew:

And voilà, we were done with the hardest part! With the green-light* on a coral and pink palette, it was time to come up with an overall motif for her big day. I wanted so badly to go with stripes—like you saw in the inspiration boards—but it just wasn’t connecting. My sister isn’t “stripes” as much as she is “cute flowers.” I had to trust my instinct by switching gears completely and going floral.

Initially expecting to design just a few cute flowers, I was pleasantly surprised as an allover pattern began to emerge! I haven’t done pattern design in years (such a shame, considering my love for it), so it was very exciting. Once again, green-light (yay)—so I refined the pattern to make it seamless.

While applying the pattern to our first project, the save-the-date card, it became clear that the girlish sweetness of the colors and style needed to be balanced by something more tough and masculine. So that’s how I approached the information.

Here’s the final card (with names changed, obviously):

*I’d just like to note that the green-light came from both the bride and groom. In case any of you were thinking there’s no way the groom would approve! Nuh-uh, this is a couple that works in total unity.

My big sister is engaged! I am so excited that sometimes I think my head is going to explode from happiness! Eeeee!

I had no idea I’d been waiting for this day to come—until she told me she met this guy and that he might be the one. Unbeknownst to me, my head was on its way to explosive right then and there, and it has been building since. Right now, the situation is verging on hazardous.

I. Cannot. Contain. My. Excitement.

That said, I’m looking at these wedding inspiration boards in a completely new way, and I think it’s time I go crazy creating more.

This one, coral and white, may be one of my favorites and has my sister’s name written all over it.

Loves:

- Coral, in general.
- When the bride’s and bridesmaids’ dresses complement each other.
- Seersucker bow ties.
- Wedding accessories from Etsy.
- Cupcakes echoing the gerbera daisy centerpieces.

And:

- Thinking about my sister’s wedding. Yay!

In some countries, calico fabric is a type of cloth, but in the U.S. when we say “calico” we’re generally referring to cotton fabric with a small, allover-floral print. When I think of calico, I think quaint and retro—and uniquely appropriate for a spring wedding with a cute, vintage vibe!

I’d take the cute, vintage vibe even further by repeating tiny florals, gingham, ric rac and cherry motifs everywhere. Add cupcakes, and your homespun wedding is good to go!

Aw, man! Not blogging for most of last month, I never got to post my April wedding inspiration board. It’s especially disappointing because I love this one so much. I took the most common wedding color, pink, but instead of florals and romance, it’s all about stripes and preppy sweetness. Even the refreshments—ice cream sundaes, big lollipops, and pink macarons—have an air of preppiness. Love!

Even though I often push fresh and unexpected wedding color schemes, it doesn’t mean I don’t love a pretty and traditional palette, too. This combination of sage, ivory, and blush is so classically exquisite and so appropriate for the soft light of approaching springtime.

Another reason I love this combination is that it works well with either a sunny or rainy backdrop, also making it appropriate for spring’s unpredictable weather.

Remember this engagement announcement and this save-the-date card? Well, the project was far from over; we were just getting started.

My clients had some time to reflect on those designs and decided they had a particular fondness for the two cypress trees in the save-the-date card. They wanted the perennial coupling to be their wedding trademark. They also wanted to continue on the theme of Haifa’s Baha’i gardens in illustrated form, but incorporating the garden’s black iron gates and terracotta stone path were important this time.

Also, they really liked the idea of a gate-fold—when two parallel folds divide a sheet into three panels, and the two outside panels fold into the center. We could tape the panels together and then use the backside for addressing, which would eliminate the need for envelopes and give us some flexibility with size.

Since they weren’t sure how they were going to print the invitations, we decided to keep the design at least a quarter-of-an-inch away from the edge of the page. This would allow them to print at home if they wanted to.

Here’s the invitation, starting with the address side, flipping it over to the closed gate-fold, and then the final, open version:

We did a simple rearranging of the illustrated elements for their wedding program:

And their thank-you card:

And lastly, their seating cards:

Though illustrating the garden image took a lot of time, that’s precisely why working on this was so rewarding. When I think back to past projects, this one stands out as one of my most memorable.

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and I’m thinking about all the couples planning February weddings that want a more unique—but still Valentine’s Day-appropriate—color palette. This may not be the most conventional choice, but try lavender and red. It’s pretty dang cute, as demonstrated by Amy Atlas’ dessert buffet for O magazine, whose cookies and cupcakes were the inspiration for this whole board.

I’m totally sold. The lavender sweetens a fiery red, and it’s a much fresher complement than pink. Someone: please plan your lavender and red wedding, and then send me the photos so I can live vicariously through you!

I found a vintage paper cut-out online that makes me want to create my own. Unfortunately it could be ages before that miraculous day comes, so in the meantime, I used it as an overlay in this girly, high-tea invitation.

I love that this puts me in the mood for a party!

It all started with this super-cute dress from Monique Lhuillier. How’s that for showing your wedding guests how young and fun you are?

Then I started thinking about how this bright punch of magenta could work on a cold, gray January day, and realized that if you make gray part of the ensemble, the color palette wouldn’t look so out of place. The result is fun, modern, and delightfully unexpected for midwinter.

My clients were so happy with their engagement announcement that they came back to me for their “save the date” card. They wanted something elaborately illustrated, almost storybook-ish, and reminiscent of the unique location where their wedding would be held—Haifa, Israel.

So I came up with an interpretation of the famous Baha’i gardens in Haifa—tall cypress trees, trimmed hedges, red geraniums, and ornate lampposts—and it was a hit.

Not even two minutes after I got their approval, my husband looks over my shoulder and says, “What time of the day are they getting married? Because if it’s an evening wedding, maybe you should incorporate that.” Crap. That’s a good idea.

So I quickly called the couple and asked if they wanted to see a second version, and they did. They said they’d be getting married at 6:30 pm. Sunset.

So I was almost finished with that version, and then—I kid you not—my husband says, “Don’t kill me for saying this, but maybe you should consider illustrating the view from their wedding venue. I mean, wouldn’t that be nice? It’s like giving guests a preview of what they’ll actually be looking at on the night of the wedding.”

Crap.

I called the couple again and asked what they thought. They were open to it. Their wedding venue would overlook all of Haifa Bay, with the glittering lights of the city and the mountains of Northern Israel in the distance. I waved an angry fist at my husband for making me do so much extra work. Of course, if I didn’t think it was worth it, I wouldn’t have done it.

And it was definitely worth it.

Additional notes on technique:

The image was illustrated in Photoshop, using the brush tool. I paint in Photoshop just as you would paint on a canvas—constantly painting over the image underneath, layering color upon color until it feels right.

Once I was done with the painting, I overlaid the vintage floral pattern from their engagement announcement. It’s subtle, but it adds a nice texture. Also, since the save-the-date was such a departure from their engagement announcement, I wanted to find some way to connect the two designs.

The final design uses a couple of Photoshop filters—“paint daubs” and “rough pastels,” if I remember correctly.