I met the most wonderful couple today! Courtney and Jeff were introduced to me by my friend Alison and we hit it off right away. They told me that they’re looking for a wedding invitation to match the feel of their outdoor affair which is coming up this fall. Their wedding is being held at the lovely Orcutt Ranch in West Hills, CA (http://www.laparks.org/dos/horticulture/orcuttranch.htm), and they want to incorporate natural earthtones of green, brown and cream. These are not what first come to mind as your standard wedding colors, so the challenge will be to design with unconventional combinations of papers and inks to create their perfect wedding invitation.

Courtney and Jeff are having an outdoor wedding because they want a casual and intimate affair. They also describe themselves as eclectic. This opens up a lot of design options for their invitations. Not only do their preferred colors lend themselves to imparting an outdoorsy theme, but their invitation can also reflect their fun personalities and incorporate design elements that are a little different than the every day wedding invitation.

The beauty of a custom-designed wedding invitation (or any invitation for that matter) is that I can take elements that some may think would never “go together” and create an amazing design that is as perfect a fit as my clients. People like Courtney and Jeff would never be able to find what they are looking for in a standard wedding invitation book. No one would ever think to create such a thing, unless they knew Courtney and Jeff. During our meetings, Courtney, Jeff and I get to brainstorm. I then get to interpret their ideas into exactly what they want.

February 18th, 2009 by Marlene Widawer | No Comments »

Now that Leslie has told me what her “dream invitation” for her daughter’s bat mitzvah should look like, I’ve got a lot to work with. She told me that she can’t wait to see the prototype. I’m guessing it will take about a week to make it, but I know she’ll be thrilled once she sees it.

A lot of people are “visual” learners. I’m one of them. We need to see what we’re talking about. We sometimes have trouble imagining what the papers will look like together, or how the fonts and ink colors will coordinate with each other to give us the feeling we want in the invitation.

That’s why the prototype is such an important part of the process. Leslie will get to SEE, TOUCH and FEEL what the invitation will look like, and she will be the first one to experience what her guests will experience when they open the envelope to Paige’s invitation.

February 10th, 2009 by Marlene Widawer | No Comments »

I just had my first meeting with Leslie and her daughter Paige to start designing Paige’s bat mitzvah invitation. Most of my clients are either observant and want a traditional bat mitzvah invitation, or are more secular and want the invitation to reflect the theme of the party. Well Leslie and Paige want both. This is an interesting challenge, and is one that I relish.

When guests open their envelopes, the invitation that’s inside sets the tone for the entire event. That’s why it’s important to design an invitation that will not only make the guest want to attend that bat mitzvah, but excites my client as well. I love pulling in traditional elements of Judaism into the bar and bat mitzvah invitations I design, but it’s also fun to reflect my client’s personal style.

What Paige and Leslie want is an elegant traditional invitation, but with touches of their Academy Awards themed party. They have a strong sense of tradition, so we’ll pull in Paige’s hebrew name. But they also are full of life and excitement, so a combination of suede paper and metallic cardstock will address their sense of flair and elegance.

The colors of the party (red, black, and gold) are a wonderful combination because they will give the invitation a contemporary feeling and will tie the party in to the invitation without making the invitation solely about the party.

We’re using a rich red suede paper to reflect the Red Carpet excitement of the Academy Awards, and both metallic black and gold cardstocks to highlight the elegance and gold-star qualities of the bat mitzvah girl. This is going to be the perfect start to an Academy Awards night!

I can’t wait to sit down and design this invitation. I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out!

February 7th, 2009 by Marlene Widawer | No Comments »