Project Overview: Designing Wedding and Wedding Associated Event Fare for a Client
Role: Head Graphic Designer for Wedding
Timeline: August, 2018-April, 2019
A recently engaged couple I'd met at a holiday party through a mutual friend in December (2017), hired me the following spring (2018) to design an invitation package for their wedding weekend taking place the next spring (2019). It was a sizeable undertaking with what ended up being an 135 guest, 5 unique event affair including their "Save the Date", Bachelor Weekend, Bachelorette Weekend, the Bridal Shower, and formal Wedding invitations among others.
Client:
First Sit-down
April 2018
Meeting with perspective clients is, in my own experience, a nonnegotiable. The couple initially reached out at the start of their wedding planning process to get together. It was much too early to really conceptualize anything concrete at the time, but we discussed options, directions, and Pinterest visions as they looked through samples of my work. Instead of making any big decisions in the moment, I suggested we reconvene at a later date to conduct a design trial, and see how it went from there. The trial was set for mid summer, and when the time came, as I suspected, the progress they'd made planing in the meantime gave them a much clearer picture of what they were looking for. This helped us quickly get on the same page, and the trial run incredibly smoothly as a result. The following day, contracts were signed, tentative timelines were set, and 6 months out from the BIG day, we got to work.
Save the Date
August, 2018
When the time came to design their "Save the Date" cards, Jaclyn and Joel came prepared with a lovely action shot of their own. In truth, it was a bit rough around the edges, but definitely salvageable to work with. Once I cleaned the image up a bit, and made a few specific edits as per their request, the picture brought even more clarity. Several romantic jumping allusions later, and it was down to "Take the Plunge" and "Make the Leap". About a week later, Jaclyn and Joel concluded they'd much rather "Take the Plunge" so then, I was ready to "Make the Leap", finalizing their "Save the Date's". See the creative process unfold in the images below, starting with the original photo.
*Final Design Updated to Include Additional Information and 2 Social Media Versions
Original
Edited
Final
Additional Information
Facebook Copy
Instagram Copy
Wedding Logo
A wedding logo isn't something that every couple embraces, nor is it a customary practice by any means, however, it can be incredibly useful for an event such as this for several reasons. At the top of the list, for example, a logo can be quickly/easily stamped, stuck, printed, painted, tattooed etc., on pretty much any surface that requires a signature from both the bride and groom, spoiler alert, lots. It's also a nice little time saver for the couple to have at their disposal as well as a great keepsake to hold onto. Needless to say, Jaclyn and Joel loved the idea as well as the sentiment behind it. Together, they selected the individual elements, and I, in turn, combined them to create their official wedding logo as seen below.
Bachelor Weekend
October, 2018
Joel's Bachelor weekend (the same weekend as Jaclyn's Bachelorette) was taking place at an upscale resort in California with his 4 closest (male) friends at the end of February. I had him breakdown his tentative itinerary to glean further insight from a design perspective. First-class flights, fine-dining, Poolside with whiskey and cigars, golf, it was very "men about town". Then, I decided to explore the conception more thoroughly in my mood-board compilation. Instinctively, I landed on the black, white, and gold color palette first. Then, I leaned into vintage-style Hollywood glamour shots, Rat-pack, 007, anything giving suave gentlemen/golden era of Hollywood. Later, it was translated from mood-board aesthetic to a more celebratory invitation design for Joel's Bachelor weekend, as seen below.
Mood Board
Bachelor Invitation
Design Style Sheet
Bachelorette Weekend
October, 2018
Jaclyn's Bachelorette weekend (same weekend as Joel's Bachelor). was a 1/2 spa, 1/2 outdoor adventure weekend in Tucson, AZ. with her 4 closest (female) friends. I then had her expand on the plans her trip might entail in more detail. Hiking some of the beautiful trails in the surrounding area, enjoying nature, being in the moment, freedom from responsibility, just 100% unplugged, and then, some much deserved spa treatments, girl bonding, good food and quality time spent. Her description painted a picture of pink and black in my mind. Unlike black and white, black and pink creates contrast without tension. The sort of contrast a hiking/spa weekend conjures. My mood-board compilation was mixed bag of soft and hard landscapes, contrasting but complementary. As shown in my mood-board and final invitation design for Jaclyn's Bachelorette Weekend seen below, the aesthetic wasn't only the inspiration for the design, it was the design.
*Final Design Updated to Include Be my Maid of Honor and Be my Bridesmaid Cards
Mood Board
Bachelorette Invitation
Be my Maid of Honor
Be my Bridesmaid
Design Style Sheet
Bridal Shower
November, 2018
Jaclyn's Bridal Shower was about a month after her Bachelorette Weekend so it was equally imperative to nail down those designs around the same time. Her shower was a women's only, family-friendly, bridal brunch, and its theme, Spring. On my end, I was to produce 3 unique, but aesthetically matching designs for the event: invitations, place-cards, and thank you's. First, I wrote out a list of key words for a visualization exercise.
Key words: Women, Bridal, Spring, BrunchÂ
Next, I pulled inspiration from those key visualizations. An illustrated pair of Champagne flutes to symbolize Brunch, Spring floral imagery to underscore the Spring theme, and a female coded color palette. Aesthetically speaking, my mood-board was the epitome of a Spring Bridal Brunch, and as seen in the images below, so was the final design et al.
Mood Board
Bridal Shower Invitation
Table Place-card
Thank You Card
Design Style Sheet
Wedding Weekend
November, 2018
Throughout the event planning process, Jaclyn and Joel had already made several impactful decisions about their impending nuptials thanks to their wedding venue's on-site event coordinator. In fact, the next time I met with the two of them, it was just after they'd finalized the aesthetic details for their upcoming reception. Their theme was "Golden Hour", and primary colors, gold and ivory. My Wedding Weekend mood-board was the definition of elegant minimalism. The "Golden Hour" permeates everything from the ornate embellishments to the quiet beauty in nature, and Jaclyn and Joel's wedding invitation design et al. was heavily influenced by its aesthetic as seen below.
Formal Invitation
RSVP
Details
Design Style Sheet
Thank You For Coming
March, 2019
Alas, one FINAL design, the "Thank you" card!
Outside
