Watercolor Wedding Invitations
The Tandem Bike invitation is bright and joyful. It is perfect for the couple who bikes together! The Tandem Bike theme also cheerfully symbolizes that the happy couple is going places together.
The Tandem Bike Invitation is available for ordering under the Hand-Painted Weddings Shop Invitations tab.
Tandem bikes have become somewhat trendy in wedding photos the last couple of years. I am not one to necessarily hop on a trend, but there is something incredibly playful about a tandem bike theme that I think would work perfectly with many couples.
Living in a city, and passing through Fairmount Park everyday, I am surrounded by bicyclists. Whether bicycling is simply a hobby, a sport, or a mode of transportation, bicycles play a big part in many people’s lives. The tandem bike is a kitchy way to express that passion or hobby at your wedding.
The Tandem Bike Invitation is available for ordering under the Hand-Painted Weddings Shop Invitations tab.
I love painting, as you have probably noticed. This is why I am offering commissioned watercolors based on your wedding photography. This would be a great idea for an anniversary gift or for close family members as a sweet thank you gift. It would also be fantastic framed and hung as home decor. It would look beautiful amongst a collage of wedding photos, or simply by itself.
I can crop in, as I did in this example, or match the original photo. Since this is the first time I am offering commissioned watercolors, I am offering at a special rate of $200 per commissioned watercolor at a 6″ x 9″ size (horizontal or vertical layout) plus shipping. This price will likely increase in the future, so act fast!
Get creative! This could be a painting based on a portrait, a photo of a piece of jewelry, a photo of your reception or ceremony site, etc. The skies the limit!
My style is as shown here, a loose, yet realistic interpretation of the photograph. For more information, email me at info@handpaintedweddings.com.
Please note: If there are more than 2 people in the photo, the price will increase (Please inquire).
Painting by Hand-Painted Weddings. Photo by Hoffer Photography.
There is some beautiful reception ideas for the Sunset theme! I originally had a mix of beach and seashell themed ideas for this post, but decided to scratch that and focus more on the sunsets, which happen everywhere, not just the beach!
Descriptions of the inspiration from top to bottom:
Whether you love the sunset theme because of it symbolism of the passing of time, or if you have fond memories of watching the sunset together, it is sure to be a theme that cherishes one of nature’s splendors.
Sunset Invitation now available in the Hand-Painted Weddings Invitation shop.
Sources: OnceWed, Hand-Painted Weddings, West Elm, Hampton Jewels on Etsy, Hand-Painted Weddings, OnceWed, StyleMePretty, BHLDN
What I love about the Sunset Birds Save-the-Date I designed is that it doesn’t work solely for beach weddings because the ocean is not in it. This Save-the-Date would work well in conjunction with the Sunset Invitation, or with a separate unrelated invitation. I am a strong believer that the Save-the-Date is a great opportunity, like the invitation, to express a passion that the couple shares. The perfect couple for this Save-the-Date would love watching sunsets together, whether it is from the top of a mountain, on the beach, or across fields of grass on the countryside.
The Sunset Birds Save-the-Date is available for ordering under the Shop Save the Dates tab.
The Sunset Invitation exudes warmth and would be perfect for a summer wedding. It would also work quite nice for a destination beach wedding. Speaking of beach weddings, when I was looking for wording inspiration for a beach wedding invitation, I found the holy grail of cheesiness! Do a google search; it is a hoot!
The Sunset Invitation is available for ordering under the Hand-Painted Weddings Shop Invitations tab.
Every summer growing up I went to Florida with my family to stay with my grandparents in their home in St. Pete Beach. Sometimes we would go for the entire month of August! Now, it is just my grandmother and my mom goes down there numerous times a year, but my trips have gotten more sporadic.
One of the traditions we kept intact on our trips to Florida was making sure we made it to the beach for the sunset. My very stoic father would always rush us through dinner clean-up to view the sunset. It was a nice tradition.
There is something very magical to watching a sunset. For one, no two sunsets are the same so you never know what magic will appear. The other is that often the more interesting clouds, the more colorful sunset. It is the same way with relationships. No two relationships are the same, and often the more interesting journeys make the more colorful couples.
Sunset wedding invitation and Sunset Birds Save the Date now available in the Hand-Painted Weddings shop.
This bouquet of peonies made my day, so I painted them. Peonies are fairly challenging to paint because of they are relatively monochromatic and have tons of layers to their petals.
I clearly have a thing for painting flowers. I believe it has to do with the bright colors, the portability of the subject matter, and the organic nature. It is for these reasons that I will be adding a section to my shop where you can purchase my flower painting prints.
Enjoy your day and be sure to smell the flowers!
One of my many creative hobbies is jewelry-making. I was inspired by rock sculptures to make these two sets of earrings. What I love about them is the beautiful imbalance of the varying stones on top of one another. These would be lovely as bridesmaids gifts or even for the bride herself.
I took one of the sets of earrings and painted them. There is something so lovely about having a piece of art made from a special item in your life, such as jewelry. This small painting would look wonderful in a small decorative frame. If you are interested in a custom-made painting of your jewelry, feel free to email me.
In the photos I have gathered below, I have been inspired by the layered, soft textures of the Rock Sculptures theme, which coordinate beautifully with these dresses from Anthropologie and the gorgeous wedding gown from BHLDN. The three short dresses are a few unique ideas for bridesmaid dresses. Ever since I caught eye of this grey pleated BHLDN dress, I have been smitten! The texture in it is amazing and the gray color would certainly grab attention!
I hope you have enjoyed Inspired by Rock Sculptures week! Take a moment this weekend to embrace the fragile and wonderful balances in your life!
Sources:Dresses (top left to right) Anthropologie 1, 2, 3, BHLDN
Source: Earrings and Painting of Earrings Hand-Painted Weddings
There are a lot of little ways to incorporate the rock sculpture idea into your wedding. Many of which are very inexpensive. My favorite idea, which I don’t think has ever been done, is to make a Rock Sculpture layered cake! Wouldn’t that be wonderful!! The other details use stones in creative ways as pictured above. Idea descriptions below from top left to bottom right.
The Rock Sculpture theme works beautifully in a beach or desert-themed wedding. I also think it would be lovely in a garden wedding.
Sources: Style Me Pretty, Source, Source, Pottery Barn, Geninne’s Art Blog, Le Fabulations on Flickr, Hand-Painted Weddings
The Rock Sculptures invitation features playful yet elegant typography. The color palette is beautifully soft.
There is something very spiritual about this invitation. It hints at the delicate nature of life, while also symbolizing the powerful culmination of events that a couple goes through to get to their wedding day.
The Rock Sculptures Invitation is available for ordering under the Hand-Painted Weddings Invitations tab.
Painting by Hand-Painted Weddings.
This blog post is a little homage to my wonderful husband, Carl, who surprised me with a dozen yellow roses last week at work and who again surprised me last night with second row tickets to the theater production, Beauty and the Beast. Do I have the sweetest husband or what?!
He delivered the roses personally to me at my office last Wednesday. It was so cute, because it was maybe the second time I ever held a meeting in my office instead of the conference room, and a VP, Associate VP, my boss, and my coworker were all in the office to view the adorable gesture. They were just-because flowers, which really are the best, aren’t they?
The Beauty and the Beast tickets were birthday presents, but I had no idea how close the seats were going to be until we were walking up the aisle. The production was fantastic! The roses are still blooming beautifully! And after 10 years together (2.5 years married), Carl and I couldn’t be happier!
Note: You can purchase this painting as a print in the Hand-Painted Weddings Shop.
The last two Aprils my husband and I have been lucky enough to take vacations in Sedona, Arizona. We both love Sedona! It is so different from our hometown, Philly (even though we love Philly too!). We love the red rocks, hiking trails, fresh air, and calm energy of Sedona. I also love the nature-focused spirituality of many of the residents there.
One of the beautiful features of Sedona are the rock sculptures. You primarily find these rock sculptures guiding hikers up trails and at energy vortex sites. I did a little research and it looks like these rock sculptures are mainly influenced by Zen Buddhism and traditionally found at meditation temples.
I think they are a beautiful little symbol of human connection.
The Rock Sculptures Invitation is now available in the Hand-Painted Weddings Invitation shop.
In continuation of our Spring Vegetables themes, I have found some great ideas for reception decorations and catering ideas. I love the idea of a vegetable stand, or alternative to the dessert tables that have gotten trendy the last couple of years. In my research, I saw so many beautiful decoration ideas that use artichokes; I think I’m going to have to do a set of artichoke-inspired posts in the near future!
In continuation of the Two Peas theme, I have added some fun escort card designs! The vegetable paintings can simply be used as a continuation of the theme in the escort cards or can be used in conjunction with table themes, such as the asparagus table and the red pepper table.
This concludes my first week of posting, and I must say, I am having a blast! I have so many other ideas bouncing in my head for this blog that I can wait to share with you. Have a great weekend!
Photo credits (clockwise): You are My Fave via Intimate Weddings, Design Sponge, Paulys Island Posh, Paulys Island Posh, Hand-Painted Weddings
Another great way to bring a Spring vegetable theme to a wedding is through the menu design. This menu can be used in conjunction with the Two Peas invitation, or as a stand alone piece. Menus are a simple way to bring your theme to the reception. They are a beautiful element to lay across each guest’s plate. This particular menu design is double-sided. You could face the green side up and have each guest turn over it over to view the menu (like a reveal). Or you can simply put it with the menu side up, keeping the event information on the back. Please note that custom vegetable paintings can be artfully crafted for your menus at request.
An idea to push this theme even further is to work with your caterer to use local produce in your menu. You can mention on your menu that certain ingredients were grown X miles away from your reception site. It is always nice to benefit local businesses, and the food will taste even better if it was picked from the ground a couple of days before being masterfully cooked into your dishes.
Front and Back Menu Design by Hand-Painted Weddings. Two Peas wedding invitation now available in the Hand-Painted Weddings invitation shop.
The Two Peas invitation design is a play on the “two peas in a pod” theme, because it actually shows the full pods. In a different way, this symbolizes two peas that are growing to maturation side-by-side, which is essentially what a healthy couple does.
The vibrant green envelope is a lovely way to introduce a green color palette to a wedding. Green is a great color because it is full of life, and doesn’t sway towards being feminine or masculine.
This invitation is now available under the Hand-Painted Weddings Shop Invitations tab!
Painting by Hand-Painted Weddings.
Spring is definitely in the air! Actually, some people in the Philly-area might argue that Summer is in the air these days, but that is besides the point. The point is that farmer’s markets, gardening and spring vegetables are in full swing, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
One of my favorite routines on the weekend is to walk to the farmer’s market, specifically Headhouse Market, every Sunday. This past weekend, I decided to paint a few of my favorite veggies, peas, peppers, asparagus, and chives (which I guess is more like an herb, but grows in the spring garden nonetheless). Also, I have a soft spot for chives because they are so hardy and are always the first plant to pop up every Spring.
Today is a monumental day. It is the day I turn 30 and the day I write my first blog post on Hand-Painted Weddings. For the last 4 years I have been brainstorming about this idea. An idea that started two and a half years ago when I married the love of my life. We were engaged for 16 long months. When he first proposed I was scared to death; not because of anything personal about him, but that I’d have to plan a wedding, and I was sure that everything wedding related was going to be an outrageous rip-off. I remember walking through the city after the proposal and meandering into a Barnes and Noble where I ended up in the weddings magazine section. The only magazine I could manage to lay hands on was Real Simple’s Wedding guide. I’m pretty sure it was the “Real Simple” bit that made it possible. I walked to the check-out, hands shaking, to purchase the magazine. I started wedding planning the only way I knew how, on the website, The Knot. The Knot had many interesting features, but it also had a lot of “shoulds.” Thank goodness I somehow came upon a wedding blog, which brought me to another wedding blog, and to another, etc. It was at that point, that my panic started to dwindle. There were other brides out there that were doing unique, creative (and beautiful) things with their weddings. I’ve got to admit, I was on inspiration-overload in no time. My wedding theme concepts and colors changed weekly, but I still loved the inspiration.
I was one of the first of my friends to get married. One of the things that I noticed was that although there are some brides out there doing unique weddings, most brides still have a lot of pressure and expectations thrown at them to have a traditional wedding. Ok, ok, traditional weddings may be perfect for you. There is something nice to having a traditional that withstands the test of time, but I would argue that every wedding should resemble the bride and groom in some way, large or small. Marriage is a really big deal, and a couple’s journey to get to the alter is no doubt unique. My question is, if a wedding is a celebration of a couple’s promise to have and to hold ’til death due us part, why wouldn’t it be about the bride and groom?
So that is the mission I am on…to help brides and grooms see that there is beautiful and personal way to plan your wedding. A wedding that has these unique items sprinkled throughout. Much of the work I do is with paper. In other words, I design wedding invitations, menus, programs, table number cards, etc. This blog is going to feature more than these pieces. It is also going to include my paintings of the tiny details that make life wonderful, but I will get into that on the next post.
For my first blog post, I am featuring a painting I have started, but have not finished. I have picked this painting because it is a beginning, just as this blog and turning 30 is a beginning for me. A beautiful start of a new era.
