Watercolor Wedding Invitations | Established 2012

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Hand-Painted Invitations
Puerto Rico Wedding invitation
- October 15, 2015
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- by Allison
The Puerto Rico Wedding Invitation is inspired by a recent trip my husband and I took to Puerto Rico. We had a fantastic trip, and while we weren’t there for terribly long we explored the rainforest, went kayaking in Fajardo, and explored the nooks and crannies at the most unique artist’s inn in Old San Juan, the historic district, but the most memorable part was when we stayed in a villa on Flamenco beach in Culebra, an island off the main island in Puerto Rico. Culebra is a small island, with most tourists (ourselves included) bouncing around in golf carts traveling from beach to beach. We adored taking our snorkel equipment to each and every beach on the island in search for the perfect underwater view…which happened to be the first beach we went to…go figure. 🙂

We were also so lucky to get a villa right on the beach. Flamenco beach has super clear waters and is part of a Natural Reserve area, so beyond the set of villas we were in, and the one next to us, we had the beach to ourselves at night after the day-trippers took the ferry back to the main island. It was magical seeing the sunset and then watching the stars from the beach. One of the unique things about Flamenco Beach is that the beach is like a cove with the beach arching around like a horseshoe. That is what I captured in the Puerto Rico Wedding invitation. The villas we stayed at along with the beautiful beach would make this an ideal location to get married. This design is ideal for destination wedding invitations as well.

While I am calling this beautiful beach invitation a Puerto Rico invitation, because that is where I gained the inspiration for this painting, I am sure this would be an ideal design for any couple’s beach wedding invitation.
Hand-Painted Weddings, Real Wedding
Cartagena Wedding Reception
- June 5, 2015
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- by Allison
It’s party time! As the sun sets in Cartagena, the string lights and the dance floor light up! This poolside Cartagena wedding reception looks like so much fun! I love the little white party dress the bride changed into after her first dance! Super sexy and fun! Here is one final question for the bride looking back on her wedding day…

Allison: “Favorite moment at your wedding?”

Liliana: “LOL! I think my favorite moment was when ALL jumped to the dancing floor and dance. I was amazed seeing everyone get along so well and in spite of the difference in culture and language, everyone was able to communicate, enjoy and know each other. We felt truly loved that our families and friends came to celebrate with us no matter the distance or the difficulties.”

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of Liliana and Ryan’s Cartagena wedding and are inspired for your destination wedding planning. I loved working with Liliana to create her destination wedding invitations. Check out their custom destination wedding invitation here. And if you missed it earlier this week, check out their wedding day portraits and ceremony here and here.

Have a beautiful weekend friends!

Sources: Cartagena Invitation by Hand-Painted Weddings. Photo by Pedraza Producciones.
Hand-Painted Weddings, Real Wedding
Cartagena Wedding Ceremony
- June 4, 2015
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- by Allison
What I love about Cartagena is the mix of beaches and historical architecture. I’ve never been to Cartagena personally, but it is definitely on my travel bucket list after seeing this beautiful wedding!

Cartagena really lends itself for a perfect destination wedding location with the mix of landscapes (historical town with sandy beaches)! This couple got married on the beach with the most beautiful floral alter. I love the driftwood bench, and all the brightly colored flowers. As you can tell from the photos, the couple is so in love. I love how they are laughing when they are doing the rings!

As you know, there are so many wonderful details involved with weddings. These are the precious opportunities to embed the couple’s personality into the wedding. Here are a few more words from the beautiful bride, Liliana, about her wedding day details.

Allison: “What was your favorite little detail at your wedding?”

Liliana: “Very difficult, eveything was so beautiful. I can’t decide but I think my bouquette is the winner. I felt in love with the colors. I’m all about colorful things.”

Stay tuned tomorrow for the final post about this beautiful wedding…the romantic Cartagena wedding reception.

Sources: Cartagena Invitation by Hand-Painted Weddings. Photo by Pedraza Producciones.
Hand-Painted Weddings, Real Wedding
Cartagena Wedding Portraits
- June 3, 2015
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- by Allison
Today I’m sharing with you some of the gorgeous wedding day portraits taken around the beautiful city of Cartagena. As I said in yesterday’s post, Cartagena has become a popular destination wedding site for the last decade or so. Cartagena is widely recognized as the most romantic city in Colombia, with its mix of historical sites and beautiful beaches.

But I wanted to know what attracted this couple to have a destination wedding in Cartagena so I asked the bride, Liliana, and here is what she had to say:

Allison: What made you choose to do a destination wedding? And why Cartagena?

Liliana: “We decide for a destination wedding for two reasons: one, Ryan and I love to travel. Our love story has been always around travel and knowing different places. We got engaged in Rome, so we wanted to get married in another amazing place. We wanted to celebrate our wedding while traveling and visiting places. In fact, we took off to Machu Picchu (Peru) after our wedding day. Second reason. I’m from Colombia. My family lives in Bogota which is 1 hour flight to Cartagena. So we picked Cartagena because it was going to be a fun trip for everyone. Ryan’s family is from California and Kansas City and my family is from Bogota. It was going to be the first time for them to meet.”

Stay tuned tomorrow for ceremony photos from this lovely Cartagena wedding.

Sources: Cartagena Invitation by Hand-Painted Weddings. Photo by Pedraza Producciones.
Hand-Painted Invitations, Real Wedding
Real Destination Wedding in Cartagena
- June 2, 2015
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- by Allison
This week you are in for a real treat! I am so excited to share this real destination wedding all the way from Cartagena, Columbia. I had noticed a popularity in Cartagena weddings since this wedding, and have recently learned from someone who is getting married there next February, that it started becoming popular in 2002 when Juan Pablo Montoya, the Formula 1 car driver, who then became a NASCAR driver, had his lavish wedding there. After that, one of Colombia’s ex-president’s sons got married in Cartagena, as well as, the son of the richest man in Colombia. With all that press, of course Cartagena became a popular destination wedding site.

I worked with the couple on their custom wedding invitations based on a photograph of this iconic street in the center of town. Recently, when I received this photo of the couple on their wedding day walking in that same street, I literally beamed with excitement! It is so exciting to see the artwork alive in their wedding photo!

I am a pretty sentimental person, so when the invitations are complete, I often find myself wondering how the wedding came together and how wonderful their big day went. That is why I love posting couple’s wedding photographs! It is just so exciting to see how couple’s Hand-Painted Wedding invitations relate to the big picture of the entire wedding.

Tomorrow I will be sharing more photos from this gorgeous wedding in Cartagena, as well as some words from the beautiful bride, so be sure to keep your eye for it!

Sources: Cartagena Invitation by Hand-Painted Weddings. Photo by Pedraza Producciones.
Hand-Painted Invitations
Destination Wedding Invitation to Cartagena, Columbia
- September 11, 2014
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- by Allison
I love traveling, so when I designed the Venice Canal Invitation I was really hoping to receive some requests for custom destination wedding invitations! My wish came true earlier this Spring when I received an inquiry from Liliana who was getting married in beautiful Cartagena, Colombia! The street featured in this invitation is incredibly iconic as Cartagena, so it was easy to find inspiration photos for the painting.

If you are planning your destination wedding, I’d love to work with you! Contact me to get your Hand-Painted Weddings custom quote.

Destination wedding invitation in Cartagena, Colombia invitation designed by Hand-Painted Weddings.
Hand-Painted Guest book
Jennette’s Pier Custom Thumbprint Guest Print
- August 27, 2014
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- by Allison
I have had the wonderful opportunity to work on some custom thumbprint guestbook projects this past summer. One example is a request from Jennifer who got married in June at the beautiful Jennette’s Pier in North Carolina.

This custom thumbprint guest print was inspired by the Hand-Painted Weddings Beach Thumbprint guest print, where the guests thumbprints act as the footsteps leading to the water and the pier.

This print was also special because it was printed on a canvas. A canvas print is another option for the couple to hang the piece afterwards without framing.

To keep the pricing affordable for my clients, I change the dimensions of the print in order to print to a standard sized canvas (like 11″ x 14″ or 16″ x 20″). If you are interested in your own custom thumbprint guest print, please contact me here.

Custom Thumbprint Guestbook by Hand-Painted Weddings.
Hand-Painted Guest book
In the Studio: Custom Hand-Painted Thumbprint Guest print
- September 4, 2013
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- by Allison
I’m excited to share this custom hand-painted thumbprint guestbook I just finished for a couple who is getting married in Long Island at the end of the month. For their Save-the-Date the couple had etched their names and wedding date into two planks in a fence along the beach. They took a photo of the scene and used it for their Save-the-Date. When the bride came across the Hand-Painted Beach Thumbprint Guestbook she got the inspiration to tie this creative element into her guestbook and contacted me to customize this piece especially for her wedding. I love how an idea can translate creatively into different aesthetic aspects of the wedding!

Contact me if you are interested in a Custom Thumbprint Guest print.
Hand-Painted Guest book
Beach Thumbprint Guest Print
- July 2, 2013
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- by Allison
The Beach thumbprint guestbook features sunny, sandy beach with the red, old-fashioned airplane flying overhead announcing the couple’s wedding names and wedding date!

The thumbprints in this guest print are the footprints that lead down the path towards the turquoise ocean. This would be a beautiful option for your beach-themed wedding!

The Beach Thumbprint Guestbook is now available for ordering in the Hand-Painted Weddings Thumbprint Guestbook shop.
Hand-Painted Guest book
Lighthouse Thumbprint Guest Print
- June 20, 2013
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- by Allison
I listen to a series of guided meditations on my phone from time to time to get centered. Most of them guide me to picture myself in a calm, relaxed location. I usually find peace in the woods. I find myself drawn to the trees and the mountains with leaves crutching under my feet, or sitting on a sweeping porch of a cabin watching the sunrise.

But lately, I have found that when asked to go to my place of peace, I have picked the beach instead of the woods. I hear the clapping of soft waves and the vast sky above with sand in between my toes.

I haven’t made it to the beach yet this season, but I’m ready! Today and tomorrow I am sharing with you TWO beach-themed thumbprint guest prints.

Today’s thumbprint guestbook features this beautiful lighthouse and a row of detailed rocks. If you zoom in you will see a fun old-fashioned plane and an egret (the bird) perched on one of the rocks in the foreground.

The thumbprints that your guests add to this guestbook can act as cobblestones or if you choose a tan or silvery ink pad, they can act as footprints in the sand. Both are beautiful! This would be a great addition to your beach-themed wedding!

The Lighthouse Thumbprint Guestbook is available in the Hand-Painted Weddings Thumbprint Guestbook shop.
Hand-Painted Reception
Hand-Painted Water Ripples Wedding
- June 13, 2013
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- by Allison
The Hand-Painted Water Ripples Wedding is dramatic in its use of blue ombre (the varying of color from light to dark). This blue ombre theme is strong enough to stand on its own, but if a couple is getting married on the beach or on a boat, a subtle nautical theme can be easily added for texture.

Ombre is very trendy in design right now, and I can see why. Monochromatic designs are always a bit more dramatic and then you add the soft vertical striation of one color into another, and it really becomes striking (but in a soft way). It is completely cohesive with the watercolor medium because there isn’t a better medium for soft seeping of colors into one another.

Couples who are looking for a touch of drama in a soft, relaxed aesthetic will be attracted to the Water Ripples theme. Also, couples who are highlighting the water (whether a pool, lake, stream, or ocean) in their reception environment will also connect to this theme. I think that “refreshing” is a good word to describe the Water Ripples Wedding. Oh, and the choices are abundant for your “something blue” if that is something you are incorporating into your wedding day!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Hand-Painted Invitations
Hand-Painted Water Ripples Invitation
- June 12, 2013
- 1 Comment
- by Allison
Watercolor’s natural essence sings in the Water Ripples Invitation as the blue paint stretches and seeps through the painting. This invitation is inspired by light shining and sparkling off the sea. The idea originated from my love of the glistening water in the Venice Gondola painting I made a few months back…but much more zoomed in.

The Water Ripples Invitation is perfect for a wedding that is happening by the ocean or by the pool. It would be lovely for a wedding on a boat or for a couple who is looking for a striking blue watercolor theme for their wedding.

The blues in this invitation are quite dramatic, which is one of the unique features of this invitation. Many watercolors are soft and subtle, but this invitation amplifies watercolor’s robust pigments and the wonderful liquid nature of this medium.

The Water Ripples Invitation is now available for ordering under Shop Invitations. Water Ripples Invitation by Hand-Painted Weddings.
Hand-Painted Save-the-Dates
Sunsets: Hand-Painted Save-the-Date
- June 14, 2012
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- by Allison
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.
Hand-Painted Invitations
Hand-Painted Invitation: Sunset
- June 13, 2012
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- by Allison
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.