watercolor wedding invitation

Hand-Painted Invitations, Hand-Painted Weddings, Real Wedding
Dreamy Lilly Pulitzer Inspired Wedding invitations
- January 19, 2018
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- by Allison
This fall wedding was dreamy in every way imaginable. The bride was one of the sweetest, most appreciating people I have ever had the fortune to work with. And she was also one of the most creative brides I worked with. Christina wanted a bold, unique wedding and I was over the moon that I was creating her wedding invitations, wedding day paper and gifts for her.

When we first started gathering inspiration for her invitations, she gave me all sorts of beautiful snippets she had planned for her big day such as her stunning wedding gown, unique bouquet, along with photos of the church she was getting married in. This process is so helpful for me because it gives me a full picture of the day and I love to incorporate pieces from the big day into the paper if it seems fitting.

During the inspiration phase, Christina also mentioned her overall taste. She likes bold designs, no florals, and maybe something inspired by the water since it’s a Virginia Beach wedding, but not too beachy, because it is a late Fall wedding. Oh, and I love Lilly Pulitzer, if that helps. Ding, ding, ding! That little inspiration token became the inspiration for her entire wedding paper designs.

I love doing research. It goes back to my days at college where research would set my designs apart from the class. So, I started researching Lilly Pulitzer‘s patterns and quickly learned that this style was completely in line with my painting style and this would be one of the most stunning invitations I’ve ever created.

I created a water inspired, Lilly Pulitzer inspired pattern with the bride’s colors for the day, magenta, navy and gold, and I love how it came out.

In addition, I painted an abstract painting of the church the couple was getting married in for the ceremony program cover, and the couple loved it so much, that they hired me to recreate it larger as a gift for the pastor that was marrying them.

I hope you have enjoyed hearing my journey working with this lovely couple on their watercolor wedding stationery as well as seen a glimpse of their big day.

If you have any questions on working with me to create your very own custom watercolor wedding invitations, learn more here.

Photos by: Serena Genovese Photography (more…)
Real Wedding
Watercolor Wedding Venue Invitation Artwork
- September 26, 2017
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- by Allison
Maria and Licinio got married in a historical cathedral, and then celebrated at the stunning Park Savoy Estate in North Jersey this past winter. They decided to have a separate reception card in their invitation suite, which featured the exterior of this beautiful building along with the fountain and lush gardens adorning the entrance of the Park Savoy.

I painted this custom artwork and bordered the painting of the venue with the romantic florals that were to be scattered throughout the wedding from the bouquets to the centerpieces. Focusing the invitation artwork on the beauty of the ceremony venue on the invitation and reception venue on the reception card excited the couple’s guests to the lovely places they would be celebrating this monumental event.

As you can see from yesterday’s and today’s blog post, this wedding was simply gorgeous, but what were the bride’s favorite details and moments at her wedding? I took the opportunity to ask her a couple of months after her wedding, allowing for the event to soak in. Here is what she said.

Allison: “What was your favorite detail at your wedding?”
Maria: “Our favorite detail (besides our amazing invitations) is our Portuguese Roosters on our cake.”

Allison: “Favorite moment at your wedding?”
Maria: “Our church ceremony and dancing all night!!!!!!”

It was so much fun creating these hand-painted wedding venue inspired invitations with the couple for their special day, and I hope this gives you ideas on how to customize your wedding invitation in a unique and special way. To learn more about Custom Wedding Invitations, click here.

Wedding reception venue: The Park Savoy Estate | Photographer: Predestined in Love | Wedding invitations: Hand-Painted Weddings

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Real Wedding
Finding wedding invitation inspiration in decisions you’ve already made
- September 26, 2017
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- by Allison
Not sure where to look for inspiration for your wedding invitations? Yes, you can look on Pinterest. Yes, you can create a theme such as an Alice in Wonderland wedding theme or Back to School theme. Or, you can use your ceremony and reception location as the artwork for your wedding invitations. This is a great way to not only share a glimpse of what your guests will see come your wedding day, but it will also showcase one of the biggest wedding style decisions you have made….your wedding venue.

Maria and Licinio had a beautiful winter wedding in North Jersey. The bride decided to work with me on creating a separate ceremony and reception card (in English and Portuguese), each showcasing the beautiful wedding venues the couple was getting married in.

When I asked Maria “How did your wedding invitations tie into the look of your wedding?”, she responded “The invitations illustrated our church wedding and reception location perfectly. Our family and friends are still talking about how everything tied in together perfectly.”

Maria and I decided to showcase the wedding venues front and center in the designs and then surround them with paintings of the lush, romantic flowers they had planned for the bouquets and floral arrangements. This added a gorgeous pop of color to the invitations for this winter wedding. To learn more about Custom Wedding Invitations, click here.

Today on the blog, I am sharing the ceremony card along with some photos by Predestined in Love of their stunning ceremony. Tomorrow I will be sharing the reception card along with reception photos of the happy couple.
Wedding ceremony location: Our Lady of Fatima Church | Photographer: Predestined in Love | Wedding invitations: Hand-Painted Weddings

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Hand-Painted Invitations, Real Wedding
Whimsical wedding inspiration for an outdoor wedding
- January 29, 2016
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- by Allison
There was just too many dreamy wedding details in this styled shoot to fit into one blog post, so today I’m featuring more of the wedding accessories such as the stunning lace BHLDN wedding dress, the beautiful ring from Trumpet and Horn and bridal jewelry from BHLDN, the boho floral crowns by Emlily Floral, and of course, the watercolor wedding invitation set by yours truly. By the way, the Mystical Forest watercolor wedding invitation is available in the Hand-Painted Weddings Shop.

I was lucky enough to join my friend at a BHLDN dress appointment in NYC last summer, and let me just say… I’ve never seen such beautiful laces and unique, delicate touches. Every dress was a work of art. BHLDN is truly inspiring to the wedding market.

I’m in love with the lush flowers in the bride’s bouquet….oh, if I were to get married again, I’d have a bouquet just like this.

I’m also swooning of the casual, wispy wedding hair the bride and bridesmaid have with their floral crowns. It is so delicate and effortlessly beautiful. The color of blue in the bridesmaid dress is perfection. It has a hint of earthiness to it, while still be classically blue, which is apparently the most popular color for bridesmaid dresses in the U.S.

I’m still in awe that I was able to contribute to this dreamy wedding in California. I hope it was as inspiring for you as it has been for me!

Photographer: Katie Ricard Photography @katiericard | Florist: Emlily Floral @emlily_floral | Wedding Dress and Bridal Jewelry: BHLDN @bhldn | Engagement Ring: Trumpet and Horn @trumpetandhorn | Cake/Desserts: Just Baked SLO @justbakedslo | Cake Topper: Lovely Grain Studio @lovelygrainstudio | Invitation/Save the Date: Hand-Painted Weddings @handpaintedweddings | Calligraphy: Letters from Lindsey @lettersfromlind | Hair Stylist: Rece Evans @receevans | Models: Bride – @allycevans | Groom (also photo and styling assistant) – Emerson Ricard @emerson.ricard | Bridesmaid – @colleenricard

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Real Wedding
San Diego Wedding Inspiration – Part 1 – Favorite Detail
- November 30, 2015
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- by Allison
I’ve got a sunny, warm California wedding to share with you this week. Kara and Taylor got married at Stone Gardens in San Diego, California this past June. Kara and I worked closely together on their custom watercolor wedding invitation sets. This wedding is full of lovely wedding inspiration from the pretty blush color palette, unique custom wedding dress, gorgeous florals, to the acute attention to details the couple included in the wedding day.

I really enjoyed working with the bride to paint their wedding invitation based on beauty of the ceremony and reception site, Stone Gardens. I worked from photographs of the location and created the pretty designs below.

I grasped the opportunity to ask a few questions to the bride after her wedding to learn and share what the lasting moments were of their big day. Here is the first question…

Allison: “What was your favorite detail at your wedding? (I’m referring to a physical detail like the cake, your dress, food, etc.)”

Kara: “My favorite detail from the wedding was my bouquet. It was 100% peonies (my favorite flower) and blush pink to match my wedding colors. It was a very exciting treat to end of having them. Since I had a late June wedding, the florist was doubtful that peonies would still be available, so I had a backup of roses and hydrangea. However, the week before the wedding, she surprised me with them. There was a few weeks in June where it had rained a few times and I guess that made the season last a little longer.”

Come back tomorrow to learn the bride’s favorite moment at her wedding.

Photos by Happy Endings Photo.

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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 Save-the-Dates
Cartagena Watercolor Save-the-Date
- September 23, 2015
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- by Allison
When my client gave a photo of a shopping bag as inspiration for her custom save the date, I knew it was going to be a fun project! This is my first client who specifically requested an abstract watercolor design for their save the date, which was extraordinarily exciting for me!

This watercolor save the date design is light, bright, and joyful, as destination weddings on the beach ought to be! I love the way the paint colors are layered on each other in a fluid and organic way. The script Love is playful and loose. Oftentimes script and calligraphy fonts can feel very feminine but the font used in this watercolor save the date isn’t gender specific. I can’t wait to design their invitation next!
Hand-Painted Invitations
Alice in Wonderland Invitation Set in the Shop
- August 20, 2015
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- by Allison
You too can have an Alice in Wonderland inspired wedding because the Alice in Wonderland Invitation set featured above is now available for purchase on the Hand-Painted Weddings Invitation Shop! The invitation has detailed illustrations reflective of the tea party in the woods alongside nooks of whimsical, colorful mushrooms. You can choose to upgrade your envelopes to have the antique key envelope liners, which add a very fun pattern to the overall set.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the coordinating pieces to the Alice in Wonderland invitation set. Spoiler alert – they take whimsy to another level and focus on the overall haze of the Alice in Wonderland experience by transitioning to a ethereal watercolor wash design.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ED & AILEEN PHOTOGRAPHY | EVENT COORDINATION: DOTTED EVENTS | FLORIST: BLÃƒÅ“MGARTEN | VENUE: LACUNA ARTIST LOFT STUDIOS | WEDDING INVITATIONS: HAND-PAINTED WEDDINGS
Hand-Painted Invitations
Butterfly Wedding Invitation
- May 19, 2015
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- by Allison
It is so exciting to be building up this year’s collection of Hand-Painted Wedding Shop Invitations! This brand new Butterfly Wedding invitation is inspired by one of the most beautiful creatures in nature, the butterfly.

I was surprised to notice that there aren’t many butterfly wedding invitations on the market right now, so I’m excited to offer this unique option for couples getting married in the spring, summer, or maybe even the early fall season. This design features an elegant calligraphy font along with a modern, classic headline font. This butterfly has a beautiful jewel toned color palette and is on top of a simple yellow and orange flower branch.

I am often inspired by nature for wedding invitations because there is so much untouched and pure beauty in nature. The butterfly in particular is an animal that flutters in such a pure way that attracts even the most distracted attention to it. The Butterfly Wedding Invitation is down-to-earth with a calm, pretty nature to it.

Butterfly Wedding Invitation by Hand-Painted Weddings.
Hand-Painted Reception
Hand-Painted Ikat Wedding
- May 2, 2013
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- by Allison
A hand-painted ikat wedding is feminine and fun. It is loose and cheerful. Perfect for a spring or summer wedding, but could easily translate into fall with a few color palette adjustments.

I am in particularly in love with the gray ikat men’s tie and the pink ikat bridesmaid dress! They are a lovely mix of prep and casual fun.

The ikat wedding feels at home outdoors or on the beach. Textures and patterns allow for a wide range of decorative elements. They mesh well with solids creating an environment that isn’t stuffy and has a nice unique, human touch.

The Ikat Invitation is now available in the Hand-Painted Wedding shop under Signature Invitations.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Hand-Painted Invitations
In the Studio: Hand-Painted Ikat Invitation
- May 1, 2013
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- by Allison
Who doesn’t like this beautiful, loose ikat pattern that has been making appearances in apparel trends the last year or so? The ikat pattern derives from an old, traditional form of textile dyeing. You can read all about the history here.

I have taken a soft, feminine approach to this often colorful pattern, by using a warm pink, gray, and muted jade color palette. I love the imperfect nature of the watercolor approach seen in this pattern; it is imperfectly perfect if you ask me!

The Ikat Invitation is now available in the Hand-Painted Wedding shop under Shop Invitations. Stop back later in the week for some Hand-Painted Ikat reception ideas to coordinate with your invitation.

Ikat Invitation by Hand-Painted Weddings.