Sincerely Yours
Ideas & Inspiration 
Calligraphy by Crystal Kluge
Sincerely Yours
Handcrafted invitations give your words a personal spin in the cyber age.
photography by:
JD Havens A successful wedding invitation is both functional and beautiful. It clearly documents all the details of who, when and where. A well-designed invitation also sets the tone and stage for the celebration of a love story that is uniquely yours. In a digital age, choosing elements that are one-of-kind and using printing techniques that have been used for more than a century can make a highly personal statement. Custom-designed logos, or artwork and calligraphy, for example, can elevate an invitation from a mere recitation of facts to an irreplaceable keepsake that graphically ties the event together, beckoning your guests to come from far and wide to partake in your special day.
Custom Graphics
Destination weddings offer more than a marvelous opportunity to create uniquely printed pieces, they become essential. For mother of the bride Suzy Swanson of Wayzata, the challenge was persuading guests to travel all the way to Mexico for the wedding of her daughter Maisie to David Block.
"They wanted everyone to be really excited because they were afraid no one would come so far," she says. So they sent a message in a bottle—literally. Small bottles were filled with sand, seashells, little cocktail umbrellas and the first printed piece of the wedding festivities. It began, "If you have found this message, please save the date April 26, 2007 … for the wedding of Maisie Swanson and David Block, Conchas Chinas Beach, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico."
Destination weddings offer more than a marvelous opportunity to create uniquely printed pieces, they become essential. For mother of the bride Suzy Swanson of Wayzata, the challenge was persuading guests to travel all the way to Mexico for the wedding of her daughter Maisie to David Block.
"They wanted everyone to be really excited because they were afraid no one would come so far," she says. So they sent a message in a bottle—literally. Small bottles were filled with sand, seashells, little cocktail umbrellas and the first printed piece of the wedding festivities. It began, "If you have found this message, please save the date April 26, 2007 … for the wedding of Maisie Swanson and David Block, Conchas Chinas Beach, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico."
The message was printed on parchment-style paper; it was there that the customized logo, a boy riding a sea horse, first appeared. Modified versions of this logo were then used through the stationery suite and other elements of the wedding. The logo, based on Puerto Vallarta's official city symbol, was redesigned by Jenni Undis, owner of Lunalux in Minneapolis, and printed with a letterpress printer that Undis has in her studio. The bold yet simple graphic tied it all together through to the event's culmination: two tails appeared on the wedding menu, a beautiful yet subtle statement of marriage. "I’m not sure anyone noticed the two tails but us," says Suzy, laughing. "But to me it was the perfect ending from the message in the bottle."
The invitation for Rachael Henke and Cory Tobin's reception told an entirely different story. The couple had eloped to Taos, New Mexico, but they wanted to celebrate their union with family and friends in the Twin Cities, hence the reception. She wore a black Dolce & Gabbana gown to their celebration, held at the Varsity Theater, a popular venue for alternative music concerts in Minneapolis. "My husband and I are kind of quirky," says Rachael. The square invitation, designed by Amy Steil of Mi Mi Design in Minneapolis, sports a coral and gold Art Nouveau design, created with an offset printer and handprinted using a Gocco machine (a miniature Japanese screen printer), giving it depth and texture while maintaining clean lines. The text reads, "Holy Matrimony! This calls for a party." A creative friend whom Rachael works with at a design firm came up with the copy. "We like to have a bit of a chuckle out of life," says Rachel. "We wanted our invitations to look classy but have a bit of cleverness to them. Amy was able to nail that."
Calligraphy
Handwriting or calligraphy can also add a personal touch to your envelopes or invitations. Molly Woodland, owner of Apiary Design in Minneapolis, says her labels and printed envelopes are designed to be used with handwriting. "They just don’t work as well with type," Woodland says. Depending on the vibe you want to create, you can work with a professional calligrapher/designer such as Crystal Kluge of Minneapolis, or you can put the fine hand of your mother-in-law to work addressing envelopes.
For an extra-personal touch, sometimes the bride and groom will handwrite the invitations, using a poem or words directly from the proposal. But you don’t have to get writer’s cramp penning 150 invitations: once written (one time only), your words can be made into a template for a letterpress or offset plate and used for many invitations, according to Sara Doherty, owner of Crazy Daisy Design, based in St. Louis Park. Whether you go with handwriting or calligraphy, either one can become part of the design, or the logo for all the stationery pieces, says Kluge.
Handwriting or calligraphy can also add a personal touch to your envelopes or invitations. Molly Woodland, owner of Apiary Design in Minneapolis, says her labels and printed envelopes are designed to be used with handwriting. "They just don’t work as well with type," Woodland says. Depending on the vibe you want to create, you can work with a professional calligrapher/designer such as Crystal Kluge of Minneapolis, or you can put the fine hand of your mother-in-law to work addressing envelopes.
For an extra-personal touch, sometimes the bride and groom will handwrite the invitations, using a poem or words directly from the proposal. But you don’t have to get writer’s cramp penning 150 invitations: once written (one time only), your words can be made into a template for a letterpress or offset plate and used for many invitations, according to Sara Doherty, owner of Crazy Daisy Design, based in St. Louis Park. Whether you go with handwriting or calligraphy, either one can become part of the design, or the logo for all the stationery pieces, says Kluge.
Should you feel leery that this approach may seem too unsophisticated, designers are quick to distinguish between handmade versus homemade. Working with a designer can ensure that your warm, unique style is translated to create a personal statement without that do-it-yourself "crafty" look, says Doherty. Some things are best left to the experts. Wedding invitations may very well be one of them.
Hand Stitching
An invitation need not be just a way to communicate written information; it can become a keepsake, appealing to all the senses. Designers are increasingly using stitching to add layers and texture to an invitation.
Woodland uses a zigzag stitch to attach the nameplate over a patterned card. Doherty stitches pockets to the back of the invitation to hold the RSVP card, return envelope and directions. Steil at Mi Mi Design machine-sews a "binding" for booklet-style invitations. These folded invites, machine-sewn or neatly tied with colored thread, can include the announcement, invitation, reception information and directions. Each little package opens like a mini commemorative album, telling the story of the particular couple.
There is something decidedly low-tech about stitching and calligraphy. Yet, there is nothing "homemade" about the look of these invitations. And that's the point: Artfully and professionally applied, some of the oldest printing and binding techniques make the biggest statements in our technical age. Fine design and one-of-a-kind graphics never go out of style and give your wedding a timeless quality that your guests will not soon forget.
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