'Knotical' Invitations Go Both Ways

Our Knotical invitation suite is on the verge of completion, and it's about time. For too long it has existed only as a save the date card, but now it will have invitations, rsvps, and all those extra cards to match, plus a little envelope detail.

When we design invitation suites here at Phaedra, we always make up an imaginary couple. It's much easier to design for someone in particular, even if they're only figments of our own minds. But as you might imagine, we often end up imagining the whole wedding, too!

The Knotical suite was originally inspired by one of those nautical model-knot shadowboxes, little vignettes of regimented skill. But then the sandy dunes and crisp winds of the Oregon coast elbowed their way in, and wouldn't be denied. The result is a design that can go either way: formal or casual.

(Guestbook: Martha Stewart Weddings; Vintage naval wedding photo: Flickr; Favor boxes: Martha Stewart Weddings; Cake: Pink Cake Box; Ropes and ribbons: Brides; Flowers: Martha Stewart Weddings)

The aesthetic of a Naval wedding is a tried and true classic. It's traditional and crisp, with a patriotic flair that can be toned up or down as desired. Though it might be more common among brides and grooms with military ties, a civilian wedding can utilize the same palette and many of the same details: sailor's knots, crisp linens, and polished gold or medal-like accents.


(Landscape: Webshots; Boutonniere: The Knot; Seagulls: Flickr; Tiny white flowers: Capetown Daily Photo; Beach chapel: Flickr; Barefoot bride: Ben Pancoast Photography)

The more casual or beachy take on the Knotical suite relies on the coastal palette. The obvious colors are the sand, sky, and sea, but you might be surprised at how many colors are available in the flowers native to the coastal ranges. Find one or two colors that you love, and use them for a pop of color. Then keep the rest fairly neutral and mellow. Here we chose the yellow-green of dune grass and anemone flowers, but blue-purples are also quite common.

Joel & Jessica's Desert Wedding

I finished putting together a set of wedding invitations late last week that I'm excited to share. They turned out quite nice -- very simple, but that's exactly what this couple wanted.

Joel and Jessica came to me with the photo you see in the shot to the right. They were having what would probably be categorized as a destination wedding, but also a fairly small gathering of mostly family. They didn't want to go over the top on the invitations, like many destination weddings do. They just wanted one piece to announce the basic information, and were going to use the web for everything from RSVPs to directions.

I had paper in mind that I thought might be perfect -- Neenah's Peppered Bronze in a laid finish; the variegated color of the paper makes it look incredibly textured, but it doesn't present problems when it comes to screen printing on it. Jessica liked it, and paired it with French Speckletone envelopes in 'Chocolate.' For ink we simply used the color of the opposite paper, and a clean script for the text.

The result is a compact little treasure, equally comfortable in a frame or on the fridge of its lucky recipients.

To see more images of this invitation, or to browse Phaedra's other designs, visit the Phaedra Paperie website.