One of the few benefits of being an altar-bound graphic designer is that you can avoid all of those pricey wedding invitation services and just do it yourself. So from the moment I popped the question in March of 2012, I started brainstorming ideas for all of the print materials that would be required for our upcoming July 2013 wedding. It also doesn't hurt to be connected with an excellent local printing company, Pacesetter Enterprises, who were more than happy to handle all of the printing responsibilities.

The Save-the-Date

The first of the many print materials was the Save-the-Date, which formally announced our wedding celebration and also served as our Christmas card for the 2012 holiday season. Due to time constraints, I was forced to recycle a previous illustration from my portfolio (The Elf Workshop) and created a design that killed two partridges with one pear tree. The result was a full-color, double-sided postcard that caught the attention of its recipients, informed them of the date to save, and wished them some happy holidays (while keeping our printing and postage costs well within budget).

The Bridal Shower Invitation

Next in line were the Bridal Shower invitations, which my sister Kate helped to design and print. This piece used the illustration that I had created when I initially proposed to Whitney, a simple drawing depicting my cartoon alter ego down on one knee, holding out the engagement ring. (Thank goodness she said 'yes!')

The Wedding Invitation

Now it was time for the important one: the wedding invitation. I created a new illustration that featured Whitney and myself walking arm-in-arm and dressed in our wedding attire (I had to guess at the style of her dress because, of course, I wasn't allowed to see it beforehand). The rest of the design incorporated our red-white-tan color scheme with an Art Deco style that was intentionally reminiscent of early twentieth century theater cards and marquees (something I knew would suit Whitney's tastes). This design was then reformatted into rehearsal dinner invites, wedding programs, the guest book, and the eventual photo album (shout out to our amazing photographers Amanda Eck and Alex Ferkh).

The Thank You Card

Finally, the last piece of the print campaign was our Thank You cards (which we made sure to have mailed in record time). With the more formal print material out of the way, I was free to create an illustration that showed us cutting loose and celebrating our marriage. Whitney tosses her bouquet while I pop open a bottle of champagne in a design that continues the Art Deco motif established in the wedding invitations.

And there you have it… the print materials for my wedding adventure. It all resulted in a perfect day filled with family, friends, love, laughter, and best of all... becoming the husband of the most beautiful bride I've ever seen.

To view the wedding designs in the Gallery, please click here.