OK. This could be one of my favorite posts EVER on SMP (I know, I cry wolf with that statement all the time). It falls under our From Inspiration to Reality feature that we are doing, appropriately titled “From Inspiration to Invitation.” Dreamed up by one of the best invitation designers ever, Sarah Drake, we decided to turn one of your Style Circle Inspiration Boards into a real life wedding invitation. It’s SUCH a cool concept, showing you just how important, just how valuable an inspiration board can be.
Sarah chose a board that she called Equestrian Elegance and got to work designing an invitation that captured the spirit and style of the winning board. First up, the design that started it all!
And the GORGEOUS invitation (and I mean so gorgeous that I get all giddy…and start wanting to dream up an equestrian themed wedding) that the board inspired…
From Sarah Drake…
After seeing Tonia’s inspiration board, I thought that barn red and white combination were so subtle, like an equestrian inspired invite should be! I didn’t want to be too obviously horse-y!
It’s a booklet invite, which is always a great option for couples who need to add more elements to their invite. So many brides ask me how to neatly place everything in the envelope, which can be a challenge when you have separate reception cards, accommodations, maps… So, a booklet is a nice alternative to loose cards if that is important to a bride. One trick for money-saving is use the folder cover of the booklet as a program cover too. That way the bride isn’t paying for two separate covers if she’s planning on printing programs down the road. We just print double the amount needed, which is so much more cost effective than printing twice!
I also fell for her knitted items, and worked really hard to get the yarn element in the invite, without being too crafty ( I tried knitted, crocheted, then the simple wrap with a bit of a braid seemed to make the most sense, without taking the focus off the invite. I love a monogram, too, so I liked showing a simple type treatment here (again, subtle) within the wreath to tie it all together.
I mean are in you love yet? This is so unbelievably lovely and I seriously hope that it inspires a simple, tailored equestrian wedding design so that we can show it off on SMP! Thank you so much to the fabulously talented Sarah Drake for taking on the From Inspiration to Invitation Challenge. I would call it a ridiculously huge success!