Coastal Maine Inspired Wedding Invitation

Dawn Strong
January 14, 2015
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

Pretty paper goods are my jam. No hyperbole intended… send me a crazy gorgeous invite and I’ll spend hours obsessing over it. So this hand illustrated + hand painted invitation suite from Anticipate Invitations? It’s pretty much my everything, and the perfect guide to a Maine weekend that is rich with coastal inspired goodies. Soak in every paper paper captured by Kenny Kim right here.

From the Bride… Invites were so important because they were the first impact that people would see to lead them up to our wedding weekend. We wanted it to be about all the weekend events, not just the Wedding Day, as guests were making the journey. Studying architecture in college I have a deep appreciation for graphic design and was so excited to work on this important aspect of the wedding.

When we first started dating, Chris invited me to spend a summer vacation with his family in Maine. Being from New Jersey, Chris grew up coming to Maine with his family. Growing up in Chicago, I had never been to Maine, but loved the laid-back culture, great food (lobster!) and beautiful scenery. We went on a hike to find a gorgeous wedding being set up on the top of the mountain. Both of us shared later that we thought to ourselves… “Wow, what a perfect place to get married.”

Working with Michael at Anticipate Invitations on the stationery was one of the best parts of wedding planning. We wanted it to reflect the whimsicality of Maine, be fun and playful but still elegant, not be overly nautical but still sea-inspired. By having Michael hand illustrate and paint all the features, it added a level of personality that made our stationery that much more unique to us—something that will last for many years.

We spent every year after traveling to Maine for vacation, enjoying it more and more each year. Chris proposed to me right in the same spot we hiked up years before. It was the only place we ever imagined getting married at, and therefore we felt it was the most meaningful place for us to have our own wedding.

Most of our guests had never been to Maine so we wanted to showcase some of our favorite parts and places, why we love it so much. We wanted it to be about all weekend events and not just the wedding and truly wanted it to be a magical experience for our guests.

Guests loved the paper goods, and not only the invitations, but also the place cards, table cards, menus, weekend events booklet, and ceremony program… even the thank you cards and return address stamp! Having Anticipate work on all aspects gave continuity and truly once-in-a-lifetime memories.

Click here for even more fabulous Behind the Invitation features!