Creating a Storybook Wedding Invitation

When planning our wedding, my fiancé and I really cared about our guest’s experience. Since I was very young I dreamt of a fairytale wedding and Jeremy was a history teacher and naturally loves historic venues. We wanted the invitation to echo the essence of our venue: The Ancient Spanish Monastery. I always dreamt of a book-styled wedding invitation and Jeremy, someone who has loved reading books since he was very young, loved the idea. So we put our heads together and came up with the perfect invitation for us. Read how we created our dream wedding invitations with the help of our friend Tasha from Tinta + Pulso.

The first step: Story Books

The very first thing we needed was the actual books! It’s hard to find beautiful ornate books so we searched far and wide for a vintage book shop. We came across this book store called Dunbar Old Books. This hole-in-the-wall bookstore had everything we were looking for, beautiful books with ornate covers in different colors and styles. This part was very fun to do, we loved searching for the books and I love the smell of old library books. All the books varied in price from $10-$20. Some books were almost 100 years old! Once we purchased the books we knew exactly the size we needed the physical invitation to be. Each book was different which made all of our guests feel special and we picked each one especially for them.

Second step: The Invitation 

Now it was time for some professional stationary help. We contacted our friend Tasha from Tinta + Pulso who took our vision and designed these beautiful invitations that took my breath away. She asked me all the details of our wedding, which was very important so she could bring our vision to life. The theme was a storybook wedding but there were two very important elements. The ceremony was geared towards my love for flowers and my childhood of growing up in my fathers garden. The reception was to resemble a library where Jeremy spent a lot of his childhood with his head buried in a book. Tasha loved this idea and since the invitation already resembled “Jeremy’s library” with the book, she added florals to the invitation suite to bring in the “Christopher’s library” element. She presented us with a beautiful proposal. We also wanted a card catalog pocket in each book for the Details and RSVP cards. Tasha had the amazing idea of making them with a vellum material that made them translucent with a floral print, which was one of our favorite parts of the invitation! 

Third Step: The Assembly 

Once we received our beautiful invitation suites it was time to assemble them which was the most difficult and least fun part of the experience. With double-sided tape we attached the vellum packets and invitations to each book. We added a wax seal to the top of each invitation to make it look as if the invitation was secured by the wax seal. Next we added the ribbon strap which forced each guest to look at the inside front cover where the invitation was located. We cut a slit in the folding crease inside the front and back cover of each book, then used wire to feed a ribbon through the spine of the book. It took a steady hand and a lot of patience. We used brass buttons with velcro to close each ribbon strap. I wouldn’t recommend doing this if you have a big guest list. It took us lots and lots of time. Luckily we have a guest list of 40 which meant each household had one book each that equaled to about 25 books. 

With patience, some professional help and lots of wine our beautiful fairytale invitations were created. We wrapped each invitation in beautiful wrapping paper and added a tag with the name of our guests. We loved the reactions we received from our guests. It was the prefect prelude to our wedding and made everyone very excited. Our friends and family could see our personality in the invitation and are now curious to see the ceremony and reception areas we named “Christopher Garden” and “Jeremy’s Library”. I want to take the time to thank our friend Tasha for not only designing our beautiful invitation but for her exceptional customer service. Even during a pandemic she made our experience an amazing one.

My last piece of advice is to remember that your invitation is the first chapter in the story of your wedding. This is your opportunity to make your guests excited, to enhance their experience, and preview your wedding theme. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as we did! Make sure to visit Tinta + Pulso on instagram for more wedding stationary inspiration!

Trends, Traditions, and Themes: How to have a themed wedding (that’s not too cheesy)

We all see those cool themed weddings shared on Pinterest and think “wow how did they pull that off?” Well here's how. It's easy to take a theme and make it cheesy by adding so many elements it almost looks like a child's birthday party. In this photo shoot we were inspired by The Nightmare before Christmas. We took the theme and added trends and a splash of tradition to make a happy marriage and a stunning wedding concept.

Be trendy!

If you’re going after a theme, you’ll want it to look cool and current. We definitely had that at the top of our mind when we planned this photoshoot. Using a moody color palette is popular right now, so we decided to use those colors rather than using the bright purple and orange colors that are more closely associated with Halloween. Pampas grass is also very trendy and it signifies Autumn, and it matches the season of the photoshoot. No matter what, you want your guests to feel like they’re walking into a fresh experience that’s whimsical and fun.

Don’t be afraid of the old

Tradition might seem like it’s sooo yesterday, but it’s also a shortcut to instantly creating moods that are familiar to just about anyone. By using elements like a black lace gown, a black cast iron urn, a black iron gate, a crimson wax seal on the menus, and a low bun as a hairstyle we were able to immediately evoke a Gothic Victorian feel in this photoshoot.  These are all symbols from hundreds of years ago that are still relevant today. These symbols ground the visual experience in something that is familiar and gives it a foundation. 

But don’t be too obvious

It would have been too easy to just use the characters from Nightmare Before Christmas or use a lot of Halloween decorations and call it a day. So instead of using spiderwebs or fake gravestones, we referenced the feel of the movie by using colors and subtle hints, like the Nightmare Before Christmas cake topper, or using white pumpkins which are more understated than the orange ones. Less is more here – you only need one or two elements from the actual theme to drive the point home. 

So if you’re going after a theme, don’t be spooked. There’s a classy and elegant way to showcase your passion. Just remember that when it comes to a themed event, less is actually more – just let your guests take the subtle journey into your theme with you, giving them an experience they’ll long remember.