Guys! I’m so giddy to be able to finally post about a recent design project—a wedding invitation suite for my friend Trisha and her soon-to-be-husband Jommel!
This was truly a dream project of sorts. I’ve always wanted an excuse to design wedding invitations, especially of the “Pinterest” kind, and now I actually got to make one for someone special to me, no less! Read on for a too-long (as usual) account of the design process, plus a look at the full suite.
Let’s start with a little background: Trisha was my classmate in high school. Our section was never shuffled so we were pretty much the same bunch of people for all of four years, which sorta meant all of us now share a bond-for-keeps since we went through crucial years of puberty together. I especially value the friends I got into creative shenanigans with, and Trish was one of them. She’s a lover of words like I am; we both worked for the school paper and were both in the student council, so we collaborated a lot in class and out. She’s a dear friend (and fellow Potterhead!).
Trish permanently moved to New Zealand during college, however, so I haven’t really connected with her since, aside from following her social accounts. So imagine my shock when she messaged me outta the blue a couple of weeks ago to say a) she’s getting married (WHAT!) (I mean, I knew she’s all loved up, but I didn’t think wedding bells were in the horizon at this age) and b) I was the first person she thought of to design her invites (WHAT!).
Creys.
She was also blessed with the most perfect of timings, because on the week she messaged me I had six straight days of no classes approaching. (Due to the Ateneo Fiesta, which I always skip. I leave the school spirit to the kids.) Honestly if it were any week earlier or later I would have had to refuse because of academic demands. But as it happened, I had the time to completely focus on designing (which was obv. necessary because the last thing I wanted to do was present to a client, and friend, something half-assed and rushed.)
I’m also really fortunate that the main thing Trisha wanted was something simple and no-frills, which is exactly right up my alley. (Minimalism forevs!!) Here’s the moodboard I was able to put together using the photos/ideas she sent for inspiration:
Just looking at that made me itch to get started!
Because of the earthy/spring feel it was no question that the main decorative elements I’d add would be flora. But, frankly, I had not touched my watercolors since I started studying again (more than a year ago looool) so I was doubtful I could pull off painting anything remotely pretty to start with. My initial plan was to find some leaf or floral textures online and build the design from there. But obviously that limited my creative control. I couldn’t find what I pictured in my head in the designs I saw online. Plus it’s kind of cheating, isn’t it? Trisha wanted my work. So I decided to be brave, lack of practice be damned, and sat down one night for three straight hours, and painted.
(Wanna see a poor-quality Work in Progress snapshot?)
I feel like legit watercolor artists would 100% scoff at my work—“Where are the shadows? The shading? The blending? Why are the direction of the leaves all wrong? And what are those circular blobs? Flowers?!”—LMAO. Too true! I wasn’t trying for realism, though. Just aesthetic, because I acknowledge my lack of skills. 😛 I’m just glad it turned out looking nice and, after scanning, workable with Photoshop! It’s also a good thing Trish didn’t need a map sketch or something similarly complicated, because I dunno if I could pull that off. Haha.
Not a bad paint job, though, right? 😉
Anyway, the great thing about minimalistic designs is that after you get the few major design elements down, all you really need are one to two good fonts for the text and you’re good to go! (Not that choosing fonts is easy. This still took me about twelve straight hours of Photoshopping. Lol.) A fancy font for the headers, and a can’t-go-wrong elegant slab serif for the body… All done!
Here’s the finished product:
Pwede na bang pang-Pinterest? Haha. I am really, really pleased with it, and even more delighted that Trish, her fiancé, and their family loved it! Creys.
Obviously I couldn’t see the printed invites in person but Trisha kindly sent me some photos. The printing job is A+, which is all I could really ask for, but the styling is also legit, and that’s already Trisha’s work, not mine! I love how she used a belt instead of an envelope. Plus the embellishments are super pretty and they go so well with the prints.
Again, this project has been a dream to work on. I am so, so grateful to Trisha for thinking of me, and then actually trusting me, to do this for her. Aside from just feeling great that I got to do something special for a friend, working on this has also been surprisingly affirming, because, well. I’ve been asking myself since last year—“Will I ever be inspired to make anything good ever again?” Now, because of this, I can answer back. Yes.
I missed the exhiliration of creating too much. And now more than ever I’m sure I’d love to be able to improve my craft enough to do this as an earning side thing (I don’t wanna be broke no more lol) no matter what career path I end up being on, and maybe even as I continue my studies. Wish me luck on the time management department though! Eeek.
So again, thanks so much to Trisha for the opportunity! Although none of this feels real still. LOL. I’m eagerly anticipating her wedding photos but I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE SHE’S GETTING MARRIED IN A FEW MONTHS. Actually two of my elementary classmates got married this year, too. One of them was just last Saturday. I mean, I honestly just learned to appreciate lipsticks recently, yet my batchmates are already ready to commit to marriages and start their own families? I’m shook! Hahaha. But I’m sincerely happy for all of them. Love is a beautiful thing!
Anyway, yeah, this has gone on long enough. Until the next excuse to design something…toodles!