One of my favorite parts of wedding planning was weaving in subtle yet consistent details throughout our wedding. From the very moment our guest received an invitation to viewing our wedding website with our themed engagement photos, we wanted to set the tone for the elevated, sophisticated and whimsical night that was ahead.
Whether you have only a few months to plan your wedding or several years, pay attention to every little detail and get creative with how you can make your and your partners' personality shine through. Now is your moment to make this day ALL about you two!
The invitations & font
I knew from the beginning I wanted a simplistic yet elegant design with gold foil. These days, there are so many places you can purchase invitations but we knew Minted was a trusted source but also made the process very easy and customizable. We selected these stunning Field invitations by Toast & Laurel at Minted, changed the font slightly for our names and worked with Minted to select a burgundy color for the details card that was a beautiful accent for the invitation suite. Between the invitation, RSVP card and details card we felt as though there was enough detail to direct guests to without going over the top with additional cards.
Overall, I loved that the design honored my mom's invitations for her wedding, and added a subtle gold foil border to differentiate them slightly. We also loved that Minted printed all our invitation addresses which helped streamline the process but made for a cohesive look.
We wrapped each invitation in burgundy chiffon ribbon and sealed with a wax seal to make them feel more inviting and sophisticated. It took us hours to test the wax seal and find the right techniques, but found an extremely helpful tip - have a bowl of ice next to you when using your wax seal to cool down the metal, which creates a cleaner print. The night before sending them out we had an assembly line to compile the invitations, wrap and wax seal them which made it more efficient when mailing them all at the same time.
As another important step, I recommend finding out what your invitation font is so you can use the same font for all your other printed elements, such as programs, welcome box inserts, timelines, menus, and more. We used "Mrs. Eaves Small Caps" and Adelicia Scrip Clean font" which presented as classic fonts that were also legible and easy to read.
Lastly, don't be afraid to consult the experts. These days there are so many different questions to consider such as how to properly lay out your invitation, how to address your guests, what to include in your invitation suite, so doing your research will help when determining how you want to present your special day. My favorite go-to? Martha Stewart, of course.
Our wax seal
One of my favorite detail elements of our wedding was the wax seal - to be honest it was the best investment because it not only tied everything together but is now a keepsake we will have for the rest of our lives. We were able to customize our wax seal thanks to Nostalgic Impressions, which featured our "G & A" initials. Since we infused gold accents from our plates to candle votives, we selected a gold wax that complemented our color scheme.
The beauty of the wax seal is that we found other areas to feature it, including the gift tags for our bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts and our confetti bags.
Programs, confetti, photo-booth props, bathroom trays oh my!
Little details truly go a long way and there's a delicate balance between just enough and too many. To create an even more welcoming and stunning evening, we created programs using our font to pass out at the church that detailed the traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony and honored the loved ones that couldn't be there with us.
Following the beautiful ceremony, confetti bags with gold and white confetti were passed out so we could make our grand exit. The bags also featured our wax seal to further infuse this detail.
While I can't wait to share more about our reception when we receive our photos, I will say it's important to think through what else will make guests feel invited while also sticking to your theme. We ended up purchasing gold trays and placing them in the bathrooms with necessities incase guest needed them. For photo booth props, because our event was at an old estate, we found these adorable props that matched the overall aesthetic of our wedding.
Sticking to your color scheme
Our color scheme of burgundy, dusty rose, green and white was prominent from every step of our wedding - from engagement photos, to our invitations, florals, bridal party attire, table linens and plates, our colors were woven through every element of our wedding.
With everyone having different style preferences, we had each bridesmaid select a burgundy dress from Birdy Grey. They were affordable and wonderful to work with, but I do suggest ordering several months in advance to ensure dresses arrive in ample time for alterations. My Maids of Honor selected dusty rose dresses from Azazie. I also wanted the colors to pop for our groomsmen so we purchased matching bowties and pocket squares from each site so they matched perfectly with the bridesmaids. For George, we found this beautiful bowtie from John Henric.
