Liz and Steve live in Chicago and got married this summer at The Garden Theater in Detroit, Michigan. Their day was full of lush greenery, a twinkling glow of candlelight, and so much love. It was an honor to help them with their modern calligraphy paper goods.
The Couple’s Goals
When Liz and I first chatted, she told me they’d be having tons of greenery on their big day, and that she’d like to incorporate that somehow into the invitations. She also expressed a modern design aesthetic, as well as a more playful, less formal feeling for the wedding’s vibe. Lots of their guests weren’t in Michigan, even though they had family here, so highlighting the city for their Detroit wedding was also a priority. In chatting with her, I also found out she’s a chef (side note – I have the coolest brides ever).
With this information in mind, I put together their design proposal.
The Paper Goods
To cover the casual feeling, I suggested an upright, modern calligraphy style, paired with a simple, sans serif font. We also used more casual language in the whole custom invitation suite to keep things approachable.
To embrace the modern aesthetic, I incorporated copper foil stamping for their names, venue, and in a row of dots at the top and bottom of the main invitation card. Foil stamping is a luxury print method (always appropriate for a wedding), but doing it in a copper foil gave this traditional method a bit of an unexpected twist.
The biggest personal element I included was in the greenery itself. At first glance, the invitation is just full of cascading greens. But, if you give it a second glance, these greens are all herbs – as a nod to her career as a chef. There’s parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme, sage, and lavender, all hand painted for them in watercolor.
For an added personal element, I also painted a Detroit, Michigan map, with a heart to show The Garden Theater as a representation of their venue. This gave guests information about parking and general location of the venue within the city.
The whole package was tied with hand-dyed gray chiffon ribbon from Honey Silks & Co. That tied bundle was inserted into a pale gray envelope, which I addressed in modern calligraphy for their guests. The envelope addressing was done in copper ink, to bring that element back. This way, the outside of the envelope matched the invitation on the inside.
So, when that whole package came together, it looked so good. I’m so grateful to K&D Photography for these gorgeous images from their Detroit wedding day.
The Big Day
I love that Liz kept her overall look casual and comfortable. Her friend is a bridal gown designer and created her custom dress. She paired it with flat, gladiator sandals – perfect for their summer wedding.
With that bouquet with lush greenery, that custom gown, and that radiant smile, Liz was truly a gorgeous bride. Their ceremony took place in front of this modern floral installation, with a wall of greenery and a copper post. Their event branding made sense, with the pops of copper from their invitation pulled into their ceremony space.
Now THAT’S how you do a first kiss!
After their ceremony, guests were welcomed into cocktail hour at The Garden Theater with a large format seating chart. I printed this on foam core board so the couple didn’t have to find a frame, to keep the look modern and casual. The same modern calligraphy was used from their invitation. The watercolor herbs also made a repeat appearance on the seating chart.
The Decor
In the reception, Liz and Steve had all their guests seated on lovely farmhouse chairs. Some of their tables were round with gray linens, which tied back into their invitation as well. Other tables were long, rectangular, farmhouse tables. This mixture helped to bring together their modern wedding vibe. All of the florals were neutral colors, with lots of greenery. Candles were everywhere, so the room twinkled with the soft glow.
For the table numbers, I brought in the same watercolor herbs on flat cards, and hand painted the numerals in the same copper ink from the custom invitation envelopes. Each guest was assigned a seat with a pale green place card, which I wrote in modern calligraphy (again, to coordinate with the invitation calligraphy style). There was also a little goodie bag from Detroit’s own Sister Pie at each guests’ seat – what a sweet treat!
Guests toasted the couple by candlelight.
And this amazing couple started their married life together with tons of style, love, and laughs. Congratulations to Liz and Steve – thank you for letting me play a small part of your special day.
Venue: The Garden Theater in Detroit, Michigan
Paper Goods: Leah E. Moss Designs
All day-of-wedding photos: K&D Photography.
Want to keep some of Liz and Steve’s wedding inspiration in mind? Pin this for later!
