A Change of Direction?

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm working on a new design. My best friend's daughter is getting married this year and asked me if I'd help her design her invites.

Well... weddings are my thing so I jumped right in there with all my questions just to be stared at blankly. Apparently not everyone understands the difference between 'Save the dates' and 'proper invitations'. Nor had she the first clue about when to send them, how many she needed or exactly what she needed to put in them.

When I asked if she had any idea of what she wanted I got another blank look. "Can't you just make something I'll like?". O M G !!!  No client brief, no colours, no lengthy descriptions, no help whatsoever! Eventually I prised the words 'girlie' and 'different' from her. It was a start, I suppose.

When I asked what she did have planned it all sounded quite traditional, the nice hotel doing a sit down meal, the white dresses, the wild flowers in pretty arrangements... then she showed me the cake...

How cool is this cake?

She isn't having a Day of The Dead theme but she loved the cake and said that is just summed them up! So I started on an invitation design that could stand next to that cake...

There was much gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair and mopping of brows. There was an occasional 'I can't do this' and the odd 'ohh that worked'.

The design I've (almost) come up with is nothing like the one I set out to make! It seemed to take on a life of it's own and, when I stopped trying to make it something it didn't want to be, it all came together in a pretty, grungy, delicate, feminine and dark way.

Tomorrow I have to send her the samples. I'm so nervous you'd think it was my first job! I don't know how commercial a design it is but I think it could stand beside the cake without being embarrassed. I just hope she likes it.

After they see it I'll post photos and welcome opinions. For now you'll just have to look at my beautiful Emma and her lovely girlfriend Aisha - don't they look so happy?

Good luck my darlings!

Nikki xx

A Wonderful Wedding Fayre!

We were working at the charming Frogmill Hotel last weekend and met some lovely people - couples, vendors and hotel staff.

I'd never visited the hotel before and was very impressed with the quality finish throughout and the staff all bent over backwards to make sure we had everything we needed! Lunch was beautiful and fresh, and the events manager, Carol, was easy to get along with and very efficient!

I'd be happy to recommend The Frogmill to anyone planning a wedding in the Cheltenham area.

Photo Courtesy of UK- Parties

This weekend we are hoping to appear at Hatherley Manor Hotel in Gloucester - another venue I've never visited!

Photo Coutesy of Hatherley Manor

They are offering couple's a chance to win a £3000 wedding, so if you live close enough it might be worth popping in and registering your details. Of course we'd love to meet you there too, so call to our table and say hello.

Another busy week ahead (or what's left of it) but watch out for our first post from a guest contributor Charmante - lovely ladies and great videography. As they say in the movies... Coming Soon!

Nikki

Win £100 worth of Wedding Stationery!!!

That's right! Two Little Words is giving you the chance to win £100 to spend on our printed wedding stationery - including bespoke design, guest name printing... whatever you want !

All you have to do is look at the basic invitation design below and come up with a funny or appropriate caption for it. Well that's not actually all... we'd love for you to follow our blog too. Pretty please. It's lonely here typing away to myself!

So spread the word on your networks, wedding forums, chat groups and blogs. Then post your winning caption in the comments for this post and watch this space...  We'll let this run until 30th April when we will pick our favorite and announce it on the blog!

Good luck!

Nikki x

To Busy To Blog?

It's been a really hectic week this week. I had a couple of rush orders to get out, which meant I had to ring my suppliers and get more stock in for the wedding stationery I was expecting to make next week. They were also up to their eyeballs but never too busy for a quick chat... or a rather lengthy one I just couldn't bring to a conclusion.

Anyway, I digress! One of the rush orders was for a storybook invitation. They didn't want a fairytale style (shame, because I've done one of those before!) but a modern, down to earth 'Our Story' sort of thing. It sounded interesting so I took it on.

The couple met in uni, traveled the world together as friends and then got jobs in different countries, lost touch for years and only started talking again when they bumped into each other at another Uni friends wedding (where my bride caught the bouquet!).

So I worked day and night on this design. Emailed  variation after variation and finally came up with their perfect wedding invitation on Thursday! Proof is sent but I'm not expecting any changes as they've already seen the design by email.

I soooo wanted to share their invitation with the world but it's not my place to do that, so I spent a good part of this afternoon playing with fonts and images to come up with a 'mock' invitation in a similar style. I've put this one onto an A6 card as it fits nicely but I think more complex stories will have to go bigger - either right up to A5 or maybe something that concertinas out (I have a cunning plan).

Let me know what you think...

Original Design By Two Little Words

Nikki x

When to order your wedding stationery

Your Wedding Invitations should only be ordered once you have all the details of your wedding set... place and time of ceremony and reception as well as your guest list. Plan to place your invitation order at around 3, or even 4, months in advance (although this is not always necessary).

Ideally invitations are sent 6-8 weeks prior to your wedding. It is best to send out-of -town guests their invitations at least 8 weeks in advance, this will allow for making travel, accommodation and childminding arrangements. 

Consider sending important guests, or those who have to travel further, save the date cards as early as 3 to 6 months in advance, perhaps with information on hotels, airports and car hire.

Keep in mind that you will need time to address your invitations, or send them to a calligrapher, and this can take days. An alternative offered by many stationery makers is to use their guest name printing and envelope printing service to save time and stress. We also feel it gives your wedding stationery a luxurious and professional finish.

Even though selecting your wedding stationery and invitations may seem like a daunting task with all the possibilities available, giving yourself enough time will prove beneficial and a money saver - so long as you are sure of your themes and colours.

It is never too early to start shopping around so why not order a sample today?

Vintage Rose Design... tick!

I've been trying for ages to come up with a design that has a real vintage feel to it and now, after a little tweaking I think I'm finally happy with my vintage rose design!

I used an old piece of vintage wallpaper I bought ages ago, with the intention of putting it in a lovely shabby chic frame. Once I managed to scan it and spent lots of hours cleaning it up in Photoshop, it just needed the colours adjusting and a bit of playing around with the Hue and Saturation.

Originally I was going to make it into a brush - and I might still do this if there's nothing on tv tonight - but when the sample prints turned out to be so very pretty, I just had to print it up properly! On our card stock it looks even better than the sample prints.

Drum roll please.....

 What do you think? Are the colours muted enough? Is it pretty enough? Does it have that 'vintage' feel to it?

*Edit on 23rd Jan

Just as I'm happy with one vintage rose design I come up with another!

See Image on web site page 

Which do you prefer?

Nikki x

Fun Friday - only just in time!

I've been revamping some of my designs today and am in a very vintage frame of mind! I do love all things shabby chic or vintage so I guess it's only natural that this should come through in my designs.

I think that a vintage styled wedding would be fabulous - I imagine it outside on huge picnic tables, with mismatched crockery, bunting and pretty little cupcakes on china cake stands. If only the British weather was reliable enough to plan something like this without having to have a back-up plan in case of rain!

While I was sketching some ideas out (yes, my designs usually start with paper and pencil!) my other half asked why they were all 'so girlie'. Well, I'd never really thought about it - weddings are romantic and pretty so it follows that the wedding stationery would be the same... wouldn't it?

So, to please the 'Blokes' out there, I've put together a wedding invitation as they might design it. I'm not sure if I'd ever sell one but if there's a demand then they might just make it into the range lol!

As always, comments, questions and ideas more than welcome!

Nikki x