Background
My friend Shauna trusted me with designing invitations for her wedding in 2023 because she knew I would put the right creative spin on a challenging ask swirling in her head.
Challenge
She needed two sets of invitations: A batch for only the four couples invited to the ceremony in Jamaica, and another set of several hundred for those invited to the party two months later in Kansas. There was a twist to the small batch: Each invitation was unique and included content specific to the couples. Also, the invitations had to be on budget and finished within six weeks so she and Luke could hand-deliver them.
Solution
The color palette was based on Shauna's floral choice: Bird of Paradise. I sampled orange, dark green, blue and gold, then built a design system based on two typographic choices for display, an island icon set, stock photography of Jamaica and whimsical copy that spoke to each target audience. An additional challenge was printing. Fortunately, Moo offers spot foil and a way to customize post card sets. Because Shauna and Luke are bigger-than-life personalities, I chose large cards (9 x 6) and designed each set as a series of six—custom content on the fronts, a unique pattern on the backs. Each card featured a custom icon, messaging, spot gold foil accents and image slipped into a cream envelope that was hand-delivered in a custom presentation box at a private celebration with each couple. Additionally, a playlist for each recipient was tagged in a QR code on a business card with a small bottle of Jamaican rum. General invitations for the party were based on the custom design.
Art direction, writing & design // Chris Ralston Photography // Adobe Stock Printing // Moo
