Today we’re leaving for Portland to get married next weekend. I thought it would be a good time to share the wedding invitations that we sent our guests. Steven and I collaborated on them. I did an initial sketch, we went back and forth with the design a bit, then he inked, painted, and lettered them. So really, he did most of the work. I just scanned them, did some computer touch-up, and found a local place to print them on nice textured cardstock.

(I blurred out personal details, which I hope doesn’t ruin the effect too much. Can’t have any wedding crashers!)

When I went to pick out envelopes at Paper Source I couldn’t decide which color to use, so I took the suggestion of an employee to use multiples. I made the polka-dot envelope liners from wrapping paper. There were no enclosures or reply cards; we just had people RSVP by email to save time and paper. It’s not traditional, but we decided not to care about what you’re “supposed” to do.

The birds are ravens, and the cityscape is loosely based on this photo of Portland:

I really love how they turned out. They’re super personal, not stuffy, and not to mention way less expensive than most wedding invitations.

P.S. Happy 4th of July!