GETTING PUNNY

Who doesn’t love a good theme, especially a punny one?! But when it comes to weddings, there is a fine line between whimsical and cheesy.

When I met with Jennifer and her beautiful mother, Carol, they described a formal and elegant affair at one of Cincinnati’s most beloved ballrooms, the Hall of Mirrors at the Hilton Netherland Plaza. A nod to the art deco nature of the venue, with a focus on timeless elegance, was the intended overall look. Pairing a modern square invitation and clean type, embossed with a delicate border and accented in navy and gold set the tone for this black tie affair. An envelope lined with gold foil champagne bubbles hinted that this celebration was not to be missed. Photography by Jonathan Gibson Photography unless otherwise credited to Poeme.

THE LOVE BIRDS

We moved on to wording and etiquette - one of my favorite parts of each meeting. I love sharing the traditions and reasons with couples about why their invitations follow a particular set of “language rules.” We then started sharing specifics, names, time, date, location and making sure everything was spelled accurately. But then the penny dropped! Jennifer was marrying Andrew Bird. BIRD! LOVE BIRDS!! I could sense the bride’s trepidation at creating a “theme” that could prove to be kitschy. So we proceeded delicately. 

The elegant wedding suite featured navy and gold, with a simple embossed border and gold champagne liner. RSVP cards shared the beaded border with the couples monogram in navy. Envelopes were addressed in gold.

BECOMING A COUPLE OF LOVE BIRDS

The save the dates always tend to be less formal - laid back language, more color, more visuals - so we took this opportunity to embrace the obvious and introduce the love “Bird’s” excitement to their guests. “Jen and Andrew are becoming a couple of love BIRDS!” accented with a silhouette of two simple birds. The beaded bordering was printed white on the navy save the dates to tie into the invitation.

A DELICATE THREAD

The invitations remained formal as well as the church programs. Nary a bird in sight, except for of course the name of the groom and his family! But then we were able to combine the elegance of the invitations with the whimsy of the save the dates for wedding day items such a the menus, thank you notes and place cards. It was a delicate and well-executed thread that brought a hint of fun to the celebration without hijacking the formality of the wedding.

Jonathan Gibson Photography | Hilton Netherland Plaza