Even though my wedding was more than a year ago, I still hear from brides every now and then who were inspired by one element or another from my wedding – and it absolutely warms my heart to know that my wedding played even a teensy tiny part in helping to inspire a fellow bride.

So when I heard from Heather, who was inspired by the lilacs that I used in my bouquet, I couldn’t wait to see how she put her own spin on things for her wedding.  Heather was kind enough to send over some photos – courtesy of Lindsey and April from Sweet Monday Photography – from her wedding:

{Heather’s gorgeous bouquet was made up entirely of purple lilacs}

{the floral centerpieces for the reception were also made using lilacs}

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One of my favorite elements from my wedding - and still one of our most cherished wedding keepsakes - is our ketubah:

{photo from author’s personal collection}

A ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract but can be a lovely tradition to incorporate into any wedding.  The wording can be adjusted and customized as you feel appropriate or in consultation with your officiant.   Ketubahs were originally developed to specify the rights of a woman in marriage and her husband’s obligations to her, but have envolved in recent years and are now commonly used by couples as a declaration of their commitments to each other in their marriage.  The ketubah is signed by the bride and groom, two witnesses, and the officiant in a small ceremony just before the wedding, and then is traditionally read aloud to all the other guests during the ceremony.

One of the first ketubahs that inspired me while I was doing research for my own ketubah design was this ketubah from Sam and Dave’s wedding on Something Old, Something New:

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I feature a lot of calligraphy both here on EAD and on Oh So Beautiful Paper, and that’s mostly because I just can’t see enough calligraphy myself!  To me, beautiful calligraphy is truly a work of art, one that can definitely enhance an already beautiful wedding invitation.  When trying to decide on a calligrapher, I recommend trying to find a calligrapher whose style matches your overall wedding style - from modern handwriting calligraphy to traditional calligrapy with lots of wispy flourishes.  I was recently introduced to the calligraphy portfolio of Grace Edmands, and I absolutely fell in love with her lovely style of traditional calligraphy with a touch of whimsy:

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I have a serious weakness for vintage stamps on just about anything - but particularly wedding invitations.  I used them to mail my own invitations (you can find a horribly blurry photo on my blog - apologies in advance), E used them for her vow renewal invitations, and I just love the way they add an extra pop of color and personality to the overall invitation.  By now you all know that I’m a firm believer in trying to customize your invitations as much as possible so that they accurately represent you and your wedding style - and vintage stamps offer another opportunity to do just that, whether chosen thematically (like E’s baseball stamps), by color, or even by state.

There are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of vintage stamps still available through ebay and local stamp stores, so you can find the perfect stamp for your invitation whether you’re planning a super-formal black-tie wedding or a laid-back wedding in your parents’ backyard:

{E’s vow renewal invitations - from her personal collection}

{photo by liz banfield via ritzy bee}

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I get lots of font-related questions over at Oh So Beautiful Paper, so this week I thought I’d focus on a few of my favorite fonts - specifically calligraphy and script fonts!  I’ve also got a few suggestions for serif and alternative fonts (like wood type and slab fonts), but will share those in a future post.

So, first up, the font from my blog banner - Burgues Script:

This font is not free (or particularly inexpensive), but it comes with a ton of ligatures (the swishes and flourishes that make the font even more fancy) and I just love Burgues Script - as well as its sister font Compendium - for wedding invitations.  You can find Burgues Script through Veer.

Next up, Feel Script:

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The past week or so has been a sort of unintentional woodgrain week over at Oh So Beautiful Paper - all starting with these DIY woodgrain save the dates.  Although woodgrain (also referred to as faux bois) has been popping up in weddings over the past few years, it really seems to be picking up steam as a trend - particularly in wedding stationery - this year.

In case you’re not familiar with the woodgrain trend, I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite examples to share with you.  Some choose to incorporate the woodgrain texture into their invitations or save the dates by using a blind stamp (no ink) letterpress impression or embossed paper, like these:

{winter invitation suite on woodgrain embossed paper by Spark Stationery}

{letterpress invitation suite by Alee & Press}

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This week I’m highlighting the work of one of my favorite calligraphers, Bryn Chernoff of Paperfinger Calligraphy.  Bryn’s calligraphy has a wonderful modern sensibility and is absolutely beautiful without being overly formal or fancy - making it perfect for informal and modern weddings!  So, just in case you aren’t familiar with Bryn’s work, I thought I’d gather together a few examples from her portfolio.

As you’ll see below, Bryn’s calligraphy looks fabulous whether addressing envelopes, guiding guests to their seats on escort cards, or even when providing the text for invitations and Save the Dates:

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Parrott Design Studio is one of my favorite invitation studios.  Sarah Parrott (the designer and namesake behind Parrott Design Studio) specializes in custom letterpress and screenprinted invitations and stationery.  Sarah has a lovely design style that incorporates vintage graphics and floral imagery - I literally “ooh” and “aah” over each new project that she posts on her blog and website:

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Some of my all-time favorite wedding invitation designs have found their inspiration in non-traditional (i.e. non-wedding) sources - from 70s folk art to music to architecture.  But one of my favorite sources of design inspiration might actually surprise you - it’s from packaging design!  So if you’re on the lookout for some inspiration for your wedding invitation design, there are three blogs you should really be reading.

The first is The Dieline, which is widely recognized as the leading packaging design blog.  The Dieline regularly features both the work of established designers as well as design students, which I really like since the student designs tend to be a bit more experimental and avant garde (and therefore a terrific source of inspiration that you wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to see).  I am constantly amazed by the fabulous designs - from hand-lettering to colorful patterns to unique logos and identity designs.  Here are a few of my recent favorites from The Dieline:

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Brides often hear a lot about how important it is to send thank-you cards to guests after the wedding (and it is important!), but sometimes we forget about giving cards to our close friends and family on the day of the wedding.  These cards can be a nice way to say thank you to those who have helped and supported you the most during the wedding planning process, or just write a simple message to tell your loved ones how much you care and value them on such an important day.

Last week, while in New York for the National Stationery Show, E and I stopped by to say hello to our friends over at Tallu-lah - which has a letterpress card line that is just perfect for brides (and grooms!) who want to write out a short note to their family + friends:

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