HAND PAINTED WATERCOLOR INVITATIONS
I am delighted to see such love for hand painted invitations AGAIN this year. Wowwwweeeee! It’s every where! I was so excited about the hand-painted wedding invitations trend I started doing it… 14 years ago!!! What invitation artist wouldn’t be thrilled to jump on this hand painted designs band wagon though? I don’t blame them. Rich vibrant watercolor, sparkling paints, thick acrylic add ons, watercolor washes, and more!

RUSTIC ELEGANCE
Think burlap, vintage lace, barns, banners, hanging outdoor lights, blue and clear mason jars full of long stemmed flowers, cardboard / kraft color cards with white ink, and more! Rustic wedding invitations have a vintage twist that is ALL the rage in 2012-2013.

BOLD COLORS or NEUTRALS
Many of our 2012-2013 wedding couples are opting for more bold colors this year. Also, many are ordering more neutral tones such as khaki, champagne, white, and off white. There seems to be no in between when choosing invitation ink colors this year. It’s all or nothing. Teal and Purple seem to be rising to the top of the color choice chart. Bright Pink and Malibu Blue are also popular ink choices.

LETTERPRESS or RAISED INK THERMOGRAPHY
Our chic clients want high quality invitations that have substance and texture. Letterpress and raised ink thermography printing have the luxe look and textrue many of our clients are looking for.

HANDWRITTEN FONTS
Getting back to basics. More and more font designers are designing fonts that have a handwritten look and feel. The lines of a handwritten font are more jagged and less smooth. The handwritten calligraphy style fonts are popular choice among our clients. Fonts in invitation design are more casual then they were a decade ago. More couples want all lower case or all upper case text. It is still very popular to make the couples names stand out. For instance the names may be 4pts larger than the invitation body text or in a totally different font all together. But more recently couples want their names as BIG as you can get them on the card. Why not? It’s their special day!

PERSONAL STYLE
Designing invitations that reflect your personal style is gaining more popularity than ever! More and more couples are illustrating their hobbies, favorite vacation spots, where they met, where they had their first date, and more on their wedding stationery wardrobes.

ARTISTIC FLAIR
I recently did research for 2012 fashion trends and I am delighted to inform you that hand sketched flowers (not the already popular hand painted flowers) will make their debut in fashion! I’m talking about outline sketches. LOVE! I have added even more sketched flowers to my already blossoming floral wedding invitations collection. I hand-illustrated an anemone flower, sunflower, rose, dahlia, and gardenia flower with loose hand-drawn sketched techniques. This style will not disappoint and I am sure will remain popular through 2012! I need to gather those examples together to show you! In the meantime following is my hand-sketched gardenia artwork I illustrated for my client Marissa’s custom wedding invitations and stationery.

POCKET FOLDERS
Our clients LOVE pocket folder wedding invitations. These handmade folders with gorgeous colorful layers are perfect for destination weddings. They hold ALL details and help your guests stay organized while planning their get-away to your wedding day!

MOTIFS / ARTWORK
We are seeing many new and traditional motif choices this year. Monograms are hot! Peacock feathers, branches with flowers, daisy flowers, beach theme artwork, are still among the most popular choices for motifs. More rustic elegance and vintage themes are emerging. Vintage themes with lace, vintage postage stamps and romantic elegance are proving to be popular choices with our clients.

Most of our clients strive to be unique and are always on the cutting edge in fashion and personalized style. No matter your style, express yourself and ENJOY! And as always HAVE FUN!!!

What is your favorite wedding invitation design trend? Leave a comment!