The art of the wedding invitation

Bespoke wedding stationery has moved on from the stiff white card. Today’s invitations might be housed in a velvet-lined box, incorporate a custom coat-of-arms, or feature handpainted illustrations. “Handmade designs have soul, and the craft, time and energy they require is what makes them special,” says Rosie Harbottle, an artist who specialises in creating bespoke designs. “It’s like playing dolls with real people,” adds Brooklyn-based Happy Menocal, who is known for creating modern takes on the traditional family crest. “We get to build a whole universe around a few data points.”

In the era of the 360-degree wedding, where everything is subject to the same creative mood, stationery is the teaser. The save-the-date or invitation sets the tone of the event to come and offers insight into the mindset of the couple. “Hand-drawn stationery creates a meaningful way for couples to tell their stories and connect with their guests,” says Virginia-based artist Stephanie Fishwick, who learned her craft under the tutelage of The White House’s chief calligrapher.

There should be a funny, weird or mysterious element

Today’s offerings have become a more extensive and elaborate range, with maps, menus, ceremony programmes and signs contributing to the whole coordinated package. The process – involving consultations, moodboards and then sketches – can take many months. “A recent wedding in tobacco country took me down a cigar-label rabbit hole,” says Menocal, who might rifle through art books or visit museums or farmers’ markets for inspiration. Artist Fin Fellowes, meanwhile, immersed herself in 18th- and 19th-century Americana for one project, and spent months sourcing vintage ribbons to hand-tie silk-covered concertina invitations for another.

A custom Happy Menocal Studio invitation for a wedding in Paris

A wedding invitation by Orfeo Tagiuri for Camille Charrière and François Larpin

“There are so many things you don’t notice, but it all adds to the final effect,” says Fellowes, who might hand-stitch a notebook or spray-paint a staple. Susannah Garrod, whose clients include Dior and Jessica McCormack, relies on printers GG Print and Dear Elouise for typesetting, embossing, foiling and cutting intricate shapes. Such is the attention to detail.

In spite of so much customisation, a surprising majority of couples want the stationery to feature their pets and, even more prosaic, alcohol. “I’m blown away by how many people want to include those two elements in the design,” says Orfeo Tagiuri, who playfully inked a couple perched on a wine glass for his first wedding assignment – one of very few he has done: in this instance for writer Camille Charrière and film producer François Larpin. Dorset-based illustrator Fee Greening worked on a wedding for a cat-loving couple coincidentally getting married in the Catskill Mountains: “The illustrations featured dapper city felines heading to the ceremony, and country cats making their way in hay-filled carts while dancing and playing their fiddles.”

Beyond the paper accessories, linens, matchboxes and fans are now typical accoutrements of the “super-wedding”. “Those little individual touches add to the whole atmosphere and narrative,” says artist and designer Sasha Compton. She painted 150 delftware-inspired tiles as favours for her own wedding. “I think my sketchy style attracts couples as it makes the designs feel like love letters,” she adds. For a wedding in Sicily, artist Olivia Sewell handpainted a label for tuna tins (to resonate with the local fishing trade) containing fish-shaped jelly sweets and guest seat numbers. Harbottle, who typically uses watercolour and gouache, was tasked with crafting hundreds of giant paper flowers for a ceremony stage in Marrakech, and Fellowes was commissioned to make monogrammed keys for every guest, with the help of a bronze specialist in Florence.

Garrod says personalised welcome totes are also popular, while Fishwick’s artwork has adorned hats, a minaudière and two custom wedding gowns. For Gwyneth Paltrow’s wedding to Brad Falchuk, Fishwick created a crest incorporating their birth dates and two birds, which the Goop founder had engraved on a gold signet ring. 

For those considering commissioning an illustrator, Fishwick advises, “Aim for something that informs, delights and intrigues – there should be a funny, weird or mysterious element. But, most importantly, trust the artist. Their experience can transform your ideas into something even more magical than you imagined.”