A Custom Designed Wedding Invitation Newspaper
New York City based Julie and Bryan got married in Maine, at a gorgeous venue, French’s Point. Since it was a destination wedding, Julie wanted to send an invitation packet that would be chock full of information—from wedding details to driving directions and even restaurant and activity recommendations for the area—to inspire guests to make a whole vacation out of the trip. We aspired to create a wedding invitation that encompassed everything their guests would need to know, but most importantly, encompassed them as a unique couple.
We decided that a completely special way to do this would be to send a wedding invitation in the format of a newspaper.
As the designer I really relished the challenge. I’ve done a lot of magazine and journal layout design before, and to do it with unique content for a wedding… well I knew it would be a ton of fun.
The Invitation Design Process
One of the amazing things about this format is that we didn’t have to be too picky—we used at least 10 different photos of Julie and Bryan over the years, as well as incredible shots from their engagement shoot in New York City. We could afford to give more detailed information too, since the newspaper offered far more space than a few small cards.
With destination weddings, there are just so many details that need to be provided to guests. We thought about the form and functionality of the invitations, and just loved the idea of creating a personalized, wedding newspaper from scratch.
In the end, the newspaper featured a whole spread with details of the wedding weekend (the actual “invitation” itself!) with gorgeous images of the venue and couple, a page on accommodation, a page on how to get there (with a map of course) and a fantastic double spread of food recommendations (with many oyster recommendations, as the bride is an oyster sommelier and blogger)! Even though it wasn’t necessary to maintain the expectations of a typical newspaper layout, we had fun with it! The back page featured a crossword puzzle of facts about the bride and groom, along with an awesome panda comic drawn by Julie!
“We aspired to create a wedding invitation that encompassed everything their guests would need to know, but most importantly, encompassed them as a unique couple.”
The Response
The success of this piece was incredible! Guests absolutely loved the newspaper invitation and several brought it with them to the wedding trip because of all the destination guidance. Many actually kept them long after the wedding as a keepsake, which was particularly touching for Julie.
It was the perfect medium for what Julie wanted and an amazing surprise for all the guests. In the bride’s own words: “Creating a wedding newspaper gave us more freedom to express who we are and offer a unique experience for our guests.”
If that isn't one of the main goals of a wedding, I don't know what is!
More Wedding Day Designs
Other pieces I designed for Julie and Bryan's big day include the wedding program, as well as a chalkboard menu of the cocktail hour nibbles. To cap it all off, I also designed a thank you card using one of the beautiful photos taken by Rebecca Arthurs from the wedding, which was the perfect way to sign and seal a beautifully designed and orchestrated lifetime event!
“Creating a wedding newspaper gave us more freedom to express who we are and offer a unique experience for our guests.”
Featured on Style Me Pretty
Wedding Photography by Rebecca Arthurs
Wedding venue, French's Point
Check out the article on Newspaper Club