There’s few events in life more important than your wedding. And Meghans’ friends certainly understood that when they were planning for her shower. They wanted something custom and not just something that you could add your name to online, but a one-of-a-kind invitation for a once-in-a-lifetime event.

1. Concept

I’ll readily admit, when it comes to things as girly as a wedding shower I have very few original ideas. Flowers, hearts, pink stuff and butterflies (see bonus image below) are all that come to mind. Good thing I got plenty of creative direction from the party planners. Thanks Kristi!

From the girls’ end, the invitation needed to be simple, pretty, elegant and unique. From the invitation’s standpoint, it needed to have all the regulars like who, what, when, where and why. Kristi found a great repeating floral pattern over at iStock and I have a great paper pattern from there I knew would come in handy as well.

You can get them on iStock here:
Pattern: http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=8110112
Paper: http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=3814039

2. Layout

Using a great pattern like the one we have here allows us to keep a fairly basic layout. That will help us balance out the repeating floral that could be a little overwhelming if not kept in check by the rest of our design. I thought it would be interesting to isolate part of the pattern and layer it over top to create the base for our text and also add some depth with some slight shadows. The paper pattern was then laid over top of those pieces to give them a paper cutout feel and add to the handmade feel.

3. Final

What I really like about this invitation is that it turned out not being so girly after all. It does have a nice feminine feel but the blues and browns keep it from going over the top and prevent it from being very cliché.

4. BONUS CONTENT!!!

When I was pulling together some stuff for the site I came across this earlier version of the invite.

You can see the basic layout stayed the same but the solid blue background and butterfly are quite different from the end result. I think the pattern, texture and depth in the final invitation give it that real customized feel we were after. And I’m pretty sure Meghan and the girls had a great time at the shower!