Within a suite of wedding stationery, the invitation should be the pinnacle of details and design. It is sometime difficult when planning and designing the print material to make sure that all of the details are accomplished within both budget and design guidelines. I often advise the bride to add a motif or design as a simple flat printed motif. Here, I got to it with my sketch pad and created a hand drawn arching tree detail that perfectly sets the tone for the wedding of my dear friend Meliissa at the Museum of The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. My print partner's Praez Occasions did a marvelous job in mirroring the image and creating a wonderful proof for the bride and her family to review.

There were some changes from the proof process to the finished invitation that went out to the bride, her family and their guests. In the end, we decided to use a gate fold style of outer card and to trim it with a cellophane wrap. The guest would open the card to an inner mounted card, in a deep berry shaded border that would have all of the invitation details to the wedding.

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