A Tale of Three Invitations
For three sisters having three weddings in three years
If you knew me, you’d might know the following:
I started my business in 2015 designing wedding invitations
I’m the oldest of three girls
My family has had three weddings in the past three years
In the spirit of my current series on the creative elements of my (recent) wedding, I knew I need to kick off the deep dive with a feature of my bread and butter: the illustrated paper goods.
I had hung up my wedding industry hat in 2020, partly by force (not many traditional weddings happening that year), and also because I was burnt out doing that sort of custom commission work. Painting watercolor florals, dogs, portraits, etc etc and figuring out production and print was getting old, and I gladly (and fearfully- how in the WORLD was I going to pay the bills!) accepted the pandemic exit strategy.
It was a splendid leap of faith to help me grow into the artist I am today, and I was able to recover for a few years before working on the weddings for some childhood friends, and then for my sisters, and then (what a happy surprise!) for me.
I realized an important thing about myself: I enjoy painting the pretty elements. I don’t enjoy figuring out how to get the invitations printed. I also prefer to work on weddings where I know the bride; and if I don’t know the bride, I’d like for someone to just tell me what paint pretty things to paint and then they handle the rest. Cue my paper angel: Schuyler from Polk Paper. Schuyler runs a luxury paper studio and was an absolute TREAT to work with for each of my family weddings. She gave me the freedom to paint the illustrations to suit each sister, and she handled all the paper/letterpress/graphic design goodness needed for each project. She’s so passionate and excellent in her work and I highly recommend her. So, as we delve into the following invitation suites, keep in mind that she’s the playmaker behind making my illustrations shine on paper.
Let’s get into it!
2023: Margaret gets Married by the Lake in Dallas
Photography by Amy Anstatt
Margaret, the middle, always dreamt of getting married at Fin and Feather Club of Dallas, twenty miles from the city. Three generations of our family had been members at this small hunting and fishing club, and we grew up spending holidays and Saturdays fishing in the minnow pond and playing card games in our little yellow cabin. In the artwork for her invitations, I made sure to include the historic “Women’s Clubhouse”, “Men’s Clubhouse”, and our yellow cabin, all facing the pond (shown above).
Other notable details:
The vellum jacket that held the suite together included a repeat pattern of florals and illustrative elements pulled from the envelope liner artwork
The wax seal on the jacket included a logo made with a fish (Fin) and a duck (Feather)
The envelope liner, painted with gouache, included a scene with the yellow cabin, flora + fauna, ducks, fish, and a rabbit (a nod to my brother-in-law’s Taiwanese heritage)
Below you can see the illustrated map I made to go on the back of the details card, to playfully show folks where the wedding was in relation to Dallas
Click on the photos below to get a better look!
Even though she’s the most vivacious of us three Hall girls, I’ve always associated my sister, Margaret, with cooler colors- periwinkle, lavender, and teal. The lake-side wedding truly leaned in to Margaret’s taste of calming hues that paired well with the fun pops of personality. Painting the suite with gouache also offered a less traditional look, but Polk Paper’s use of letterpress and overall presentation brought the elegance. Also fun fact: Margaret is a professional seamstress and made her own dress!
2024: Sarah has a Garden Reception in Austin
Photography by Camera Shi Photography
Sarah, the youngest, fell in love with Pete at the University of Texas at Austin. They got engaged two months after Margaret’s wedding, and Sarah immediately knew she wanted an ATX wedding at the historic Commodore Perry Estate. Sarah is the only sister in corporate America and also the only sister who asked for cleaning supplies for Christmas as a kid, so I was not surprised when she had a powerpoint and a specific vision for the day. She envisioned bridesmaids in shades of green (NOT Kelly green), a seated dinner in the garden, and soft pink flowers provided by the amazing team at Earl Grey Floral.
We decided to go a more classic route for her wedding suite- featuring watercolor illustrations of the property and a simple letterpress invitation with a serif font. Her wedding palette of greens, peaches, and creams perfectly suits her classic, clean taste. Differing from the blue eyes of the Hall family, Sarah has hazel eyes to accompany her olive skin and warm curls. These hues really do compliment her vibe- understated, observant, intelligent, and quietly elegant.
Click on the photos below to get a better look!
Other notable details:
The illustrated map of the property was printed on the back of the sealed gate fold
The pattern of fountains and garden elements made up the envelope liner
One of my favorite details was the die-cut fountain/garden illustration that rested on top of the invitation when opened. The details card was on the back!
Below you can see the artwork incorporated in the table numbers, the circular menu (to hide the salad underneath), and the branded cocktail accessories
2025: Our Night at the Museum in Savannah
Photography by Katy Lynn McNab
Three days before Sarah and Pete got engaged in 2023, I went on my first date with Hank. Three months after Sarah and Pete’s wedding in 2024, Hank and I got engaged! My head hurts too, doing that math.
Designing my own invitation suite was indeed intimidating for me. I imagine it’s a similar feeling to picking a tattoo. As a creative person, this is a reflection! I had to engage in some self-talk and remind myself that it doesn’t have to feel like the perfect invitation, it just has to feel like us at this moment. Now that we’re past it, I can say that our whole wedding depicted that splendidly.
Schuyler with Polk Paper and I were GIDDY to start on my invitations. It felt amazing to work with someone that I had worked with before (on two very different weddings). By this round, we had built a trust that let us work more outside the box (also the bride was all for it).
I wanted to incorporate more illustrative elements (I had recently seen the artwork of Ludwig Bemelmans in person and was inspired by his expressive approach to gouache) and lots of COLOR. If Margaret favors cool colors and Sarah favors warm colors, I favor the primary colors. I have always loved pops of color and all the colors- there was no way I was holding back for my wedding.
Click on the photos below to get a better look!
Other notable details:
This invitation was bigger than the traditional 5x7” paper size
On the main invitation, everything that was green was letter-pressed
The swan die-cut was the RSVP card- and half the guests didn’t want to return their swans so they just emailed us their RSVP
The detail card: As a nod to the historic importance of our church and the museum, I illustrated the buildings amongst the azaleas, with some romantic flora and fauna. In the corner are little nods to the Anglican Church and the museum statues. The wedding details were printed on the back.
This card was placed inside a notecard with vignette holes on the front to showcase the buildings. The term “a Lone Star Girl and a Palmetto Boy” floats above the vignettes- a playful slogan to nod to our Texas and South Carolina upbringings.
Once you removed the details card, photos were shown of us, taken by Amy Anstatt. Since we didn’t have Save-the-Dates, this was a lovely way to share those photos.
Why so many swans? I just like to paint them!
What a fun feature for me unpack! We are all three so different! I found it so satisfying to see our sister portraits next to the invitations- doesn’t each pair so well?
Thanks for reading along, I would love to hear your thoughts on what invitations you resonate with the most!
Much love,
Allison “Paper Princess” Phillips