Bella Collina event invites

wow! 

i just got home just a bit ago from a gorgeous event at Bella Collina Town and Golf in San Clemente, it was hosted by one of my favorite people, Mary Lallande, of Jay's Catering, and sponsored by many other wonderful vendors!  in my last post i gave a little peek at some top secret invites i had been working on, well those were for tonight's event... they really had an awesome turn out, the Bella Collina dining room was filled with event professionals ranging from event planners, to musicians and entertainers, photographers, and even some other local wedding venue professionals.

recently i commissioned a photog friend of mine Marcella Treybig Photography to shoot my growing paper goods collection.. and luckily i had just finished the Bella Collina invites in time to have them captured on film.  and if you've followed my blog any length of time, or even have just looked at my photos, you know that was a good thing since i really don't have a clue how to use anything other than a point and shoot camera. =) {yay me!}

anywho, here's how they turned out....

the outer envelope... i have to say, calligraphy always makes invites feel that much more personalized

then i collaborated with the calligrapher to create a digital image of her calligraphy for the return address, which i then had printed on the back of the envelope flap - unifying the typestyles 

{this is a great idea budget-wise, a digital calligraphy file can make the 

same statement as hand written for items that need to be reproduced}

here's the whole suite:

we used stardream opal inner envelopes, which we lined with this GORGEOUS gold metallic Fiori Italian liner, the main invite incorporated custom calligraphy elements mixed with an all caps font and digitally printed on a textured cardstock {again digital printing is a very budget friendly option}.  

then we mounted the invite card on a bronze stardream backing. 

{and in case you haven't seen stardream before, it has a wonderful shimmery, opalescent sheen to it}

and we included a two sided smaller insert to list the participating event sponsors and on the backside, the card introduced the guest speaker for the evening... which was Thea Lignos-Hargrove. 

{the editor of Your Wedding Day Magazine}

and just because i LOOOVE that liner so much, here's one more shot of it =)

you may be thinking... these aren't wedding invites? well, if so you're right, but for me the objective was to create these event invites in the fashion i would for any of my wedding clients, so if you happen to love this style/design, please let me know and i'd be happy to provide you with an estimate for a comparable design suite!

a big shout out and thank you to Katrina of Calligraphy Katrina for lending her talent and time to collaborate on this project, and if you are looking for a talented calligrapher - you will love her work!