In October 2022 Me and my husband, Damian tied the knot! We decided to do everything we could ourselves so I designed the invites, wax seal stamps, created hand-carved place names and more. We got married at St. Vincent's school, so had the creative freedom we wanted. The school has a beautiful chapel in which only a handful of people have married in. We transformed the schools dining room into the dining area and dance floor.
Damian is a huge fan of the cult classic 'Fright Night' so the film's logo was the inspiration for our wax seal stamps. I copied the fang design and found a similar font. We sent the design to Celtic Gift Shop on Etsy who created an amazing wax seal stamp for us.
I illustrated a portrait of us both for the back of the invites and RSVP cards. This was painted with gouache and poska pens, then edited in photoshop.
I also illustrated some roses for the invite borders and the back of the invites. Two versions of the invitations were printed. The roses were illustrated in photoshop.
I printed my invitations and RSVP cards with moo.com as I knew they would be of fantastic quality. I then placed everything in a vellum envelope, sealing each one with a wax stamp. These were then put into a black envelope and sent out to friends and family.
We thought it would be easiest if guests could RSVP on a website so we could keep track of who was coming and e-mail out the itinerary, so I set up a wedding website using wix.com - the same provider I use for this website. This was so easy to set up and required no HTML knowledge. I uploaded photos and typed my own text. There was a link for guests to RSVP where they could tell us dietary requirements, what they were drinking, and any other special requests. I recommend doing this if you are planning your own wedding. The website flowed with our designs and themes perfectly.
I bought a soldering iron and learned how to write names into wood circles. It took some practice but I got there in the end. If you are new to this, you will waste a lot of wood circles practicing, but it's all part of the process.
This picture is of the first carvings I was happy with. a faint pencil outline in your own handwriting is the best way forward. I tried to copy fonts and found this more of a challenge.
I wouldn't recommend doing this if you are planning a large wedding, this was incredibly time-consuming and I ran out of time getting them all finished. Last-minute guests were a nuisance too!
I made an activity sheet for the children attending the wedding. This includes a simple illustration of me and Damian, a crossword and a free drawing space.
All wedding photography by Marc Gartland