Today, as it's almost 1 month until the big day, I wanted to share the wedding invitations myself and my fiancé Ollie designed! I thought I would talk a little bit about our process and share some of the inspiration behind the drawing. We've collaborated on several portraits before and even offer this as a product on my shop but haven't actually done anything for ourselves before, so it seemed like an obvious choice when we started thinking about designing our own invitations.
I created our portraits using black Indian ink working from photographs, then Ollie illustrated the background using dip pen and the same Indian ink. I love Ollie's work so much (although I may be a little biased!) His drawings have a hallucinogenic quality to them and the more you look at them the more you discover. They are so detailed - there's always so much to absorb, packed with his personality and sense of humour. I think the contrasts of our two different styles compliment each other in a really interesting way - especially considering they are created using the same medium.
Our invitation is made up of things that personify us as a couple - we've included inside jokes, Hastings, TV shows we love (namely Twin Peaks and the X Files) and even Ollie's first car - a little Peugeot 106 we used to bomb around the countryside in when we first got together. We also went on a month long camping holiday in France a few years ago, so there's our tent in there with the little french cat that came in to try and sleep with us one night! I'm so happy with how they've turned out and it's been lovely hearing what everyone's feedback.
Sending the invitations out has made it all feel very real and for the first time this year I actually feel really excited about our wedding! In all honesty, up until now I've been feeling extremely overwhelmed by the whole thing. I never thought I would be the type of bride to get cold feet (I've been pestering for years about getting married!) but all the pressure of having the 'perfect' day definitely got the better of me, alongside the pressures of being freelance and a poorly timed house move. It turned me into a bit of a nervous wreck! I should of known I couldn't handle the pressure. I don't even like organising my birthday party!
We decided not to go down the traditional route as that's not really us. We're having a small legal ceremony with just very close family at a registry office, followed by a blessing and a big party with all our friends at an art gallery in London the following weekend. We're counting that as our actual wedding as what matters to us is celebrating with our friends and family, not whether it's legal or not! I'm feeling less stressed now more things have fallen into place (I've finally found a dress!) and I'm trying to just accept that this is just going to be an expensive time in my life, despite trying to do it as cheaply as possible. I think I've spent a lot of time and energy worrying about money, 'doing the right thing' or upsetting people, but I'm trying to let go as obviously, what matters is it's the day what me and Ollie want, as we're the one's getting married!