If you want to set the tone for your Maine wedding hire Nichole the owner of Coral Pheasant….she is amazing at design and her letterpress products are incredible. Not to mention she can do pretty much anything under the sun for types of printing and is truly talented at creating a whole experience around your wedding stationery.
1. How did you get into wedding invitation design?
Art has been in my blood for as long as I can remember and my parent’s encouraged my pursuits wholeheartedly. One of my earliest memories of creating was building my dollhouse with my father. Everything on that miniature house was handcrafted from laying the chimney brick by little brick, to wallpapering the walls, to building the furniture. I delighted in working with my hands to make sure the tiniest of details was perfect. In college, I pursued my love of design by enrolling in the Fine Arts program and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. It was during those four years that I became infatuated with typography and knew that I had found my calling.
After graduation I worked for a large consumer products company designing packaging, brochures and promotional pieces as well as art directing photo shoots. But what really tripped my trigger was outside the realm of my real gig: designing wedding invitations for recently engaged friends. (Yes, it’s a story many of us stationers share!) Custom invitations allowed me to combine my love of beautiful materials and tactile printing methods with out-of-the-box typography. When the time came to design my own wedding invitations, I pulled out all the stops and the process confirmed my true passion. Coral Pheasant Stationery was born!
2. What tips would you offer the bride and groom when working with their designer?
Everything is fair game for inspiration! Don’t be shy communicating what you like – and don’t like. Think about the colors that will be used throughout your celebration. Sharing details about your favorite places to shop, how you decorate your home and what you like to do as a couple is all great information that can guide the invitation design. Online inspiration boards and magazine clippings are also great ways to communicate your thoughts with your stationery designer.
3. The wedding invitation and stationary suite can really set the tone for the overall wedding…how can the bride and the groom really make their wedding show their personalities?
They sure do! When your guests receive your wedding invitations, you want them to know that this is a celebration not to be missed! One of my favorite ways to show the couple’s personalities is through fun language. For example, “You Betcha” might be used on an RSVP card as a nod to the groom’s Midwest roots. For the hip-hop loving couple, they might invite guests to “Pop champagne and make it rain.” The invitation wording can be formal – and then have some fun on the enclosure cards!
4. What is your favorite dessert?
I love to eat so picking a favorite dessert is tricky! Banana’s Foster and Pot de Crème are at the top of the list.
5. What is your favorite thing about wedding stationary design?
I enjoy learning about each couple and their story and bringing that to life on paper. Because each couple is unique, each project is an opportunity to explore different combinations of fonts, styles, paper and materials. The size and shape of the cards often vary and it’s common for the envelopes to be different colors. There might be ribbon to consider and envelope liners to design and printing methods to explore. It’s always a new adventure!