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There is no better way to convey your wedding day point of view than with a color story. That's my opinion anyway and I'm not changing it! I am a color enthusiast after all and it is what guides me throughout every single day. Colors are my "spirit guides" so to speak. And some people, simply do not care. I will never leave my house wearing beige, peach or pale yellow. It does not exist in my closet. Pink and green, teal and magenta, burgundy and forest... oh yes! But that's me, and not you. I'm also not a "pick a swatch" type of gal either. I'm a pain in the butt to my Painters. I have to mix two swatches to create my own colors. I like those "in between" shades and not the ones straight out of the Crayola box. If you are like me, coming up with a color palette is going to be a fun, yet a very tough road simply because we care so much!


Your wedding venue may be a great place to start in choosing your wedding color palette. Is your venue chic and modern and just screaming for a neutral palette? Perhaps it's a lovely Art Nouveau hotel with jade and gold painted ceilings. Is it a woodland setting that calls for emeralds and sages? Maybe it's a rustic barn and those boho warm tones seem to work just right.


Second, you might want to consider the season. An obvious choice for an autumn weddings are warm, earthy tones or jewel tones. Fuscias and spring greens for well, spring and so forth. And what about the flowers and foliage that are in season during your event? Hellebore is my favorite flower on the planet, but I would be hard-pressed to find them in summer.


You can look at your own personal style for your inspiration. What colors are important to you and what do you wear well? What about items you cherish? You might find inspiration from vintage floral china, a victorian locket or that green velvet couch you want to rent for your reception.


Try using this guideline when setting your wedding color palette. Choose:

--one main color

--one or two secondary colors

--one neutral

--one metal


About the only mistake you can make is choosing too many intense colors with the same value. Meaning, you have no hierarchy in your palette and the colors all have the same intensity and they fight with one another. They can be overwhelming to view as one's eye does not know where to look first. That's what I call the "kitchen sink" palette. It is very difficult for Designers to work with a palette where every color is as strong as the next. One or even two very strong colors can work as long as the rest of your colors are neutral. Using my guideline above will help build an organic flow and hierarchy to your color palette.


One last consideration is to apply your colors in a thoughtful and appropriate manner. Trying to force your color theory into every aspect of your event can have less-than-attractive results. I had a client recently whose main color was a deep, dark rusty red. She chose my Swinging on the Moon design and insisted that the night sky be the deep dark rust color. To me, the vintage couple sitting on the moon looked as though a nuclear holocaust had happened. In that case, she could have tied her color in another way-- through the envelopes, wax seal or vintage stamps.


So just have fun with your colors! It can be overwhelming at first, but you got this! Check out a little color inspiration below.



vintage botanical wedding invitations

Flat lay shot by @peterson.design.photo + Invitations by Gilded Swan Paperie



Third row: @nikknguyenphoto

Fourth row: @damorewedo



Congratulations go to Alexa and Justin on their recent wedding! The fabulous affair was set against a lush Connecticut mansion overlooking the Long Island Sound. The theme was, well, vintage of course!


The mansion, ‘Eolia’ named for the island home of the Greek god of winds, was built in 1906 and purchased by Edward and Mary Harkness in 1907. Alexa and Justin enjoyed the manicured lawns and formal gardens which meandered throughout the grounds. Their Great Gatbsy-inspired affair was steeped in deep history, bejeweled gowns and lots of bubbly champagne!


For their stationery, the happy couple chose my "Nocturne" design. This 1920's invitation design featured a celestial star pattern surrounding a logo mark which housed an A and J. It was imprinted with shimmery gold metallic foil against obsidian paper stock. The couple chose a complimentary ivory and metallic gold foil for their set of vow books. I was able to incorporate their favorite engagment photo on the back of the save the date as well.


Check out the full gallery below and Elizabeth Grant at: @elizabethgrantphotography



Alexis and Justin shot by @elizabethgrantphotography





The special touch of a shimmery metallic adds an elegant spark to your wedding stationery! If you think adding glittering metallic accents to your wedding budget, then think again! Gilded Swan Paperie has a few different options for adding metallic foil printing to your stationery for every budget.


What is metallic foil printing? It's a process where we use rolls of a metallic paper that are hot stamped onto your invitations, guest books and vow books. The heat causes the foil to adhere to the surface, revealing shimmery accents. We can print gold, rose gold, silver and copper. By far the most popular is the gold foil wedding invitations


Foil stamping is very unique and the process is different based on which paper you choose. For invitations, foil stamping on my museum board and standard matte papers is very detailed and we have the ability to get quite intricate. Complicated filigree or tiny floral petal accents look lovely with this process. This can cost a bit more of course. We also have a new stamping method that is a fraction of the price that is only available on our super smooth postcard paper. This paper is very stiff, has a bit of a sheen and is perfect for self-mailable postcard save the dates and is gaining popularity with full wedding suites. The foil process is very different than the traditional method and it's a bit more rustic. It does not work for super fine details as it is not as refined as the foil methods above. It has a raised feel and is super metallic! For a fraction of the price, this might work for you!


Check out the gallery below to see how you can glam up your wedding day with metallic foil on your save the dates, wedding invitations, guest books and vow books. You can also view my paper and printing videos right here:

Photos:

Videos:


gold foil wedding invitations, art nouveau wedding, same sex wedding, gay wedding, vintage wedding invitations, edwardian wedding, vintage wedding
Gold metallic foil printing on my invitation suite, "The Clementine". Photo by www.lindseymaephotography.com


Photos 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10 by @peterson.design.photo



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