By now, if you have been reading my columns you’ll know that my fiance and I are in the midst of planning a medieval-style wedding. Throughout the planning process, I have been writing about our experiences in order to help others in their planning. Last weekend, I finished addressing our invitations, so my next installment in my medieval wedding series will be about where to find medieval themed invitations. In most cases, invitations are the first thing your guests will see which is associated with your wedding’s style, so they definitely ought to reflect your wishes.
There are many online vendors who can provide you with beautiful invitations. Invitation Consultants (http://www.invitationconsultants.com/gallery.aspx?p_subcategory=castle) has three different invitation styles which could be used for a medieval themed wedding. They come in purple, silver-grey, and white color schemes. The purple invitation features a turreted castle at the left hand side of the invitation, the silver-grey features a castle in the center, and the white invitation features a small castle discretely placed at the top of the invitation. The invitations are beautiful and definitely will convey your theme to your guests, but they are still modern invitations.
If you like invitations which look more authentic, you could try one of the many vendors which features invitations done in the style of an illuminated manuscript. These invitations are usually done on parchment or other similarly styled paper, and feature brilliant colors and vintage font. Some are hand-done by calligraphers, and some are produced with commercial printers. One vendor which can provide you with this style of invitation is Calligraphics Studio, who can be found at www.calligraphicstudio.com.
Another option would be for you to have your invitations done by someone who specializes in reproducing medieval style art. One such vendor is Designs by Mela, who can be found at http://www.melasdesign.com/mediwedding.html. Her invitations feature Celtic knotwork, religious, and fantasy designs.
For the budget conscious bride who has access to a good printer, doing them yourself is a distinct possibility. This is what my fiance and I chose to do. I went shopping at Staples, found a style of stationery paper I liked and matching envelopes, and worked on my invitations in my spare time. I downloaded a template off of Microsoft office (the Renaissance wedding one), played with it until I got it to fit the size of paper I had. I inserted some clip-art from my favorite pre-Raphaelite artist, chose a period-looking font, and I was in business. I used cover stock paper from Staples to print insert cards and response cards, went to Michaels and purchased gem stickers and envelope seals to give each invitation set some “bling”, and went to Pat Catan’s ( a discount craft store chain) where I found envelopes for the response cards. These envelopes came with blank cards, which I will re-use to create a welcome card for my guests and on which to put the menu.
The above vendors are just a few of the choices available for you if you choose to purchase period invitations, or if you chose to make them. I know for me it was more fun to make them myself. Happy Searching!
