Wedding Question for invitation DIYers...

[newbie124]

Where can one find images/designs to use if I''m designing my own invites? I''ve tried iStock but haven''t been able to find anything all that useful.

I can''t imagine that all professional invitation designers create their own images, but I guess I could be wrong.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I''m looking for various floral motifs...

And on a totally different, but still invitation-related note, would it be OK to address an invite to "The Smith family" rather then spell out mom''s, dad''s, and child''s name on the outer envelope?

 

[Amandine]

I know that this is not free, but try Dover publications. They have small books that come with clip art CDs, and there is a huge variety in what they offer.

 

[newbie124]

Ahh, OK, thanks for the suggestion! I wish there was some way I could preview each packet...or even better, it''d be nice if they offered an online clip art gallery and you could just purchase the one or two you need.

 

[Amandine]

I have bought some of their books at Barnes and Noble, if that helps at all.

 

[ladyciel]

Hi newbie124! I used istock to find my designs, but I used vector files (which you need a vector art program like illustrator to use). Are you limiting your search to certain file types? I discovered that half the battle was figuring out what to search for. What kind of flower designs are you hoping to find? Classic? More stylized? Lots of vines/curls? Maybe we can help you hunt.

 

[gtn]

How many invites are you doing? If you aren't going to make that many, why not consider looking at stamps and stamping them or using it as your "master"

paper source

If you live near one, I would recommend going and seeing what they offer. They are also a good source for envelopes and cardstock if you want to you use a specific color. If you do, check out their embossing powders. Ask them to show you a sample. I am thinking of doing something like that in the future.

ETA: have you tried einvite.com it's AIY, but might be worth it.

 

[newbie124]

Thanks for the replies!

Ladyciel, I do have Illustrator as well as Photoshop (I''m not terribly adept at using Illustrator, but FI has some skills), so I''m open to various file types. I posted samples of our save the dates, which my sister designed. She got that image from a CD at the design firm where she works. It''s possible she might also do our invites, but I''m also now interested in playing around with some designs myself. (Unfortunately she lives in SF, so I don''t have access to the CD).

I think I want something a little different from the Save the Date motif...a little bit lighter...but I also haven''t decided if I want a design that looks distinctly like flowers or some more abstract swirls. Looking for anything that would fit the theme of romantic, elegant, spring, "evening in wine country" (but no grapes!)

gtn, We would be sending about 50 invites, so not a whole lot, but we''re planning to letterpress them. (A friend of mine who''s getting married in Nov found a place where she learned how to press herself, and she''s kindly offered to do my stationery as well.) Although it might be a good idea to go look at some stamps anyway at least for inspiration. Only hold up might be figuring out a way to transfer the design to electronic format if we find something we''d like to use...

 

[gtn]

hmmm.... if your sister has the cd''s can she email you some images?

If you do find something you like that is a stamp, I would totally recommend using the embossing powder and stamp. You could letter press the text and emboss/stamp the rest. Maybe check out Michaels. Since you are doing 50 invites, it will be a little bit of a sweat shop... Maybe you should go to Barns and Noble and look through their books and buy an image.