Custom venue illustrations, bespoke wedding stationery

All Posts / 2023-01-10
Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, Mayfair; Dartmouth House, Mayfair

Happy New Year! I can’t quite believe we are into 2023 already. I can say without a doubt that the thing I loved about of 2022 (work wise) has been rediscovering my love of watercolour and in particular painting buildings. I started creating custom watercolour illustrations for wedding invitations a couple of years ago but it has taken me a while to gain confidence and find my style. I can happily say that I now feel more confident producing custom venue illustrations and I really like the mix of ink and watercolour. The fine lines help give the watercolour definition and looks lovely on wedding stationery.

The commission in the photos above was a pleasure to put together. My bride wanted a custom venue illustration of their church, reception venue and an illustrated map. The invitations were finished with a simple pink, velvet ribbon and printed on a cream 400gsm card stock, giving them a lovely sophisticated feel. I created a map of Mayfair for the invitations which was then re-used on their table plan with the details around the edge.

Custom venue illustrations, Starved Rock State Park, Illinois; Kin House, Wiltshire; Loggos Harbour, Paxos
Starved Rock State Park, Illinois; Kin House, Wiltshire; Loggos Harbour, Paxos

Custom venue illustrations are an increasingly popular bespoke choice and I’m thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to paint some stunning wedding venues. I’ve also had the chance to paint some lovely scenes for wedding destinations from a rocky outcrop in an American state park to a pretty Greek island harbour.

If you’re proud and excited to show off your venue choice then what better way to entice your guests. It makes your stationery more individual and personal to your wedding.

Custom venue illustrations, Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, Mayfair; Browsholme Hall, Clitheroe; Anthony Chapel, Hot Springs
Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, Mayfair; Browsholme Hall, Clitheroe; Anthony Chapel, Hot Springs

I also offer custom venue illustrations for you to have around the house or to give as a gift. They are a lovely keepsake from your wedding day and I can include details from the wedding, for example names, location of the wedding and the date. These are offered unframed as either a print or the original painting and can be either A5, A4 or A3.

I have loved having so many watercolour commissions over the last year and I hope for even more in 2023!

Keep an eye out for house paintings, coming soon!

Real Weddings: Ciara & Dean – May 2022

All Posts, Littlebird Weddings, Wedding Decoration, Wedding Invitations / 2022-12-18

I had the pleasure of working on stationery for Ciara and Dean’s wedding back in May. Ciara is a trampolining friend of mine and it was lovely to be involved with her and Dean’s wedding prep. I loved her enthusiasm for stationery and she asked me to create things I hadn’t done before which was fantastic.

They chose to use my watercolour peony design and the first task was to create some vow booklets for them. I used a lovely silk ribbon tied around the fold and they had a few inner pages to add their personal vows. I also created their invitations using the peony design but finished with a pocketfold and printed vellum band, finished with a wax seal.

For their wedding day I created a welcome board and an ‘unplugged’ ceremony sign for them to use in their venue. I also created some stickers for a wine bottle guest book. A lovely idea, instead of the usual guest book, guests wrote messages on wine bottles and each wine bottle is to be opened on their 1yr, 3yr and 5yr anniversary.

Ciara and Dean had a buffet dinner rather than a sit down dinner and asked me to create some food and drinks tokens for them to hand out to their guests.

It was lovely to see all their wedding photos taken by Charlotte Burn Photography, they look to have had a fantastic day.

Photos by Charlotte Burn Photography

Bespoke watercolour wedding stationery for a Yorkshire wedding

All Posts, Bespoke Design, News / 2022-09-13

This bespoke watercolour wedding stationery has to be one of my favourite orders to date!

My bride wanted to use my Romeo and Juliet watercolour design but give it a green watercolour wash to look almost like hills for their wedding at Falcon Manor. She also asked me to paint a collection of Yorkshire scenes, some of which were very familiar to me! These were to be used for the table names and the table plan.

Having lived in Yorkshire for 20 years before I disappeared off to university it was lovely to have the opportunity to paint some local landmarks for their bespoke watercolour wedding stationery. Especially the Skipton image with the barge on the canal, I used to walk over this section of the canal most days to get to and from the train station to school!

I was very pleased with how the paintings came out and they looked great all together on the table plan. I also created these lovely handmade place settings which also double up as a bookmark for guests to use! Each place setting was painted with a wash of watercolour to match the rest of the stationery then finished with gold calligraphy and deep emerald green tassels. The menus also had gold calligraphy added to the top to tie everything together.

I think painting venues and scenes is fast becoming my favourite part of my job. I really enjoy creating such bespoke wedding stationery that feels very personal to the bride and groom. If you would like to add a watercolour illustration to your wedding stationery and or have some completely bespoke watercolour wedding stationery then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Littlebird Makes – A Christmas Shop!

News / 2022-09-13

So as we all know this year has been somewhat tumultuous. The world has been more or less brought to a standstill and my heart goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones to this virus. Weddings have also been brought to a standstill and couples have had the stress of moving their wedding often more than once. As a wedding supplier it has been tough and I hope I have done all I can to help my couples.

And so I have had to side step slightly, just for now, until weddings can get back on track. Don’t worry I’m still here for any enquiries and orders!

I have decided to sell some Christmas cards, wrapping paper and tags and also some decorations through my new venture Littlebird Makes. I’m also donating £1 for every pack of 12 cards sold to the Sue Ryder charity through WorkforGood.

Please follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LittlebirdMakesCo

…and take a look at my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LittlebirdMakesCo

Small, Intimate Weddings

Modern Calligraphy, News / 2022-09-13

Small, intimate weddings are certainly going to be ‘on trend’ in the coming months. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected us all and the wedding sector in particular, has been hit hard. The main summer wedding months were wiped out and thousands of couples, venues and suppliers scrambled to reschedule weddings. It’s been a turbulent time although personally, I have been thankful I have been able to focus on my children more while they were unable to go to school.

Recent announcements have certainly cast doubt on weddings in to the new year and couples all over the country are again having to re-schedule their plans. However, I want to focus on the positives.

If you have decided to go ahead with your wedding with just 15 guests, then this could be your opportunity to create a completely different feel for your ‘big’ day. It’s not about thinking ‘big’, it’s about the intimacy of a small, personal wedding with the most important people around you. If you still have the same budget then maybe each guest has an extra special experience, as we know how much those costs can add up with big weddings! And if you have chosen to postpone to a later date then see it as having more time to plan that perfect day and the wait will definitely be worth it.

So on to the wedding stationery part. Most of my designs are professionally printed and unfortunately small print runs aren’t always that cost effective. This is why I have a minimum quantity order of 25, however I can do smaller orders so please don’t hesitate to contact me to see how I can help you.

I also offer my handmade options and these are be perfect for small intimate weddings. I print these and hand finish them at home and you can have wax seals, dyed silk ribbons, calligraphy etc. I also offer calligraphy which is a really nice way to add that personal touch to a place setting or small table plan. All handwritten and handmade with my calligraphy inks and a variety of paper/card options. I also make rustic, wooden signs and table plans.

If you would like to discuss ideas for your small wedding then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Wedding Portraits and Wedding Anniversary Gifts

All Posts, News / 2022-09-13

Littlebird Weddings is pleased to now be offering watercolour wedding portraits from your wedding day!

This was a recent commission for a couple I made some wedding stationery for last year. Their wedding invitations and order of service used the same florals and had a Stag and Doe bride and groom on the front. Lauren contacted me recently as she wanted to give her husband a painting from their wedding photos as a 1 year anniversary present. It was a pleasure to work on and the couple were very happy with the finished result.

I will also be looking to offer venue paintings as well in the coming months. Wedding portraits can be ordered alongside your wedding stationery or after your wedding as a nice keepsake, gift or for a special anniversary. This painting was finished with calligraphy to include the couple’s wedding details. Paintings are sold unframed and painted on 300gsm (minimum) watercolour paper.

Please contact me if you would like to know more. Pricing and further details will be added to the site in the coming months.

Bespoke handmade invitation with olive branch design

Bespoke Design, Latest Designs, Modern Calligraphy, Wedding Invitations / 2022-09-13

I recently had the pleasure of working on this delightful handmade invitation. It was a nice small order and my bride was keen to have all the trimmings including torn edges, hand dyed silk ribbon, calligraphy and a wax seal!

I was asked to include olive branches in the design and to keep it clean and simple. I was so pleased with how the final designs came out and it was very pleasing making up the final invitations and adding the guest names with calligraphy.

The invitations are printed on bockingford hot press watercolour paper which has a lovely smooth finish to it. As it’s watercolour paper the edges tear nicely and it’s a nice heavy 300gsm weight paper. I then added guest names to the top of the invitations using a mixed calligraphy ink to get a nice sage green to match the design.

The hand-dyed silk ribbon was a lovely addition in a beautiful soft blue colour. It really added that extra luxury to the invitations.

For the wax seal I originally looked at a gold option but then after trying the simple clean white wax I realised it was perfect for the subtle colours of the design. It gives it such a clean modern look and doesn’t detract from the design of the main invitation.

I was also asked to create a timeline for the order of the day as an information card. It was my brides idea to add the timeline to the map and I think it looks lovely and very fitting for this destination wedding.

If you are interested in having handmade invitations whether it’s in a similar design or something completely bespoke then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

James and Trish’s Wedding – The Tithe Barn, Bolton Abbey

News / 2022-09-13

I recently had the pleasure of creating wedding invitations and stationery for my cousin James and his  fiancee (now wife!) Trish. It was lovely to have a family wedding to look forward to and even more exciting to be asked to create their wedding stationery!

It was an Autumn wedding and they chose to use my Autumn leaves design for their wedding stationery.  I created save the date cards and wedding invitations, and then for the wedding reception, a table plan, place settings and table name cards.

The wedding ceremony itself was at a lovely little church in Linton in the Yorkshire Dales, close to where our family are from. They then had a reception and dinner at the stunning Tithe Barn in Bolton Abbey. The venue had an incredible view across the Dales and of Bolton Abbey itself. It’s a recently restored barn and makes for the most amazing wedding venue. The rustic beams were adorned with lights and decorations and it was really nice to see my stationery in situe. I don’t often get to see my wedding stationery in it’s natural habitat, I tend to package it up and send it off never to see it again!

Thanks to Paul Joseph Photography for taking such amazing photos!

www.pauljosephphotography.co.uk

www.instagram.com/pauljosephphotography

crippsandco.com/the-tithe-barn

Romeo and Juliet Theatrical Romantic Wedding at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Latest Designs, News, Wedding Invitations, Wedding Themes / 2022-09-13

I am very excited to be sharing this photoshoot with you which has been featured on the Magpie Weddings blog today! Very much a high point in my wedding stationery journey and so much fun to do.

https://www.magpiewedding.com/wedding-inspiration/the-royal-shakespeare-theatre/

A big thank you to Sara Beaumont for asking me to be involved in this photoshoot, to all the other amazing wedding suppliers involved and last but certainly not least the Royal Shakespeare Company for the amazing venue. It was lovely to see all the ideas come together on the day of the photoshoot and I’m very pleased with how Sara has captured my wedding stationery! The colours and styling really work well together and create a lovely theatrical and romantic wedding.

I wanted the wedding stationery designed for this photoshoot, to have a romantic and almost theatrical feel. I used sumptuous deep burgundy and gold colours to give drama and the watercolour background used in the printed stationery helped add to the creative, artistic look of the styled shoot.

I also used gold calligraphy and lettering for the stationery and signage to fit in with the theme of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The place settings / tags are hand written onto dyed handmade paper and for the signage I stained wooden boards with a lovely burgundy colour and added metallic gold lettering. This style would be perfect for a bold theatrical romantic wedding but also any modern romantic style wedding.

This design is available to purchase for your wedding and the colours can be changed to suit your colour scheme please contact me for more information. It will be added to the website soon!

The Team – Romeo and Juliet Theatrical Wedding at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Styling & Photography – Sara Beaumont Photography @sarabeaumontphotography

Styling, Hair & Makeup – Rebecca Haines @rebecca_haines_makeupandhair
Venue – “The Other Place” part of The Royal Shakespeare Company @thersc
Bespoke Accessories – Lilly Dilly’s @LillyDillys
Groom’s Suits – Duncan James of Walsall @duncanjameswalsall
RSC Costume Store
RSC Prop Store
Bouquet and flower arrangements – Vale Garden Flowers @valegardenflowers
Wedding cakes – Elegant Bakes By Elizabeth @elegantbakesbyelizabeth
Model – Ruby Smith @ruby_lolax
Model – James Newman @jamesnewman12
Model – Billy Pears

Wedding Open Day at The Wood Norton

News, Wedding Decoration, Wedding Invitations / 2022-09-13

I had a lovely, busy day last Sunday at The Wood Norton in Worcestershire. I was invited to exhibit at their Wedding Open Day by the lovely Tamzin from Little Wren Company. It was the first time I had been to The Wood Norton and what a lovely venue it is. So much character and the gardens were beautiful.

As I hadn’t done a wedding fair in a while it was quite a busy week in the run up to Sunday. I wanted to show off my new calligraphy and lettering skills a bit so I created a few new signs and a wooden table plan to exhibit. I really enjoy making the wooden signs and I was really pleased with how the blue/green coloured sign came out. I used a light coat on some plywood so that you can see the pattern of the wood through then used white paint pens to create the lettering.

I also had a few new designs on show and my handy husband made up some simple wooden stands to help me display my work. I was really pleased with the mix of design work on show and I had some very nice comments from a lot of people.

We had a busy start to the day with lots of lovely couples to chat to. I find it all quite daunting but I do really enjoy getting the feedback and chatting to people face-to-face. I don’t get much human contact working from home apart from my two lovely children – but they don’t tend to understand what I do!

I met some very nice fellow wedding suppliers and Tamzin our host was very helpful and friendly.

The Wood Norton

Little Wren Company

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