To Match? or To Coordinate?

Color, glorious color!  I love it!  I love that invitations to formal events no longer need to be on ecru paper.  Wedding invitation designers are doing beautiful things with colors, patterns, and textures.  Here's a little advice for the custom bride, though.

Remember that your guests will not be carrying the wedding invitation in to the ceremony and comparing them to your maids' dresses.  You want the invitation to foreshadow the "feel" of your wedding, but an exact match is not a must.  In fact, an exact match might be boring!

I have had several couples fall in love with a particular invitation of mine and ask if it can be done in their colors.  YES!!  We can convert almost all of our designs to coordinate with your theme.  Note - I said coordinate, not match.  Don't get me wrong, sometimes we can match!  But other times, the materials are simply not available in the exact color.  And here's a big disappointing factor: when you do try to match and and need to substitute a different material in order to do so, the invitation almost always "loses" something.  For instance, if you fell in love with a design that used linen paper, but in order match we had to use matte.  Or the envelopes were metallic, but now we're using crest in order to match - it's not the same look with which you initially fell in love.  So -- here's some tips when planning out your stationery:

DON'T be afraid to ask your invitation designer to coordinate with your colors.
DO make your invitations uniquely yours and have them speak to your special event.
DON'T get hung up on the Pantone number.
DO let your designer work with you to create a piece that compliments your wedding.
DON'T settle for something less pretty in order to "match" your colors.
DO use the design you love, even if the colors aren't a perfect match.