modern wedding papers

hibiscus

brides on a budget coveting stylish invites typically have two options:

1. diy (and hope for the best)
2. beg a friend with graphic design chops to take pity on you and work their magic pro bono

a brilliant alternative is a site i stumbled upon the other day which boasts exclusive designs by some of the most sought after invitation designers, including hawaii's own kinohi designs (shown above), but with budget friendly prices.

all the paper elements necessary to throwing a memorable bash are available and most, if not all, designs come in a limited palette to help you coordinate invite colors to your event. designs tend to lean modern (with a nice selection to celebrate an island wedding) and there are a number of handy tools to streamline the ordering process.

canna

modern initials

since you can personalize text however you please, cards can easily double as party invites for those times when an evite just won't do. thank you cards can also pull double duty making either a lovely gift for the newlyweds or a sophisticated addition to your social stationary (the last issue of domino declared custom stationary is simply a must for grownups. i wonder if personalized post-it notes count?).

take a peek at wedding paper divas for more.

island style invites

hibiscus/kinohi designs * old hawaii/savvy designs * chloe/p+p

since the wedding invitation establishes the style of your wedding before the big day, it is one more area where the pressure is on to pick just the right one. if you're not the diy crafty type but love graphic design you should check out kinohi designs which was first on the scene with their collection of modern island wedding invitations.

if you're throwing a major bash, then savvy designs might have just the right thing to pull it all together. the owners are event planners so they seem to have all the bases covered from save the date cards to invitations to programs and more.

i love letterpress. it is the perfect combination of old world artistry and modern style. if your budget can swing it then take a look at party + papier's letterpress invites. the selection is small but charming so look no further if you covet letterpress from the islands.

{update | dec 2009: kinohi designs can now be found exclusively at wedding paper divas and it appears that savvy designs and party + papier have closed their doors}