I’ve got to say, their tri-fold celebration was one of the most unique requests I have received in my career as a wedding stationer. When Irish Valerie McCabe married Scottish Phil Hobbs, they hosted a celebration reception in an old manor house in a spectacular part of Ireland. But there was much to celebrate! It was going to be 3 occasions in 1 – Their wedding, Phil’s 50th and early retirement. So their invitations and wedding stationery needed to convey these 3 themes in a creative and light-hearted way, but with a touch of class. It was of course going to be a mature wedding that would reflect the collective life experiences and humour of their guests.
The Banais Mor:
They called it their Banais Mor (Gaelic for “big celebration”) As their home is in Ireland, they held their Banais Mor on the West Coast at a small country manor hotel overlooking the Atlantic Coast, Gregans Castle. The ceremony was a Celtic blessing, led by Val’s sister, Rita Dowling. Without all the formalities of a legal wedding, they were able to design a very personal ceremony including their nieces and nephews, throwing sand from Dubai and jumping the broom (a traditional Irish symbol of marriage).
What they had to say about working with us:
Phil- “We had not really thought through the whole stationary side of things in advance. In fact it was only when we met Reesha that the integrated design started to emerge when she showed us some of her work and shared her ideas. As we both enjoy cycling we went with a bicycle theme (the bicycle also has some Irish symbolism too, as the High Nelly bike was ridden around Dublin by Ireland’s most famous 20th century political leader Michael Collins) and this became a motif that was woven into the various elements. ”
“The invitation featured a tandem bike that was symbolic of togetherness, retirement and life experiences. On the day they had two vintage bicycles on display that followed the print design and their cake topper custom designed in their image riding a tandem bicycle.”
Valerie and Phil -“We are both fond of animals, so we named each of the dinner tables after the pets of those attending. Reesha created a real life image of each pet interacting with the bicycle. We loved how she had each pet doing something interesting, including knocking over the flowers, chasing the cans or ripping the cans off, etc. This was a real hit! …an unusual conversational piece with our guest and made something functional, like table numbers, into something very personal (so much so that people took the table name cards home!).
“We also came up with the idea of using individual flags on matchsticks to assign people to tables; with people having a fun task to find their “match”. We also had Reesha help us create a Quiz Card with matching pencils – this was also a big hit as guests had a laugh trading answers.”
A big part of their stationery was actually a 3-day ticket to the celebrations. It was essentially a detailed agenda of the weekend’s activities, ceremony timing, transportation information and diner and dancing plans. It also followed the tandem bike theme, a bicycle trail with milestone markers depicting the agenda items. It was so much fun to create the custom icons for each event marker. They also had elements of chalkboard messages throughout the wedding party, with guests taking candid pictures with hand written messages for the couple. One thing that stood out I all the stationery was how personal and intimate every detail was. The flower girl dropped confetti that was actually paw print shapes!
Wedding planning advice from #Pretapapierbride, Valerie Mc Cabe
“When I first began researching how to plan for a wedding reception, many articles advised cutting costs by eliminating stationary. However, we feel it was the best value for money compared to other expenses. This is because the stationary designed by Pret a Papier really helped us unify the theme of the event, enabling a high degree of personalization class and unique memories for all our guests. The stationary was truly the distinguishing factor that differentiated our reception to that of others. When we look back at our photographs, it is the stationary that truly conveys the theme and spirit of our celebration.
We also felt that Reesha played a big role in helping us design a complex concept in bringing 3 themes to life – our wedding/50th birthday/retirement. Of all the providers we worked with, it was Reesha who was closest to us in helping us make it special – she really understood us and often anticipated what we needed. Although our reception was in Ireland (not in Dubai), we made a very wise decision to work with our stationary specialist, Reesha, here in Dubai. Reesha was a great partner who met with us frequently, promptly turned around changes and edits and she was with us right down to wire when we packed all of our stationary in our suitcases before the flight. “
Get the look: Are you planning a vintage-style wedding like Val+ Phil?
If you are planning to introduce vintage elements into your wedding celebration, here are a few tips you can use:
- Use a subdued colour scheme. Retro colour schemes use muted tones of cream, taupe, rust, salmon and warmer shades of greens, blues and reds.
- Vintage remains to be a popular inspiration among the marrying crowd, as it conveys the glamour of Old Hollywood. A vintage-inspired wedding is perfect for couples who want a classy affair.
- Channel Old Hollywood with bold lips, defined eyes, and a sophisticated ‘do. Lace wedding dresses in more fitted or mermaid silhouettes flatter the Vintage bridal look. Valerie wore a stunning lace and embellished dress “Regina” by Ronald Joyce. and the junior bridesmaids wore beautiful taupe dresses and faux fur by Jenny Packham
- Using opulent details like Jewel colors, pearls, crystals, feathers, and other elaborate embellishments complete a wedding that’s memorable and elegant
- Hire a photographer who can capture your wedding photos in a soft focus. Use of lens flares and light leaks are staples in vintage or retro photography. Val and Phil’s pictures were taken by talented Irish photographer, Jenny Martin of www.jennymatinphotography.ie
- Whimsical touches like the vintage High Nelly ice cream cart and bikes in Val and Phil’s wedding add to the old time charm
