Wedding Invitations | Wedding Stationery | South Africa | Secret Diary » Wedding Invitations | Wedding Stationery | South Africa | Secret Diary | » Stationery design

HOSTING THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PARTY: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Carla — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 15:47:30 +0000

The sound of children squealing with excitment, the smell of dinner being prepared, quality time with family and friends, wrapping paper lying everywhere and good memories being made. Yes this could only mean one thing: the best time of the year is around the corner and we have just the tools to make this year’s Christmas party, one of your best!

We have made a list of what we think you need to host the perfect Christmas party. Firstly we would need to decorate the Christmas tree. We boast a range of ornaments to compliment any Christmas tree and style. From perspex & lace, to paper and even wood. These range from personalized ornaments with your guests’ names on, to geometric shapes, words like “peace” and mirror perspex for that reflecting finish.

Once the Christmas tree is decorated, we can now start planning the finer details like the table décor, which includes the menu, place cards, glass toppers and napkins.

Menus for your party are great! Guests know exactly what to expect during the meal(s) and can avoid foods that they are allergic to, or do not fall in their dietary preferences. We boast a beautiful Once Upon a Winter menu; A single sided DL menu, printed on white shimmer card.

After knowing whom your guests will be, you can now go ahead with customized place cards for each guest. We offer a pop-up place card as well as a simple tent card. The pop-up place card is a small A-frame tented white place card, with pop-up antlers. Customised with your guest name digitally printed on it. If you prefer something simpler then the Once upon a Winter place card is for you. A small-tented place card, made from white shimmer card with snowflakes in the corner, with your guests’ name printed in the other corner.

Foiled metallic napkins make a great and necessary addition to your table. These are sold in packs of 20 and one can never have enough napkins. A laser cut deer glass topper in a matte white thick paper is the perfect completion to your table décor.

It’s all about your guests and having a good time, so why not show them how much you appreciate them in your life with a greeting card that suits your style and theme. We offer a few options; from a traditional Lasercut green and white greeting card, to a more South African, Karoo Christmas Z-fold cut out greeting card. Or if you prefer a folder style greeting card with matching tag and twine, then we have that too! Whichever one you go with, we are sure your guests will love the warm welcome.

If you want to give your guests’ a souvenir to take home, we have the perfect box to put it in! A small flat box covered in snowflakes with a white paper thank you band that wraps around the box. The box is made from white shimmer card. They will love the nice after thought and can keep the box long after the party is over.

Lastly to top off your party you will need some general décor around the house (besides the Christmas tree of course). We offer a range of paper lanterns, a three-meter long white floral cut out bunting with 14 flags and a set of 3 honeycomb decorations (White, grey and peach) for you to pick from.

With all these great stationery options, how can you not throw the perfect Christmas party?! We even have stationery for a kiddies Christmas party. From plates, cups, hats and a Christmas themed bunting, which measures 2m in length and includes 13 paper flags. Have a peek at some of our Christmas stationery below. For more options visit our online store to easy purchase your stationery.

E-Store Pick | Luxury Senzo Orchid – Boxed Invitation

Carla — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 10:44:11 +0000

Your wedding invitations set the scene for your special day, showing the colour and any theme of your wedding. Today on our E-Store pick, our stunning Oriental flower inspired Senzo Orchid – Luxury Boxed Invitations your theme will definitely be set for one to remember with an A5 debossed and foiled invite box containing a beautifully detailed laser cut gate folder which holds a letter pressed and gold foiled card with an additional digitally printed card. The foiling of Monogram can be done in Gold, Silver and Rose Gold, depending on what design you want to go for.

The soft aqua blue and unique iced gold reminds me of something out of mermaids and fairy tales adding just the right amount of sparkle and elegance to set the mood for your special day. Stand out this season and be the princess you’ve always wanted to be!

Our E-store Pick | Oriental Origami Suite

Carla — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 12:29:59 +0000

If you love oriental design or you’re inspired by anything Eastern and you’re looking to use an oriental theme for your next event or wedding, we’ve got you covered!

We did this oriental suite for a shoot recently and loved how it turned out! The patterns are what make this a really inspiring suite. I love how the invitation folder is beautifully wrapped with twine and a pretty printed belly band. The folder flaps are cut asymmetric and folds in a non-traditional manner, which adds interest and takes to it’s “Origami” naming.

The place cards are laser cut fans that are printed on both sides with different patterns, which can be placed on each guests’ glass.

We get so many inquiries about our parasols, that I had to shine a bit of light on them! They are very popular and so practical for summer weddings or events. These paper parasols are the perfect accessory to an event – whether it’s themed or not!

Click on the link or pics below to shop this invite. Browse our South African E-store here and our International E-store (currency in US dollars) here.

Shop | Origami Invitation

Shop | Origami Tag

Shop | Origami Place Card

Shop | Origami Table Number

Shop | Orient White Paper Parasol

Celebrating Heritage Day 2016!

Carla — Sat, 24 Sep 2016 05:30:44 +0000

Today is Heritage Day and we’ve designed a special suite for the occasion! Introducing National Treasure – an African-inspired invitation and stationery suite that makes one want to spend an afternoon with sundowners in one of South Africa’s magnificent game reserves. We’ve gone with a muted colour palette that is reminiscent of the dusty bushveld and we’ve brought in pretty tribal patterns, all to be printed on a smooth paper.

You can get your hands on this collection with the link below or shop individual items by clicking on them.

Shop | National Treasure Collection

Wedding Feature: Laureth & Wayne

Carla — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 13:45:31 +0000

Our featured couple for today is Laureth & Wayne; The couple got married at the Strandkombuis, Yzerfontein, and although they tied the knot in March 2014, we could not resist showcasing this fun and quirky couple’s wedding. We absolutely loved to create all of their beautiful and fun stationery items including heart-shaped seating chart cards, menus, tags, stickers, a banner and wooden engraved signs to name but just a few. Their beachy theme was celebrated with hints of turquoise used throughout all their stationery items.

We’ll let the stunning photographs taken by Zara Zoo photography do all the talking…

The Anatomy Invitation Suite

Carla — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 12:57:13 +0000

When meeting with a lot of just-engaged couples for consultations, it seems that a common question that comes up is “What do I actually need to include in my invitation?”. Mostly our couples have never had to think about this before with this being their first wedding and the thought of getting it wrong can be a little daunting. One of our goals is to make the invitation process as enjoyable and stress-free as possible, so we have compiled a complete list of what is actually needed to go into your invites along with the do’s and don’ts of inviting.

Main Card

When it comes to whose names are printed on a wedding invitation, modern life can make things a little confusing. Gone is the time when the wedding invitation was issued only by the bride’s parents (as hosts, this meant their names headed the lineup). These days, many different people – including the bride and groom – can (and do) host the wedding and issue the invitation. Today’s complex family structures (parents are divorced, widowed, remarried, and so on) only further complicate matters when it comes to the wording of the invitation. Your designer will always send you a wording guide with various options for each scenario but there are a few general rules to keep in mind when composing your wording:

Additional Information

If you have a wedding website with all your additional information present then you may not need any extra cards and can write something like “For more information and to RSVP please see our wedding website www.yourweddingwebsite.com” at the bottom of the main card. But for those not so tech-savvy then here is a breakdown of the additional information you may want to include with your invitations.

If you are having a destination wedding or inviting lots of international guests then you may want to think about having a wedding website, which we can design for you to match your printed paraphernalia. Some things you may want to include: Accommodation options, fun things to do in the area and flights/transport suggestions.

Addressing the envelopes

We can print your guest names and addresses on the front of your envelopes for a small charge.

Our E-store Pick | The Atrium Suite

Carla — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 12:18:43 +0000

We are ending off this week with a beautiful botanical invitation and stationery suite. This is a full suite with all the bells and whistles; you’ve got your invitation, menu, place card, program/order of service and seating chart to complete the set. This suite is understated, but with a natural modern style.

The invitation is an A5 flat card made from thick white paper, with digitally printed text. The envelope is made from brown kraft paper and finished off with a patterned liner.

The menu follows through with the pattern, white overlay and text printed on a white A5 card. The place card and paddle program fan make use of the same crisp design to keep that golden thread. The paddle fan is ideal for summer weddings – so simple but so practical! The seating chart is a large block mounted canvas and we see the signature botanicals coming through once again.

If your stationery style is natural, crisp design with green botanical and white flower detail, then this suite could be the one! See below to shop the entire suite, or have a browse at them individually by clicking on the links below each photo.

Shop Here | The Atrium Suite

Shop Here | Atrium Invitation

Shop Here | Atrium Menu

Shop Here | Atrium Place Card

Shop Here | Atrium Program Fan

Shop Here | Atrium Seating Chart

Wedding Feature: Jeanine and Luis

Carla — Fri, 20 May 2016 13:41:22 +0000

The most fulfilling part of my job is seeing our finished stationery pieces in action. All the love and attention that we pour into our designs; each fold and every cut is done with care to produce our pieces. These elements, added together with the handiwork of other vendors and months of planning by coordinators, brides, grooms, friends and families, result in the final product – the ‘big day’. This is the day that all the hard work and sleepless nights pay off. I love to see our designs side by side with the venue, the flowers, the dress and the ambience.

Jeanine and Luis had beautifully simple, yet elegantly luxurious stationery pieces. The brief was simple: clean, classical with stark white and navy. This matched their venue to the T. It was held at the palatial Val de Vie Polo Estate which is nestled against the dramatic back drop of the Paarl/Franschhoek Valley. You can see the full event on the Mooi Troues blog, there is even a highlight video, but keep the tissues handy as it is an emotional one. The day was captured by Ryan Graham Photography.

Jeanine and Luis’ suite consisted of a digital save the date, followed by letter pressed invitations foiled in gunmetal on luxury 600 gsm cardstock and finished off with a navy wax seal.

The rest of the stationery continued with this theme; order of service booklets, menus, silver perspex table names, place cards, dance floor vinyl, ceremony backdrop and various signage.

Stationery Feature | Isabella & Geoffrey

Carla — Thu, 12 May 2016 12:54:51 +0000

Today we take a look at the epitome of classical and understated invitations. We had the pleasure of designing for the lovely couple, Isabella and Geoffrey, who tied the knot on the 16th of February this year. The stunning photographs featured in this post can be found on Jilda G’s website. The wedding ceremony took place at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa in Camps Bay, Cape Town and guests travelled from far and wide to celebrate with the couple on their special day. This beach side wedding was complimented by touches of blue in the bridesmaid dresses and decor; silver ornaments and the beautiful natural backdrop that is Cape Town’s beaches and Table Mountain.

Secret Diary designed a minimalistic and simply clean invitation for Isabella and Geoffrey’s wedding day. The main invite card is made from white and silver shimmer paper which is placed inside a beautiful shimmer envelope. Shop more classic inspired invitations on Secret Diary’s online store here.

Playful Simplicity

Carla — Thu, 12 May 2016 08:33:32 +0000

Whenever people say ‘less is more’, the majority of us tend to nod our heads in agreement. It gives us a false feeling of contentment that we all have the same perception of “less-is-more” or, in another term, “understated elegance”. But the truth is that some people don’t actually know what simple elegance is. I’ll agree – there is a fine line between an empty space and a well designed element.

For instance, I have found that with event invitations in general, people always tend to shy away from clean design with adequate white space. Instead, they fill up the invite with curls and frills. But possibly, the most rewarding feeling for me comes from seeing a really well designed area of white space; the kind of space that doesn’t feel too empty, or too full. It’s the kind of space your eye can travel around for ages without ever feeling restrained or bored.

I think this invite that we have designed illustrates that design principle well. There are only a selection of two different typefaces that compliment each other; not 4 or 5 different ones which completely contrast each other. The playful aspect of this invite is that, if it feels too understated for you, you can play around with all kinds of finishes, such as letter pressing or foiling. The good news is that any kind of extra added effect, will demand a fair amount of attention, because there is nothing else to clutter the space.

The colour palette also offers freedom as grey and white are neutral colours that can be paired with almost any other colours.