One of my favorite weddings to photograph was back in September for AJ + Jamie Fernandez (their wedding post was called "LoveFest 2012" and I still think I should make them a t-shirt that says that:). They had so so many beautiful and personalized details in their day, including the invitations made by AJ's talented sister Abby. I realized in talking with her that she designed and hand painted the invitation! I was so so impressed- the invitation really looked like a work of art. Clearly other people loved her work and asked her to make their invitations, and thus Consider The Lilies Paper Co. was started. Abby and her husband, Julian, live in Los Angeles but her work (which includes stationary, invitations, and other paper goods) can be purchased from her shop on Etsy. Her watercolor paintings are awesome- I think a custom painting would make an awesome wedding gift!
Here is Abby's story on how she began her business:
"Consider The Lilies Paper Co. sprung from a love for art, color and making people happy. In 2011 when I was searching for my own wedding invitations I discovered some beautiful hand painted invitations, that of course, were way out of my budget. I knew if I was going to have the kind of invitations I wanted I was going to have to do them myself! And so it started... I designed my invitation suite and it ended up being featured on the Martha Stewart Weddings Blog! I was beside myself. A year later my now sister-in-law (Who's wedding was photographed by the lovely Kaitie Bryant!) asked me to create her invitations as well. After that, people would make mention sometimes that I should start a business...and 8 months later Consider the Lilies Paper Co. was born (which I often refer to as CTL Paper, because it's quite a mouthful). Currently I have greeting cards, 8x10 original art prints, invitations and other wedding stationary in my Etsy shop. I do offer some template style invitations, but my favorite is custom pieces. For each client I start from scratch with their colors, theme and vision and come up with a one of a kind piece just for them. Since I am well aware of the costs involved in weddings, I try to keep my prices affordable for those who, like me, want custom hand painted invitations without completely breaking the budget.
This Save the Date is such a great idea!
And this watercolor map? Love this big time.
