How An Invitation Can Tell Your Love Story

Should Everyone have A Wedding Theme?

Today it seems most big events have a theme or a distinguishing thread that evokes an emotion or tells a story. However, not everyone wants a theme. Instead, you may have a small vision board, colors, or floral suggestions representing how you see your event unfolding. Here is how adding a touch of creativity to your existing idea can help you tell your love story in an interesting way.

what is your Love Story?

Most couples do not come to me with a theme, instead, they have some sort of special love story that they want to tell. Occasionally these stories are very unique, but more often than not the love stories are pretty typical.

This was the situation with Marisa and Corey. When they asked me to design their wedding invitation, they did not have a theme. They met while at Kutztown University, had dated for a few years, got engaged, and were now planning their wedding. So they hired me to find a way to tell their love story compellingly and creatively.

Designing A Love Story

Right from the start, Marisa and Corey knew they wanted sunflowers to be their wedding flower. These were the perfect choice because they are lovely to work with and very much in season in mid-August. Aside from being big, bold, and beautiful, sunflowers represent adoration and loyalty, so I thought they were a good start for a wedding invitation concept.

Step 1: Develop an interesting concept

I began this design project by writing a short poem about an adoring couple of sunflowers. Sunflowers needed to be the main characters so I broke the poem into three parts and began by designing the bright yellow text pages of this 8-page invitation book. Writing the poem text helped me develop the concept, in this case, the Sunflower.

Sunflower Concept: Although we often fall for surface beauty, it’s what’s underneath that’s important.

Here is the poem:

“A little bloom peeked out today, out of the earth and far away another bloom about the same came up to dance and feel the rain. They sunned and soared but always two, for each, alone, had much to do.”

“And then one day the sun went down, they looked beneath the garden’s ground. Below the tangled leaves they saw, inside the dirt, no light at all.”

“It’s not the beauty we can see, or bright, rich colors calling thee, It’s underneath and deep inside, undying love that’s true and tried.”

Step 2: Capture compelling Images

To capture the proper images to match the poem, I hired a renowned local watercolor illustrator, Jane Ramsey. Jane illustrated each poem’s page perfectly. I then brought her illustrations into my design program and gave each a thin border for definition. This helped define each sunflower illustration on the page opposite its corresponding bright yellow text page in the book.

Step 3: A good title says it all

The title “Intertwined” is centered on a deep soil-like background on the cover of this book. A small paper sunflower tied with a delicate string of raffia dangled over the saddle-stitched spine. All the pages were printed and bound by a professional printer. This book was the first thing guests saw when they slid open the invitation suite. The full suite consists of the love storybook, the loose wedding invitation that slides out of an envelope glued to the back inside of this book, a custom-designed response card, an accommodation card, and an envelope. You can see the full design and other love stories in my portfolio here.

designing your own concept invitation

If you want to tell your love story creatively, choose blooms, colors, or something special that embodies your emotions, and find a designer who can convey your heartfelt message to guests in a creative way.

Kim Bensing is the creative director behind Studio Sprig at Windy Hill. With the help of her 19th-century farmhouse and its vintage gardens, she shares floral styling strategies, custom stationery concepts, home DIY inspiration, and a new line of wallpaper and fabric designs. Join her on her artist's journey, one project at a time! Subscribe here

How to Design a Valentine Tree

Why I Designed a Tree FIlled with Love

As the Christmas season was coming to an end, I decided I wanted to enjoy our pretty tree a little longer. I knew I could get away with keeping our faux Balsam Hill Pine up through January dressed in its wintery guise, but what excuse did February have? That’s why, this year, I created a Valentine's Tree. Read on to see how I did it.

Transitioning a Christmas Tree

We created a pretty simple Christmas tree this year so the transition was easy. I first removed all of the Christmas balls but kept all the white lights and icicles. This step was very quick and with a semi-bare tree, I was able to then plan for February-appropriate decor.

Making a Valentine's Tree Topper

I considered keeping our glowing Moravian Star tree topper but decided that a Valentine's tree needed to better reflect Valentine’s Day. I considered a grapevine heart wreath covered in dried flowers but decided I’d like to just use found materials and make my own. This is how I did it.

Start with a basic shape

I took an old cardboard box and cut two identical free-form hearts. I then hot-glued a 10” doubled-up piece of floral wire about 4” deep inside the two panels and extended it out the bottom, so that I’d have something to wrap around the tree’s top branch. If I do it again, I will also extend the wire from each side so the heart has more stability when topping the tree.

Once the wire is secured, hot glue the hearts together. This step helps the topper to be more ridged and stable.

Designing the front of your heart topper

Start by designing one side of the heart with your dried flowers and moss. I used my professional-grade Ryobi glue gun, some reindeer moss, and the dried flowers I harvested this year. If you want to learn how to dry your own flowers, see my blog: Learn how to dry your own garden flowers. I didn’t have much of a design or plan, but I just kept filling in the cardboard as I went around the heart and eventually, one side of my heart was completely covered.

Designing side 2

When I finished side 1, I realized leaving the second side of the heart blank wouldn’t look very nice from the side view, so I cut up a coloring book, quickly glued it to the surface of the heart, and glued some leftover moss around the edges to finish it off. In retrospect, I would cover this side first with contact paper or something simple to make the job easier. You could also fill the back side with moss if you have it.

The Heart-Shaped Tree Topper

Here is the result. Not bad for a trial run. Later I’ll show you how it looks on the tree.

Hanging hearts on the Tree

Now the rest of the tree needed some LOVE-ly decor. I found these pretty heart ornaments in rose gold online. They are sold in sets of 45 so I only ordered one set. You can also get them in silver, pink, gold, red, and a pink, red & white combo.

Accenting with Vintage Valentine Cards

I also found some vintage Valentine ornaments to add some character to my tree. There are many types of interesting card ornaments to choose from on Amazon, so look around. Some are more childish which would be nice if you are creating this for your children or grandchildren.

The Unveiling

When all the little rose gold hearts and vintage Valentines were hung, I added a few large dried flowers and some colorful felt ball garlands that I had lying around.

I am very pleased with how this turned out and I’m happy I started a new tradition for our home. Don’t worry, if you’ve already removed your Christmas tree this year, you can plan for next February or grab some fallen branches from outside and place them in a garden pot to make a smaller Valentine’s Branch Tree. Anything is possible. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Let's Save The Bees

The Good of the Hive Mural @ St. James Parish- Scout Bee

Introducing my favorite environmentally-conscious mural artist, Matt Willey.

After one little encounter with a small honey bee, Matt has lovingly begun a global art project: The Good of the Hive. His commitment to this project is to hand-paint 50,000 honey bees – the number in a healthy, thriving hive – in murals around the world. Matt's mission is to ignite radical curiosity and active engagement around planetary health issues through art, bees, and storytelling. I invite you to learn more….

The Western Honey Bee

Honey bees are not a native North American species. European honey bees (Apis mellifera) were originally imported for honey production in the 17th century, 1622 to be exact. Interestingly the Native Americans dubbed them "the white man's fly." I'll bet you didn't realize that a honey bee can fly up to 15 miles per hour and that a honey bee worker only makes an average of 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime and that to make just a pound of honey there need to be 2 million flower visits! -so please savor your honey, this is not an easy task for our little friends.

The Good of the Hive Mural @ Carrboro Fire Station, Carrboro, NC

“Bees never forget that they are part of something bigger than themselves… their hive is a part of them. What if we embodied this idea? What if we got curious about the world and each other again instead of intimidated by it? This is why I turn walls into windows – to remember that we are all connected… that separation is an illusion.” -Artist, Matt Willey

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Honey Bee Colonies

A honey bee colony typically consists of three kinds of adult bees: workers, drones, and a queen.

• The job of the queen: Lay eggs

• The job of the drones: Mate with the queen

• The jobs of the worker bees: Gather nectar, Guard the hive and honey, Care for the queen and larvae, Keep the hive clean, and Produce honey.

As you can see honey bees are social insects. They live together in well-organized groups called colonies. Individual bees cannot survive without the support of the colony. To learn more read this comprehensive article published by the University of Delaware.

The Good of the Hive Mural @ North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC

the health of our planet

Through Matt’s mural art, he is able to inspire education about our planetary health. He believes that human and planetary health is collective, and the global hive he is painting is a metaphor for the connectedness of all things. Six years into an estimated 20-year project, Matt has created 35 murals and installations with over 8600 hand-painted bees. He has reached hundreds of thousands of people and created large-scale works at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC, and at Burt’s Bees Global Headquarters. He has collaborated with the World Council of Peoples for the United Nations (WCPUN) and NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks Public Art Program. He has painted in a Tony-Winning Broadway star’s dressing room and his bees are on display at the American Embassy in Beijing, China.

The Good of the Hive Mural @ Harold P. Curtis Honey Co. Labelle, FL

Bees mean Business

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, honey bees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops in the United States each year, including more than 130 types of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. 2.70 million bee colonies in the United States, alone, produced 126 million pounds of honey in 2021. That year, the value of honey production in the United States was $321 million according to USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

The Good of the Hive Mural

The Importance of Bees

A study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, has shown that honey bees are the world's most important pollinators in natural ecosystems across the globe. Did you know, that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one-third of our diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honey bee is responsible for 80% of that pollination? In a single year, one honey bee colony can gather about 40 pounds of pollen and 265 pounds of nectar.

“The Art Starts Creating You” - Matt Willey

Worker Bee, Matt Willey - The Good of the Hive Mural Artist

The Importance of Matt

Follow Matt @thegoodofthehive as he visits schools and communities around the world educating our collective whole about the importance of our bees. In 2023 Matt will continue to move forward in the creation of The Good of the Hive's first documentary film. See the short film trailer by clicking here. Matt could really use some love on this project to keep it moving forward. Plus you can receive rewards and possibly have your name in the credits! 

Apiarist: Beekeeper

The scientific name for the honey bee is Apis mellifera, therefore an apiarist is a person who is commonly referred to as a beekeeper and makes a living keeping honey bees. Likewise, an apiary is a location where the hives of honey bees are kept. Apiaries come in many sizes and can be rural or urban depending on the honey production operation. 

Here on our farm, Windy Hill, we've enlisted the help of local Apiarist, Mark Antunes. Mark cares for our bees, extracts all honey, and because of our northern weather patterns, he even transports them to more temperate climates each winter. This has proven to be a good thing for their continued survival. Mark is always seeking host farms in this local area for his honey bee hives. If you would like to contact Mark, reach out to me in the comments below and I will get you in touch. I've also included a list of expert websites for your convenience.

• The Bucks County Beekeepers

• Bucks County Bee Company

• American Beekeeping Federation

rural and urban beekeeping

Rural Beekeeping is really just using a patch of land in more of a rural area used to raise bees. (it does not have to be a farm). Apiarists position one or more honey bee hives in this natural environment to support more pollination. The bees go to work quickly providing their services to enhance the growth of wild flowers, clover, vegetables, and more. If you are thinking about providing your own natural habitat for bees in the future, keep in mind a host farm requires plenty of food sources, water, and a healthy environment with plenty of natural resources such as grass, trees, and plants, and of course, it's important for there to be no pesticide use whatsoever. For your convenience, I've included a short list of supplies you may want to consider at the end of this blog.

Urban Beekeeping is just what it sounds like, an organic method for a city or town to diversify its ecosystem. If you are considering becoming an urban beekeeper, you must first do some research. Be sure to make sure it's legal to keep bees in your town or city. Next, be sure your bees will have enough space and the necessary food and water in order to thrive. Then, be sure to check with your neighbors, because although honeybees are generally not aggressive, if threatened they will sting and it’s very important to always see the advice of a skilled beekeeper before trying this at home.

Honey jars from the honey bees at Windy Hill Farm, PA

Keep some bees

Bee-Keeping Supplies
Beekeeping Suit for men
Beekeeping Suit for women
Beehive
Beehive Smoker
Beehive Smoker Pellets

Honey Serving Supplies
Small Honey jars with cork lids
Small Jar Labels
Honey dipper sticks

The Artist Matt Willey - The Good of the Hive

What is Colony Collapse Disorder

Honey bee health is something we humans have been struggling with in recent years as our honey bee populations have been dwindling. To help you understand, Colony Collapse Disorder is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, a plentiful food supply, and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees. There is often a combination of environmental factors and other stresses to consider when determining what has a significant effect on bee declines, including humanity's negative impacts.

Honey bee stressors and a link to learn more.

• Use of pesticides

• Stress due to management practices

• Varroa destructor mites

• Israeli Acute Paralysis virus and the Nosema parasite

• Climate change and habitat loss

• Not enough food or poor nutrition

If you enjoyed this blog please feel free to comment below. I read every inspiration that comes my way. Subscribe if you like this blog. Thank you. - Kim

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Pink Dahlia with honey bee

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A Great Way to Help Kids with Cancer (PENN STATE)

The Four Diamond hand symbol is seen a lot at THON.

WHAT IS THON™ & FOUR DIAMONDS?

THON™ is a student-run dance marathon philanthropy committed to enhancing the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer. This unique fundraising event is a great opportunity for all Penn State students to interact with local businesses, local restaurants, and other community members. THON™ raises money all year and its culmination is a February weekend dance marathon at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA. The proceeds are distributed to The Four Diamonds Organization.

Four Diamonds is an organization founded by Charles and Irma Millard. Its mission is to conquer childhood cancer by assisting children and their families through superior care, comprehensive support, and innovative research.

Charles Millard, found of Penn State’s THON.

Why Was The Four Diamonds Created?

Christopher Millard, son of Charles and Irma Millard, was 11 years old when he was first diagnosed with cancer. Shortly before he lost his three-year battle with cancer, he wrote a story about a great knight who sought out the Four Diamonds of courage, wisdom, honesty, and strength, in order to be released from the grips of an evil sorceress. These four diamonds symbolized the attributes that Christopher’s family believed were necessary to overcome cancer. The Millards formed this organization to honor their son and to help many other kids diagnosed with cancer.

Since its creation in 1972, Four Diamonds has helped more than 4,800 children and families and supported a diverse platform of childhood cancer research at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine, seeking improved treatments and cures to benefit kids around the world. Please read more about Christopher and the history of THON™ that I sourced from their website.

FTK (For the kids)

When at THON™ there is a good cause catchphrase you’ll want to remember: FTK or For the Kids. It’s written everywhere, on t-shirts, and signs, and it’s even painted on many faces. I just love this simple phrase because it says it all. 

Each Organization participating in THON creates their own grand signage for the arena. My own Sigma Kappa sisters teaming up with Fiji above. (PROUD SIGMA)

The Thon organizations

Every greek organization, as well as many other notable organizations at Penn State participate in the weekend and raise money all year for THON™. Club Ultimate Frisbee and Science Lion Pride are just two of the organizations available to students so they can get involved. There are three pages of organizations to be exact and here is a link if you’d like to explore what organization jives with you. Thon Organizations. 

Navigators, a Penn State Christian Organization hosting a fashion show FOR THE KIDS with cancer at THON. Photo courtesy: Thon Blog

THE BEST WAYS TO INSPIRE WITH CREATIVE SIGNAGE

One way to inspire a friend who is dancing or working at THON™ is through your gift of creative signage. When you stand anywhere in the arena you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the unique and beautiful signs, shirts, hats, and costumes created by all the participating student organizations and committees. They really are something. Some focus on their sponsored kids, while others light up their grand letters. 

The faces of THON children sponsored by this particular Org.

Signage can be powerful as seen throughout the arena during THON.

Pale blue lights enhance the THON Lionette sign.

A GREAT OPTION, JOIN A COMMITTEE

If you’re a student at Penn State I bet you’re wondering how you can join a committee. I want to join a committee and I’m not and never was a student at Penn State. Go here to join a committee, applications are available to all current students. My oldest daughter served on both the Merchandise and the Rules and Regulations committees, My son participates each year with his fraternity Phi Kappa Tau and for the organization OHANA, while my youngest daughter served on the THON Technology Committee and this year is excited to volunteer with Dancer Relations. That’s a great committee because Dancer Relations writes and choreographs the THON-specific dance song played every hour. The students in the stands and all the marathon dancers follow the on-stage Dancer Relations Line Dance Captains as they dance to a song that is set to motivational chants and annual current events. The new and unique choreography is taught by the students on stage in the first hours of THON™, until the final hours when everyone has it committed to memory. The dance is performed every hour on the hour as a way of waking up the dancers and garnering active participation & loud cheers from the audience.

2022 Line Dance Leader Jess Romito. Source: Onward State Blog

PRO TIP: WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU GO

If you decide to take a day trip or spend the entire weekend in State College experiencing THON™ for yourself you will have a great time. THON™ begins at 4 pm on Friday. But I would recommend arriving by mid-afternoon so that you can see the Parade of Dancers walking to the arena. We had special behind-the-scenes knowledge that this was a must-see and I am so glad we did. The line stretched way beyond my photo above and the roar from the Nittany Lion student cheers was incredible. The Dancers are in white, walking through the middle. Talk about school spirit - this was the BEST.

THON’s 2022 Parade of Dancers lining up outside the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University.

THON™ is free to the public and when inside, you will be instructed to stand all weekend. There is no sitting inside the arena out of respect for the Dancers and of course, For The Kids. So prepare for that, it’s not easy but compare that to their battle with cancer and you get through it. The good news is that you will be entertained for 3 whole days and 2 nights. You’ll hear motivational speakers and see more than one live event. They usually bring in a big-name band in the middle of Saturday night in order to keep the dancers awake. It draws the cheering section students out of bed and keeps everyone pumped with energy! You can come and go as you please, but there may be times throughout the weekend when admittance is limited due to space. One of those times is Sunday afternoon for the Family Hour (when the THON™ families come out on stage and tell their stories) which is such a great idea. This gets everyone emotionally involved. It's followed by the big $$$ reveal. This is where the students come out on stage and reveal the amount of money raised over the course of the entire year. So be sure to get in there earlier in the day because these are not to be missed.

Club Cheer performs at THON 2022. My daughter Kate is the far right flyer in midair. (PROUDMOM)

You’ll see funny skits and live performances by Penn State's sports teams and clubs and be brought to tears by heartwarming family stories. My daughter Kate performed for many years with her PSU Club Cheerleading Team. Her performances were usually at 3:00 am and yes, we left our warm hotel on those cold Pennsylvania, February nights to see her perform because that’s what parents do. She’s the mid-air flyer on the right in this photo above. We are very proud that she raised money and entertained the dancers for so many years at Penn State. The acts and performances run continuously, 24/7 for all 3 days to encourage the dancers and the dance motivators to keep going. An interesting note: each dancer is assigned several dance motivators to help them all weekend. A detail that I just love.

Dancer, Caitlin Geaman, my daughter’s roommate, dances in 2022 despite a severe leg injury for which she received periodic Physical Therapy all weekend. FTK

Alex’s miracle Story

Alex Miller, on the far right of the photo below, is my dear friend, Jackie’s only son. The two of them have been attending THON™ for over 23 years, ever since Alex was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 1999. At that time he and his entire family were taken in and sponsored by the Phi Gamma Nu service fraternity at Penn State. For Alex’s entire time battling cancer, the THON™ Penn State students from Phi Gamma Nu visited Jackie’s home bringing snacks, gifts, and entertainment for Alex. Four Diamonds provided them with a social worker at the hospital and paid all of Alex’s medical bills not covered by insurance. They also provided gas and food vouchers while Alex was in treatment so that Jackie could leave work and help him. Four Diamonds created a child’s playroom outfitted with toys, books, and games for families staying at the Hershey Medical Center. Jackie remembers there was an activity planned each day for the kids like music therapy, bingo, and even visits from local sports heroes.

I’m happy to report that Alex won his fight with cancer and made a promise to his mom that he’d pay it forward one day by attending Penn State's main campus and joining Phi Gamma Nu. During his time at Penn State, Alex held several leadership roles within the fraternity and even went on to represent them as their THON™ Dancer when he was a senior in 2020. Beautiful.

Ping Pong at Cedar Crest Middle School’s Mini-THON.

SPRING FUNDRAISER IDEAS FOR YOUNGER KIDS

A Four Diamonds Mini-THON® is an effective way for middle and high school students to round out their school year with some unique fundraising activities. Mini-THON® gives students K-12 and their family members, as well as the local community, an easy way to be empowered in the fight to raise much-needed funds to conquer childhood cancer. Getting involved with their school community promotes teamwork, creativity, and school spirit and can raise a lot of money For the Kids. This is a perfect opportunity for students to learn how to manage large groups, recruit volunteers, run a silent auction, design an obstacle course, charge admission, sell raffle tickets, and come up with new creative ideas to raise additional funds with their own custom fundraising campaign - all on school grounds. And it can turn into a wonderful community event.

My very own nephew, Noah Bensing, lead his spring season Mini-THON® at Cedar Crest Middle School in Lebanon, PA last year. Noah was responsible for planning all of the games which students play in the gym after school until 8 pm. He was determined to raise the most money the school had ever raised. There was a small entry fee of $40 per student which they raised on their own through sponsorships, extracurricular activities, as well as the classic way, going door to door. Local vendors pitched in providing refreshments for the hard-working kids.

Last year, when Noah attended THON™ at State College for the first time he was emotionally moved far beyond words. Nothing could prepare him for seeing the huge Bryce Jordan Center filled to capacity with dancing, singing, and cheering undergrads all weekend. Noah learned from Penn State's social media pages, took lots of his own photos and purchased memorabilia on his visit, and created a presentation full of new ideas for his peers in hopes of inspiring a winning team of students who would join him in creating a viable fundraising goal. Visiting THON™ was a good idea because last year Cedar Crest Middle School's fundraising efforts resulted in $46,000 and since they first began mini-thoning they’ve raised over $302,825! FTK

the last lovely hours

Sunday morning drags itself in after a very long and grueling Saturday night. Remember everyone in this arena has not been able to sit down since Friday afternoon. This is true for all of the dedicated dancers but also for the arena full of working students, and families assisting them with loud cheers of positivity, shoulders for learning, and endless sprinkles of inspiration. It’s best to get to the arena by midday Sunday because you won’t want to miss the Family Hour and the Big Reveal at the very end. It’s powerful. And if you can’t make it to State College for this great cause, don’t worry because all of THON™ is available via stream at thon.org

THON 2023

This year THON™ is scheduled for Feb 17, 18, and 19, so this is the perfect time to get involved. I booked my hotel room months ago. It’s probably the most moving weekend I’ve ever experienced in my life and of course, all of my own kids work THON all weekend so I wouldn’t miss it for anything. I feel so honored that my friend Jackie introduced me to this in 2019. I’ve been coming up ever since.

Last year we invited extended family and friends and because of what he witnessed my nephew Nick, a high school junior decided that Penn State was definitely for him - pretty much on the spot. There really is nothing like the profound love, generosity, and joy you feel at a THON™ weekend. If this blog moved you, and if you are able, please make a small donation here: Donate To learn about the families who benefit from THON read this: THON family stories. If you or someone you know is battling childhood cancer and might benefit from becoming a THON™ family, check out this link. If getting involved with a non-THON™ weekend event is more your speed, check out this link. It shares ideas like 5k runs, and other things happening all year long. If you own a business and want to contribute financially here’s the link for you. And if you are one of the 750,000+ Penn State Alumni, here are some ways you can contribute. FTK

If you’re a blogger, what’s your favorite SEO Tool? I’ve had much keyword success with RankIQ. Learn more here. I’m always here to help you with your creative journey. Please sign up to receive blog post notifications and follow Studio Sprig on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I look forward to connecting. - Kim

A Family Tree Inspired Wedding Invitation

Kelly and Peter Jerrom.

A Family tree & a Twig

Today I’d like to share this hand-crafted invitation that I created for a couple of cute tree huggers that I know.

The invitation suite entitled Love Tree consists of an 8-page book-style invitation which was hand-bound with handmade paper, raffia, and a small twig, a custom logo, a program, escort cards for the calligrapher, response, and directional cards, and a logo-stamped copper foil label to seal the beautiful, yet subtle, fern leaf inner envelope by Envelopments.

Love Tree Wedding Invitation Book and Suite. Concept and Design by Kim Bensing Design

make it “more” special

When Peter and Kelly approached me to design for their wedding, they brought with them an entire Love Story. Kelly and Peter were childhood friends and their parents were friends as well. They expressed how important it was to them that I somehow incorporate their family into their wedding day, but not just in the typical way with photos and a devotional, they wanted more.

You see, Peter Jerrom, my friend, my arborist, my design client, and the groom-to-be owns the boutique landscape business Peter A. Jerrom Landscapes Inc. in Bucks County, PA. Peter’s unique profession and business are the inspiration behind this entire wedding invitation suite.

Logo Designed by Kim Bensing Design

the creative challenge

The concept of a “Family Tree” Inspired Invite came to me pretty quickly as Peter was my arborist and both he and Kelly wanted to include family into the design somehow. But I had to figure out how to incorporate this concept into an entire wedding invitation suite.

So, first I designed the logo that incidentally not only graced their invitation, and envelope enclosure label but lived on to serve as the main design element the entire wedding day. Their last initial “J” for Jerrom lent itself nicely to a very simple solution. I plopped an elegant leaf on top of the elegant J. The logo was embossed onto bronze labels and they were used to enclose the inner envelope which held all the suite pieces together. It was also used in strategic places throughout the suite ensemble, as you can see in the photo above.

Love Tree Wedding Invitation Suite. Photography by Richard Quindry.

How to make an invitation into a mini book

Next, I designed the soft green invitation book cover. The cover features the quote “Life without Love is like a Tree without blossoms or fruit.” and the words Love and Tree are enlarged and carefully stacked to serve as the book’s title.

The pages of the book showcase the family tree-style dates of marriage in Kelly & Peter's families. I decided to use watercolor tree illustrations as the focal art so I commissioned a friend and well-known Bucks County watercolor artist, Jane Ramsey to create the three trees inside the book. As you can see, on the first spread, the tree is small and its four branches sprout only the couple’s four grandparent groups and their wedding dates.

Spread one. Love Tree Custom Invitation Suite.

But on spread 2, as the tree grows, the couple's parents are added to either side of the tree.

Spread two. Love Tree Custom Invitation Suite.

Until finally on spread 3, you see Kelly and Peter-names only, but no date. This detail allowed me to dedicate the last page of the book to the actual wedding invitation, completing the tree.

After all the pages and covers were printed, handmade paper, raffia, and lots of small twigs were gathered, I had the help of 2 moms and several bridesmaids to assemble the 100+ invite books which made their creation a lot of fun.

Spread three. Love Tree Custom Invitation Suite.

Facts about this Wedding Invitation Suite

This Custom Invitation Suite, I’m honored to say, won a PHILLYGOLD at the Art Directors Club of Philadelphia, as well as A GOLD ADDY from the Advertising Club of Philadelphia. The logo and concept lived on throughout the wedding day on the cake, and aisle runner and even showed up again later in a cool birth announcement I created for Kelly & Peter’s first child. This announcement featured a tree with one long branch from which we hung a dangling swing. It’s really nice when creative concepts can travel and incorporate themselves throughout a long and happy life.

Love Tree Wedding Invitation Suite. Invitation book, program, response card, escort cards, label. Photography by Richard Quindry.

Love Tree Wedding Invitation Program Designed by Kim Bensing Design

The hidden life of trees

Below I have included the link to a really interesting book about how trees communicate. It really will make you think about trees, flowers, fungi, and all plants differently. Trust me.

Hand-painted Love Tree Aisle Runner.

Learn more about why trees are so fantastic

Learn: Read this cool book entitled "The Hidden Life of Trees —What They Feel, How They Communicate”
Create: The next time you host an event, be sure to create a concept-centered invitation that inspires creative fun.
Inspire: Please comment and share ways you’ve developed a concept for an event that was original and inspired others.

Simple “J” Logo & Ivy Love Tree Cake Decor.

I’m always here to help you with your creative journey. Please sign up to receive blog post notifications and follow Studio Sprig on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I look forward to connecting. - Kim
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Kim Bensing Design Photography by Jeff Reeder

How to choose flowers that have sentimental meaning

The Meaning of Flowers

Long before I opened Studio Sprig in 2016, I owned a freelance design business called Kim Bensing Design where I told sentimental romance stories through book-like wedding invitations. Because of my background in conceptual advertising, the captivating stories about my engaged couples were what I was after. I interviewed them extensively before I even began the design work. I loved this aspect of my job. I really enjoyed getting to know their backstory, and what message they wanted to relay to their guests with their invitations.

So in 2012, my first daughter Kate was graduating 6th grade and I wanted to buy her some flowers. But I didn’t want them to be just any pre-made, handheld bouquet wrapped in plastic. I wanted them to be especially meaningful to reflect how ultra special she was to me. So I went to a florist near me and asked them to tie up a few specific blooms & sprigs for my daughter to hold at her ceremony. This is four years before I knew anything about the floral industry, local growers, seasonal flowers, or pesticides. I did, however, know about plastic wrap, and I knew I did not want that! When I arrived, I was strictly interested in the meaning of the flowers and I asked for their help. And because I needed a card to explain the flowers, I also designed and attached a simple little one that illustrated the meaning of each flower in the bouquet and why I chose it. I hoped that she’d keep this forever but I am not sure she could actually find that card today, as she’s now 22 and a very busy graduate student. But through that small, ribbon-tied bouquet and a little tiny card, my undying love was conveyed that day, and it was the catalyst that propelled me to launch the Bucks County, boutique floral art studio; Studio Sprig, four years later.

Choosing Sentimental Flowers for Arrangements and Bouquets

Here is a short list of some of the flowers I chose for Kate’s bouquet above, to the best of my limited 2011 knowledge, and again because I can’t find the card!!! I hope you get the idea.

The focal flower is Stock & it is a symbol of a happy life, lasting beauty, and contented existence. It also smells AMAZING!!
The purple Aster symbolizes love, wisdom & faith.
The scattered Baby’s breath symbolizes everlasting love.
I am sure there were a few more sprigs tucked in, but I can’t see them in this photo, so sorry.

This topic of “the meaning behind something” has always fascinated me so here is a little flower history for you.

Floriography: The Language of Flowers

Floriography, the language of flowers, has been practiced in traditional cultures throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa for thousands of years. Strong interest in floriography soared in Victorian England and in the United States during the 19th century. Gifts of blooms, plants, and specific floral arrangements were used to send a coded message to the recipient, allowing the sender to express feelings which - and I love this part - could not be spoken aloud in Victorian society. A popular book entitled Le Langage des fleurs by Charlotte de la Tour was published in France in 1819. Here, Charlotte offered 300 meanings for particular flowers to provide assistance in making bouquets. Victorians often exchanged small "talking bouquets", called nosegays or tussie-mussies, which could be worn or carried as a fashion accessory.* I always love this because I carried a tussie-mussie filled with roses, hydrangea, and herbs for my wedding in 1998, having absolutely no real understanding of why I chose one except that I loved Jane Austen.

If you are unfamiliar with the illustrations of Kate Greenaway, take a look at her gorgeous 19th-century children’s books including the one linked below.

I hope you have enjoyed learning the meaning behind the meaning of flowers. Below please see the short list of some popular blooms and their symbolisms as well as a few current and not-so-current resources I discovered. You can click on the image and it will take you to where you can buy it. Have fun the next time you create a bouquet from your own garden or pop into your local flower shop or farmer’s market, and be sure to request specifics based on what they will mean to your recipient. Remember to always attach a small card to explain!

Helpful Links to learn more about meaningful flowers

I have included a link for the french edition of Le Langage des fleurs if you would like to add it to your collection. There are also more current options which I will include below. Most notably the gorgeous books authored by Shane Connolly. Enjoy.

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Floriography Sources

Shane Connolly of the UK is a renowned designer who designs for England’s royalty. Shane exemplifies the idea of discovering how florals can relate to the concept of your event. His beautiful website is worth browsing. Here are 6 of his published books that would be worth reading.

The Secret Language of Flowers: Rediscovering Traditional Meanings

Language of Flowers

Wedding Flowers

A Year in Flowers

Table Flowers: Over 50 Arrangements for Simple, Special and Spectacular Occasions

Discovering the Meaning of Flowers

Please comment to share some other interesting floral symbolisms or stories you’ve enjoyed or created. Include images!

A short list of popular flowers, herbs and their symbolisms:

~ Zinnia / friendship, & daily remembrance
~ Rose / love & passion
~ Peony / love, honor & goodwill
~ Dahlia / commitment & kindness
~ Tulip / passion & deep love
~ Carnation / love
~ Calla Lily / life & fertility
~ Gerber Daisy / cheerfulness & celebration
~ Orchid / thoughtfulness & charm
~ Gardenia / trust, hope & peace
~ Sunflowers / loyalty & admiration
~ Hydrangea / gratitude, grace & beauty
~ Rosemary / remembrance
~ Sage / wisdom & immortality
~ Thyme / courage & activity

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Learn: Read a book about the meaning of flowers
Create: Design a handheld tussie-mussie and assemble with a note
Inspire: Share your creation with a friend

I hope you enjoyed this Inspiration. Please leave comments below. I’d love to hear about your cool floral combinations. I’m always here to help you with your creative journey. Please sign up to receive blog post notifications and follow Studio Sprig on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I look forward to connecting. If you’re a blogger, what’s your favorite SEO Tool? I’ve had much keyword success with RankIQ. Learn more here. - Kim

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*source: Wikpedia
Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate and will sometimes offer affiliate links. The price you pay will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link. Thank you very much.