Watercolor Menus, Table Numbers, and Escort Cards (a look at the extras)

View of the table setting with my custom watercolor wedding menu card | courtney khail watercolors | photo by Elle Golden

The Extras- watercolor escort cards, menus, and table numbers by courtney khail watercolors

Oh the extras. A lot of people forget about these, but it's these pieces that can really tie everything together design wise. You also a little more freedom to play around with pieces like menus or table numbers since there are-usually- less of them and therefore not as visually overwhelming or expensive. Since I've already shared the watercolor wedding invitations I created for the Weddings Unveiled shoot, I thought today would be a great day to share more of the "day of" elements.

For the menus and table numbers, I utilized the same basic designs and artwork as the invitations, but I played with the shapes to give them more visual interest. (If you missed the post on how I created the artwork, you can find that here.) My circular menus fit perfectly inside the (absolutely beautiful) gradient blue plates Raquel chose from Ponce City Market's West Elm, which in turn acted as "frames" for the menu artwork. (Full disclosure, this was actually just a happy accident. I thought circles would be more fun than common rectangle or square menus, not to mention that the artwork really lent itself to the shape so I just went for it and hoped for the best. I had no clue if it would work with the design, but luckily, it worked perfectly.)

my original sketch for the menu cards | via courtney khail watercolors

The table number was also a spontaneous decision. Originally a square, I thought it needed something so the night before the shoot I started cutting away at the white space. In the end, the cut out mimics the border of the painted "bouquet" and ended up blending in seamlessly to the center pieces. Which was pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

Custom watercolor table number by courtney khail | photo by Elle Golden

As for the escort cards, Raquel told me the idea she had for displaying them, so I knew they couldn't be too busy. By removing the line work, the names (handwritten to mimic the invitation) pop from the paper, while the lighter artwork forms a floating garden when all of the names are arranged together.

View of Table | Custom watercolor wedding extras by courtney khail | photo by Elle Golden

Custom watercolor escort card detail | created by courtney khail | photo by Elle Golden

Friday Recap

copyright courtney khail stationery

First, I thought I'd give a sneak peak on another wedding order I just sent out a week-ish ago. In addition to her table numbers I also created all of her escort cards. I can't wait to see the pictures from their wedding- it sounded like a blast!

Second, have you gone and checked out Lonny yet? It's wonderful and not only does it completely fill the void (and more) left by Domino, it also has awesome interactive features that I personally think are just fantastic.

Just a sneak peak to get you excited... (have I mentioned how much I love open shelving?)

via ma belle

Third-J and I went to the art opening for David Swann last night and it was amazing. David has been working incredibly hard this past year (which was beyond apparent by his new collection!) and I just loved seeing how he created his own unique pieces yet still noticeably referenced the inspiration he received from Magritte's works. And not only is he inspiring, both David and his wife Michele are such wonderful people. I've known them my whole life (they are longtime friends with my parents... actually I think they knew my parents before they even got married!) and it's always great to get to talk with them and see what David has been up to.

And last (but not least!) tomorrow is my Dad's birthday!! yay!! He and my mom will be out of town so I won't get to see him, but check back tomorrow to see what I sent him :)

Oh, and this is completely random but it's just kind of bugging me. My wireless mouse is on the fritz. Or maybe it's my Mac. Whichever, they are pulling the old "silent treatment" and refuse to work with one another. Not the end of the world or anything, but still kind of frustrating.

Anyhow! I hope everyone has a wonderful wonderful weekend (and that the weather cooperates with whatever plans you may have!) We might take a trip to North Georgia for some kayaking (given all of the water around here is now horribly polluted because of the floods) but who knows. Any of y'all have big plans?