{ SIDE BY SIDE }
A WEDDING INVITATION SUITE
All Photos Courtesy of www.claytonaustinlovestories.com
[ Stationery photos by The Blu Sash ]
Oh we ain't got a barrel of money,
Maybe we're ragged and funny;
But we'll travel along, singin' a song,
Side by side.
— Harry Woods (melody) & Gus Kahn (lyrics) 1927
Some things are timeless. A century old photograph buried in a box. A dress in an attic trunk. A letter from the front lines. A rusting license plate hanging in a barn. The words to a song long forgotten. They still have the power to move you because they posses a human element that can touch any heart regardless of century, decade or hour.
Love is timeless. It is has and always will be the essence of our very being. Today, perhaps love has become too much of a packaged product. We polish and shine our love for all to see. It must be perfect. Unblemished. An ideal. A dream. But reality sets in. Love becomes bumped along the dusty road of life. There are detours, delays, road blocks, wrecks. Often love is left along these lonely roads of disappointment and despair when it is at these times love needs us most.
Would it be that more went into marriage realizing that the dream is about living in this imperfect world with a determination to work for something that is worth more than it costs. What many fail to realize is that the potholes are melded together with periods of breath-taking scenery, memorable stops and mountain top experiences. If one gets out of the car halfway through the journey, so much will forever be missed.
Brooke and Manny's wedding made me think of the beauty found in the rough patches of life. The Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Mississippi was full of just such beauty. The beauty of the forgotton, the beauty of the well-loved, the beauty of simplicity, the beauty of trials and tribulation, the beauty of the soul and the beauty of love.
Brooke is my dear cousin and this wedding was a family event. I am so thankful this vivacious woman with a great thirst for life allowed me to be a part of her day through design. It was a weekend full of love and joy, tears and laughter, fellowship and celebration, song and dance. Many people from many walks of life coming together to celebrate a time, a place and a love. A love in all its beautiful, flawed, timeless perfection.
{ WEDDING INVITATION SUITE }
[ All artwork used in this invitation suite was drawn on the computer
using vintage 1920's labels and music sheet artwork as reference. ]
[ Vellum direction cards were enclosed with the invitations
and envelopes were lined with a metallic paper and coordinating pattern. ]
[ The reply card was a 2-sided postcard and
1920's scrollwork was carried over onto the envelope flap. ]
