Visit Martha Stewart Weddings Weddings Wedding Planning & Advice Wedding Invitations, Cards & Stationery The Loveliest Watercolor Wedding Invitations By Sarah Schreiber Sarah Schreiber Sarah Schreiber has been writing, editing, and producing lifestyle and weddings content for over 7 years. In that time, she has interviewed and worked with hundreds of leading experts to become an authority on all things homekeeping, flower arranging, home design, and wedding planning. Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 10, 2019 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Dana Fernandez Photography What's more welcoming than a soft, hazy color palette? A soft, hazy palette translated with watercolor paint—on your wedding stationery. Watercolor invitations are as beautiful as they sound; send them out to your guests and they're sure to bring a smile to every lucky recipient. Splash your paper goods with the romantic, whimsical design, and rest assured your guests will have an invite worth saving. Though the stationery style often preludes springtime and summertime celebrations, the method can be applied to any suite, whatever your big day's season. The following stationery suites are proof. Wintry colors and autumnal designs look just as gorgeous in watercolor, and formal and casual weddings alike can work with the romantic (and often whimsical!) look. Ultimately, though, this painting method looks prettiest when its used to convey unique details about your specific event—and these accents don't necessarily need to speak to your celebration's seasonality. Take this Nib and Pixel paper set, for example. The stationers incorporated a slew of hand-painted details, from birds to blooms, that were inspired by the couple's wedding locale (the bright pink-and-blue color palette also spoke to the shades that would later appear on the actual big day). If you're tying the knot somewhere special, copy this approach: Dotting your invitations with elements native to your venue will get your attendees excited to mark their calendars. Here, discover more of our favorite watercolor wedding invitation suites, created for the most special of days—they just might inspire your own. 01 of 21 Locale Motifs Oliver Fly Watercolor illustrations are often a stationery add-on or accent, so use them to highlight something specific about your upcoming wedding. This couple enlisted calligrapher Veronica Halim to polish off their suite's envelope liner with a few lemon motifs, painted over a Mediterranean tile-inspired pattern. The goal? To showcase details native to their big-day locale: Italy. More of Our Favorite Destination Wedding Invitations 02 of 21 Abstract Nguyen Takeba Though watercolor details are most often seen on romantic, classic-leaning suites, the style works just as well on contemporary paper goods, as evidenced by this abstract iteration by Loren Smith from Farmette Press & Paper Company. Splashes of paint, ranging in shades from blush to navy, added a punch of color to the modern set. Discover More Modern Invitations We Love 03 of 21 Subtle Erich McVey Looking to add this detail to your suite in an understated way? Copy Veronica Halim and integrate a single concentrated wave of watercolor to your invite card and liner; carry the motif throughout the rest of your set by opting for paler interpretations of the same accent. 04 of 21 Tiny Dancer Elena Eliseeva If you're going the full-blown illustration route, choose a subject that matches the rest of your suite's design and plays into your big-day theme. This Irina Klimova suite nails both: The streaky, inky dancer looked right at home on the set's deckle-edged paper and signaled the ballet-inspired event to come. Discover More of Our Favorite Ballet-Inspired Wedding Ideas 05 of 21 Venue Christine Donée Alternatively, include a watercolor painting of your wedding venue—like Chez la Marieé did here on this Minted stationery—to get guests excited about their upcoming travels. 06 of 21 Crests Brklyn View Photography You've hired a calligrapher to create a custom watercolor crest to dress up the top of your invitation card. While that's all well and good, take it one step further by translating that personalized motif onto the rest of your day-of paper goods; Flax and Wool Designs created this coat of arms, which appeared on both the invites and the fan-style ceremony programs. More Crests and Monograms That Prettied Up Invitations 07 of 21 Crest Components Brittany Jean Photography Here's another way to translate your hand-painted crest across all parts of your paper suite: Note how Boarding School Collective surrounded this couple's monogram with a colorful string of blooms. Those blooms reappeared on the RSVP card envelopes and on the detail card for a cohesive effect. 08 of 21 Emerald Morning Wild Who says the only way to translate watercolors is through pastel colors? Fall and winter couples, take notes from this emerald-themed suite, created by One + Only Paper and calligraphed by Samantha Terhune, which involved splashes of ombré green and a hand-drawn leaf frame. More Green Wedding Invitations We Love 09 of 21 Floral Jose Villa Looking for perfectly-pretty invites that skews a bit whimsical? Bookmark this suite by Mon Voir, complete with colorful florals, a girlish crest, and butterfly details—all done in watercolor. 10 of 21 Gold Leaf 2brides Luckily, watercolor plays well with a myriad of other wedding stationery trends, including gold leaf. Elins Art Studio melded marbled gray swirls with the metallic accent on this paper set, seamlessly transitioning between the two. 11 of 21 Involved Crest Jenny Quicksall As far as watercolor crests go, this East Six Design creation is one of the more detailed we've seen. Note the tropical trees, bushes, and blooms native to the wedding's locale; the monogram was topped with a domed structure, which referenced the couple's future ceremony spot, which was designed by A Good Affair. 12 of 21 Monochrome Erich McVey Need more proof that watercolor stationery design can feel modern? You've found it in this Idyll Paper set, which involved monochrome gray smudges. More Contemporary Monochrome Wedding Ideas 13 of 21 Vantage Point Josh and Dana Fernandez We love an envelope that plays with perspective. Enter this Nib and Pixel set, complete with a one-of-a-kind envelope liner: The watercolor scene painted onto the triangular space seemed endless, thanks to the drawing's vantage point. 14 of 21 Whimsical Botanicals Caroline Logan Photography Another way to use watercolor details to elevate your envelope liner? Ask your illustrator to paint on flowers from the card line up, so it looks as if the blooms have grown straight from the paper, like Amanda Day Rose did here. More of Our Favorite Floral Invitations 15 of 21 Watercolor Everything Amy & Jordan Vehement watercolor enthusiasts will gravitate towards this Simply Jessica Marie suite. Every detail of the set—from the invite's blooms (note how they frame the text!) and bow tie RSVP cards to the hand-addressed envelopes—was created using this painting style. 16 of 21 Botanical Anatomy Rebecca Yale Photography Bespoke Strokes drew inspiration for this hand-painted save-the-date from vintage botanical anatomy posters. Do the same if you plan on hosting an Old-World garden soirée—and want to work a little watercolor onto your paper goods. 17 of 21 Next-Level Minerva House If you're invitation design motto is "Go big or go home," bookmark this Embossed Graphics of Texas suite, which showcased incredible animal illustrations and a romantic de Gournay-inspired print (all done in watercolor). More Dreamy Watercolor-Inspired Wedding Ideas 18 of 21 Booklet J. Harper Photography Sending out booklet-style invites, like these by Emily Rose Ink? You'll likely have some extra room (sans the bulk!) for an illustrated map. Use yours to highlight the sites of your wedding weekend's many events or make like this couple, who included their respective hometowns for a personal touch. A Trend We're Loving: Booklet Wedding Invitations 19 of 21 Delicate Vines Charla Storey Photography Your suite's watercolor illustrations don't have to be over the top. Just take this The Wildflowers invitation card, for example. The delicate, romantic vines dressed up the simple white notes and foreshadowed the upcoming flower-filled event. 20 of 21 Wedding Scene Karen Hill Photography Preview scenes from your celebration by enlisting your illustrator to paint snapshots of your venue's prettiest spots onto your set, like Wide Eyes Paper Co. did here. 21 of 21 Sunset Smudges Lauren Kinsey Tying the knot at golden hour? Nod to your impending nuptials by choosing an envelope liner bursting with sunset-inspired watercolor smudges. The Idea Emporium was responsible for this suite's design. Was this page helpful? 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