Designing a Wedding

Posted on June 16th, 2025.

I'm getting married in a few months. As someone who cares about design, I wanted our wedding to feel cohesive rather than like a collection of random elements thrown together over six months.

The problem is timing. You send save the dates six months out, but you're designing table numbers the week before. Most couples end up with designs that look like they're from different events entirely. Remove the names, and you'd never guess the save the date and day-of signage belonged to the same wedding.

This happens because wedding planning optimizes for individual decisions rather than the entire system. Each deadline forces a quick decision, and you end up with beautiful individual pieces that don't work together.

The solution isn't to design everything at once (impossible) or to compromise on quality (defeats the point). Instead, you need a design framework that is flexible enough to evolve but constrained enough to ensure consistency.

Building the Framework

We started with principles, not specifics:

Colors:

• Primary: orange and green
• Accents: red and blue
• Base: cream, not stark white

Typography:

• Bold serif for headlines
• Clean sans-serif for body text
• Script font for emphasis

Visual Style:

• Bold, flat colors (no gradients)
• Hand-drawn illustrations
• Retro but timeless feel

These constraints were loose enough to allow creativity but tight enough to prevent chaos. Think of them as guardrails, not handcuffs.

The Logo as a North Star

Every system needs an anchor. Ours was simple: "j x e" in an oval track shape. The "x" wasn't arbitrary, it referenced our shared love of running (track relays use "x" notation: "4x400m") and had a collaborative feel (like fashion brand partnerships: "Versace x Gucci"). The oval dimensions matched a 400m track.

More importantly, having this visual mark meant every subsequent design decision had a reference point. Does this font work with our logo? Do these colors complement it? Simple questions, but they prevented drift.

Making It Actionable

You don't need to hand-design everything to benefit from this approach. Here's what actually matters:

1. Decide early, stick consistently Pick 2-3 colors and save the hex codes. Use them everywhere. Pick 2-3 font styles (it doesn't have to be specific fonts, but styles "bold serif", "clean sans-serif"). When you're designing something six months later, refer back to these decisions.

2. Create a simple visual anchor This could be a logo, a monogram, or even just a specific way you write your names. Use it on everything. It's the easiest way to make disparate elements feel connected.

3. Optimize for the system, not the individual piece That save the date that looks "just okay" in your chosen colors will look perfect when everything else follows the same palette. Individual pieces matter less than overall coherence.

4. Document your decisions Write down your color codes, font choices, and style guidelines. Future-you will thank you when you're designing place cards at 2 AM.

5. Test the extremes Make sure your system works for both your most formal piece (invitation) and most casual (cocktail napkins). If the same colors and fonts work for both, you've built something robust.

The goal isn't to be precious about design, it's to be intentional. Most couples spend more time choosing napkin colors than thinking about how everything fits together. Thinking through your design framework upfront saves dozens of decisions later and creates something that feels unified rather than assembled.

Your wedding will happen once. The photos will last forever. It's worth getting the details right. Check out our wedding website at jamesxemily.com.