Modern wedding invitations push the envelope with bold colors, designs

While the gowns are still white, Seattle weddings are being injected with bright bursts of color as modern brides eschew the classic calligraphy on cream stock in favor of bold colors, vivid florals, unique packaging and more. We shuffled through reams of cream card stock to uncover a few of the hottest trend setters in wedding invitation design, some living right here in Seattle.

Vismara Invitations: No longer an afterthought, brides are using the invitation to set the stage for the look and feel of the entire wedding. When University of Washington professor Laura Lowes began planning her wedding, she started by choosing invitations from Vismara Invitations in what designer Yvonne Muench calls a "color duet" of striking orange and fuchsia. Laura then carried the bright, cheerful colors through the rest of her wedding, using the "color duet" in her florals and selecting orange silk for the bridesmaid dresses. Available at Grace & Co. Paperie.

Wiley Valentine: "A blend of vintage and modern is a hot trend right now," points out Wiley Valentine designer Rachelle Schwartz, who produces a line of elegant yet whimsical mix-and-match letterpress imprintables available at swee swee paperie and studio in West Seattle. Wiley Valentine also creates elaborate custom invitations in unique packaging such as boxes and ribbon-tied pouches. For her custom design clients, Schwartz likes to work with the couples to "visually blend the bride and groom's heritage and create an invite that really reflects them as a couple."

Apiary Design: Designer Molly Woodland infuses her unique collection with whimsical patterns, signature stitching and unique raised ink printing. Brides can mix and match colors, patterns and even icons to create a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Paper Moxie: No relation to the restaurant Moxie in Capitol Hill or the card shop in West Seattle, Paper Moxie is the brainchild of local Sheryl Bracken who likes to incorporate an element of surprise into her creative designs.

Kenzie Kate Invitations: Designer and author of the popular wedding blog Something Old, Something New, Mackenzie Sala says, "Couples are leaning further and further away from white and looking for bold colors, bright ribbons and graphic patterns." Sala recommends choosing an unexpected color scheme like raspberry/bronze, yellow/silver, or moss/charcoal.

While there is no shortage of great shops in Seattle such as Stuhlberg's and the Real Card Company that carry wedding invitation books, some brides prefer the level of individual attention coupled with better pricing you receive by visiting the designer's Web sites directly. Many, like Kenzie Kate, offer free consultations and will send samples. Some local designers, like Paper Moxie and Vismara, have even made house calls.

If plain invitations are now on their way out, we can only hope that boring bridesmaids' dresses are the next wedding tradition to follow suit.

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