Invitations are the beginning of a wedding story. And like any beginnings you got to bring the magic that will hook your guests. There was a time when we used that pink-and-yellow glossy paper for invites, we still do when we are inviting elders and other relatives. But when it comes to friends, colleagues and peers, we go for something creative, artsy, unique and/or quirky. Something that gives an insight about the couple. We want something that will stand out and something that will make others envious.
And here's some of that quirky, one-of-a-kind invites that Pathrika has made for some of their clients:
1. Divya and Vikram - A fun couple with deeply rooted Tambrahm values. He is a carnatic singer and she is a bharatnatyam dancer. They wanted a card which will highlight typical aspects of a Tambrahm wedding. They were open to an extremely creative and artistic card. This was Mekala's chance to explore some new techniques. So Pathrika went all out in terms of style of illustration. The card had little inserts, each talking about 1 aspect of the wedding style. The main surface of the card had this illustration of a girl dancing and a boy singing in a temple set-up much like the "thillana mohanambal" movie song. Mekala from Pathrika came up with this line which said she dances to his tunes. So it all came together beautifully.
The couple said "You did a great job for us, for the invitations. It was a pleasure working with you. We really appreciate it."
2. Ayushi and Rajat - An amazing couple with such vibrant ideas and so much enthusiasm. It is only once in a while Pathrika comes across couple who take an active part in the design process. Pathrika had actually designed their 'save the date' card which was a big success. So they wanted a main invite with caricatures. So Pathrika did this very plush and rich card with a much unexpected colour scheme. Each of the insert had a different caricature of the couple.
The couple said "love our card. Thanks so much for designing it, Mekala. It sure was a stunner!"
3. Deepthi and Ashwanth - The bride was extremely open to any idea that Mekala came up with. Most of her friends were either foreigners or North Indians. So Mekala did this booklet sort of card which would be like a guide to a Tambrahm wedding - like a handbook. Such a simple design but came out so well!
The bride said "It was great working with you. The card has come out so well and thanks for taking time to add detail to the illustrations. My parents and I love it :)"
4. Keerthana and Ashwin - A super cool couple, they had so much to say about themselves! So Mekala came up with this little comic booklet which traced their story roughly from the time they fell in love till the time they got married. There were lots of little details like dialogues from Tamil movies, song lyrics etc. It was an out and out crazy, zany card.
The couple said "the invite is very pretty and it's very special to us. You have done an excellent job and a wonderful effort. I will definitely give Pathrika a five star rating and recommend it to my friends. Again thanks a ton."
5. Samantha and Arunvignarajah - The bride wanted a pretty, girly yet very elegant and formal card. So Mekala did this lotus themed card, with a gate fold. The main card had this intricate jaali pattern which was foiled in gold and cut out like a window. It ended up looking like a piece of jewellery it was that beautiful! Needless to say, it was a super hit.
The bride said "The card looks extremely beautiful. All of us are very happy with the card."
6. Akila and Sriram - An interesting couple who had gone through quite a bit to convince parents and get married. However, they didn't want the card to look like they struggled. So I did this funny take on bringing parents together and also made an interesting format out of it. So these 2 circles, pinned in the centre had to be brought together for the story to make sense, just like how bringing the families together made the wedding!
The couple said "We, Akila and I, like the invite very much. Thanks a ton for bringing our thoughts to reality. The running joke in the family is , ellarukkum thala suttha poguthu unga invite sutthi sutthi padichu! :) We are, of course putting the blame on you. But honestly, we like the way it has come out."
7. Innu and Sujay - This is one of our personal favourites. I am very passionate about Chennai. The couple were exactly like Mekala! She is from Kolkata and he is from Chennai. So Mekala tried to capture the soul of these 2 cities to the best of her abilities. It was so much fun to go beyond the typical landmarks and illustrate other aspects of both of these cities.
The couple said "Mekala is a great person, easy to talk to, very sweet and understanding and has a great eye for detail, an awesome design capability and an amazing aesthetic sense. This was the first time Mekala was working on a city-based wedding invite, and she took special care to understand where we came from, what defined the cities we want depicted and the little nuances that make the cities so special to each of us. She really put in a lot of thought while she went about creating the design. We don't remember having to explain to her much at all. And yet, Mekala managed to capture almost every idea and make it look so beautiful in the final invite. We were extremely happy with her work, and super proud to share the invite with our friends and family. Thanks Mekala for making it so special for us!"
8. Meghana and Shaleen - The bride was extremely particular about how the card should look like. So it was a bit of a challenge. But the card turned out quite beautifully, eventually. Mekala illustrated a wedding procession for this card.
9. Vaishnavi and Praveen - The couple started off with pretty much no clue about what they wanted done on the card, but when Mekala gave them a few directions, they got very excited. So she came up with this board game sort of card. It was heavily inspired by the game Monopoly. We filled the individual blocks with events from their lives. It was fabricated like a proper board games, with a box and everything. We truly enjoyed doing this card.
The couple said "Thank you very much for such a lovely invite. When we started, we never expected such an outcome. We can't thank you enough for all your patience.
It's been a wonderful experience working with you. In the process of designing the card, writing down a lot of information about us gave us an opportunity to relive so many memories of our wonderful journey. Must thank you for everything."
10. Utthara weds Anirudh - They had a floral theme going through the wedding, and because the invitation is the very aspect of the wedding that an invitee will see, they wanted me to set the mood for the events. We came up with this set of very Tamil traditional flowers that we have all seen growing up. The various events were then given different flowers. The main card had this beautiful gold cut-out motif which was then used for the backdrop design for the Reception.
