Design
Meet Me In St. Louis Bridal Shower Invitation
by Anne Kostecki
Leah and John, who decided to marry in Leah's hometown of Pittsburgh, wanted to include the groom's hometown for an event, and so their families hosted a couples shower in St. Louis too. The mother of the groom wanted a historic feel to the shower, and wanted the invitation to be inspired by art from the 1904 World's Fair. The shower would be hosted at the Lemp Mansion, a historic home for St. Louis' beer-brewing Lemp family, which is now an inn and restaurant. The groom's family described an event that focused on St. Louis' unique heritage and history.
And so starting from that perspective, I researched fin de siecle art from the World's Fair, and came across detailed, colorful landscape artworks of St. Louis landmarks and fairgrounds. I decided to paint the skyline of St. Louis including the famous Gateway Arch, Old Courthouse, and a small riverboat too. I painted the original watercolor and scanned it, and decided to pair it with typography that echoed travel posters from the early 20th century. I included typographical ornaments in the title, and also selected typography that mirrored that era as well. The invitations were printed on textured, ivory cover stock and paired with pale blue envelopes (a nod to St. Louis' French history). The envelopes were then written in bronze calligraphy.
