I've been looking forward to sharing this sweet story of my friends, Ashleigh and Mark, and the background of their wedding day designs for quite some time now! I'd originally planned to post in November, around their first anniversary, but then thought it might be kinda fun to share around Valentine's Day, so here we are! :) Ashleigh is a friend I met through University of Mobile, and truly is one of the sweetest, joyful, and most sincere people I know. If her name/face looks familiar, you may have read this feature on birthday skydiving that she contributed to last year.

Anniversary #1 trip to Martha's Vineyard, November 2014

Getting to work on her wedding print suite was a dream come true for me! This was the second time I had a chance to work with a bride, and she had lots of big design plans that I was so excited to help her meet! In all, we wound up creating a save-the-date postcard, invitation, an "extras" card, program, peanut favor tags, thank you cards, an address stamp, and a "logo" of sorts they were able to use on shakers, cups, and more (photos below).

a little background

They met in: Mobile, Alabama in 2011
They married on: November 2, 2013, in Enterprise, Alabama
They are currently living in: Pike Road, Alabama (near Montgomery)

How we met . . . Mark likes to tell everyone we met online and end the story there. :) The real story though, is that we were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Molly Broaders . . . and it took her 4 months to convince Mark to meet me. When she finally did, he sent me a Facebook message claiming not to be a creeper. Since I had already asked several people what they knew about him, I decided to reply to that message.

I knew there was something more to this relationship when . . . I met him in person for the first time on December 18, 2011. We met at Starbucks and ended up staying for over 3 hours. I called my mom when I left and told her that if she and my Dad could pick anyone in the world for me, that it would be Mark Coats. I knew that night I wanted to marry him.

He proposed . . . at one of my favorite places in the world, the University of Mobile. He proposed there because me saying "yes" meant I'd have to leave my job (that I loved very much) at U Mobile to move to Montgomery.

a few engagement/leaving Mobile shots, courtesy of Michelle Taulbee photography

the process

First, Michelle sent me several various design options for a save-the-date so she would know what direction to go. I intended to let our save-the-date set the tone for the entire wedding. From all she sent, I picked out a favorite and then mentioned elements from other options that I wanted blended into my favorite. From there, Michelle took it and ran with it!

These are six of nine first proofs I sent Ashleigh. I try to always send at least three basic designs, unless the bride or client is really clear on what they're looking for. With Ashleigh, we'd talked mostly about using navy blue and a distinct scr… — These are six of nine first proofs I sent Ashleigh. I try to always send at least three basic designs, unless the bride or client is really clear on what they're looking for. With Ashleigh, we'd talked mostly about using navy blue and a distinct scripty font in the design for sure, but the exact feel wasn't fully determined until seeing a variety of choices.

Working to establish the save-the-date made creating the wedding invitations a much more simple process, at least from my perspective, by carrying over the same features from that card onto the invitation design. So when she sent me the final save-the-date proof, I was ecstatic -- It was PERFECT!

On the left, is the random, lone horizontal, last of the first proofs I worked on in that first set, and wouldn't you know, it was the one that stuck! :) On the right is the final version, landed on after we tried out a few color options with these … — On the left, is the random, lone horizontal, last of the first proofs I worked on in that first set, and wouldn't you know, it was the one that stuck! :) On the right is the final version, landed on after we tried out a few color options with these elements. (Click on any of the design pictures to see them in more detail.)

One of the best things about collaborating is getting and sharing good ideas. My favorite part of this save-the-date is the Alabama outline and little peanut on the back to show where Enterprise is on the map -- both of which were Ashleigh's ideas!

prepping for THE BIG DAY

When my invitations arrived . . . I squealed with excitement! They were everything I hoped they would be! Michelle really is the best! I had a "look" and "feel" imagined in my head, but couldn't figure out how to communicate that to someone else to interpret through design. She was very patient, asked excellent questions, and created a result that was far greater than anything I had imagined! Her attention to detail and ability to "hear" what I didn't say are a gift.

One of my favorite things is that we incorporated peanuts into every design. My hometown is part of the "peanut capital of the world," and we got married in the middle of peanut season!

Ultimately, I wanted my wedding look and feel to be . . . Southern, relaxed, casual, fun, unique, Christ-centered, and filled with all of our favorite things about fall in the South. We wanted people to think, "that is so Mark & Ashleigh," from the save-the-date postcard all the way to saying "farewell" to us after the reception . . .