invitation design & calligraphy

When Haines at Significant Events NC first reached out about Kassidy and Max’s upcoming House Boheme wedding, I knew I would absolutely love designing for it. Tucked away in Rutherfordton near Lake Lure—right outside of Asheville—this venue completely redefines the mountain event experience. House Boheme an artist-designed, globally influenced Bohemian retreat nestled right in the foothills of Appalachia.

The property blends the allure of a European countryside villa with the lush vastness of the Blue Ridge. It features striking modern timber-frame architecture, exposed reclaimed timbers, floating steel, and massive walls of windows that seamlessly transition the interior spaces to the outdoors. With its raw textures, warm earth tones, and tropical plants, it creates an exotic, secluded oasis that felt like the perfect canvas for Kassidy and Max.

A medium-range, elevated photograph looking down upon the stone-faced, multi-level entrance of House Boheme. The structure is nestled within a lush, garden-like setting of mature pines and dense deciduous trees, with some early fall colors visible in the foliage.

Wide-angle landscape photograph looking out over a reception area with long wooden tables and a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains at sunset. The setting features a dusty blue table runner, various-sized candle holders, and bud vases with mixed wildflowers. A small, simple wedding cake sits on a pedestal in the distance.

Haines and her team mapped out a vision for a sunny September fall day that felt less like a stiff, formal production and more like a relaxed neighborhood get-together. Once that foundation was established, I stepped in to design the custom stationery and day-of paper goods that would fit the organic, whimsical vibe everyone was after.

With a peaceful color palette of gold, dark olive, deep teal, and dark maroon on the table, I set to work making the details feel emphatically unique to the couple.

The Custom Invitation Suite

Your invitations are undoubtedly your guests’ very first look into the wedding day—a tangible preview of what’s to come. To weave the overall concept into the paper goods, I designed a loose watercolor illustration of the House Boheme stone and timber facade, which we paired with rich forest green envelopes, custom illustrated maps of the Lake Lure area, and clean teal typography.

Once the couple saw how the artwork captured the essence of the venue, we moved right into production on a gorgeous, textured cotton paper with hand-torn, deckled edges. Combined with clean, modern calligraphy, the final invitation suites set a warm, welcoming tone for the weekend long before anyone packed their bags.

Flat lay photograph of Kassidy and Max's custom watercolor wedding invitation suite. The main invitation, with a deckled edge and illustration of the House Boheme venue, is centered. Surrounding it are emerald green envelopes with mountain-scape liners, an RSVP card with a QR code, and a dark blue map card with white line art details.

Flat lay photograph of Kassidy and Max's custom watercolor wedding invitation suite including their weddings rings in a custom wooden holder. The main invitation, with a deckled edge and illustration of the House Boheme venue, is centered. Surrounding it are emerald green envelopes with mountain-scape liners, an RSVP card, and a dark blue map card with white line art details.

Welcome to Lake Lure

When the weekend finally arrived, the weather completely cooperated. Guests were greeted by a custom wood welcome sign that carried over the exact clean typography and script design elements from the invitations, propped on a gold easel and framed by deep purple and maroon florals.

The atmosphere was instantly relaxed and full of laughter. Kassidy wore a classic spaghetti strap gown with delicate floral beading, while Max opted for a sharp, light tan suit.

Medium shot of a wooden welcome sign for "Max & Kassidy" set on a gold-colored wire easel on a stone patio. A vibrant, bohemian floral arrangement with deep reds and purples sits at the base of the easel, next to the entrance of House Boheme.

A black and white portrait of the bride, Kassidy, from behind. She stands at a large, iron-wrought glass door leading out to a balcony, wearing a floor-length wedding gown with floral beading. Her arms are raised as she looks out, with the light from outside casting reflections.

An Escort Display Rooted in Family History

One of the best parts of collaborating with great planners like Haines is getting to brainstorm ways to build meaningful details into the day-of piece production. Kassidy and Max wanted to honor the groom’s late father, who had been an agave farmer. Thus, the goal was a design that felt intentional and grounding, and I loved creating the paper elements to pull it off.

Instead of a standard seating chart, each guest found their name printed on a custom wildflower seed packet nestled inside long, wooden planter boxes and potted plants. Each packet featured the custom venue watercolor illustration on the front. The seed packets directed guests to their tables, where the custom table numbers I designed were tucked right into larger agave plants on the tables. It was a thoughtful, living tribute that fit the organic aesthetic perfectly.

Close-up of a whimsical wedding seating chart display. Small, custom watercolor seed packets printed with guest names and table numbers are styled inside a rustic wooden planter box filled with lush, leafy green herbs. A small glowing votive candle sits on the patterned tablecloth nearby.

An outdoor wedding reception setup at golden hour with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. Long wooden dining tables are set with light blue runners, modern glass hurricane candles, small wildflower centerpieces, and a potted agave plant. Custom menu cards sit on speckled ceramic plates.

Elegant wedding tabletop decor featuring a custom watercolor table number card reading "Table 6," nestled inside a potted green agave plant. The setup rests on a light blue fabric runner alongside a tall, modern glass hurricane candle holder with a lit white taper candle.

A bohemian-styled escort card display featuring individual seed packets personalized with guest names and table numbers. The packets are clipped to small transparent holders and nestled into a mix of live plants, creating a lush, organic wall of paper and greenery.

A framed black and white portrait photograph of the groom's late father is positioned centrally, honoring his memory. In front of the portrait, a long row of uniform, miniature terracotta-potted succulent favors is lined up, ready for guests to take home.

Custom Tabletop Details

For the reception, the cozy backyard-style energy certainly took over against the backdrop of the mountains. Bask Floral Studio styled the long wooden tables with vibrant florals, while BBJ La Tavola provided the dusty blue runners.

A symmetrical overhead drone photograph of an outdoor wedding reception on a green lawn. One long, continuous wooden table stretches across the bottom, balanced by two shorter rectangular tables at the top. A round, blue-clothed cake table sits centered between them. All tables feature matching light blue runners and minimal centerpieces.

To bring everything full circle, I brought back the custom venue watercolor for the personalized menus resting on each plate. Each menu featured hand-deckled edges for a tactile, high-end finish, with every guest’s name printed on a clean yellow-gold border. Altogether with the custom table numbers hanging from the agave pots, the entire tabletop setup looked incredibly cohesive and intentional. No templates here—just custom pieces built to make their guests feel instantly comfortable.

A beautifully styled wedding reception place setting at an outdoor wooden table. A patterned ceramic plate holds a custom family-style menu card reading "Cody," accented by a yellow-gold border. The table runner features a small potted succulent, a tall hurricane candle, and bud vases with deep purple and blue wildflowers.

A wedding guest holds a white ceramic bowl filled with a family-style pasta dish topped with breadcrumbs and herbs over a wooden reception table. In the foreground, a personalized deckled-edge wedding menu card reads "Amanda" with a custom venue illustration.

Angled close-up of an outdoor wedding reception table setting. A personalized menu card reading "Larry" with a yellow-gold accent border rests on a patterned salad plate stacked on a speckled ceramic charger. The wooden table is decorated with a light blue fabric runner, clear glassware, silver flatware, small green votive holders, and minimal concrete bud vases holding deep red and purple wildflowers.

Designing for this House Boheme wedding was such a fun, meaningful project. It’s a perfect example of how trusting your hired vendor team and our design processes makes everything come together seamlessly. Whether you’re planning an intimate mountain gathering here in Western North Carolina or a celebration anywhere across the US, your paper goods should feel like you on paper.

Let’s Work Together

Ready to get started on a cohesive, stress-free paper experience that gets your guests excited to RSVP “yes”? Click here to contact me today, and let’s design custom invitations and day-of pieces that actually reflect your personality.