An inside look at the custom hand-illustrated wedding invitations, venue map illustration, wedding menus, personalized restaurant-themed table plan, and bespoke wedding gifts for Franzisca and Rory’s September wedding in the Wye Valley.
I love this stationery set because every detail serves as a storybook page telling the couple’s unique narrative. For the wedding of Franzisca (affectionately known to friends as Pumbaa) Goëss-Saurau and Rory Hopkinson at All Saints’ Church, Newland, and Bigsweir House, we created a bespoke wedding stationery set that blended late-summer florals with playful, personal touches across every piece of paper.
Hand-Illustrated Wedding Invitations & Custom Venue Map Illustration
The hand-illustrated wedding invitations established the tone for the entire weekend with a rich, late-summer palette featuring deep blackberries, warm garden roses, apples, and leafy vines printed on textured Conqueror paper. The main double-sided invitation invited guests to the ceremony in Gloucestershire before welcoming them to Bigsweir House on the banks of the River Wye.
On the reverse side of the card, a detailed custom venue map illustration guided guests through the key landmarks of the weekend—tracing the route from All Saints’ Church across the bridge to Bigsweir House, highlighting the reception marquee, the riverside glamping tent village, and sweet wildlife motifs scattered across the landscape. We also reused the church illustration later on, for the cover of the couple’s order of service, and scattered motifs from the invitations onto each inside page.
Additional invitation inserts provided details for guests staying in bell tents and invited loved ones to a relaxed Friday evening welcome dinner. They featured apples and berries that can be found in Bigsweir House garden, and whimsical illustrations of a mother wild boar and her piglets wandering along the bottom edge, who can often be spotted on Rory’s family estate!
Custom Wedding Menus & Cocktail Lists
For the wedding reception, the dining tables were dressed with custom wedding menus in A5 size that mirrored the foliage and fruits from the invitation set. The food menu displayed a late-summer feast personalized to reflect each guest’s dietary requirements, and topped with each guest’s name instead of using separate place cards. The guests collected folded escort cards on entry to the marquee, to help them find their seats.
At the bar, individual cocktail menus showcased the couple’s chosen drink list. The menu offered guests signature serves including Hennessy Maple Highballs, Glenmorangie Old Fashioneds, Belvedere Moscow Mules, and late-night Belvedere Dirty Brew coffee vodka shots, alongside French Bloom sparkling wine for non-alcoholic toasts, all framed by delicate blackberry clusters and subtle botanical flourishes.
We designed a bespoke monogram for the wedding day stationery, using R & P in calligraphy to match the colour scheme, and florals from the invitation set. This stamp on the menus, order of service and escort cards created an elegant and formal effect.
Personalized Restaurant-Themed Table Plan
We designed a personalized restaurant-themed table plan on an A1 statement board that celebrated Pumbaa and Rory’s favourite culinary memories together. Rather than traditional table numbers, each table was named after a meaningful restaurant loved by the couple, from London classics to Austrian alpine gems from Pumbaa’s childhood.
Each of the table labels included a hand-painted watercolour illustration of the restaurant paired with a modern calligraphy title. From intimate bistro storefronts to beloved neighborhood haunts, these artwork pieces brought a personal dimension to the marquee decor. As a lasting keepsake of their celebration, the original watercolour restaurant paintings were framed by the bride and groom to hang at home.
I thought it was so sweet that one of the ‘restaurants’ named ‘Chez Mimi’ was an illustration of Pumbaa’s sister’s house, where they spend every Sunday lunch.
Bespoke Wedding Presents & Custom Guests’ Gifts
No celebration is complete without memorable gifting touches that delight guests. Building on the wedding’s signature artwork, we designed custom chocolate bar wrappers for Tony’s Chocolonely packaging. Wrapped around delicious chocolate, the personalized paper sleeves featured the couple’s names, wedding date (“PUMBAA & RORY 05.09.2026”), and the signature blackberry and floral motifs.
One of the couple’s friends had a genius idea to adapt their illustrated wedding map for a personalized drinks tray. Featuring the printed custom artwork from their wedding invitation suite, the drinks tray serves as both a practical bar accessory during cocktail hour and a timeless heirloom piece for the couple’s home after the big day.
Check out more of my bespoke wedding stationery designs.
I organised the printing for all of Pumbaa and Rory’s stationery, so they didn’t to worry about the admin!
| Stationery Element | Format & Paper Stock | Key Luxury Event Stationery Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Bespoke Wedding Stationery Set | A5 Double-Sided High-White Conqueror Laid | Roses, apples & wild blackberry border with custom venue map illustration on reverse |
| Event Inserts | A5 Cards (Glamping & Welcome Dinner) | Custom wild boar illustration, glamping logistics, and weekend schedule |
| Custom Wedding Menus | Single-sided A5 Conqueror Cards | Seasonal menu curation, custom cocktail list, and blackberry vine accents |
| Personalized Restaurant Table Plan | A1 Mounted Foam Board and Separate Table Labels | Watercolour restaurant illustrations with elegant calligraphy table names |
| Bespoke Wedding Favors & Keepsakes | Custom Paper Wrappers & Lacquered Tray | “Pumbaa & Rory 05.09.2026” chocolate bars and bespoke botanical drinks tray |
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to chat about quotes for your own personalized wedding stationery!
