Override the default image zoom level and lock it to
either ‘cover’ or ‘contain’ using the icons on the right.
zoom lock
Arrow Keys
for forward & backSpace Bar
to cycle image zoom.Save the dates, invitations, thank you notes,
personalized envelopes, programs, table card inserts,
a custom website, the design of the wedding ring,
and then there was the actual wedding...
f course I believed this would take
much less time than client work. And
I thought to myself, designers dreams of
doing integrated campaigns where they
have unlimited hours to do their very best
work for an attentive audience... Right?
fter competing about 1/3 of the all
the things I had planned, but now
1/2 of the way through my engagement,
reality set in (and my fiancé wanted to
send her invitations). I needed to let
up on the insatiable perfectionism.
hile I did scale back, my nights and
weekends were consumed even as
Kelly and family did the hardest parts of
event planning. It was humbling. Still,
the work is worth sharing, and we've been
told that it was a uniquely lovely wedding.
After some shopping around, we knew
that Kelly wanted a double halo, oval
setting in rose gold. We chose to go with
a colored center stone called moissanite
because of its superior optical qualities
and similar hardness to diamond without
all of the marketing. I learned that the
man who leads the field in coloring these
manufactured stones, Joseph Schubach,
lived in Phoenix AZ about 20 minutes
from my house. I immediately fell in love
with his work, and he was an amazing joy
to work with, taking my impractical
designs and making them better in every
way. Check out his custom made jewelry.
I did the original 3D designs using
Sketchup after some rough
sketches on paper. Honestly, I only used
this software because I was familiar with
it for packaging & architecture and I had
some photo-realistic rendering plugins
for it. However, it is free, and quite
useful for conceptual design of any sort.
From there, Joseph Schubach and
I had a number of collaborative
sessions, sometimes screen sharing as he
built the CAD files. You can see one of
them above. His knowledge and
flexibility concerning things like
metallurgy, stone settings, and the
qualities of gemstones is incredible.
After I signed off on Joe’s final
renderings, as seen above, he and
his team 3D printed a wax mold, cast and
sanded it, set the stones, and a lot more
magic I can't even imagine to bring the
final ring to life. A month later, he called me
in to present his work of art, which I
photographed in the 3 images up top.
Many trees died to make this wedding happen. Having seen
formal invitations using pocket envelopes, I chose to use a
"5x7 Signature Invitation" the with 3 additional inserts covering
details that ultimately directed people to the wedding website.
I did over 200 custom typography layouts for each invitation's
envelope to make them feel personalized and special to each
recipient. Additionally, there were save-the-dates, cup-cards
explaining our wedding favor, and thank-you notes.
The wedding program posed a challenge right away because I
planned to use it as a platform to write something special about
every person in our wedding party as well as a thank you to our
parents. I also wanted to keep things traditional and in sync with
the majestic old church we were in, and so I wanted to avoid
using a projector for our 4 worship songs. With a map to the
reception location and the order of ceremony, I had enough
content to write a book. Instead, I used a "double gate fold"
with an insert stuffer, being both interesting and economical.
I decided to make a digital RSVP for several reasons. First, I think
it is lot easier for people to submit a form online. Second, we
sent out a lot of invites and postage is expensive! Finally, it gave
me the chance to ask for more data: guest attendance, specific
names, and people’s favorite memories about Kelly.
I made a scrolling website that duplicated information from the
invitation (it's harder to loose a bookmarked site!) and I also
introduced the wedding party. A Wordpress plugin forwarded
RSVPs to us as emails and it allowed for a bit of humor.
Everything I’ve seen told me it’s tacky to put registry information
in your invite – but it’s honestly painful to expect people to
contact the parents for every detail. We chose to create an
online registry through MyRegistry that made it easy to order
through different online retailers with an emphasis on Amazon.
We included information for a separate in-store option
using Target. Some of the best advice we received was to
include a wide price distribution ranging from fun to practical!
While the reception was held at a
beautiful church that Kelly and I were
familiar with because of their city-wide
monthly worship ministry, we chose to
have the reception under a big tent in
the backyard of the house I had been
living at. And WOW was it the best
decision because JMS Tents did it all
and provided rentals for tables, chairs,
linens, lights and the dance floor.
Everything was set up several days in
advance. This route, the cost-per-head
was significantly lower than most venues.
We chose to go with “froyo” frozen
yogurt instead of cake, and a local shop
brought out a machine with 10 toppings
& unlimited servings. Pita Jungle, a local
restaurant, grilled salmon and chicken on
site and the smell was awesome. And
then there were so many miscellaneous
details that really came together. One
unbelievable thing that I wouldn't have
thought of was the way Kelly’s dad, an
electrician by trade, installed a second
electrical panel, ran all kinds of cords,
and set up flood lights for the bathrooms.
I wish I could say that I did any of the
stellar decorations, but our families
deserve all of the credit for taking
time off to make it all happen. From
the custom painted signs (and even 2
hand-built set of cornhole) to flower
arrangements, table settings, hand
written seating directions, a beautiful
reception table, menus, trees wrapped
with lights, hanging photos, and a big
entry arch with our names on it. I really
can’t say enough thank-you's to every-
one who gave so much time and love.
In the aftermath of everything, I’m trem-
endously grateful to our media crew for
really capturing so many emotions and
memories for us. We wanted to spend as
much of our day as possible focusing on
each other and all of the people who
came to celebrate with us. I couldn’t
believe how many details I missed that
we have been able to relive through
the photos, video and music that we
now have to enjoy. I’m including some of
it here for anyone else that would like to
remember this day with us that was so
full of family, friends, Holy Spirit, dancing,
laughter, and tears of joy.
A huge shout out to Josh Coe
for the video he shot for us!
He’s a young guy who is just
getting started in the business
and his company’s name is
'Joshua Coe Photographics'.
I truly believe that he did a
better (and more tasteful) job
than almost all of the wedding
videographers I’ve seen. In
addition to the video he put
together on the right, he also
provided the original footage
and a full capture of the vows.
See more of his stuff on Youtube!
At the 11th hour I dropped my
stereo-condenser mic attached
to an iPhone into the hands of
our talented DJ, Josiah Smiley,
who recorded this from his
seat in the sanctuary. Thank
you to him and to Scott Gayer,
my best man who is a worship
leader out in Wichita, for
leading us during the
ceremony. Also to Jake &
Stephanie Franklin for their
beautiful Doxology, and Grace
Keckeis for jumping in and
saving the day!
Anna Marisol was our photographer, and I would highly
recommend her to anyone. Not only did she produce many
gorgeous shots of Kelly and I at all of the right moments -
she has brilliant insight into recording feelings and people. I
would say her greatest strength is her outstanding ability to
bring the best out of anyone by making them comfortable
and just believe they can be themselves. I also appreciate that
she brought on a second shooter and gave us a huge number of
photos. She is very professional and quite generous with usage
rights. (Make sure to choose a wedding photographer that allows
you to own your photos!) She’s in high-demand and you should
certainly connect with her for any wedding or portraiture needs.
What can I say, except that it was a
happier day than I could have conceived
or dreamed of, much less planned for.
I thank God every day for bringing me
together with the most lovely soul I have
ever met, and that we get another day
together to explore, dream, grow, hope,
and love. My gratitude to all our friends
and family for their help is immeasurable.
I made this case study for my portfolio
as a designer, although part of me just
wanted to remember and share all of the
crazy things that went into, and came out
of the hard work put in by a dedicated
team of talented people. Part of me
also hoped to inspire someone. Maybe a
bride-to-be who could benefit from the
endless research I did, or maybe another
designer looking for inspiration. But
hopefully it helps you believe that you
can make your dreams come true (or you
can shamelessly steal mine – email me
for Illustator files). So here's to all
of you DIYer's out there. May you find
success in all your attempts, and may
you never, ever try to do an integrated
wedding campaign in five months.
I was the principal designer for all of the work shown unless otherwise noted, and I am the author and creator of the case studies within this portfolio. This website exists as a digital resume for the purpose of providing proof of experience in order to gain future potential work. Many of these projects were completed collaboratively in a “creative for hire” agency, freelance contract, or software company with copyright assigned to that entity or client.
I always have language in my creative contracts that I discuss with clients and employers that specifies my ability to display my work publicly. This includes concepts and processes as well as final deliverables, given that all of these are necessary to display my competence as a UX and Product Designer. I follow best practices to the best of my ability to assure that my work for clients is in compliance with copyright, either through open licensing or purchase of stock photography, mockups, icons, and other creative resources. However, I recognize that digital ownership is sometimes disputed on the internet. I do not assume legal liability for work completed in good faith on behalf of corporations and organizations, even if it is displayed here in my Resume. Even so, I take copyright and intellectual property seriously as a professional designer and photographer.
If you have any questions or concerns about something displayed here, please contact me and I will do my best to resolve them as simply and expediently as possible. Thank you!