I won't bore you with fuzzy photos of total strangers, but what I will share is some of the fun details I planned for this special occasion. After all, what kind of designer would I be if I didn't practice what I preach and create a fun invitation that set the tone of what was to come the night of the big party!
First up were the invitations: fun and colorful, yet tasteful and with a hint of beerishness. I used chartreuse envelopments that I picked up at PaperSource ages ago (the green is a perfect match for Defteling Design) and glued in the actual invite with double-stick tape (designed in Illustrator and printed right on my little desktop inkjet).
I also created a custom logo that I used everywhere, including on stickers (also from PaperSource) that I used to seal the invites. The logo was inspired by one of Todd's favorite Belgian beers (St. Bernardus) and included small details like his profession (librarian), age (40), birth year (1969), even the correct beer glass shape and the little halo (he's Saint Toddeus, after all).
I knew I wanted to have a Sachertorte from Market of Choice as his birthday cake, but unfortunately they didn't have a way to recreate the logo so I went online and ordered a couple printouts using edible ink on rice paper. The result was stunning!
And what's a beer tasting without the right accessories! You guessed it: the logo founds its way onto pint glasses and beer coasters, which doubled as party favors.
I had a ton of fun designing and planning this event and was so happy when it all went off without a hitch (well, besides Todd coming home through the back door instead of the front door, so none of us were prepared to yell "surprise" when he walked in!)
