Wedding Blog

Since not all our guests are familiar with Old City — the quaint, historical, and art-gallery-rich area of Philly where our reception will be held — I thought a map might be a great way to show some of the surrounding spots. When I contacted Heather from Pantomime Papers about this idea, she quickly agreed — she was, at the time, working to build her portfolio — and sent me some inspiration maps so we could figure out what look would be the best fit. (The following images are from here.)

We agreed to draw from the Boston and New York City styles above, infusing the map with whimsical (but historical!) visuals and bright, bold colors. Heather also asked me to identify and prioritize the locations I wanted her to feature on our map. This part of the process was so much fun, since I was writing out lists of restaurants Mr. Bruschetta and I frequent, several specialty shops we pop into whenever we’re in the area and historical hot spots that are oh-so Philly—but narrowing down the top picks definitely wasn’t an easy task, since we love so much in this part of the city.

Ultimately, we decided to include places our guests will need to know, intermingled with some that are just “us”. And then, armed with a list of the places ranked by importance, Heather set to work researching Philly.

About one week later, a black and white proof of the design popped into my email. Heather was a breeze to work with, and responded quickly and cheerfully to each of my suggestions. Once we loved the design, Heather colorized the map — and then we went through another round of tweaking until the background colors were as I imagined them.

And so now, Mr. Bruschetta and I have this awesome map commemorating the part of Philly where we’ll celebrate with our nearests and dearests. Since the mister and I wanted to keep our invitations as simple and streamlined as possible, we’re not including a map or directions insert, and instead, we’ll direct our guests to our wedding blog, where they’ll be able to view and enjoy Heather’s map. (I mean, how can you not? Look at all the adorable little colonial folk!) All Philly map photos are courtesy of Pantomime Papers.

So. Freaking. Cute. I love the moon above the F.U.E.L. House (although it won’t be full for our wedding, this guy’s so cute, and totally reminds me of the operatic moon in Moulin Rouge), that Ben Franklin’s apparently hooked on Starbucks, how there’s smoke streaming out of the Elfreth’s Alley homes and little Betsy in her rocking chair working hard on a flag right in front of the entry to the courtyard. Way too tough to narrow it down more — which is your favorite part?

Heather’s new to the business of map-making, but you might recognize her more familiarly as… the spunky Miss Snapdragon!

Are you making — or, like me, getting some creative assistance with — a map of your wedding ceremony and/or reception location?