Creativity and experimenting are on the rise in the invitation business CAIRO: A few weeks ago I received a large, colorful lollypop that looked straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At first I was confused, but when I took a closer look I realized that the cartoon at the front was of a couple I know. "It's a wedding invitation . how cute, exclaims my mother excitedly. Lately, this trend has been on the rise, as the grooms and brides to be are getting more and more creative with their wedding invitations. In the past few years I have personally seen some of the most unique invitations: From DVD boxes with titles of famous romantic comedies like "The Story of Us, with the groom s and bride s names replacing the actual cast s, to M&M chocolates, with the details on the wrapper changed to the wedding information. These invitations have more advantages than that of the traditional white and gold cards we used to get, and not just because they are fun to receive; they give the couple space to reflect their personalities and give the guests a heads up on what the wedding is going to be like. Mirale El Baz, who has been designing wedding invitations for three years now, says this new creative wave has found appeal, because "people had stopped caring what invitations look like because they where all the same . So they were thrown away and not appreciated. Not anymore, however. El Baz meets with the couple and they brainstorm the ideas until they find something that they are satisfied with which she implements. And the result is an invitation even guests are eager to save. One of the most inventive ideas she has created is a pack of playing cards. Using only eight cards, she replaced two of the Kings with pictures of the fathers of the couple, and the Queen and the Jack with the couple themselves. She used the numbers to say the time and the date of the event. The Joker was a picture of the groom carrying the bride. For a couple who are both doctors, El Baz made a medicine box calling it "Love Potion Day and Night. She wrote the wedding details on a folded information sheet, like the ones distributed with drugs. Under symptoms she wrote "heartbeat and "overwhelming feelings to add some playfulness. She replaced the pills with chocolate. While some people go for eccentric, others go for practical. "A very original idea was a best friend of mine s invitation: A small light grey booklet with their names engraved on the front and the details of the wedding on the first page. The rest of the booklet is empty. I ve been using it ever since and remember their wedding every time I use it, says Nour Khaled. Some brides and grooms go for a more romantic touch. I have recently received an invitation that had one side of the card covered with a picture collage of the bride, tracking her life from childhood to the wedding, saying this is why I love her. The other side of the card followed the same idea but with pictures of the groom. It was sentimental, meaningful and unique. With all of these options, some still opt for the conventional card. White cardboard and gold engraved calligraphy are still common amongst all age groups, especially those with classical preferences. "You know how they say don t judge a book by its cover? Maybe in the near future we ll be judging weddings by their invitations, says Khaled laughingly.
