Wedding Invitation

Peacock Feather
During my childhood, my family made frequent visits to Southern California, where my grandparents lived.  When visiting my paternal grandparents in Pasadena, there were a number of places that we visited year after year: The Huntington Library, The Norton Simon Museum, the Gamble House, the San Diego Zoo, and "Tournament House" to name a few.  I remember these visits with incredible fondness, which, of course, is more readily attributed to my Grandparents who were warm, hospitable, and interested in knowing their Grandchildren.

No visit to Los Angeles County was ever complete without a visit the arboretum.  My Grandparents visited the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens several times a week for a walk.  From the time when I was very young, I remember exploring the arboretum grounds, marveling at the Queen Anne Cottage, the adobe (dating to 1840), the rose gardens, and the Meyberg Waterfall.  The peacocks, however, were perhaps the most exotic sight during these nature walks.  These birds were introduced to the arboretum by Lucky Baldwin in the late 1800's. Since then they have thrived, becoming a naturalized species.  

There was always a vase of peacock feathers at my Grandparent's house and I frequently returned home with a colorful feather packed in my suitcase.  The vibrance of these feathers was extraordinarily captivating to me as a child and I still find them to be beautiful.  These memories inspired me to use these majestic-looking feathers as the basis for this new invitation design.    


Do you remember the first time you saw a peacock?