Love for Folk Art in Weddings

I lived in Pennsylvania for a bit, and toward the end of that phase of my life, I began to get a little obsessed with Pennsylvania Dutch folk art.

I bought a book off Amazon for quite a lot of money, one probably not printed much more than 200 times, authored by some woman  who apparently spent her life traveling nearby states and collecting obscure folk patterns. It was a wondrous book, full of beauty. Then I moved one state north, sold the book, and promptly shed the whole business.

Credits: Partridge print, folk chicken on barn wall, cake topper. Hand-painted cake, invitation, save-the-date. Fox and rabbit cards, tote bags.  Double heart lovebirds cake topper, detail of Dutch art calendar, “Year of the Ox” print. Polish paper chandelier, folk art cake, save-the-date. Small Union Pair, Lovebirds tissue banners, Polish paper collage bride and groom.

Fortunately, my fickle flirtation doesn’t reflect the state of folk art in weddings. In fact, it’s growing only stronger, as more  talented stationers become available and brides explore greater subtleties within broad genres like “rustic.”

And lucky for us, too. Folk art is incredibly charming, personal and bold. It seems to defy the kind of  derivation and cookie-cutter effects you see in other styles, and it’s just in time for today’s paper craze in weddings. From scherenschnitte (a German type of traditional cut-paper design) to wycinanki (the Polish version), folk art likes to flow in three dimensions and wild primary colors.

So above, what grabs you the most? Personally, I’m hard-pressed to choose, I truly love it all.

Tagged as: folk art, papel picado, pennsylvania dutch, polish paper art, scherenschnitte, Wycinanki