Custom Postcard Design for Local Church’s Marriage Retreat

The Marriage Retreat hosted by the fellowship of Southern Hills Baptist Church strove to address and remedy marital issues amongst couples from all walks of life and stages of marriage, a difficult feat to achieve visually within a single postcard design.

Our creative team represented three couples in the progressive stages of marriage, clearly and attractively displaying the inclusiveness and effectiveness of the program. The overall color scheme conveyed a calm, welcoming energy that mirrored the atmosphere of the retreat.

The fellowship of Southern Hills Baptist Church hosted these events in order to nurture the relationships between the members of each marriage, as well as their individual relationships with the Lord. In order to reach and assist as many couples as possible, the church was in need of a high-quality custom print design that would advertise the loving and welcoming nature of the event. The tagline of the event, ‘Stay Connected Through Every Stage’, was represented in the various talks and exercises, speaking on dealing with conflict and struggle as a team with each other and with God.

When hosting a marriage retreat, the largest hurdle to overcome can be achieving awareness and attendance. There is no guarantee that couples who may be in need of assistance will see a typical poster or hear about the event via word of mouth. An effective direct mail marketing strategy, paired with other forms of print and media advertising, can make or break the success of your event. The design must clearly and attractively convey the inclusive nature of the retreat, open to newlyweds and retirees alike.

Our creative team understood the importance of using impactful images and clear messaging to the success of the direct mail marketing campaign. We added small artistic accents to prevent distractions from the central message of each separate image. The color story was simple and calm, using tones of white, grey and a hint of red to accent the underline of the text.

The text of the design, ‘Staying Connected Through Every Stage’, was formatted in a thin, simple sans serif font. The first two words, ‘Staying Connected’, were significantly larger in font size than the following three, highlighting the importance of the shorter phrase and creating small, dynamic movement. The white of the text contrasted the black band background that tapered off translucently on each edge. This black band was underlined by a thin red band that tapered off in the same manner, subtly accenting the text and drawing the eye through the design.

The image of the design was a collage of three images, staged next to each other to represent the inclusivity of the event. The first image, furthest to the left, was a husband giving a piggyback ride to his wife. The couple is clearly happy, smiling and embracing each other. The central image was a husband and wife kissing the cheeks of their smiling infant child. The far right image was an older couple, presumably in their 60’s. The wife stood in front of the husband as they both faced the camera, while the husband wrapped his arms around his wife’s shoulders.

As a border for the top half of the postcard, we included a grey square outline of the images. We used large, opaque blocks to pixelate any background area of the three images, effectively avoiding distraction and redirecting attention towards the central images. The representation of the different stages of love and marriage represent the inclusivity and open-mindedness of the retreat and the church. Even the happiest couples experience hardship, and the postcard design informs the viewer that the fellowship of Southern Hills Baptist Church and their designated speakers are available to help.