S'mores & Brownies :)

These are two great finds from the {Papery & Cakery} {blog}. I loved the idea of having {S'mores} at a wedding, or any party for that matter. This can work for both outdoor events that actually have a fire pit to use or individual table-top s'mores kits, like the ones made by {Cosi}! There are a few ways to do this, either by having a table set up with all the fixings for the s'mores or packing up individual baggies for your guests to use. The second great idea is giving your guest favors that they can make use of, not some little tchotchke that people usually don't know what to do with when they get home. I think this is a great idea, giving your {cupcake mix favors} to go home and bake a sweet treat. It is a favor that is filled with love and extra attention.

Amy Atlas Events!

I am completely inspired by the work of {Amy Atlas Events}. As more and more people are moving away from traditionally 3-tier wedding cakes and individual favors, candy/dessert tables are becoming very popular. Amy Atlas Events definitely takes the *cake* on this - she does it all from weddings to themed parties. They believe that a party should be an expression of you - so they get to know their clients before planning a party perfect for them. Though they are known for their dessert tables, they are able to create the overall aesthetic for a party and will plan your special event from beginning to end! They believe that the one hosting the party should get to enjoy it as well, which is why they strive to make the process effortless for the client. They have a wonderful sense of style and attention to detail that I always look for. It is all of this that has given them the reputation as being the most sought after event planning company in New York City.

A Modern, Traditional Wedding

First off, it made me smile to find a blog post - again on {Style Me Pretty} - that was titled A Modern, Traditional Wedding. This is exactly the style I love - tradition with a modern twist. An of course, the green is an ultimate fave! Again a DIY wedding inspired from many of the posts on SMP. The flower in her hair was purchased from {Nomsa's Etsy Shop} and photography was done by Brian Cummings of {Rob Grimm Photography}.

Some explanation from the bride herself:
I’ve been obsessed with SMP since the moment of my engagement. Admittedly, I haven’t known what to do with myself since the wedding and all my free time which was once spent on wedding blogs. As a graphic designer I saw my wedding as an opportunity to showcase my style and personality, to brand us as a couple, in a sense. I found the best way to let my personality shine was in the tiny details. Everything from the programs to the cake topper I thought about in great length. Also, being on a budget, most of these projects required a DIY execution, which also helped to give my wedding a unique look and feel. Overall, Id say the style outcome was contemporary with an eclectic sprinkling.

As for the fashion…I purchased from J Crew and had a seamstress add the flowers, an overlay, and a train… I had a vision, and she really made it come true. The bridesmaids and groomsmen also wore J Crew.

The simple centerpieces which were DIY, and nature inspired. I letterpressed the coasters myself that said Eat + drink and be married.

The flowers were all DIY put together by the wedding party the night before the ceremony. The W in the rings picture was also the cake topper and was a vintage metal letter I purchased at {Three Potato Four}.

Our guestbook was made of tiny envelopes where the guests were asked to write a wedding wish, message, or funny story. We also made little pins for guests to wear to really continue the look.

Rountree Flowers!

Check out these beautiful and unique floral centerpieces and bouquets by {Rountree Flowers}.

DIY Ruffled Belt

This was a great find! Belts have become a real wedding trend lately - could be attributed to {J.Crew} - so here is a way to have this chic style incorporated in your special day without spending tons of $$. Check out {100 Layer Cake} for step by step instructions. This belt was inspired by a headband made by crafty Rachel over at {Heart of Light}.

A Yellow DIY Affair

I am going to have to agree with the folks over at {Style Me Pretty} on this one - this wedding held in Summerland, CA is pretty close to perfection. While needing to stick to a tight budget, this couple was able to put together a wonderful wedding with great style and sophistication! The chic yellow color palette and awesome succulent plants, put together with all the handmaid details...I am obsessed! {Linda Chaja} was the photographer of this event. My favorite part about this wedding is that the bride and groom put together many of the details with their own two hands with love. The cones placed on aisle chairs contained knitted pom poms made by the bride and the program was designed and typed by the bride on a vintage typewriter. Luckily they were also able to save some $$ by having the flowers done by a family friend of the bride. Ahnika Johnson - who has just started her own business as a wedding planner - was hired to coordinate their special day!

Vintage Shabby Chic vs. Elegant Shabby Chic

As we all know, I LOVE WEDDINGS! These are two recent posts from {Style Me Pretty} that I thought was nice to see side by side. They are both using a sort of shabby chic design style, however one is vintage and the other is more elegant. The one featured above was actually a vingette done for Brides Northern California by {Andrew Hsu} and photos featured above are by {Lisa Lefkowitz}. The event designer for this shoot was {Gloria Wong}. Beautiful work by all of them!

This wedding speaks for itself with elegance and charm. From the lavender to the flip flops - love it all! Photographs were taken by Kerry Corcoran of {David Michael Photography}. The maid of honor conveniently works as an event planner for {Paula LeDuc Fine Catering} and flowers were done by Hannah Sampson of {Modern Bouquet}.

JK Wedding Entrance Dance - Forever

On Thursday of last week, a friend of mine sent me a link to this amazing video on You Tube. It quickly spread around the office and then within hours I started seeing it on many of the wedding/design blogs I visit daily! Since its debut on July 19th - this video has had over 12 million views and is taking the web by storm! This choreographed wedding ceremony entrance, to Chris Brown's "Forever" is a hit. It seems as if that video just might have pulled him out of celebrity exile, at least for the moment. Currently in iTunes’ number 9 slot for top purchased songs, Forever’s role in the wedding procession video has managed to help it rise as high as the number 6, and might have even made Chris Brown relevant again. Not only has this been a hit on the web, but on TV as well! Many news stations/shows have been talking about this - The Today Show actually invited the newlyweds to reenact the dance on their show.

Beth Armsheimer Photography

Meet Beth Armsheimer - an amazing new photographer find here on the Central Coast! She is a wife, mother, and self-proclaimed "moment capturer". Photography is her passion and she is self-taught which I admire - truly inspirational. It all started when she had her first child, her son Wesley, followed by her daughter Chloe. She has not spent a day without a camera since. As she says, she is not a traditional photographer and enjoys a more fun, uncommon, experimental, storybook, fine art, photojournalistic style. Say that 5 times fast! Her favorite subjects are happy people and love. So as you can see I had a hard time picking just a few to highlight in this post, so I just went ahead and put up all my fave. She has much much more, so take a look at her {blog} as well as her {portfolio site}.

Save the Dates - Raffi & Kohar

Here are the save the date cards that I designed, printed, and put together for a friend of mine. The image is one from their {engagement photoshoot}. Check back for the wedding invitations I designed for them once those are printed. Can't wait for the big day guys!

Fabric Wraps

{Chewing the Cud - Weddings} is a subsidiary of {Chewing the Cud} - a full service design, paper goods, and textile-based accessories company. They are a concept-driven design studio that specializes in personalized weddings and special occasions stationary. All invitations are printed by Flybird press using fine 100% cotton, tree-free papers and soy-based inks. I loved this idea of favors in pillow boxes wrapped with different scraps of fabric.

Vintage Engagement Photoshoot

I feel in love with this absolutely beautiful engagement photoshoot by {Simply Bloom Photography}. Everything from the style of photography to the concept - including peaches and the puppy - work really well together. Check out more shots on their {blog}. I came across these photos on the {Green Wedding Shoes} blog. I really could see these being used in an {Anthropologie} catalog.

Mika78

After creating her own stationary for her wedding, Mimi Woo realized she wanted something more than the 8 year career she had as a package designer in New York City. She was able to combine her love for design with one of the most intimate and important events of her life - it changed her. Shortly after her wedding, {Mika78} was born. I promise I wont go on and on about how much I am in love with letterpress...SO MUCH...because I have done so a whole bunch on previous posts. I picked a few of my favorites from her beautiful collection. Not only does she design invitations and stationary, but she also offers custom design services through Bespoke to help completely tailor your design sensibility and wedding style - reflecting the true essence of the couple. Below are just a few examples of her gorgeous work.

Kohar & Raffi's Engagement Photoshoot!

Here they are! The beautiful pictures from the engagement photoshoot of Kohar and Raffi! {Jake} - a photographer with {Mike Larson Photography}, did an amazing job capturing their love story :) Can't wait to see what he does for the big day in October!

Chic Wedding Design

I love the chic design of this wedding! My favorite are the decorative fabric panels with a beautiful vintage look created with doilies. The table numbers are also displayed in a creative way - clipped to ribbons which were hanging from the wooden ceiling beams - awesome idea. Aside from the elegant aspects, they also had a lot of fun with this - especially their flipbook save-the-date. The overall design was a nice blend of classic and contemporary - an all together gorgeous look. This was a find from {Style Me Pretty}

Wiley Valentine ~ Inspired Paper Delights

Emily and Rachelle grew up inspired by each of their grandmothers' - Mary Wiley and Norma Jean Valentine - artistic and eclectic expressions of life. Their grandmothers inspired them to pursue creative endeavors. After working at the same graphic design firm in California, they both realized that they were going about passionless projects that were too mainstream. They found a common sense of enthusiasm for using their creative aspirations to revamp the paper industry. They left their jobs to found the E & R Design Group, which formed the groundwork for the fashionably classic line of paper products. They called it {Wiley Valentine}. With sustainably being more important now than ever before, they made the commitment to become a 100% sustainable paper company. Today, all of their paper prints are either 100% recycled PSC or 100% cotton, a natural, renewable resource. No trees! In their studio, they reuse all of the 100% recycled fax paper and shred every mock-up and misprint - they reuse all of these in resourceful and colorful packaging material!

Oslo Press

{Oslo Press} specializes in unique wedding invitations that combine the use of rich wood veneer and elegant paper. Each invitation is made of wood veneer and laser engraved with an original design, while the coordinating elements to each set are created using paper and the centuries-old method of letterpress. This unique combination of materials, methods, and contemporary design provides a unique invitation set - full of texture, character, and originality. These will surely leave a lasting impression with your guests :)

Smock - Letterpress on Bamboo Paper

Going back to my love of letterpress, here is another great find! {Smock} is based in Syracuse, New York. Their print shop is made up of 20 antique presses, 50 tons of equipment, and 17 employees. They are self-proclaimed faithful lovers of historic craft with letterpress ink in their veins. They are actually the first and only print shop in the United States to offer printing on luxury bamboo paper. They were able to develop this paper with the help of a historic European paper mill, doing so because they wanted a truly sustainable paper that was also beautiful! Why bamboo? Bamboo is said to be a true wonder plant. In addition to not requiring pesticides or fertilizer to grow, bamboo reaches its mature height in 3 to 5 years, whereas most softwood trees take 10-20 years. Bamboo generates up to 35% more oxygen than hardwood trees, and absorbs four times as much carbon as hardwood. Bamboo can detoxify wastewater (due to its high nitrogen consumption) and improves soil quality. Not enough to convince you yet? Bamboo also has natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties too. Convinced? I know I am! More of their work can be seen on their site and purchased on their {Etsy} shop.

Wedding Traditions

I have always been fascinated with the merging of two totally different family and cultural traditions. I found this perfect example on {100 Layer Cake} for the wedding of Ameet, who is originally from Bombay and Lainie, who is from Missouri. In order to honor both traditions, they had two ceremonies - double the fun in my opinion!

HAMMERPRESS Wedding Invitations

I came accross these gorgeous wedding invitations on {100 Layer Cake} and loved them! They are designed by {HAMMERPRESS}. What started out as simply a love of letterpress and making CD and LP packaging for his buddies with his motorless platen press, turned into a business today with several presses (with motors) and a full team who work on projects such as beautiful and unusual wedding initiations, custom artwork for national restaurant chains, CD packaging, corporate identity work, posters and art prints. On top of all this, they are growing their line of letterpress stationary products.