Do It Yourself Brides

I’m sure that anyone who has gotten married in the past 20 years has gone through the same sticker shock that I am now going through. With the economy on the down side I know it’s even worse for us to-be-brides then those in the past few years even.

I’m a do-it-yourself type of person. I’m always looking for new projects I can do myself to save me money and give things that homemade, personal touch. So I was very excited to get the Summer Edition of Martha Stewart Weddings in the mail last month with a whole section about Do-It-Yourself Style weddings! A lot of the ideas would be great for other parties, not just weddings.

Some things I definitely would consider doing myself:

Cake Toppers

Left: Our bride, Rachael, ordered this handmade cake topper off Etsy.
Right: Birds in a nest with fake flowers and feathers around the layers.

Ring Bearer Pillows:
Clockwise from Top Left: Our bride, Liz, made this pillow - Gorgeous!
Top Right: I love these pillows from Brooklyn Pillow Unfortunately they are sold out right now!
Crocheted Pillows ! A great idea for those crocheters out there, or why not knit one?

Next Post...See what Goodies has done to help Eco (ecological & economy!) conscious brides!

My Bridal Party Invites

When I started thinking about my own wedding party one thing I knew was I had to do something special to ask them. I came up with this idea at least a year ago to make miniature bouquets. I made each girl a slightly different bouquet and attached them to the a petal fold envelopment with ribbon and a name tag.


Inside was a card saying "Will you be my Bridesmaid?"

Inside the card (not shown) I attached a picture of my friend with me and a hand-written letter telling them why I would love for them to be with me on my wedding day.


For my flower girl I gave her a special basket (similar to the one she will carry on our wedding day) and inside was a card that matched the girls and also a picture of us together.


The best part was they all said "YES!"...How could they say "no", right?

Bridal Party Invites

Last year a client came to me for custom invitations for her bridal party. She wanted a special way to invite them to be in her wedding.

I based this handmade card on the bridesmaid's dress she already had picked out. The dress on the card is made out of silk ribbon woven through the paper.

The dresses the cards were based on.

We also did a cute one for the men with a bow tie made with the same method.

Next post...what I did for MY bridal party!

French Inspired Napa Valley Wedding

When bride Liz came to us to design her French inspired Napa Valley wedding stationery we were more than excited.

We started with the save the date for this destination wedding which included 3 cards in a jacket envelope.


After the save-the-date was in the mail we started work on the invitation set. This custom invitation suite included a custom envelope liner for the inner envelopes.


From there we went on to work on the day-of stationery, programs, table numbers, seating chart, favors, signs, and more. Liz's impeccable taste, a beautiful bride, day and venue made for stunning results!

Most of the below photographs are by our new favorite photographer in northern California, Jessamyn Harris. Check out her site at www.jessamynharrisweddings.com!


The cocktail hour was made to feel like you were really in France with a live accordion player serenading guests.


Dinner was finished off with traditional French wedding cakes adorning the tables and the most amazing macaroons as favors from the famous Bouchon Bakery of Napa.


Thank you Liz & Darren for inviting us to be part of a truly magnificent day.
All the best for a lifetime of happiness!

Check out Kim's blog for info about one of our favorite haunts decked out for Bastille Day!

Silhouettes

This past winter my partner, Kim made a trip to visit one of our favorite stores and inspiration points in Central New Jersey, Parcel. The window housed a beautiful display of one of our favorite things - silhouettes.


We did a wedding last fall that was inspired by silhouettes. It started with the bride hiring master silhouette artist Karl Johnson (www.cutarts.com) to make favors for all guests on-site. This quickly turned into a theme and added an elegant, unexpected aspect to a beach side wedding.