Happy Holidays!
December 24, 2007
Wishing everyone most merry, joyful holidays!
xoxo,
Rebecca
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Laura Hooper Calligraphy
December 20, 2007
Laura Hooper has to be my most favorite calligrapher ever. She is beyond words talented, super sweet, and her work is just incredible. I was so excited when she sent me her latest album of samples- I had to stop myself from drooling all over the pages! So many different styles to choose from! Calligraphy is one of those absolutely timeless, elegant touches that really make your wedding paper products something special!
In addition to her gorgeous calligraphy, Laura is also an amazing illustrator- and she is creating these adorable maps which I think are the most perfect addition to any invitation or out of town baskets. They really are adorable, one of a kind works of art!
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New at White Aisle
December 6, 2007
I have always been a big fan of The White Aisle and just love their gorgeous stationary, fun gift ideas and vintage style. Right now they are doing something really amazing for a group of women and girls in Cambodia, many of whom were sold by their families at young ages and forced to work in brothels. White Aisle worked together with a day center in Phnom Penh to set up a small sewing facility for these women and girls, for which 100% of the profit goes straight to the girls to help them get on their feet and into a better, safer life. They have absolutely GORGEOUS Khmer silks- and I especially love the silk roses- so many possibilities! Great stuff for a great cause. :)
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Hot Spot Mini Donuts
December 4, 2007
My good friend Isabel at Isabel Lawrence Photographers was so kind to send me this oh-so-yummy idea which I absolutely LOVE.
Shelly Barkley is the owner of the delicious Hot Spot Mini Donuts, and the genius behind my new favorite favor idea. Shelly brings her donut making machine to your wedding location and fries up the doughy morsels on site, then fills adorable paper cones with the tiny, piping hot miniature sized donuts sprinkled with guests' choice of powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, vanilla, raspberry or chocolate flavored granulated sugar, vermont maple and oreo cookie crumb. It is the perfect thing to serve with coffee at the end of the evening or while guests wait for the valet. The powerful machine cranks out 100 DOZEN mini donuts in an hour, so you can be sure guests will not leave hungry! I think this is such a fun, unexpected favor idea- I love that it is interactive too- guests will enjoy watching the donuts being made and have a sweet treat to leave with.
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Congrats to my fabulous mother in law!
Granted, the congrats is a bit delayed since I am behind with my posts- but this is definitely a post very close to my heart which I am so excited to (finally!) share. My mother in law, Joyce (who is one of the warmest people you will ever meet) and Ken (a most wonderful man,) recently celebrated their incredibly touching and beautiful wedding day which I was honored and thrilled to be such a close part of.
Planning Joyce and Ken's wedding was very special to me and of course it had to be perfect in every way. (Remember- this is my mother in law! Noooo pressure! hehe..) Joyce specifically requested that she NOT know anything about the plans (aside from location and a few other key details..) so almost everything was a surprise on the big day. It was such a blast coming up with the design concept and details knowing that it would all be a complete surprise and I was very honored to know she had full trust in my ideas for her and that I could take the big job off of her hands. Joyce is definitely the planner of all planners- she is always brilliantly hosting and entertaining- so not knowing what I was up to must have been tough for her! This was one celebration where I didn't want Joyce to have to lift a single finger though (otherwise before we knew it- she would have been in the kitchen cooking on her own wedding day!) That is just the way she is-always giving and caring for others. Now it was her turn!
For this wedding, I chose to go with a very neutral and organic, clean color palette. The wedding was held outdoors at the house of one of Joyce's very best friends and I didn't want to compete with the natural surroundings or attempt to turn the space into something it was not. Instead I chose to pick up on the greens of the grass gardens, the blue of the sky and the sandy, earthy color of the mountains which were a gorgeous backdrop to the space. I used raw silk on the tables to bring in a hint of luxury and elegance- yet chose to leave it un-hemmed and naturally frayed to keep with the casual surroundings. I used ceramic containers rather than glass to keep the materials
earthy and warm rather than modern and cool. I chose to use only long tables for guest seating to better fit the shape of the yard and also as a way to maximize the impact for table decor. I used white monochromatic single bloom hydrangea repeated down the length of the tables which provided a clean, effective 'wow' factor. White paper ball lanterns glowed romantically and appeared to float in the air..
Everything was set to go as planned and with only three days to go, we all watched in shock as the weather report predicted RAIN for the wedding day. The executive decision had to be made- we needed to tent the entire wedding. While this was far from the original plan, and required quite a bit of reworking (and a significant increase to the budget)- it turned out absolutely beautifully. The rain pattered throughout the evening and guests stayed toasty and dry. The paper ball lanterns and candles created an incredible amber glow against the white tent walls in a way that would not have otherwise been acheived.
It could not have been a more special, romantic, gorgeous, perfect day. Congratulations Joyce and Ken!
Photos below taken by my dear friend Emily Engle whose company Brulee Photography is beginning to take off!
My favorite photo of the newlyweds- such a sweet moment after the ceremony!
I fell in love with this shade of silk dupioni at an inexpensive fabric store and ordered as much as I could. I loved the color because it was so versatile- depending on how it fell in the light it would change shades. Joyce's bridesmaid's dresses were a deep blue fabric which also shimmered into different shades, so I chose to pick something within the same color family rather than trying to match exactly. Simple kraft card stock made for sweet, minature sized table numbers.
Lanterns glow in the background as puffy white tufts of hydrangeas line the tables.
Taking last minute clippings from around the garden was a solution and way to bring in the colors and feeling of the yard into the tent.
Trays of wheatgrass held guest placecards on skewers and brought the outside in as well.
Joyce's beautiful collection of cake pedestals were used to display the cake as a sweet alternative to a traditional tiered look.
I decided to make light of the gloomy conditions outside by creating funny labels for the beverages which were intended to be cool and refreshing (on what we had expected to be a hot day!) "Stormy Sangria," "When the Weather Gives you Lemons" lemonade and "Rain Tea" gave guests a chuckle.
Serving only beer and wine rather than a full bar is a great way to maximize a budget.
The beautiful glow of the lanterns..
Had to put a shot of my handsome hubby with his mom!
Guests had so much fun with the cookies and milk favors. I ordered cookies from Diddy Riese (so yummy and so cheap!) and packaged them with a very simple label. Along with the tiny lunchroom sized milk cartons, these were the perfect take away at the end of the evening!
All of the fabric panels I had made to hang outdoors found good use inside the tent too. They worked perfectly for the plain, unattractive tent walls- especially where the tent poles were visible!
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So sorry for the blogging hiatus!
December 3, 2007
What a bad blogger I have been lately! I am SO sorry to all of my fabulous clients and blog readers for my time away! I hope everybody is enjoying the holiday season. More posts to come soon with new ideas, wedding pictures and other fun stuff!
Talk to you soon! :)
xoxo,
Rebecca
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You have just experienced one of the most incredible events of your life. The person who you love most in the world has popped the question and you have answered 'yes!' The whirlwind of the wedding planning world has now opened- questions and excitement from friends and family, your childhood wedding dreams re-visited, wedding magazines taunting you from the shelves of the check out lanes. You are finding yourself with a new language. A vocabulary full of words such as Fiancé, Chivari chairs, fondant--words you had no idea that you knew and now they seem to run off your tongue effortlessly.
I know how fast everything seems and how overwhelming it all can feel at first, so I created this blog to help answer questions, give advice and inspire new ideas.
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