Wedding Wednesday: Leslie & Nathan

Ah, our wedding day. Such a lovely memory and one of the happiest days of my life! I'll apologize ahead of time if I go overboard on photos or descriptions...



We were married on a warm September afternoon in the Texas hill country. Summer hadn't quite transitioned into Fall, but the clouds above that threatened rain cooled down the day a bit. The mission-style church in Wimberley with its rough stone facade and warm green and brown tones inside was the perfect backdrop for our vows. Two of our friends played guitar and violin as we made our way down the isle. It was a moving ceremony.



My mom and a handful of her close friends designed and made all of the bouquets, boutineers, centerpieces and arrangements. Calla lilies, gerber daisies, asiatic lilies, mokara orchids, among others, in hues of cream, buttery yellow, and rich orange composed each unique piece of art!

Bridesmaids wore dresses in silhouettes of their choice in tangerine orange and a milky pink. We even had a few flowers left over from the bouquets to wear in our hair. Groomsmen and ushers looked sharp in black ties.



It rained on the way to the reception, but it was more of an afternoon shower and it was over by the time we all arrived at the reception! There was even a rainbow! Our reception followed at The Winfield Inn in Kyle, Texas, a plantation style house with a beautiful open-air pavilion. Guests enjoyed a buffet-style dinner, beer and wine, followed by a champagne toast.



As the evening progressed, we ALL kicked up our heels. Watching both of our families and friends--young and old--smile and enjoy themselves on the dance floor was an incredible part of this special day. In the months before the wedding we had spent a lot of time putting together a CD of our favorite songs as a favor for our guests. So, as they left they picked up "songs for the ride home," so the celebration could continue in their car.



On our exit, guests showered us with lavender that sparkled in the camera flashes as it fell upon us. It was the first day of the rest of our lives.

We rejoiced. And we were glad.

Photography: Stella Alesi Photography. Ceremony Venue: St. Stephen's Church, Wimberley, Texas. Reception Venue and Catering: The Winfield Inn, Kyle, Texas. Invitations and print material: Lilly & Louise. Flower arrangements: Mom. Cake: Doria's Cakes. Bridesmaids Dresses: j.crew

Read more...

This is the Day

In honor of my two year wedding anniversary today(!), I thought I'd share our wedding invitation.

Early in our planning, we chose orange and white as our colors, in part because fall would be upon us, but also because orange and white is such a fresh combination. Our invitation took the form of a "Z" fold with three panels, each fold reveals a little bit more about the event. The invitation suite is enclosed by a jacket of orange paper and each is sealed with a hand painted embellishment.





Check out tomorrow's Wedding Wednesday for photos of our big day!

Read more...

Reasons to Celebrate: "Rehearsal" Dinner

This is what I was doing two years ago today!





In our invitation to our Rehearsal Dinner, we chose to be a little cheeky and question the true meaning of a “rehearsal” dinner.

Here's the detail:



Check back this week for more peeks of how we celebrated our wedding two years ago.

Read more...

What the Font?: Sans Serif

As a follow up to my post about serif typefaces, I thought I'd enlighten you about sans serif typefaces (again with the help of Wikipedia).

To refresh you on your vocabulary words, a typeface is a set of one or more fonts, in one or more sizes, designed with stylistic unity, each comprising a coordinated set of glyphs. Times New Roman or Arial are examples of a typeface. A font designates a specific member of a type family such as roman, boldface, or italic type, while typeface designates a consistent visual appearance or style which can be a "family" or related set of fonts.

A sans serif typeface is one that does not have the small features called "serifs" at the end of strokes, I often refer to them as "feet." The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without." Think: sans feet. In invitation and announcement design, sans serif typefaces suggest a modern, contemporary feel. They are clean and simplified. They can be paired with serif typefaces or script fonts for a unique look. I love the challenge of finding the perfect combination of typefaces for an invitation or announcement. It's quite a science!

Below are a few examples of sans serif typefaces. If you can name all four, I'll give you a prize!

Read more...

Envelope Addressing: Part of the Package

As you may know, I think that sending or receiving something beautiful in the mail can be the highlight of any day. It's fun to take it one step further with a fun, hand-drawn address. Here is a peek of some envelope addressing that I just completed.

Read more...

Letterpress, Calligraphy, and Satin, OH MY!

I'm thrilled to share this recent project with you today. This bride and groom wanted their invitation to be classy yet traditional, refined yet unique, with a touch of vintage flair. With the help of local calligrapher, Janice Blair, we came up with a design that was just that!



Classic cream and black set the tone for a wedding that promises to be a first class celebration. Custom, hand-drawn calligraphy and monogram are letterpressed on a thick, textured paper. Rounded corners unify the set. A black, satin ribbon holds all the pieces together and completes the invitation. So there you have it: letterpressed calligraphy, toothy paper and satin...such a frenzy of tactility!





Thanks to John at Lumino Press for a fine printing job!

Read more...

Wine Corks Make it Pretty

I've seen some creative DIY projects with wine corks: bulletin boards, trivets, wreaths...When I saw a planter covered with wine corks as a prop in a Pottery Barn catalog, I thought to myself "I could make that!" In the two months since I had that thought I'd only collected six wine corks...If it wasn't for the generosity of my mom, who happens to have a large collection of wine corks she was willing to share, it would have taken me a few years to complete this project! Enjoy!

Read more...

One-of-a-Kind Birthday Cards

This weekend I went to a birthday party where three of the family members were celebrating their birthdays. As a gift, my husband and I came up with unique birthday wishes for each of them and spelled them out on a simple--but fun--birthday card.

The lettering and numbering is hand-drawn and scanned into Photoshop for clean-up and layering. Although it's a time consuming process, the funky, eccentric look of the final drawing makes it a one-of-a-kind gift. Enjoy!

Read more...

Because Baking is Creative

Baking is fascinating to me because you can make something so delicious--and pretty--from things that aren't so delicious and pretty by themselves. I love to bake. And I love my tangerine orange KitchenAid mixer. As much as I love to bake, I think it's dangerous to keep the finished product in the house, so I make sure that anytime I bake there's some function or person to which to donate my delicious creations. In this case, it was various Labor Day parties.

I admit, I usually make chocolate chip cookies from the recipe on the back of the bag of chocolate chips, but when my friend Lauren brought these to a party once, I decided I must have the recipe...and now I'll share with you.



Dark Chocolate Chip, Coconut and Oatmeal Cookies
(I suppose I could make up a name for these!)

1 cup butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 T milk
2 t vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 1/2 cups oats (rolled or quick, but not instant)
2 cups dark chocolate chips (also fun to add peanut butter chips here)
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Either by hand or with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the flour into the sugar mixture until just incorporated.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips and coconut by hand.
Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread.
Bake at 350 F for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center.
Cool on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Read more...

Aloha!

Here's a little project that I just finished. The bride and groom wanted something simple and fun to invite their guests to the day-after-the-wedding brunch. They plan to honeymoon in Hawaii, so it was only fitting that guests wish them ALOHA!



You may have noticed that a few of the recent posts have been work for bride and groom Kelly and TJ. I just want to thank the two of them for letting me share my creativity in their wedding print material. Stay tuned for a post featuring their wedding invitation!

Read more...

Ze Gift of Love

This bride and groom plan to celebrate with family and friends on the eve of their wedding at a French restaurant. We chose to highlight the French atmosphere with some sexy French "language," inviting guests to "celebrate ze gift of love," where "ze attire is casual!" The frog (and his beret) is part of the restaurant's identity and he's a perfect narrator for the invitation.

Read more...