Framin' It Up

I finally got around to framing some of our favorite wedding photos for our home. I used Snapfish to print 5x7 and 8x10 prints. I bought a few new frames and also repurposed some that we had used at our wedding reception. The two-fold frame is of Luke and I when we were 4 years old - we had it displayed (amongst others) during our cocktail hour. For some reason, a lot of our favorite shots happened to be pictures of us kissing (gotta love it)! The other day one of my good friends came over to our house and so kindly stated "you have a lot of photos of yourselves in this place"...I replied... "we're newlyweds, what do you expect? if and when we have kids they'll take over our home from top to bottom!" You have to embrace your wedding photos while you can, right? 

Photo Save The Dates

Just finished concepting Save The Date designs for Jillian and Mark. They'll be tying the knot this May in Chicago. These designs were the three runner ups - I'll post the final design once it is complete. The couple wanted to incorporate a photo of themselves as well as utilize a postcard format. I threw in the "calendar" layout for fun (I like it!).

Recap: Our Wedding Video

Luke and I went back and forth deciding whether or not to hire a professional videographer for our wedding. We knew that we would want the memories, but we weren't sure who to use or if our budget would allow for it. After extensive online research and a few phone calls, I found A Family Affair Video in Lyons, IL. Scott and Barb Scheman, the owners, were very professional and accommodating over the phone. They were willing to work within our limited budget, and they helped us come up with a video package that fit our needs. 

Luke and I decided that we wanted only our ceremony (not reception) captured on camera. Our package included anything taking place at the church...so the arrivals of the bride/bridesmaids and groom/groomsmen, the processional, ceremony, recessional and trolley "getaway." If you've been keeping up with my blog, you know that the morning of our wedding day was not pretty. The stress and anxiety caused by storms and a major power outage the night before, left most things a mess. Fortunately, the church never lost power, so we knew the ceremony was still on. Nearly forgetting about the videographer in the midst of the chaos, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Scott taping my bridesmaids and I as we arrived at the church. Scott was wonderful to work with the entire afternoon - we hardly even knew he was there! He captured everything we wanted and even took additional time after the ceremony to shoot close-ups of our flowers and other important details. 

 

If you click here, you'll be directed to a sample video of our "Bridal Party Entrance" (processional). That's Caleb, our ring bearer, above - he's the cutest 4 year old in the world! You'll also notice that our church had the narrowest aisle in the world (haha). The sample clip is only a small sliver of the 50 minute, fully edited video that we recently received from Scott and Barb. And yes, our package included professional editing with voice and music overlays. Luke and I were able to choose 3 songs to use for the opening and closing credits of the video. 

It was an absolute delight to work with A Family Affair Video. We were 100% satisfied with our experience. I would highly recommend Scott and Barb to anyone looking for high quality videography services for a wedding. Currently, AFAV is offering "Video Stimulus Packages" for couples looking to incorporate videography into their wedding on a budget. You can also view additional testimonials and video samples on their website. Thanks again, Scott and Barb!

Noaki Jewelry

I was so excited to stumble across these amazing bridal gems. Noaki, a California based designer, "resurrects heirloom pins, broken earrings and forgotten dress clips" to bring you the wonderful creations you see below. She has a website, blog and etsy store that are definitely worth checking out. I love the fact that these pieces are not only beautiful, but functional too...who's to say that after your wedding day you can't wear them with your favorite pair of jeans and tank top!

Photos from NaokiJewelry.com

Old is the New New

Here's a blast from the past...my parent's wedding photos! Personally, I think they were pretty hip for the early 80's. My mom's dress was beautiful - if it fit me I would have seriously considered wearing it for my own wedding! My mom and dad just celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary last month, so a big congratulations is in order. Next year is the B-I-G 30! Thanks to both of them for being such good role models and parents.

Silk vs. Real flowers...certain elements of this trend are coming back.

Grecian inspired bridesmaid dresses = definitely back in style!

Long coat tails on the groom...this will make it's way back, just wait & see.

The "bonnet veil" is super cool...for today's styles go here.

Frilly cake, with kitschy topper - I love it! Buy your own for only $6!

Yellow gold wedding bands...we jumped on that one!

Then there were the hairstyles...

The "Farrah Fawcett" - we've seen this style come & go in the 2000's.

Full beard and mustache...not so sure about this one! Love you, Dad.

Recap: Photo Booth Art

I'm so giddy about the new art piece hanging up in our condo - it makes me smile every time I walk by! When Luke and I decided to have a photo booth at our wedding reception, I knew I had to do something cool with the photos...albums are nice, but they get looked at once or twice and are put away never to come out again. I wanted something creative and different. I came up with the idea of having our photo booth strips placed into one, large frame in a montage-like style. I wanted it to feel organic and playful. I started to investigate doing the whole project myself, but decided it was best left to the experts. I'm glad I did, as it ended up being a 50x30 inch size piece (aka: huge)!

The contrast of the playful pictures with the ornate frame is perfect for our home. I think the black and white color of the piece also keeps it feeling sophisticated. When it arrived last weekend, we had the perfect spot in our hallway for it - I feel like we have a mini art gallery in our condo now! This project was the first time in which I used a high end framing studio to do the labor for me. I got to pick out the frame from a million options (so fun!) and decide on all the little details. The price tag wasn't very budget friendly, but I'm absolutely thrilled with the end result. I can't wait to go home tonight and take another look...

Real Wedding: Christina & Dayne

Christina and Dayne married in Chicago on October 17th. I worked with the couple on their Save The Date and Invitation designs. Christina was kind enough to share her professional photos with me, so I'm sharing some of my favorites with you today. The couple's ceremony and reception took place in the same venue, West Loop Studio. All photos were captured by the Studio as well. Congratulations C & D!

Here are a few notes from the bride: My favorite part of the whole day was the ceremony, which was incredibly personal. Not wanting to do a religious ceremony, one of our biggest concerns was on how to make the ceremony meaningful to ourselves and to our guests. We did a couple of things to achieve this: First, we had select family members prepare a short write-up on what love and marriage meant to them and then present a symbol that represented their thoughts during the ceremony. Second, we took inspiration from our trip to Scotland (where we got engaged) with the tradition of a Quaich. We filled our Quaich with Aquavit (since Dayne is of Scandinavian heritage) and Dayne and I shared a sip from the Quaich and then had each member of our wedding party share a sip.

We did a cocktail reception with passed hors d'oeuvres and an hors d'oeuvre buffet. I loved not having a sit-down dinner as this really heightened the more laid-back, party atmosphere. As we got married at an event space that doubles as a photography studio, we used the venue's photography services, which included use of their portrait studio. The portraits of family and friends throughout the night are so much fun!

Custom Calligraphy Stamp

I just came across this amazing GIVE AWAY over at Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bridezilla. The "professional bridesmaid" has teamed up with Barbara Kua Calligraphy to offer this great give away. One lucky reader (ooh, I hope it's me!), will receive a customized calligraphy stamp for all of their addressing needs. This is the perfect solution for many of my clients, as they don't want to print labels for their wedding invitations, but they also don't have the kind of budget for a calligrapher. I would love to get one of these for myself...Luke and I are still trying to finish up our wedding thank you's and this would come in VERY handy!

Arts & Crafts Wedding Invitation

I created the following invitation for Christina and Dayne, who just married a few weeks ago. If you recall, they were planning their wedding in Chicago, and wanted their designs to reflect the Arts & Crafts movement. Here's a sampling of their full paper suite:

Their custom Save The Date postcard

Formal Invitation with coordinating envelopes

I created two versions (verses) for the invitation...

1) Ceremony & Reception and 2) Reception Only

RSVP card with matching envelope

Christina's MOH enlisted my help for the bachelorette invites too!

Vintage Hair Pieces

Veils and hair pieces are usually left for the bride, but in this case the bridesmaids got to have all the fun! Check out these stunning vintage birdcage veils with floral pieces that the bride's mother handmade for each of the girls. The rest of this wedding is equally as beautiful - check it out here. Sorry for the lack of posts this week - it's been a crazy one. Hope everyone has a wonderful, sunny weekend!

New Save The Date - Cubs Ticket!

I'm excited to share a new design with you! Kris and Molly came to me a few months ago inquiring about custom save the dates. They wanted something that was Chicago Cubs themed. They decided upon a ticket inspired design, and they were thrilled with the end results (below). I designed and printed the save the dates, as well as shot a mini photo session of the couple outside of Wrigley Field. The photograph that is incorporated into the ticket is from the shoot - I altered the sign to read "Kris and Molly Are Getting Married 06.12.10."

Recap: Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

As with most things in my life, I went a bit overboard with the "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" tradition. I wanted to have options, and that, I did! I had numerous special items that fell into each of the four categories. I wore all of them proudly.

Something New: My Earrings

Something Old & Blue: Vintage Pin I bought at a resale store many years ago. I wore it pinned to the inside of my wedding gown.

Something Old & Borrowed: My great grandmother's emerald cut ring (tied to my bouquet).

Something New & Blue: Garter, graciously purchased at the last minute for me by my best friend and bridesmaid, Kristie.

Something New: My bracelet, purse...and, of course, wedding dress!

Something Old, Borrowed and Blue: My great grandmother's handkerchief (wrapped around my bouquet).

Nautical by Nature

What a no brainer...if I lived in Massachusetts, I'd so have a nautical themed wedding. Check out the beautiful details from this New Bedford, MA wedding. Flowers and design by Chad Michael Peters. Photography by Person & Killian Photography.

Recap: My Wedding Program

I'll be sharing more "recap" posts with you guys from my wedding day - sorry it's taken so long! I had a lot of fun creating our wedding programs - we made them as interactive and entertaining as possible. We included the words to our hymn, Come To A Wedding, as well as information on the ceremony, our wedding party and a special thank you to all of our guests. The design, obviously, coordinated with our wedding invitations. I purchased the black and white ribbon at Michael's Crafts, and with the help of my wonderful MOH, I managed to get 125 programs folded and tied two days before the wedding.

The entertaining portion of our programs included a short write-up on each of our attendants. Luke and I had shared a lot of laughs while writing these, and we think our wedding party and guests truly enjoyed reading them. We included basic information such as our relation to each person, as well as one or two more personal facts or funny stories about each. This was definitely my favorite part of the program.

Happy Bouquets

This post is for Kim! I've been helping her brainstorm wedding ideas - lately it's been all about flowers. Her wedding is next August, and she picked out these amazing "caspian blue" bridesmaid dresses from J. Crew (I just got mine in the mail last week). Her main color scheme will be navy, ivory & silver, but she'd like to bring in pops of color with the flowers. I found the following bouquets on Bride's Cafe. I'm loving all of these mixtures, especially the ones with yellow. Do you have any suggestions or links to other multi-colored bouquets? Happy Friday!

Flowers - Bridesmaid Dress - Tuxedo

This Magic Moment

Our first dance was amazing! We danced to This Magic Moment by the Drifters. Yes, I know, we're cheesy...but it's so us. We love oldies! And, as it happens, Luke and I are probably the two most untalented people in the world when it comes to music. I'm so tone deaf that I was literally asked to lip sync in my sixth grade choir...no joke. Regardless, we enjoyed every minute of our first dance, and our song made us happy...which is all that counts anyways, right?!

The Love Boat

I attended Megan and Tim's wedding a few weeks ago. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the rehearsal dinner, which included a sunset, cocktail cruise around Lake Geneva. Scott Patrick, the photographer behind the wedding, did a fabulous job of capturing amazing shots even despite some bad weather (it rained most of the night). The moody 'dusk" sky is super cool, and I love the contrast of the yacht lights against the water. Congrats again, Megan and Tim!

Keeping with the "love boat" theme, I thought I'd also share with you a few Save The Date designs I've been working on. They incorporate a nautical, clean style. I'm hoping to add these designs to my Etsy store this month...so keep an eye out. Seriously, I think that if I could get married all over again (to Luke, of course), I would love to have a nautical themed wedding...