design*sponge has a great post today about the Next Big Thing: custom.
“… I have high hopes that affordable custom work is something we can all look forward to in the next few years. Not only does it let you get something that works for your style and your life, but it also gives you the rare opportunity to work hand-in-hand with a local artist and get to see that artist’s process (and talent) in action — something that’s really hard to do when you’re just ordering a chair online.”
we thrive as part of a rising movement towards quality, authentic and unique goods that are created in relationship with you. nothing inspires and challenges our creativity like this process. it feels so appropriate to bring our custom design strategy to bear on weddings, which continue to evolve as a blank canvas for self-expression.
As seen on CRAVE Company’s blog.
One of the key takeaways from our research and interviews with brides is to plan your wedding with your own authenticity in mind. Wedding trends and traditions are fantastic to reference; however, during the wedding planning process brides can quickly get swept away in the idea of creating the “perfect” wedding and in the end feel stressed as well as overwhelmed.
From what we’ve noted, the best wedding experiences are those that are planned with the bride and groom’s priorities at the center. Family, friends and even some wedding vendors may want to paint a picture for your wedding that fits what they have in mind for a picturesque day, but it’s the bride and groom’s vision of their own personal wedding day that matters.
One of our favorite stories from “Unveiling Weddings” shares this idea. We call it the “Lemon Cake Story”. The bride, Lauren, was in her residency at a prestigious hospital and did not have time to plan her wedding so she let her mom plan the whole thing – huge white dress, tent, large guest list, fancy… everything. Lauren’s mom had been dreaming of her wedding day since she was a little girl. Lauren’s only request was to have a lemon cake and she was totally disappointed when her mother chose a white cake with raspberry filling instead. Here, the bride was able to navigate difficult situations at the hospital every day and she could not even get her favorite cake at her own wedding. A few weeks before her wedding her friends through her a mini shower and surprised her with a lemon cake. We love this story because it demonstrates the complexities of the wedding process. Even the most capable of women struggle to get what they want in the midst of family dynamics.
Typically, an engagement lasts up to 16 months and can create a time for a bride and groom to develop a solid platform for their future marriage. A terrific tip is for the bride and groom to figure out your priorities. Create a list and figure out your top three. For example, your list may include:
a.) stay on budget,
B.) invite as many of my friends and family as I can, and
c.) create a meaningful ceremony.
Post the list on a place where you can see it, and visit when need be (such as when all your single friends assume it’s okay to bring a date to your wedding). Keep these big-picture conceptual priorities at your fingertips will not only keep you on track but will diffuse any stress or anger that gets triggered by the mundane (and the ridiculous!) Remind yourself of the real reasons you are getting married and create the wedding of your dreams.
Rebecca Sacerdoti, PhD and Tasha Jackson Fitzgerald, MA are co-authors of Unveiling Weddings, a book that support today’s bride with emotional and spiritual guidance during her engagement. Filled with entertaining stories, professional insight and tips to demystify this important rite of passage, stories in “Unveiling Weddings” unveil the emotional hurdles, family dramas and personal breakthroughs that are typically hidden from the public eye. It’s a warm-hearted, inspiring and relevant read that will put even the most stressed out bride-to-be at ease. To read a few pages or buy the book, visit www.unveilingweddings.com.
here’s a first on this blog: an e-invite. gasp!
now, let it be said that we are extremely partial to paper. it’s oh-so touchable, post-able, archive-able. and as we’re increasingly consumed by a sea of electronic communications, paper mementos are all the more delightful in their rarity.
but sometimes, last minute parties HAPPEN. and there is simply no time for lovely paper invites to make their way from the press to envelopes to mailboxes across town. yes, everything that makes paper invites so special makes them challenging on a tight schedule.
throwing a party without invitations just makes me too sad to bear. and so, e-invites were designed and emailed and saved the day!
to set the tone I chose a color palette directly from pantone’s color forecast for 2011. it is a FANTASTIC resource for brides searching for wedding color inspiration that will be absolutely of-the-moment and on-trend for this year.
congratulations to everyone who got engaged over the holiday! it’s such a magical time of year to get engaged. every time I turn around I to meet another lucky bride-to-be.
our {loveandpaper} etsy shop is up and running! we’ve got some fun note cards that work as postcards or flat notes. there are thank you’s, love notes, and some that simply can’t be categorized which are my personal favorite. but you’ll just have to go there to see those.
we’re happy to do local sales if you’d like to avoid shipping. a set of cards makes a great last minute christmas gift!
a small group of friends recently threw a party to toast autumn. it felt like just the right time to host a big bash before the hectic holidays sweep us all away. i have to confess that, as lovely as the soirée was, designing the invite was half the fun for me!
this pattern was inspired by the turning and falling of leaves. i love how the vibrant colors jump off the neutral background. it’s at once playful and sophisticated. it was printed on the back and was the first thing guests saw when they opened the envelope. i love creating little moments of surprise like that!
on the front, i did a bit of calligraphy in bright persimmon for something elegant and contemporary. it was perfect with our swanky 10th-floor lounge downtown and our autumn theme.
1. dress: vera wang 2. figurines: says the tree 3. cake: real simple 4. flowers: st jude’s creation
5. shoes: GUESS by marciano 6. stars: shanna murray 7. save the date: {ampersand}
drumroll please: {ampersand} is now listed in the CRAVE Denver book! we are proud to be featured among so many phenomenal, stylish women-owned businesses. CRAVE guides have been published in several major cities and it’s about time that denver had its own! the world needs to know that denver’s cow-town days are long gone and we have style and substance to spare. CRAVE is an entertaining and informative guide to the best local, independent female retailers and service providers in denver. it is THE guide for a youthful urban woman who wants to stay on trend, on top of her game, and support local businesses while she does it.
you can check out more of our photos here, and see other cities’ guides here until CRAVE Denver hits bookstore shelves in a couple months.
hi friends, i wanted to post some lovely photos of my cousin’s wedding, which i traveled out to in michigan. i will probably add more to this as the photographer makes them available. their wedding was shot by bryan and mae photography. amazing.
click to zoom
i love the idea of the goof booth, even with no props. it still provides a chance to get photos of the friends and family who attend your wedding and have a bit more character to them.
1. flowers: ladybirdpoppy.com 2. invite/pins: ampersandllc.com/customgallery
3. cake: fleurdelisacakes.com 4. yellow shoes: thestudionouveau.com 5. dress: anthropologie.com
i like technology as much as the next person. i love my mac book and my handy wacom drawing tablet. i studied graphic design and make art on a computer for a living, but technology is fleeting! i just spent the last hour typing up what was supposed to be this blog post about technology’s limited reach and the beauty of the handwritten word. as soon as i hit “publish” some glitch occurred and my post was deleted. go figure.
people are relying more heavily on email, evites and other digital media for correspondence these days. i believe technology serves a great purpose, but i also believe it’s limited reach assures us all that paper won’t die. technology is so disposable. emails get deleted, evites get lost. even this blog post will soon be buried under a pile of electronic words. receiving a handwritten lovely in the mail..now that’s something we’ll hold on to forever.
christa sorauf of connexxions (a stationery shop in greer, south carolina), puts it like this, “electronic communications serve a purpose but they are fast, fleeting and ephemeral. you can’t touch a tweet, savor your sweetheart’s quirky writing on an e-mail or put an e-vite on your refrigerator. the act of writing a note, sending a greeting card or issuing an invitation is one of the most personal and emotional communications you can send. the recipient acknowledges that by the importance they place on them.”
at a recent family gathering with my in-laws, my husband’s grandpa told us all about stacks of mail he had kept over the years for each of his 5 children. when they moved to distant states or could only use mail to communicate, he would keep every letter he received. he has, since then, returned the stacks to each child who now have beautiful reminders of life in other countries, weddings, births, and other life milestones. the level of importance their family has placed on these notes goes much deeper than that placed on any email i can think of.
we need to teach people the joy of receiving mail. in return, i believe they will learn the joy of sending it too.
send someone you love a handwritten letter today.
we’re excited to announce that we are now offering customized wax seals! if you haven’t used one before, they are super easy and elegant and anyone can do it. one of the best things about them is that no two marks are exactly alike because the wax creates a unique shape around the edge as it is pressed with the seal.
we can design everything from a monogram with your initials to a motif that incorporates your wedding theme or date. maybe even an old-fashioned family crest customized just for you! after your wedding, the seal becomes a fun keepsake of your day and you may even choose to continue using it in your correspondence such as holiday cards.
wax seals were used by royalty and nobility to authorize official documents. your seal was a symbol of your authority and a person’s seals would be destroyed when they died to prevent counterfeiting. they carry an air of prestige and celebrity.
think of everything you can do with just one seal: use it on your invitation envelopes, favor boxes, bouquet ribbons, place cards, menus, programs, guest book, thank you cards and anything else you can dream up! this is a fantastic way to bring a completely personal and nostalgic touch to your wedding. you can use different colors of wax in different applications for some variety, or stick with a consistent color for a very unified look.
a beautiful bride and beautiful photos make for one beautiful album!
our phenomenally talented friend john s. miller shot heather and curtis’s wedding this summer. we used his photos in the layout and design of an album that we absolutely love.
the album is archival quality with a debossed leather cover and hand sewn binding.
we hope that heather and curtis enjoy reminiscing and showing it off for decades to come. congratulations you two!
back in april, we worked with blue bridal couture to design invitations for a brides head revisited trunk show at their shop in the denver pavilions. we worked with a blue that matches their branding and screen printed the design on chipboard.
for all you brides looking for that perfect dress, we LOVE the ladies over at blue. blue bridal is a chic, contemporary boutique, located in the heart of downtown denver. locally owned and operated by two young women, they offer exquisite designer gowns, at surprisingly delightful prices. most of their designers are exclusive to their boutique in colorado, which means you won’t see the same gowns anywhere else.
here are some beautiful photos of their brand new shop downtown:
visit them at bluegowns.com or LIKE them on facebook.
here’s a great solution for addressing your invitations: custom labels that coordinate with your stationery! nothing is as clear and simple as a mailing label, but most are so boring/ugly that I shudder to picture them on a personal invitation. but not these!
these labels truly elevate your style and add a polished look to the envelope. here we used the teal color scheme, tiny dots and matching typography for a coordinated statement. (to see the matching invite check out our previous post.)
the return address folds over to appear on the back. easy as pie.
what’s sweeter than a tiny baby shower invitation sprinkled with tiny polka dots and a heart or two for good measure?
- tiny invites standing at attention!
these invites were custom designed to celebrate the impending arrival of a baby girl affectionately known as “Lil’ G”. they fold accordion style and fit in tiny envelopes with matching wrap-around address labels. not only do the labels unify the design, but they are a great addressing solution – much classier than typical mail-merge labels and way easier than hand addressing. the return address is printed on the part that wraps around the back so you conquer all your addressing needs with one simple sticker! gotta love it!
- under my umbrella…
“wallflowers,” “shrinking violets”… sometimes flowers can just fade into the background. it takes skilled hands and a keen eye to make flowers really pull a punch, open a can, and knock ‘em dead.
which is why we can’t wait to introduce you to the fabulously talented floral designer sarah tedford of Ladybird Poppy! sarah has an impressive background designing for the inverness hotel, and she struck out on her own a while back. since then she has been busy designing flowers for weddings and other special occasions, as well as some everyday ones (when you see her flowers, you’ll understand why “just because” is more than reason enough!).
whether it’s a simple corsage or lush wedding centerpieces, sarah’s unmistakable style sparkles with originality. her flowers make an unforgettable statement and instantly elevate the atmosphere of your event.
not only is she gifted with flowers, but she’s great to work with whether you know exactly what you want or only have a vague concept. and she’s just the kind of professional you want to have around on your big day – calm, easygoing, and totally dependable.
sarah’s aesthetic is simultaneously fresh and romantic, playful and sophisticated, unexpected and current. we’re excited to add her to our friends because we know our brides will dig her out-of-the-ordinary style and luscious blooms. go check out her blog!
birds are a beautiful image for a nature theme. most birds have a symbolic meaning, which could add a whole new level of depth to your wedding. bluebirds and larks represent great happiness. doves represent love, peace and gentleness. swallows represent good fortune. sparrows represent good luck for lovers… just to name a few.
there are so many ways to tie in this theme. love birds as a cake topper, robin egg candy for favors, feathers on your sassy red heels and of course bird seeds for the big exit!
the gloomy weather here in denver is causing me to daydream about charming summer weddings.
i love the organic beauty of feathers (especially those of sir. peacock) and their ability to turn something commonplace into something magical.
perhaps you’d like your wedding to have this teal + brown color palette?
