Invitation Design

Today I get to show off my invitations! I worked with graphic designer and E&I blogger alum, Kimberly Roth, to create my invitation suite. I love how they turned out.

Along the way, I feel that I really solidified the vision I had for my wedding. We pulled inspiration from the location - Mount Hood, Oregon - by featuring the mountain, the muted lavender color from the lavender fields in the area, and the overall whimsical feel.

    

Photo credit: Kimberly Roth

I also got a chance for some DIYing. Kimberly designed and coordinated having stamps made for our 'belly band' and return address. During a visit to Paper Source, I realized embossing with white would show up much better on the Kraft paper than just a white stamp. Embossing is really fun and easy (but time consuming when you are doing it for 100+ invitations).

Here's what I used:

- Stamp

- Stamp pad

- Embossing powder

- Heat tool

Once I got the hang of it, it went by pretty fast. I would stamp three at a time, apply the powder, lay them out on the table (until it filled the table) and then use the heat tool on all of those. Much faster than doing the whole process for one at a time. Two of my bridesmaids came over one night to help and that really speeded things up. Note to self: make sure cat doesn't get to them before you set the powder with the heat. :-)

After embossing, I folded each belly band around the invitation and secured it with a strip of double sided tape.

Photo credit: me

Photo credit: Kimberly Roth

Iridescent Peacock Inspiration

As I've mentioned before, I have a slight obsession with peacocks--they appear frequently in Art Deco and Art Nouveau artwork, and the bright jewel tones and metallics offer up a to-die-for wedding palette. While there will be no live peacocks at our wedding, there will be a few special details inspired by my feathered friends. Here are some peacock images that have been hovering around my Pinterest board for a while.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Gilding the Lily: Finishing Touches

One of my favorite things about these final stages of wedding planning is that all of those little details that have been floating around my head for the last year are beginning to come to life. Purchases are being made. Decor is being finalized. While I'm savoring keeping some of these little details secret until the big day, know this: things will be sparkly (shocking...I know). Etsy has been a blessing and a curse in my search for special and personal details. Before you enter into the rabbit hole that is Etsy.com, know this: there are more people selling vintage metallic wedding favor boxes than you know.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Designing the Dinner Menu

Now that we've finally ordered our invitations, I've been thinking about how all of our paper goods will tie together. As I've mentioned before, we are huge foodies, and are serving our meal family style. Because of that, we want to be sure to highlight the meal in a beautiful and clear way, that will illustrate all of the food on the table. We are still working on finalizing the menu with our caterer, but I love the idea of vintage, elegant menus that complement the mixed metallics and soft flowers of our tablescape. Here are a few options that I'm loving this week.

Sources: 1 (our invitation suite), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Napkin Surprises

I never would have thought that I would be writing a post solely on napkins! In mentally setting the table for our wedding I am having a hard time figuring out how all of these different pieces (napkins, china, linens, flowers) will work together in harmony instead of competing with one another. I am leaning towards renting some mismatched china, so I would like to keep the napkins and linens fairly neutral. But, people are getting so gosh darn creative with their napkins these days  it is hard to rein myself in! Check out these adorable DIY ombre dyed napkins.

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Add a touch of lavender.

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Go for a pop of color.

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Or, add even more color with mismatched napkins. I found this esty vendor that will even make them for you in your pattern and color scheme. So cute!

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 How did you decide? Did you agonize over this silly detail as much as I have? Did you buy or rent? Love to hear any tips on where to buy napkins!

A Few of My Favor-ite Things

Please excuse the punny title of this post. While wedding favors aren't always a necessity, there are tons of fun ways to give your guests a small token of thanks. Because we are such huge foodies, we want our favors to reflect that. In traditional Italian culture, five Jordan almonds represent five wishes for the bride and groom: health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and longevity. While Jordan almonds can certainly be a little cheesy, I found these stunning silver ones that would make a really fun favor. Here are a few things that are inspiring me this week as I think about favors:

Sources: 1-3, 4-5, 6-9, 10

White on Wood {signs}

Now that my invitation designer and I are getting closer to the final version of my invitation suite, it's got me thinking about all things signage! We are doing a lot of white text on colored backgrounds, so when I saw these "white on wood" signs, I knew they would be a great fit.

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There is a simple tutorial, here. And some ideas on where to find old wood, here.

Did you have luck finding reclaimed wood for wedding signage? If so, how did you do it?

Mint to Be

In the aftermath of St. Patty's Day and with spring right around the corner, this post is dedicated to my new favorite color, mint green! I’ve always loved how this soft, sweet color pairs well with any Springtime pastel shade. Check out this darling round up of the perfect ways to keep your wedding minty fresh! Adorable (and super affordable!) dresses for the bride or her bridesmaids.

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Darling mint ph0tobooth.

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Add a little mint to your cake!

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Lollipops to find your table. Great way to re-purpose those berry containers!

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Subtle minty details

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Have you added some mint to your wedding pallet?

Planning a Wine Country Wedding, Part 3: Where did you get that?

As an event designer, one of the questions I’m asked most by both clients and wedding guests is where I find all the unique elements — from the perfect dinner chairs to the adorable ring bearer’s pillow — that make a couple’s wedding uniquely them. For wine country weddings, you typically want thoughtful details that beautifully bridge both rustic and elegant looks. Here I share some of Esla Events' favorite sources.

Paper Goods

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The Aerialist Press. They offer beautiful designs – both house and couture collections, and are two of the nicest people you will ever meet, who are inspiringly passionate about what they do.

Little Miss Press. She offers beautiful stationery design AND stunning calligraphy. Getting your invitations designed, printed, and addressed all in one spot? Can’t get any easier than that.

Materials & Special Touches

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Save on Crafts. For all you DIYers out there, this is a gold mine for materials. From candles to moss to baskets, this national site’s warehouse is located just down south in Watsonville, so getting your items is very quick and easy.

Pressed Cotton. One of my new favorite sites for special little details. The products are tastefully done and well curated.

BHLDN. While some items are overpriced, sometimes you just can’t find that perfect coral cake stand anywhere else. Great for items you think you’ll want to keep long after the wedding.

Etsy. And no list can be complete without this “DIYer outsourcing” site. Sometimes it takes some patience to dig through all the postings, but usually you can find the perfect item at a great price.

Pretty Sweets

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Miette. A San Francisco classic, this store just makes you happy. If you can incorporate some of their jaw-droppingly beautiful cupcakes and macarons into your dessert table, do.

Batter. One of my favorite sources for baked goods. Delicious, unique, and beautiful.

Candy Warehouse. There isn’t anything that glamorous about this site or source, but it’s a lifesaver if you’re trying to find a range of candies in one particular shade.

Rentals

Hartmann Studio Rentals. Tip: They have one of the best shrubbery collections in the region. So if you need some olive trees or boxwoods to help define large outdoor spaces, and make ceremony spaces more intimate, this is the place to go.

Wine Country Party & Events. Not surprisingly, their inventory is geared beautifully towards the rustic yet romantic and elegant look of Napa and Sonoma weddings.

Classic Party Rentals. Looking for a great dark-wood farm table? They rent them for $85. Also, their benches and Descanso lounge furniture are quite popular with my clients.

For fans of mid century modern, industrial, and custom design rentals, keep an eye out for YEAH! Rentals and rEvolve (site coming soon!), who will both be expanding their presence in the Bay Area this coming year.

Vintage Touches

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One True Love Vintage Rentals. Incredibly tasteful collection, with exceptionally beautiful pieces for lounge vignettes.

Heritage & Craft. With a beautiful selection of vintage goods, they also are able to craft custom pieces for you.

MilkGlass Vintage Rentals. Her selection of tables and glassware are fantastic, and she also can help you create a customized piece to perfectly suit your needs.

Wine Country Party’s Circa. Need to try and get all your rentals from the same place to avoid multiple delivery charges? Wine Country Party has a Circa line of vintage goods, so you can get 150 standard white plates and 5 wooden crates for styling your dessert table all in one place.

Linens

Napa Valley Linens. Amazing customer service and a constantly updated and beautiful selection of linens.

La Tavola. My clients go crazy for their Tuscano line (which are linen linens). Beautiful understated elegance. They have showrooms in both Napa and San Francisco, making sample viewing a snap.

Happy hunting for your perfect items!

Invitation Wording {it's in the details}

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A few weeks ago I decided to hire an E&I alumn to design my invitations! I remembered back when she posted about her own invitations, here, and I had to find out if she was still designing. Well, she was! And she has been the best, most helpful designer I could have asked for. Click here to visit Kimberly's website.

I wasn't sure I could do custom-designed invitations while staying within my budget. But with the few special things I wanted to incorporate on my invites, it was going to be hard to just order them through a template. So I reached out to Kim and she walked me through the process and quickly turned me from being totally overwhelmed with not knowing what to do, into being really excited about all of the options. She also helped navigate the printing process and recommend some different printers.

We are now collaborating about the design and figuring out the wording. With all the options, it can be tough to pick which direction to go in...do you want them to be silly, funny, quirky, formal, religious, simple...the list goes on. I have been leaning in the direction of making them sweet and personal. Here are some I'm liking.

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Like the wording on these - "...invite you to join them on a most spectacular day..." and "...invite you to share in their true love and marriage..."

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The one on the right is sweet - "All the Roads led to you. You're invited to celebrate the start of a new path for..."

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I like the ends of these: "dinner, dancing and revelry to follow!" and "Dancing, Drinks and fun to follow"

If you are trying to figure out the wording for your invitations, Invitation Consultants and Offbeat Bride are some great resources. The first has a TON of great ideas for different situations - eloping, destination weddings, how to include parents' names, etc. The second has some more quirky and funny ideas.

How did you pick your invitation wording?