Pretty Paper {Choosing Wedding Stationary}

This past week we worked on finalizing our stationary for the wedding. We used a stationary and wedding boutique in Tempe, Arizona for our invitations and LOVED working with the owner! Plus we loved the way our invitations turned out, so we knew we had to go back for the day of details!

If you live in the Arizona area, make sure to check out Definitely Debra.

Picking out our wedding invitations was actually quite simple! Once we started looking at the options, we loved the pocket invitations!  We went with an invitation suite that is similar to these beauties below!

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This week we designed our programs, place cards and other fun miscellaneous stationary for the big day! Here are some inspiration photos!

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This is not our style but I LOVED the idea of showing the wedding party in the order they will stand. How clever!

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I can't wait to see the finished project and to share it all with you!

Feel free to share with me your favorite wedding invitations and stationary!

Until Next Week!

Jessica

Follow me on Twitter @jessdawnd and my wedding inspiration board on Pinterest

Saving Our Date

Ohh…the Save the Dates. Before getting engaged I always loved receiving couples' Save the Dates in the mail. I love stationary and seeing what other couples’ chose to represent themselves and their future wedding was so fun and exciting! Well then it was time for us to figure out Save the Dates and boy, did the fun kind of get lost in the shuffle. First finding the style was an issue in itself, my fiance and I just couldn’t agree. Then it was the guest list and finally the addressing, stamping, labeling, and sealing of 115 envelopes is where I almost lost it. Those cute, exciting announcements almost caused a mini meltdown. Especially when I was on my last page of labels and I accidentally printed the wrong addresses. Ugh anyways, enough with my rant. Since I love stationary, I looked at lots of options from Internet stores, brick and mortar, and DIY options. We ended up choosing something from PaperSource which we both agreed fit our style the best. Here are a few of my very favorites that we didn't end up choosing:

Source: Pretty Chic SF via Etsy

Source: Ladyfingers Letterpress

Source: Minted

Etsy Favorites: Swanlake

This Etsy shop is a new found favorite of mine! I absolutely love the bold colors and fabulous design. Any of these are perfect holiday gifts or bridesmaid gifts for your girls. Check out Swanlake's Esty shop. You will not be disappointed!

Bridesmaid Dresses {mix & matching}

I recently started using the 'Secret Boards' on Pinterest and am loving it for so many reasons! This past week I've been using it as I narrow in on the look of the bridal party. I am 90% sure we'll be doing the mix and match look for the bridesmaids. I like that with the Secret Boards, I have the option to pin my own as I gather inspiration and then share with all my ladies once I'm ready! And then instead of sending an email with a bunch of links, I can send them actual pictures that link right through to where they can buy them (I heart Pinterest). I'm leaning towards neutral, light dresses. Maybe keeping the same length to keep them consistent.

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Sources: top left, bottom left, middle, right

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As you can see I'm thinking a light nude/tan/ivory color palate. When we're all together, it should look something like this...

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Mixing and matching can be a challenge, but when done right, I love the way it looks! Did you have your bridesmaids in different dresses? Any tips on making everything look polished and pulled together?

P.S. In my unrelated search this week about DIY Christmas tree skirts, I came across this link with instructions on how to make one out of your old bridesmaid dress, click here. So funny.

The Lab || We're Expanding (To Your City!)

I co-founded a bridal event last year to help brides plan their wedding while being enveloped in inspiration, ideas and surrounded by some of the most creative minds in the industry. We call it "The Lab" and it will be taking place in Sonoma, CA on January 12 (Local? Get tickets!). While we finish up the final details for this event, we can't wait to share what is coming next. And it is awesome....

We have big dreams for this baby of ours, first and foremost, we are expanding! The Lab is no longer San Francisco specific, in fact we are on our way in putting together a 10 city tour of events. Yes, we will be traveling to 10 cities bringing all the goodness of our event to other areas. And hopefully will be headed to your city!

Want The Lab in your neck of the woods? Simply email us (with your city as the subject) letting us know where you want us to come. We will announce the final city lineup in January!

Vendors: Want to be a part of The Lab in your city? Email us letting us know where you want us to come and that you'd like to be involved! We are looking for the best of the best in the industry and would love to hear from you.

Black, White & Gold Brunch with Sarah Seven

Sarah Seven invited a group of the best bloggers in the industry to brunch to preview her ready-to-wear collection along with her newest bridal collection. With a 25 person guest list, we set out to create an intimate space with plenty of details, yummy food, great conversation and of course a whole bunch of girls swooning (and instragraming) each and every part of it!

Sarah's words to me were "I want to host a brunch. I want striped tablecloths" From there my mind went wild with the black, white and gold color palette and I created everything from the invites, to the menus. The amazing Floral Theory rocked the flowers with some brass goblets and gorgeous peonies. Milkglass Vintage Rentals brought the pretty with mix-matched chairs, an amazing linen lounge set and some fabulous details to decorate the space. And of course, Megan Clouse did an incredible job documenting all the gorgeous work and the great time had by all.

Thanks a million to Sarah Seven for bringing everyone together, I think I speak for us all by saying that your designs are incredible and inspire such a feminine, effortless look. Just want until you see all the gorgeous pieces from Sarah's Ready-To-Wear and Fall 2013 Bridal collections! You'll die!

Check out the feature on Style Me Pretty!

Color Splash

I love color, so the process of selecting wedding colors seems like a daunting task. The again, what are wedding colors really for? I have read that the purpose of selecting wedding colors is to set the tone for your wedding reception and tie everything together, but if you have a good aesthetic for color does everything really need to be so matchy matchy? So far  The Perfect Palette and Design Seeds are my favorite sites to search for color inspiration.

I love turquoise or aqua with a bright coral or yellow.

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Source: Design Seeds

I also like the look of a cool grey accented with muted colors.

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Since our entire wedding will be outdoors, I like the idea of playing off natural colors too.

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How did/are you picking your wedding colors? How many are too many?

A Walk in the Park {Sneak Peek Engagement Pictures!}

Greetings from Beijing! I'm traveling for work, and let me tell you, it is Cold here (with a capital C), and that's coming from someone that lived in Chicago for two years! About a month ago, my fiance and I had our engagement photo session with the enormously talented Shang Chen. I'm actually lucky enough to know Shang in real life (we went to business school together), so the shoot was even more fun! We walked around the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers and Golden Gate Park, on a stunningly beautiful fall afternoon.

I'll admit, I was a bit obsessive about outfits, and brought three (yes, three) pairs of shoes to our photo shoot. If you're unsure, your photographer is an amazing resource for advice on what will photograph well. We sent Shang photos of our outfits ahead of time, and she had some really excellent feedback.

Source (all photos): Shang Chen Photography 

I highly recommend taking engagement photos, particularly with your wedding photographer. They are a great time to build rapport, and to work out any of the kinks with your photographer before your big day. Shang is amazing at what she does, and her blog is a great source of inspiration to me.

Have you had your engagement photos taken yet?

That Is So Us {Incorporating Personal Touches}

The big day is about 45 days away and to say that I am excited is an understatement!  

Last blog post, I mentioned that the next few weeks are all about the details. Our flowers are all set and we met with the DJ last week. Currently, in our (little) free time we are working on the "personal touches." When first discussing the wedding, we always knew we wanted the day to be a big party with our friends and family from our current home (Arizona) and our home states (Wisconsin and Illinois).  We also wanted to make sure we found fun ways to incorporate us and things that speak to who we are as individuals and a couple. I wanted to share some of our "personal touches" that we have planned (and of course, keep some a secret!):

Scrabble

When searching Pinterest, Eric and I both fell in love with this image! We love playing games! In fact, when buying a home some of our first purchases were board game essentials like scrabble, jenga and monopoly! This seemed like such a tasteful yet fun way to incorporate something we love into the wedding!

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We even incorporated scrabble into our engagement photos!

Source- Brushfire Photography

DIY

I am typically not a DIY-type person. I find that usually I just end up getting frustrated or have to spend hours just to make one thing! Eric, on the other hand, is very handy and actually pretty crafty. When we first moved in our home, Eric built a workshop/tool table out of wood! So we've put his handiness to good use and he's been making items for the wedding like our table numbers!

Sources: 1 and 2

Music 

Eric and I both love music! We do have very different tastes in music though and when we met with our DJ he pointed that out to us! The DJ had a a simple and short "fun fact" questionnaire on his paperwork about who we are and we had to list our favorite music artists. Our answers: Eric- Eminem and Jess- Jack's Mannequin. After going down the rest of the list (favorite sports team, favorite movie, job, etc) the DJ asked us how we even hang out! I am a true believer in opposites attract!When it came to picking out music for our big moments (processional, recessional, first dance), it was not an easy decision. We both felt it was an important aspect of the day and wanted to make sure thought was put into each song. I am the type of person who links memories to music. For example, every time I hear Genesis "I Can't Dance" (woah, 1991!) I remember being little sitting in the back seat of my dads convertible car and us just singing at the top of our lungs. It is one of my happiest memories. Knowing how important music is to both of us, we talked about "our songs" for weeks on end.The sweetest moment in all of wedding planning is that Eric insisted on picking out our first dance song and I think he did an excellent job! Can't wait for our dance as husband and wife :)

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How are you incorporating personal touches on your big day?

Until Next Week!

Jess

Follow my wedding inspiration board on Pinterest

Tweet me @jessdawnd

Destined to be Destination

As soon as we got engaged, our planning began. I'm not talking a week later or even a few days, after the happy tears dried, I was off to the races. We started with thinking of where we wanted the wedding to take place. We both knew immediately that we wouldn't hold it in our hometown of San Jose or our current city of San Francisco. I'm not really sure why this was the case since both cities have beautiful wedding venues; we just knew we wanted to get away.

It was quickly narrowed down to three locations in California - Lake Tahoe, the San Luis Obispo area, or Sonoma which all have very special meanings to us.

The San Luis Obispo area quickly became the front runner. We went to college there, it holds special memories for us and a lot of our friends, and it's a beautiful area on the Central Coast that is sometimes overlooked. Once we nailed down the location, the venue was next. The area is known for some amazing ranches, wineries, and beach venues which gave us a lot to work with.

Holland Ranch

Source: Bailey Entertainment

Santa Margarita Ranch

 Source: Rustic Bride

Hammersky Vineyards

Source: Touring and Tasting

Stillwaters Vineyards

Source: I do Venues

Spanish Oaks Ranch

Source: Logan Cole Photography

We ended up choosing the very first venue we looked at (the one directly above this post). The outdoor space is beautiful, the entrance to the ranch is grand, had plenty of space our headcount, and the venue is 100% DIY (one of my favorite parts although is makes for much more time and work). I look forward to embracing the natural beauty while including our perfect wedding details too.