Monday, June 17, 2013

Emmarie & Matt: The Invitations

Hey everyone!

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite elements of Matt & Emmarie's wedding, their invitations! These are as custom and personal as you can get and I love everything about them.

They started by choosing a hand stamped invitation, which Matt and Emmarie wanted to do themselves. Antiquaria created the gorgeous stamps, Shindig Paperie provided the paper, and Matt and Emmarie got to work!

Next, we met with Shindig Paperie again to discuss their RSVP cards. We came up with a wonderfully unique idea to use sweet and quirky postcards from Emmarie's family's collection. We chose 5 different post cards and Shindig Paperie did the rest turning these hundred year old post cards into the perfect RSVP cards. 

And here's the final product...
I love the character that a detail like this brings to a wedding. Emmarie and I loved this post card on top! It makes me laugh and I think it's so perfect for a couple who with a wonderful sense of humor like Emmarie & Matt. Their guests didn't want to mail the RSVP cards back they loved them so much! Don't be afraid to think outside of the box for your wedding details. Your guests will thank you for it!

Friday, June 14, 2013

Emmarie & Matt: The Bridal Portraits

Hello everyone!

Today I'm sharing Emmarie's absolutely stunning bridal portraits by Liz Chrisman. Enjoy...

Isn't she lovely? Such a beautiful person inside and out!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Emmarie & Matt: The Hedge Wall

Hey guys!

I've been waiting to share these images for a long time. When Emmarie and I first sat down to discuss their wedding design she knew she wanted a garden style wedding. As we brainstormed, I began to envision a lovely English Garden brought inside with lace table cloths and beautiful hedges. When I suggested a hedge wall as a backdrop for their wedding cake, Emmarie and her parents loved the idea! Here's the gorgeous finished product....
 
What do you think? I'm crazy about the results!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Emmarie & Matt: The Reception

Hey guys!

I'm back today with Emmarie & Matt's English Garden style reception in Altus, Arkansas. Enjoy the beautiful images by Liz Chrisman...

Tomorrow I'll be sharing my favorite design element from their wedding. You don't want to miss it!!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Emmarie & Matt: The Ceremony

Hey everyone!

This week I'm sharing Emmarie & Matt's lovely English Garden style wedding. They were married in the bride's hometown of Altus, Arkansas on April 20th. Let's start with their sweet Catholic ceremony at St. Mary's. Enjoy the photos by Liz Chrisman Photography...

Now for the first look...


And their beautiful ceremony...

Come back tomorrow for their reception! Thanks Liz Chrisman for the images!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Lydia & Caul: The Video

Hey guys!

I lied when I said we were done with Lydia & Caul's wedding features! I'm back today with their gorgeous wedding highlight film by Nathan Willis. I'll let the video speak for itself...

Lydia & Caul I Fayetteville, AR from Nathan Willis Wedding Films on Vimeo.

Lovely isn't it?! Thank you Nathan Willis Wedding Films for the beautiful job editing Lydia & Caul's wedding day.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Meet Abby & Justin!

Hey everyone!

Abby & Justin are getting married at the Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas in November and we cannot wait! It's going to be a gorgeous fall wedding with loads of beautiful details. Until then, here are a few of my favorites from their engagement session with Melissa McCrotty Photography at Justin's family farm in Romance, Arkansas. Enjoy...
I'm so excited to see Abby & Justin's wedding design completed and equally excited to work with Melissa McCrotty again. Can't wait to see what we create together!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Lydia & Caul: Custom Envelope Liners {DIY Tutorial}

Hey everyone!

I'm back with the last feature from Lydia & Caul's wedding and it's a great DIY Tutorial for you! Custom Envelope Liners. Custom liners set an amazing tone for your guests as soon as they open that invitation. Lydia & Caul's guests absolutely loved them and made it a point to tell our sweet bride.

Let me start at the beginning. This beautiful Great Gatsby book cover was one of our main inspirations for the wedding design from the start...
Lydia found this gorgeous glitter embellished wrapping paper that mimicked the look of the book cover, so we decided to put it to work!

I personally hand lined each inner envelope for Lydia & Caul's invitations using this gorgeous paper. Now, this takes time {LOTS of time}, but it is completely worth it!

Here's what you'll need to get started:
-Liner Paper of your Choice
-Sharp Exacto Knife {with extra blades}
-LOTS of Double Sided Tape {I think I went through 10 rolls for 250 envelopes}
-Surface for Cutting {I used a plastic cutting board made for crafting from Hobby Lobby}
-Pen or Pencil
-1 envelope to sacrifice as your template.


Now here's what you'll do, step by step:

Step 1: Take your sacrificial envelope and open up the folds completely. Then cut the side flaps and the bottom few inches off to give you a perfect liner template that will fit inside your envelopes. Test it inside another envelope to be sure it fits correctly and that you haven't cut off too much before going any further.

Step 2: Trace template on liner paper.

**Note: If you are working with a geometric pattern that needs to be centered {as we were} you'll need to line it up purposefully with each tracing or it will look messy.

Step 3: Begin to carefully cut out each individual liner using your Exacto Knife.
**Note: As the blade dulls and cutting becomes more difficult, you'll need to change blades. I changed blades twice during this process.

Step 4: Turn liner over and apply a strip of double sided tape along each side of the peak. Then carefully tuck into the envelope and press down firmly to secure.

Step 5: Repeat 249 more times! {or until you finish all of your invitations} Probably stopping to buy more double sided tape & massage your sore hands along the way. But when you're done, you'll have a gorgeous finished product that your guests will adore!

And here is the full invitation suite! The gorgeous hand calligraphy invitations from Shindig Paperie are complimented perfectly by the custom envelope liner.



And remember, don't let the extra paper go to waste! For Lydia & Caul's wedding we used it to add detail to the place cards for the head table, food labels, and reserved signs...


A big thanks to Benfield Photography for capturing these paper details for us!

Best of luck in your DIYing!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Lydia & Caul: The Design Process

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a little of our process with you today. Throughout planning for Lydia & Caul's wedding we did a series of sketches to either help Lydia see her choices all pulled together before things were finalized or to help the vendors capture our vision.

Here's our cake sketch that we took to Rick's Bakery during our consultation...
 And here's the finished product captured by Benfield Photography...
Great job Rick's!


Next up, here's our overview sketch of the reception space...

And here are a couple of overview shots of the room from Benfield Photography...
A few small changes were made {i.e. the placement of cocktail tables} but for the most part, it turned out exactly as we planned in the sketch!

I also have a sketch of the head table, but for some reason Blogger is flipping it on it's side and won't let me post it here correctly. Trust me, it turned out even better than we envisioned!

I hope you enjoyed this little peek inside the creative process!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Lydia & Caul: Vendor Love

Hey everyone!

My job would not be possible without the amazing team of vendors we work with for each wedding. After Lydia & Caul's spectacular wedding, it's only fitting to recognize everyone who was involved in making it absolutely perfect.

Here goes...

Benfield Photography
Nathan Willis Wedding Films
Central United Methodist Church
Arkansas Air Museum
Flora
Shindig Paperie
Brick House Kitchen Catering
Rick's Bakery
Eventures
Making Memories Photo Booth
Fayetteville Jazz Collective
Lightworks

Thank you all for your part in making this wedding perfect! You each did an incredible job!