O'brien wedding

We were very excited to get a disc from Stacy Cross Photography with some of the beautiful photo's she took of The O'brien Wedding at Natures Point. This was a bright and vibrant collection letterpressed on an ecru Neenah paper. After many versions Betsey settled on an adorable custom design with butterflies and birds, flourishes in oranges, greens and little accents of pink. We had fun with the place cards, we designed each one with subtle differences. Jeff did a great job of putting them together with colored ribbons, (seen below) The ceremony card doubled as a donation card. On the back there was a note about donations being made in remembrance of Betsey's father who unfortunately passed away before her wedding. Betsey and her mother held up like troopers and my continuing blessings go out to them. Jeff from Austin Wedding Planners did a phenomenal job coordinating the event. To this date, I think it is the most beautiful production I have seen at Nature's Point, kudos! Thank you to Stacy Cross for the gorgeous photos!

Florals by Beth Richards of Exquisite Petals.

Cigar Bar! They are getting smokin' hot!

Cigar bars are really catching on with events again! I myself have had a love affair with them from back in the day before 'the Hef' was popular for pajamas. My grandfather had many beautiful smoking jackets that I vividly remember when I came to visit, a whole step of next door on the ranch. He proudly wore his jackets and smoked his cigars. As a man dubbed by Forbes as the best dressed man in the southwest back in the late 80's, I affectionetly remember the tailored suits with always a Steston, but in the evenings the smoking jacket and the fine smell of a beautiful cigar. So with one cigar bar for an event quickly lead to another, I'm thrilled to be adding not only the printed designs, but looking to add more in the future for KK Bloom.

KK Bloom map by Laura Hooper

Wow, Ginormous thanks to Laura Hooper for designing our map! We are greatful to have a showroom off of west sixth street in Austin, our address is 1411 W.6th Ste B, but we are not actually accessible right on W.6th. We are in a courtyard of business' behind it. So, we went to Laura Hooper. Laura designed the map we finally got up on our slow to update website to aide in clients finding us. As great as Google maps can be, in cases such as this... need to call in the big guns, hence go to the best. Thanks Laura!

When more is needed, love being creative!

To tie in some colors and theme, beyond the invitations, we created some cake platforms for this gorgeous cake by Judy at Simon Lee Bakery. We used a lightweight wood, poplar. It needed to be relatively light, but sturdy enough to support all the layers, and glass cylinders with cherry blossoms and water! Using a green suede that matched the fondant, wrapped the poplar wood, finished the edges with an espresso ribbon and adorned with Swarovski crystals. To carry the 'earthy' feel of the event, used long twigs underneath the platforms to hang the chandelier crystals and adorned the bottom of each strand with a single large crystal. Each layer was supported with cylinder glass vases with cherry blossoms. The cake table from floor to top tier was over 12' tall! Poor Judy was so nervous assembling the whole thing, but did a beautiful job! Please visit Simon Lee Bakery to see her other masterpieces. http://www.simonleebakery.com/

Exclusive!

This is a classic design, set to metalpress. Metalpress is not printed like traditional printing. Actual gold and silver metal cut from sheets, and hand applied to this exquisite stock. The beauty of the two colors in combination together was not only visually opulent on paper, but really lent itself to being adorned with a silk folio and rhinestone accessory. This piece is not only timeless, but one for the ages.

Entertaining the little ones!

So often I am asked, what can we do to entertain the flower girls, or little ones that are a part of the wedding group. It is difficult to seat them with the parents at head tables and if they are young, don't want to be away from especially mom. I had the same dilemma at my own wedding. Luckily all my flower girls were my nieces. So, I did a little kids table with coloring books, and activities to keep them entertained. We gave them cameras to take pictures of everyone, and many things to keep their attention as a group. Table flowers and decor: Heather at Wild Poppy: http://www.wildpoppytexas.com/ Photos courtesy of Shawn Kennedy: http://www.skimages.com/
The head table was actually two rows of very long tables, and made sure that the mom and dads were at the bottom long row of tables as to be near their little ones if need be. It worked out fabulously as a whole. The one issue my brothers (as uncle's and wives) had at the end of the evening, the kids table was riddled with jelly beans! I thought it was cute and bright, but one brother was up all night because 2 of my nieces had been eating the jelly beans all night and got sick from the sugar, the other was annoyed with me because my other 2 nieces were running around the hotel room all night and wouldn't go to bed. But in the end the kids loved it, brother's and wives ok.

So, just as a note, you may want to review more than just the cute, pretty and fun events for the little one's table being full of sugar! But all in all, entertaining the little ones really made not only a great effect, but allowed the parents to enjoy themselves as well.

Vintage Papers

I have had a love obsession with textiles my whole life, but none comes as close as beautiful papers. In my never ending quest for the most unique, vintage has to be amoung my favorite. You ever notice when you are looking through the world of blogs, you fan out like a tree from one to the next and love them all and forgot where you started? So this time when I found my way back, I marked it and felt inspired to share.

"Aged Vintage Papier is a Chic and Trendy Webring meant for those who blog/web to ultimately share in our love for the look of aged/vintage paper... Whether you are into handmade greeting cards, altered art, scrapbooking etc... All artists welcome to apply who age their creations with ink, paint or chalk. Whether it be Chic yet OH SO Shabby, French Cafe', Paris Apt, Vintage, Old World style or just plain looking old!"

Not just wedding invitations!

Showing versatility, this piece utilized metalpress brilliantly on black lucite to really have this restaurateurs invitation stand out! An annual event, each year brings new challenges to reach their high-end clientele to attend the ever popular party scene. As a connective edge was important for this piece, we were able to pull that idea into the design by connecting all of the metalpress pieces. Using the black acrylic against the silver really created a pop sensation.

Fun with Coasters

There is no greater thrill for a designer when the client gives you carte blanche. The only instructions I had for this project was, make it fun and vintage with a western theme! I can't wait to see the printed pieces in photos at the event! A big thank you to Ginny's printing for the rush job! Once again, a spectacular production by Lucie's Events.