This year has definitely been the year of warp speed planning. I received a phone call from one of my sisters asking me if I would help plan one of her best friends wedding, Veronica to Haitham at the start of spring. I said sure not problem, but you do realize that it's in two months time? Having planned a few weddings already this year within two months I immediately got to work.

Veronica and Haitham were so easy to work with. They knew they wanted to keep the wedding intimate with focus on family and close friends. I knew that based on their budget and size of wedding the perfect venue for them would be The Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach. They offer an all inclusive package that includes venue, food, cake, and flowers.  Lucky for us Deanne of Bella Fiore is the hotels preferred florist so the choice was an easy one.

One of Veronica + Haitham's friend brought an abundance of pastries for everyone to enjoy.  Haitham's family is from Egypt and they couldn't attend the wedding celebration but not a single moment was missed.  We set up a web cam so they wouldn't miss a thing.  Haitham even had a little dance with him mother via the cam.

I want to thank Will William Kim Photography for capturing the night.  He was so attentive and kind.  I truly enjoy working with him.

These two crazy kids are getting married! I love working with wedding photographers when it comes to planning their own wedding. It's been a great year for The Wedding Clique and this wedding will be special for all of us involved. Henry Chen will be photographing their wedding on a very special date 10-10-10! You can see some more of their engagement session by visiting HCP blog.

Great things can come in small packages.  Let me tell you why I love working with Envlopments products so much.  You don't ever have to sacrifice style for cost.  Kendra was one of those clients who would randomly stop by the studio just to see what new things we had recently made.  She browsed through the many invitation album books we carry and displays.  She knew she wanted something personalized to them but didn't know how to pull it all together. 

I know that it may be difficult for some couples to hear when I say "trust me, you'll love it" one thing I can assure any of my clients is that I don't just take notes on what you say, I really listen to what it is you are saying.  I'm not just a stationery designer I'm also a wedding planner so I understand what it is my clients are trying to achieve with their wedding invitations.  Pulling it all together is what I do.

To save on cost we went with a 4x5 Pocket fold and instead of having several inserts we combined the Map and Accommodations card into one.  The design was inspired by a note card Kendra had kept from her travels.  We were able to incorporate that design element throughout the invitations.  Another way we were able to cut down on cost is instead of layering the invitation with an additional card stock we created two borders within the design.  It creates the illusion have having a backing without the additional cost. The Pocket fold was then held together by a belly band that had their names and wedding date in front.


 

If you've been in my studio as of late you know that I am utterly obsessed with the new Envelopments Sea Shell textured metallic card stock.  I simply cannot get enough of it.  For someone getting married in less than two months, being indecisive is not in Diana's vocabulary.  This girl not only can make a decision without hesitation she also has great style. 

I'll tell you a little secret.  If you're a girls girl and love your pink, then this card stock is a sure winner in convincing your fiance that pink will be a color theme in your wedding.  The texture and shimmer wins them over all the time.  Here we paired it with a graphite color that every man can agree on.  You get the best of both worlds.  Pinks for the lady and gray for the man. 

Thanks to my other amazing, talented, dear friend Gamie of Peach Mail Box for always finding ways to pull a design together.  This monogram design has quickly become a favorite in the studio.  I can't wait to show you how one design can easily be customized to fit each couples needs.  I will post those up once they arrive off the press.

I had so much fun designing Melissa + Bernie's custom wedding invitations.  The inspiration for the design originated from the wedding venue Los Angeles River Center and Gardens in Los Angeles, CA.  I knew from the start I wanted to incorporate some elements of the architecture into the design.  I was also inspired by Rifle Paper Co. and new that I wanted to do something similar to that.  Lastly, what pulled it all together were the amazing linens by BBJ the minute I showed this table cloth to Melissa it was love at first sight.



Pulling all these elements into one invitation suite couldn't have happened without the help of my talented friends.  One of my childhood friends is not only a scientist but also an artist.  You can find her murals around the city walls or her art displayed in galleries.  Nuvia of Arte Crisol was able to bring this to life for us.  She captured every detail of the venue, the linens, the colors and both Melissa + Bernie's wedding attire.

 

Monica Majors of Paper Cut Industries, who is one of my primary graphic designers was then able to pull together all the elements from the painting and table cloths to design the rest of the stationery.   I love finding new ways to work with Envelopments products and decided that for this project we would do a booklet style invitation.