Bridget's Bridal Shower

Bridget's future-sister-in-law Miriam asked me to create a bridal shower invitation that included sheet music of some kind since she loves music and musical theater. We kept it very feminine with lace and blush pink as well. I love how the invitation turned out!

We did a simple insert that listed rsvp information along with where Bridget was registered. 

The third thing we created I absolutely love! We created 4x6 recipe cards that were mailed with each invitation. Guests were encouraged to write down a favorite recipe that was inserted into the plastic sleeves of a photo album (hence 4x6 instead of 3.5x5). When put all together, Bridget was presented with a cookbook to start her married life with. Miriam did this with a her friend Ashley's bridal shower too!

I hope the party was a blast, stay tuned for a post sharing Bridget's wedding invitation!!

Cindy & Scott

Cindy and Scott were planning a beautiful mid-October winery wedding in northern California and wanted to use simple and straightforward designs for their wedding invitations. I was more than happy to oblidge!

First we created a simple save-the-date with a chalkboard background. Cindy had these printed with VistaPrint. The matte finish really showcased the chalkboard texture.

When we got started with the invitation, they wanted to keep the same overall look with a chalkboard background, but incorporate their wedding colors: blue and gray. 

These were printed by FolgerGraphics in Hayward, CA. 

For a response card, Scott had fun creating a Mad Lib for guests to fill out. This was really fun to create for them!

The response card was a simple two-sided postcard. Their address has been changed to protect privacy.

For their wedding day, Cindy's dad (who's a wine maker), bottled his delicious Zinfandel Rosé for guests to toast with and I designed a custom label to go with them. Waterproof labels kept them from wilting when the wine was chilled.

In lieu of a traditional guestbook, Cindy's dad went above and beyond and had a giant wine bottle filled with his delicious Zinfandel wine and engraved with the same label design. He then built a wood mount for the bottle that allowed it to be spun without risk of it rolling off of the table. Guests signed with metallic silver Sharpie markers. This turned out SO cool!! 

The bottling, engraving, and painting was done by Doc's Trophy Shoppe in Napa Valley, CA. They did an amazing job!

Cindy and Scott's wedding was a blast and I really appreciate the invite. Congrats!!

Latiffe & Chris

Latiffe and Chris had a gorgeous destination wedding in Guadalajara, Mexico and they wanted their invitations to reflect that in style. We discussed using papel picado graphics, but in the end decided on using Talavera tile as the graphic inspiration. I adore how everything turned out!

But first, here's the save-the-date we created for them. They wanted a simple silhouette of Mexico with an indication on where the wedding would take place.

Talavera style pottery comes from Puebla, Mexico (where Latiffe's family is from) and is known for bright colors, geometric designs and for having a white base glaze. It was a wonderful inspiration for this invitation and really fun looking at a variety of beautiful pieces for inspiration.

For their RSVP card, we did a very simple, two-sided postcard that directed guests to RSVP on the couple's wedding website. I've changed the URL and their address to protect privacy.

Latiffe asked me to make the map to look a little like a vintage treasure map and I was happy to oblige.

At the wedding reception, they had a taco stand making street tacos for their guests, and I created a menu that sat at each place setting. Photo Cred: Rocio Luna Weddings

We also created a large seating chart that let guests know where to sit. We weren't able to get a photo of it at the wedding, but this is a mockup of what it looked like:

The wedding looked absolutely gorgeous and it's one I wish I could have attended in person! Congratulations guys!!

Ashleigh's Bridal Shower

Ashleigh's friend, Tamera went all out when it came to her beautiful bridal shower brunch. Tamera wanted to use bright colors, flowers and some references to rain and umbrellas. This is what we came up with:

The invitation was printed square and mounted on petal fold enclosures. The bright green really looked pretty against the pink, orange and yellow.

We carried the floral graphics and fonts into a variety of signs, including a welcome sign.

On the water bottle label, we touched on the "shower" theme with the umbrella. The graphic of the umbrella was Tamera's original inspiration for this brightly-colored bridal shower.

Custom napkin rings. A super simple detail that can add a little extra. 

Small flags were adhered to bamboo skewers to identify food at the buffet table.

Fizzing bath soaps were one of the party favors.

Guests were asked to leave marriage advice for the bride-to-be. These were saved and put into a scrapbook for Ashleigh.

This sign adorned the candy buffet table.

One of a few different shower games included this trivia game about the bride and groom.

There was also a rousing round of Bridal Shower BINGO. 

Tamera really went all out with the beautiful and colorful details for Ashleigh's bridal shower. It was really a treat to get to create so many unique items. I hope the party was amazing, congrats!

Jackie & Michael

My little sister got hitched back in October and it was only natural that I would design the printed items for her beautiful, southern California wedding. She wanted her main colors to be navy blue and ivory with lots of lace. Accent colors were a Fall palette in orange, red and gold. Her wedding gown and the bridesmaid gowns had lots of lace too.

First, for a save-the-date, we paid homage to how Michael proposed to Jackie. 

He convinced her they were participating in a road trip scavenger hunt that took them all over southern California and then up the coast to northern California. They ended the hunt and spent the weekend with our parents where he got down on one knee and popped the question in front of our family... and admitted that the scavenger hunt was a ruse and an excuse to drive up to the Bay Area.

Every red dot represents a stop on the scavenger hunt.

On the back I turned the silhouette of the state into a photo collage from when Michael proposed.

When it was time to design invitations, Jackie wanted to use lace along with their colors. She loved the invitations I created for Erin & John and wanted a similar vibe. 

We went with gate fold cards in Cobalt from Cards and Pockets and they were held closed by a circle that we designed using the same lace motif.

Michael requested that I include a graphic of a samurai sword to represent the honor code he follows with martial arts. He and his groomsmen all carried swords in the wedding ceremony too, it was pretty rad.

For the big day itself, we created a lot of fun items! First, each of the guest tables was named after a submission move in jujitsu. Jackie and Michael posed in each move and took photos of them all, with Jackie in the winning position. 

The rest of the photos from this post were taken by the very talented Katie Jackson. 

Then, we printed escort cards for each guest directing them where to sit. The folded cards were color coded to indicate to the catering staff what menu item they were having for dinner.

Jackie (a Lifetime Girl Scout) wanted the favors to be Girl Scout Cookies and Michael was more than happy to agree. They each chose their favorite cookie (Thin Mints and Samoas) and placed a couple in individual boxes, each with their own unique label. 

"Love Samoa" and "Mint to Be," get it?! 

This was the sign that adorned their sweetheart table.

We created a bunch of signs that were placed throughout the reception venue:

Side note: Jackie and Michael had no idea what they wanted to use for a guestbook. They weren't thrilled about a book that just listed everyone's names, and they don't have space in their home to hang a big print on the wall with everyone's names. I told her I'd take care of it (two weeks before the wedding!). I took all of the engagement photos taken by Katie Jackson and made them into a photobook that had lots of white space on the pages, like a yearbook. That way people could leave their well wishes wherever they wanted. With a coupon through Shutterfly the book was less about $35. This is by far, my favorite way to do a guestbook. I did it for my wedding and I still sometimes thumb through our book almost 10 years later.

Back to photos!

A table set aside in memory of the family and close friends who couldn't be there. This is what the sign says:

In Loving Memory
Those we love don't go away,
They walk beside us every day.
Unseen, unheard, but always near,
Still loved, still missed,
And very dear.

"Life is Short, Eat Dessert First" Jackie doesn't care for cake, so they had wedding pie!! The light-up letters were a last-minute thing too, I love how they turned out!

It was truly an honor to get to design all of these for my little sister and I'm so thrilled with how it all turned out. It was an honor to stand beside you as you said "I do," congratulations!!

A last little gem from Katie Jackson, she really captured our relationship here. Hahaha!