An often irreverent look at weddings from an industry insider
I just ran across this and had to share.
Take it Personally is launching a new line called Hugs and Kisses and you can win a set of 50 Save the Dates and 50 flat invitations.
To win you have to register by midnight January 19th on the Fan Page
Custom Cartoon Invitation
Once you register, hop over to Christine’s website to check out the rest of her too cute for words personalized invitations and stationery.
I absolutely love her custom cartoon invitations.
Meet the Creatives
So many of the people I know in the wedding industry are here because it is the outlet for their creativity. I thought it would be fun to start showcasing some of this amazing talent that surrounds us.
Michelle Miller Mospens
If you are a lover of beautiful watercolor art you are going to love the personalized invitations from Michelle’s company My Personal Artist.
It is a known fact that I am both an art lover and a paper fanatic, for me, that all comes together in Michelle’s incredible work. Michelle hand paints these beautiful invitation with either her designs or ones she has created just for you. I can’t think of a more beautiful way to invite your guests than by sending them a piece of custom created art.
Even if you are a DIY bride, you can order Michelle’s beautiful work as the base to print your own invitations on.
You can check it all out here at Michelle’s site My Personal Artist
1.Where do you find your inspiration, I mean besides client requests?
My eyes. No matter what I see (a dress, a plant, a color, etc.) I create an invitation motif in my mind immediately. It never leaves me. I’ve been designing invitations and stationery for 11 years it is second nature to me.
2. What do you enjoy most about what you do?
I love making my clients happy with my artwork and designs. Many clients are deeply connected with the theme of my artwork.
3. I ran a recent discussion about what wedding professionals wish brides know about what they did. In that vein, what one misconception would you clear up if you could?
I would say KEEP IT SIMPLE. Most questions I have they look too deeply into it. I guess they think it is more difficult than it actually is. For instance, “do-it-yourself invitations you print at home”. Super easy and saves money. Most brides I talk to don’t realize you simply pop my “art print” cards in your printer and print your wording directly on them. Super simple.
4. Yes I really do love your art. Do you have a fine art collection? If so, where can we see it/love/ buy it??
Thank you for your kind words. I’ve been asked that question more than I can count the past 11 years. As of today ONLY ONE couple in Texas owns 1 of my paintings. I recently bought several large canvases and paints. I’m ready. Where to sell? I’m thinking etsy.com. I do have michellemospens.com reserved to showcase my paintings in the future! Time will tell!
Keep us posted Michelle. I would love some of your work for my walls!
I know you have seen me write about the too terribly cute graphics that friend of the Dish Holly Hatam over at Tear Drop Weddings creates for her stationery line. Well now is your chance to be just as cute.
Like any good designer, Holly is looking for inspiration and who better to inspire her than all the lovely brides and groom out there in Wedding Dish land.
Holly is looking for 20 brides to inspire her. All you need do is tell her your story about how you met your fiance, how you fell in love, your creative ideas and details for your wedding. Then she will choose the 20 brides that inspire her the most and design an invitation around that story. And in return, you will receive a custom designed invitation, but for the price of a design that you would choose out of her ready made collection! That is a savings of $1500!
I love that: Couture at Ready to Wear prices.
Hop over to the blog at Tear Drop Weddings and tell my girl Holly your story: then you can be too terribly cute too!
On another note; congrats to Holly. The boy just popped the question. I can’t wait to see those invitations.
A while back I stumbled on the amazing cupcake wrappers at Paper Orchid Stationery and I finally had time to explore some of their other products. LOVE THEM!
Paper Orchid is the leading pioneer in laser cut technology. Now they are pairing with the wildly talented Kat Beilfuss of KatBlu Art & Design Studio to create a new line of couture wedding and special occasion papers. The combined efforts of Kat’s mad design skills and Paper Orchids tech has created something very new and exciting.
In addition to the cupcake wrappers, Paper Orchid carries a complete line of imprintable invitation suites and some very cool filigree favor boxes.
Are you bored to death by most of the invitations you are seeing? Can’t find anything that is YOU? I may have the answer.
I found the coolest line of invitations called Paper Fetish. Johanna Nunez has created 24 complete collections, each unique, each fabulous, each including every item you would need for your paper wardrobe. Better still is there is no minimum order or quantity increments. So if you need 35 you can get 35, perfect for the small intimate wedding or destination event.
These are as close to bespoke invitations as you can get without having to go to that trouble or expense. They are only available ‘to the trade’ as the saying goes so you will have to order them through you wedding coordinator. If they are not already a distributor, by all means turn them on to it.
Plus , kudo on as gorgeous website.
If you are a regular reader of the Dish then you already know my philosophy on DIY projects for your wedding. I think they are a great idea as long as you do them in moderation. DIY is a great way to add a very personal touch to a very personal event. Where the trouble starts is when brides bite off more than they can chew and end up more stressed than necessary or they go bridezilla and turn everyone around them into indentured servants. So the key is to pick one project you love and give it your full attention and leave the rest to the pros.
Today’s project is invitations. Here is the breakdown of the national averages spent on the paper wardrobe according to TheWeddingReport.com.
That is a sweet little chunk of change and because it can all be done well in advance of the big day, unlike flowers or food, it makes it a perfect place to put your DIY skills. That is if you have any graphic skills, or at least it used to require that.
To the rescue comes PashWeddings.com and their free dowloadable wedding templates.
How cool is that? There are already several available and PashWeddings.com plans to add more designs on a regular basis. In addition to the basic invitation each design suite includes the following elements:
Save the Date Card
Wedding Invitation
Wedding Party Card
Reception Card
Response Card
Program Cover
Placecards/Escort Cards
Table Card
Menu
The templates are all ready to edit and print on your home computer. How easy is that?
Now take all that cash you saved and put it towards something that is a lot harder to DIY, like say flowers.
One goal of most every engaged couple is to find ways to express themselves in their wedding; to make it a truly personal representation of who they are as a couple. To do this more and more couples are bringing their social consciousness to the party. From environmentally friendly weddings to ethical jewelry to charitable donation registries, today’s couples are seeking out ways to proclaim their love for the planet and its inhabitants as they proclaim their love for each other.
Going green doesn’t mean wearing hemp and taking your vows in a field of daisies while munching on organic tofu. In 2007 you may not even see much of a difference on the surface. This means that you can do your part for the planet without freaking out Granny.
The key factor in having a green wedding is to make conscience choices and to ask questions. Many vendors in the event industry are catching on to the different options available and jumping in to fill the need. From when and where you decide to get married to the invitations to your honeymoon there are ways to lessen the impact your wedding has on the environment.
As you start to plan your wedding consider the time and place. A ceremony and reception held in the spring or fall will require less energy to heat or cool the space. Host your wedding in a location central to most of your guests to minimize the miles traveled. If possible have your ceremony and reception in the same location or you can provide transportation between the two.
If you think about it weddings require an amazing amount of paper goods. This is also one of the easiest ways to go green. Recycled paper has come a long way from the brown rough texture of the early days. Now you can get beautiful invitations printed on recycled papers from most of the major manufacturers. You can also find printers that use soy ink.
Take it another step further and you will discover all the beautiful handmade papers now available for the bride that want to make her own invitations. There are papers that come with embeds like flower petals or seeds. The seeded ones are especially nice to use for your program; guest can take them home and plant them after the wedding. No waste and a new plant in the bargain. Anything you need for your ‘paper wardrobe’ can be found in an ecologically friendly format.
When you talk about decor the first thing most people think of is flowers. Even though flowers are a natural product they are one of the hardest places to have an impact. Unless you live in an area with a long growing season it can be very hard to find the kinds of flowers you want locally and organically grown. Don’t despair, there are still thing you can do. If you get married in a garden you have flowers all around you. For your table centerpieces you can use a tablescape of small potted plants, maybe a combination of flowers and herbs. Pot them up in a moss lined basket or put them in pretty little pots and have you guests take them home for their gardens. If you still want a more traditional look you can order organically grown flowers on the internet from Organicbouquets.com. Even if you go with completely traditional flowers you can make arrangements with your florist to donate your flowers afterwards. Perenity is an all volunteer organization that will pick up your flowers after the wedding and use them to make arrangement that are delivered next day to patients in hospice care. Harriet Karo of the local Perenity group told me that this trend has grown in Nashville to the point where they quite frequently receive enough donations to not only cover Alive Hospice but the Ronald McDonald House as well. Way to go Nashville brides! Not only that, but the florists love it too. Vicki Sanders owner of Branching Out said “not only are we doing something worth while but we don’t have to haul the leftover flowers back to the shop afterward.”
This is just the beginning of ways you can do your part as you celebrate your marriage. Tomorrow I’ll take a look at fashion and jewelery. Stay tuned.