Oh So Beautiful Paper

Spring is almost here – which means that a new issue of Martha Stewart Weddings is just around the corner!  The Spring 2011 issue is all about wedding details, and the editors have put together an 8-page story all about beautiful calligraphy.  I’m thrilled to help share a little sneak peek!

The feature includes more than a dozen calligraphers (and even more calligraphy styles!) with ideas for incorporating the written word throughout your wedding – from traditional day-of wedding stationery to edible calligraphy on favors and food!

I already spy some of my favorite calligraphers in the images above, and you can check out the full story in the new issue on newsstands in just a few days!

Photo Credits: Cover by Con Poulos, Calligraphy Photography by Marcus Nilsson | Martha Stewart Weddings, Spring 2011

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of featuring Melissa and Jerome’s elegant letterpress golf-theme wedding invitations and save the dates.  Melissa and Jerome were married in September at a local golf club, and Melissa carried some of the more subtle elements of her theme through to the wedding day details, including the menus, ceremony programs, even the wedding cake! Today I’m thrilled to welcome Melissa back to share some lovely photos – courtesy of Joe Elario Photography – and the inspiration behind the details!

From Melissa:  As a graphic designer, I brand projects and design for clients all day long.  When I started with the the golf tee save the date, I wasn’t sure how far I would take the golf theme, but knew at that point that I really wanted to push the logo, the green and white color palette, and the overall aesthetic.

The venue, being a golf club, is very green outside and very brown inside.  Because the interior is so brown, I chose not to bring in any brown elements, but rather played only to green and balanced it all with white and cream flowers.

I decided to keep the ‘golf’ theme subtle, but brought in elements here and there — like using driving range golf ball baskets to hand out programs and for welcome baskets.

For the ceremony programs, I knew that I wanted to create an accordion fold, using photos from our engagement shoot on the back.  The cover of the program uses a portion of the golf course image I used on the invitation design.

For the escort cards, I knew that buttons with phrases like “I’m a dance machine” or “Which way to the bar” would really lighten the mood.  It also gave me another opportunity to play off the bellyband on the invitation design, which had a die-cut circle show casing the logo.

I had to have a green candy bar, no question!  It was just another great way to break up the heavy brown in the venue.  I knew the decision to have a candy bar meant extra work to create the labels, but in the end the candy bar created a great display of color.  It also gave me a great excuse to bring in the quote on the candy bags.

We played to the argyle as much as possible.  The guestbook exterior used a more pronounced green and white pattern, where as the cake used a more subtle pattern bringing the argyle influence through texture.  For the rehearsal dinner, we used socks as place cards – which was a great way to give our family and everyone in the party just a little something extra to remember the day.

We wanted to create a very modern feel with a lot of these elements—while still being elegant.  The table numbers, which are quilled, really gave a playful feel to each table.  In the end, I think all the little touches—like the drink stir sticks, chair sashes and labels really made for a unique experience.

Melissa was responsible for the design for all of the details in her wedding, but she was kind enough to provide a list of the different production resources that she used for other couples looking for something similar for their own wedding.  Thanks Melissa!

Stir Sticks: Lemon and Lavender
Quilled Table Numbers: Paper Daisy Card Design
Candy Bags and Chair Sashes: Bella Bride Designs
Buttons: Not Made in China
Guestbook: To Have and To Hold
Ceremony Programs: UniqueActive
Letterpress Hang Tags: Sideshow Press

{image credits: Joe Elario Photography}

As promised, I’ve got a few more details that Nicole was kind enough to share from her wedding earlier this year.  If you couldn’t already tell from the invitations, Nicole and Steven are quite the crafty couple – and I’m completely in love with all of the details that they came up with for their wedding, including the incredible table number displays and guest book!

From Nicole: Escort cards for the reception were laid out on the bar for the guests to find their seats, and we provided dessert cards for the small buffet of sweets.

Our table numbers were inspired by a J. Crew storefront design – they were super easy, but very time consuming, to make.  We kept the table centerpiece arrangements simple, but there were four different options depending on the table size.

Each centerpiece and table number involved the nail and string table number, a candle holder, and a floral or succulent piece.

I’ve been a reader of Joanna Goddard’s blog, A Cup of Jo, for a while now.  When she got married, she had a series of people blog about their secret to a happy marriage.  Steven and I decided it would be the perfect for our guestbook.

Instead of having a list of names, we thought it would be so sweet for all of our loved ones to be able to offer us some advice.  For the kids attending the wedding, we created to something to keep them occupied for a little bit.

We used confetti for our getaway, and sealed the confetti in small bags with some thread to match the table numbers.

Nicole has documented all of the elements on her own blog, Design Curiosities – so you can check out the dessert bar and confetti exit in action right here, the guestbook and centerpiece arrangements here and here, and the amazing table numbers (along with some DIY instructions) right here!  You can also read Nicole and Steven’s cute proposal story here. Thank you so much Nicole and Steven!

{image credits: nicole | design curiosities}

p.s. Just a reminder – if you have a few moments, would you please help answer a few questions for my annual reader survey?  Thank you so much!

Today’s real invitations come from one of my very favorite bloggers, the lovely Alyson from Unruly Things!  You might remember Alyson from her guest posts last year.  In addition to her fabulous blog, Alyson also runs a letterpress studio called Postal Press, so when Alyson first got engaged and started planning her wedding, I knew the invitations would be incredible no matter what.  Then Alyson mentioned vintage botanical imagery as her main inspiration and I got even more excited!  So as you can imagine, I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome Alyson back to Oh So Beautiful Paper  with her stunning wedding invitations!

From Alyson: When Levi {most commonly known as DLB on my blog} and I started planning our wedding, we looked at only one venue and knew it was for us.  If you know me at all from Unruly Things, you know that Levi and I have a strong love for all things nature inspired.

Our wedding was at beautiful lake in the middle of the old growth forest in the Columbia River Gorge. 95% of our guests traveled from out of town for our wedding, so we wanted them to get a really good feel for the venue as well as our wedding style from the invitations.  We opted for fonts with a classic feel and botanical illustrations inspired by vintage book plates.

I collected vintage postage stamps during our engagement that we used for our envelopes and contacted Kathryn Murray to write the beautiful calligraphy for our guest’s addresses.  Months before the wedding, I taught Levi how to letterpress so that he could help with the printing.

We letterpressed our invitations on brown bag paper and included fun extra details: an illustrated map to the venue, a letterpress kraft tag with hotel accommodations and, my favorite, a Columbia River Gorge wildlife cheat sheet – complete with typical specimen of plants and animals our guests might see during the event  {no one saw any elk, but we heard that one of our guests came upon a baby bear late in the evening!!}  Over all, I couldn’t have imagined our wedding any other way.  It was entirely us.

Alyson also sent over a few photos from her wedding, captured by Erin Grace Photography, including the gorgeous botanical place cards and ceremony programs!

Stunning… seriously just stunning.  Each detail fits together perfectly, from the kraft paper invitations details to the amazing botanical elements (hello gorgeous ferns and moss!) to the apothecary glass centerpieces.  Congratulations Alyson!

{image credits: invitation photos by alyson graves brown, wedding photos by erin grace photography}