01/20/2016

Wedding Stationery Inspiration: Favor Ideas

I think the best wedding favors are personal ANDÂ practical (and yes, I count mini pies as practical!). Here are some wedding favor ideas toÂ send your guests homeÂ with an extra special thank youÂ gift, from the aforementioned mini pies to adorable custom matchboxes and seed packets. Bonus: you can make some seriously adorable labels to accompany any of these favor ideas! – Annie

Personalize jars ofÂ jam with custom labels or tags. | Photography:Â Corbin Gurkin via Martha Stewart WeddingsÂ //Â Cut out leaves of seed paper that guests can take home toÂ growÂ their own wildflowers. | Photography:Â Raymond Hom via Martha Stewart Weddings

Use whatever paper scraps you already have to make these patchwork favor bags. | Photography: Jared Smith, DIY Patchwork Favor Bags: Sugar and ClothÂ via Minted

Ask for recipes when you send out yourÂ RSVP cards and compile them into a cookbook to useÂ as your favors. | Photography:Â Emily Scannell, Graphic Design:Â Lisa MishimaÂ via Style Me Pretty

Buy coffee in bulk and printÂ custom labels to create these mini coffee bag favors. Your guests will be thanking you the next morning! | Photography:Â Kaitie Bryant Photography, Paper Goods:Â Yvonne LinÂ via Green Wedding Shoes

Potted succulentsÂ with a personalized message attached makeÂ a memorableÂ gift. | Photography: Studio PhrenÃ©Â via The Knot

A mini pie in a mini box with a mini fork. What’s there not to love? | Photography: Heather Waraksa,Â Mini Pie: Luckybird Bakery via The Knot

Print matchbox designs and adhere to matchboxes for a personal and practical favor. It’s a match made in heaven. |Â Matchbox Favor Printables:Â Olivia KanaleyÂ via Minted

Give your guests seed packets of your favorite flowers. | Photography: Lavender & Twine via The Knot

Mini jars of honey with personalized tags can double as escort cards. Sweet! | Photography:Â Kirsten EllisÂ via Green Wedding Shoes

01/19/2016

Green and White Nature-Inspired Wedding Invitations

I’m (obviously) a big fan of pink, but I feel like green is kind of having a moment right now â€“ especially this gorgeous shade of deep emerald green! And emerald green looks just completely incredible when paired with crisp white and elegant gold! Inspired by Douglas Fir trees in the Pacific Northwest, these elegant and earthy green and white nature-inspired wedding invitations from Laura of Tuktu Paper Co. feature emerald green letterpress printed text with a blind (no ink) impression pattern of Douglas Fir trees and gold envelope liners. A gold wax seal serves as the perfect finishing touch!

From Laura:Â I love emulating the beauty of the Pacific Northwest into wedding invitations that I create for couples getting married on Vancouver Island, and this particular suite was no exception. This small, intimate wedding is being held on a beach in Tofino, British Columbia, and the couple’s only guidance wasÂ for the design to have two Douglas Fir trees â€“ and that they both love gold and green.

Using extra thick CraneÂ cottonÂ paperÂ to provide a deep blind impression for the Douglas Fir trees gives the invitations a beautiful, tangible quality. I wanted to match the green with a deep gold for an elegant andÂ earthy design. We usedÂ hand-dyed gold paper for the envelope liners and a hint of green in the gold wax seal to bringÂ everything together in a thoughtful way.

Thanks Laura!

Design: Tuktu Paper Co.

Check out theÂ Designer RolodexÂ for more talÂentedÂ wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂersÂ andÂ theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits:Â Christine Pienaar Photography

01/18/2016

Tropical Banana Leaf Wedding Invitations

Um, YES. Now this is a tropical wedding invitation! Lauren fromÂ Charm & Fig combined a bold banana leaf pattern with classic navy text and gold foil details for some destination winter wedding invitations in Southwest Florida. The banana leaf pattern makes its first appearance as a border on the die cut save the dates, then again as an envelope liner in the wedding invitations! So fun!

From Lauren: This New York bride and her fiancÃ© were charmed by the sleepy town of Boca Grande while they were on a weekend getaway in Southwest Florida. The relaxed southern ambiance and candy-colored cottages provided the perfect setting for the couple to escape the cold and host their families to celebrate their marriage.

For the wedding stationery, we first created a classic, flat printed save the date with a bold banana leaf print and die cut notched corners. We continued the square shape throughout the wedding suite, as well as the subtle nods of Old Florida.

While this wasn’t a stereotypical beach wedding, we mixed our favorite scripts, prints and colors to achieve a modern coastal look.

For the wedding invitation, we used navy letterpress, luxurious cotton paper, touches of gold foil and a banana leaf print to create a warm and elegant suite that let guests know this event would be anything but boring.Â Our favorite parts are the little surprises: the banana leaf liner, the navy letterpress printed pineapple on the response envelope, and the interlocked gold monogram on the wedding invitation monogram.

Thanks Lauren!

Design: Charm & Fig
Laser Printing: Quality Printing Co. and Crest Printing
Foil Printing: Gold Leaf Embossing

Check out theÂ Designer RolodexÂ for more talÂentedÂ wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂersÂ andÂ theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Charm & Fig

01/18/2016

Modern Black, White, and Gold Foil Wedding Invitations

These modern black, white, and gold foil wedding invitations by Meghan ofÂ And Here We Are are just seriously so awesome. I love the combination of modern sans serif type with hand lettering and illustration used throughout the invitation suite, not to mention the crisp black text with gold foil. But the patterned wrap with hand painted brush patterns under a translucent envelope? That might just be the coolest thing ever!

From Meghan: We pulled out all the stops for the invitations to Lauren and Benâ€™sÂ hip NYC wedding at the Foundry in Long Island City, Queens.Â Our direction was â€œmodern, black, white, and gold,â€ so we paired condensed sans serif type with hand-brushed patterns and illustrations. For the invitation, we combinedÂ letterpress with gold foil on double-thick Savoy in bright white. The RSVP becameÂ a true postcard, printed onto glossy stock to stand apart from the letterpress pieces; this also allowed the clients to create two different cards for recipients invited to different pre- and post-wedding events.

We had the idea to create a patterned wrap enclosed in a translucent envelope instead of a simple envelope liner, which gave the overall package a really modern feel. Inspired by ourÂ brush pattern notecards, we created a diagonal wrap of mixed hand-painted patterns, folded diagonally around the invitation.

The day-of paper goods included a plethora of items as well. We created menus, die cut escort cards, custom placemats, and used their â€œlogoâ€ on things like tote bags, and matchbooks.

Thanks Meghan!

And Here We Are is a member of the Designer Rolodex â€“ see more of their beautiful work here or visit theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: 1 – 5Â And Here We Are; 6 – 9Â Amber Gress

01/15/2016

A Mocktail Mojito

Mocktails are tricky: combinations of flavors and textures that work with booze in the picture don’t look anything like a real cocktail when you take the booze out. A Mojito without rum is basically just mint and lime and sugar â€“ minty limeade. Nice, but not really aÂ mocktail, not something you’d want to serve a non-drinking guest at a cocktail party. So coming up with a Mocktail Mojito means playing around a bit until you find something that works.Â â€“Â Andrew

A Mocktail Mojito

1 oz Mint Syrup
1 oz Coconut Water
1/2 oz Pine Syrup
1/2 of a Lime
Tonic Water

To make the mint syrup: first blanch the leaves of 5-7 mint sprigs in boiling water for 15 seconds, then immediately plunge the leaves in ice water for a minute. (This will preserve the mint’s color.) Make a simple syrup by melting a cup of white sugar into a cup of water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Combine the syrup and mint leaves in a blender and pulse until the leaves are chopped up but not liquified. Strain the syrup through a coffee filter or cheesecloth and bottle, then refrigerate.

To make the mocktail: muddle the half a lime in the bottom of a highball glass, then add the syrups and coconut water. Fill the glass with ice and top with tonic water. Give it a stir, garnish with a mint sprig, and enjoy!

Mint and lime and sugar, of course, but tonic water â€“ bitter from the quinine â€“ instead of soda water in a Mojito? But it makes sense! Cutting out the rum means cutting out a bitterness that the tonic helps replace. The coconut water adds a bit of a tang and some texture to the drink, while the pine adds a subtle depth of flavor that echoes some of the crisp, funky ester flavors you’d get from rum.

So this mocktail isn’t going to taste like a real Mojito, but it comes pretty close to matchingÂ the look andÂ feelÂ of a Mojito, in a way that a glass of limeade wouldn’t cut it.

(Donâ€™t forget to follow us onÂ Instagram, where weâ€™ve been posting our experiments before they make their way onto this column!)

Glassware byÂ Liquorary

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful PaperÂ