Brides.com Wedding Blogger NYC Field Trip

If you follow me on twitter, then you already know that on Tuesday I was fortunate enough to join some of my favorite wedding bloggers — Vané, Anne-Marie, Courtney, Maria, Anne, Jillian, and Bee — on a tour organized by Brides.com of some of New York’s most famous wedding institutions, including Reem Acra‘s showroom, Colin Cowie’s office, The Plaza Hotel, Cartier, and Ron Ben-Israel’s studio and kitchen.

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{Courtney models a Reem Acra gown; Anne in the Plaza kitchen}

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{Bee, Maria, and Courtney in the Plaza kitchen}

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{these three photos above by Amanda Schwab for Brides.com}

The day was a complete blast — from starting out the day with the beautiful detailing on Reem Acra’s gorgeous wedding gowns (and a few of the celebrity gowns as well) to an amazing lunch and dessert at The Plaza and a closer look at Cartier’s jewelry and stationery.

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{I fell in love with the lace, beading, and ruffles on each of these couture gowns}

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{the gorgeous centerpieces were created by the VERY talented David Beahm}

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{lunch at The Plaza was a lovely treat – I’d never been there before!}

I know most people think of sparkly diamonds when they think of Cartier, but Cartier actually has its own line of classic engraved wedding invitations:

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{Jillian and I loved this ornate gold monogram}

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{these last two designs have a Mad Men vibe, don’t you think?}

Coming up next, my favorite stop of the day – Ron Ben-Israel!  For more detail on each of our stops during the day, you can also check out the Brides.com blog, Wedded Bits, right here.

{unless otherwise noted, all photos by me}

NYIGF Recap, Part 2

Blue Barnhouse, one of my favorite booths at the NSS, was back at the NYIGF with some new letterpress note cards and holiday stationery:

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This card was one of my favorites from the show:

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I also stopped by the Jack and Lulu booth to check out these cute encyclopedia card sets and new calendars:

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I also can’t resist showing you more pretty jewelry – this time the collection of beautiful glass jewelry from Verre New York:

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One of my favorite booths was from Roger LaBorde, which included a collection of laser-cut cards with designs by Rob Ryan and some cute little pop-up animals for kids:

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Also up in the handmade section was the Figs and Ginger booth – I love their collection of sweet sterling jewelry:

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Figs and Ginger is also coming out with a wedding line very soon – I can’t wait to see it!

More from the NYIGF to come soon…

{all photos by me}

NYIGF Recap, Part 1

Whew.  I'm back from New York after a whirlwind couple of days – and ready to kick off my NYIGF recaps!  I'll also be posting photos from yesterday's field trip organized by brides.com a bit later on.  But how about some NYIGF eye candy to start off the day?

My first stop at NYIGF was the Artecnica booth — I just couldn't pass the gorgeous Tord Boontje panels and lamps without stopping:

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I absolutely adored these bloom cards and fairy tails:
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These cork envelopes and bags made from recycled materials were new additions to this year's collection:
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I've always loved these starlightz lamps:
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From the Artecnica booth, I moved on to Snow & Graham, where I caught a peek at their new holiday cards, gift wrap, and calendar:
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And stopped by the 9SpotMonk booth to check in with some of my favorite ladies of letterpress:
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Here's a sneak peek at the 9SpotMonk wedding invitation line – which I absolutely love and which you'll see in greater detail in a few weeks:
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I also spent some ti
me in the handmade sections of the market, and came across a gorgeous jewelry line by designer Catherine Weitzman:
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Catherine is based out of Hawaii (lucky lady) and her full collection is definitely worth checking out – she has an online shop through her website right here.
I've got more from the NYIGF coming up a bit later, so check back soon!
{all photos by me}

Happy Weekend!

I hope you all have wonderful weekend plans!  I'm heading up to New York for the NYIGF on Monday and for a mini-reunion with some friends – I can't wait.  I'm particularly looking forward to the Sample Sale hosted by Delphine, Smock Paper, Russell + Hazel, and Green Paper Company – check out the details on my events + deals page.  In the meantime…

Summer-inspiration

…I wish I was having fabulous adventures in Sweden like Chelsea… I'd really like to try this pizza recipe from Darci at With This Nest… and I'm really loving:

That's it for me this week – happy weekend everyone!

{photo via mary ruffle}

Jennifer + James Sunflower Wedding Invitations

I am so excited to be featuring today’s real invitations and wedding stationery, designed by Lisa from Good on Paper for James and Jennifer’s beautiful sunflower-filled wedding:

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You might have seen this wedding, designed by the amazing Gloria Wong, in the latest issue of MS Weddings, but Heidi and Judy from Gertrude + Mabel Photography were kind enough to send over photos specifically of the paper elements:

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The bride, Jennifer, also shared the inspiration behind Lisa’s beautiful designs:

We loved the casual, rustic style of an outdoor wedding.  We definitely wanted a beautiful outdoor setting that made our guests feel like they were on a mini vacation (even if they only drove up from San Francisco).  Beaulieu Gardens was a perfect romantic choice for us since it had so many different locations for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception (where we loved dining underneath a canopy of trees).

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Also, it had a very vintage feel to it, and so we were inspired by the look and feel of the South of France.  Our planner used old vintage suitcases as props, a lot of wooden signs, rusted copper and tin containers to hold the flower arrangements, casual french-inspired table cloth runners, mason jars, and sunflowers.

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Nancy also did a great job weaving in elements of the two of us.  For example, I love to eat and cook.  For setting arrangements, we labeled each of the tables an herb that I normally use in my cooking.

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We also created a “marketplace” that looked like a farmer’s market (since I love to frequent them) and gave away sunflowers, fresh fruits, flip flops, and a recipe box filled with 12 of my favor recipes to make and a little package of thyme (my favorite herb).

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For the invitations specifically, we worked with Lisa to incorporate the wedding themes too.  The main page had sunflowers that were drawn on them (which was the main flower we used in the wedding).

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Lisa also incorporated herbs into the other cards such as the reply card since it tied back to my love of cooking.  We had purchased a herb picture book so that Lisa could get inspired.  Also, everything was very casual with the invitation.  We chose to write everything in lower case for the invitations and all other printed material at the wedding.

I love that Jenny’s love for cooking is reflected throughout the invitations and wedding – resulting in a very personal design and feel to the invitation – and the way Lisa designed the invitation suite to convey central theme without each element being too matchy-matchy.  Plus, the sunflower and herb motif seems like a perfect fit for a wedding taking place just as summer transitions into fall.  So lovely!  Thank you so much to Jennifer and Lisa for sharing these invitations – and to Heidi and Judy from Gertrude + Mabel for providing such lovely photos!

{all photos by Gertrude + Mabel}