Windsor Invitation Suite

Thank you so much to the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club for being the first to order my Windsor Invitation for their upcoming polo event. Carefully letterpressed on cream paper with burgundy ink, these invitations look absolutely stunning. I can't wait to do their place cards, programs and menus for the event next month!

On a side note, if you are looking for a venue in the beautiful area of Santa Barbara to get married, you should certainly check out the polo club. Its grounds are perfectly manicured, and the location has a great view of the evening sunset against the trees and lush hillside.

Niagara Falls Map

I love this great map I created for Lena who was having a lovely wedding in the Niagara Falls Wine Country vicinity. I didn't even know they have vineyards up there, but sure enough, they do! Be sure to notice the gushing falls in the lower right corner. I spent a long time on this map making sure all the streets were accurate, and it turned out great. We even added a cute itinerary to the reverse side. It prints in full color on a thick white card and looks great in your welcome bags or in your invitation sets.

The Venice Invitation Suite

I tried to wait to post these photos and I made it all of two days. I will just have to post again when the lovely bride Kristen sends me the professional photos of the event. I just had to show the actual photographs of my Venice suite, they turned out so beautiful in person. Of course I was delighted when Kristen came back and asked for matching programs, menus, place cards, favor tags and table numbers. She was such a sweet girl to work with. I was honored that she even asked to use the design on the cake, and of course I obliged.

Here's a note from the gorgeous bride: "I haven't had a chance to thank you for everything! I hope you realize that your creativity inspired our entire wedding...from the invites, to the chandeliers, to the cake - everything had your signature on it!"

Check back for the pro photos, and many thanks to my pal Austin Henninger for photographing my invites for me!

Pacific Weddings Summer Issue

Pacific Weddings Magazine has got to be one of my top wedding magazines. I love the idea of destination weddings, so getting this magazine geared toward Hawaiian weddings is such a treat. I was absolutely thrilled to contribute to their spread on Candy Cakes as well. I created tiny signs in Bickham Script to compliment the gorgeous sweets and treats they featured on their pages.

Only the Cutest Save the Dates Ever!

So if you want to know what I have been doing for the past month, one of the answers is that I have been working on these adorable Save the Date sets for my

new map line of Save the Dates. The maps are so adorable, but they are even more adorable when you combine them with matching save the date layouts and envelope liners. This set is for a tri fold save the date. The card folds in 2 places, and the cover is the actual save the date with the image of the Italian castle where the wedding is taking place. The compass is the coat of arms for the little Italian villa and then we carried that over to the envelope liners that will line each envelope. My lovely client {also a Laura} is located in the UK, and we created this all through the modern magic of the Internet! It is currently one of my most favorite pieces. For more, be sure to check out the website later this week when we have full layouts for the Save the Dates line up.

More News about Minted

In other news about Minted, they are currently offering a 15% discount on all Minted photo and non-photo Save the Dates to the readers of Lucky Orchid. They are selling the winning Save the Dates from their design challenge, and would love to all you brides an update on our latest designs. The offer would end 8/20 and the coupon code is BLG15 at checkout. I was just browsing the site and came up with a few favorites. Definitely take a look there if you are interested.

Minted Design Challenge -- Bridal Shower Invitations

Charming Florals {Lucky Paperie}
{Oscar+Emma Designs}
{ Hammocks & High Tea}
{Notably Krystal}

{Allison Luetschwager}

I am so in awe of the incredible happenings going on over at Minted.com, your one-stop-shop for all things gorgeous and elegant on paper. With the best of the best of invitation designers all packed into one place, I can tell you the people over at Minted "get" what people want -- ease and simplicity of ordering your wedding stationery. They have everything at your finger tips, its really amazing to me how well they have set it all up.

But I digress, the reason for this post is the AWESOME design challenge they are having right now. It's a great chance for designers to put up their bridal shower designs, and we, the adoring public get to vote on it. Yes it's like the "So You Think You Can Dance" of the invitation world. With over 200 submissions, if you are searching for a unique invitation you can find it on here.

Also, when you buy your invites, be sure to inquire about the calligraphy -- as one of the calligraphers for Minted I know you will love what you see there!

Elizabeth Anne Unveils New Designs Library

A note from the lovely ladies at Elizabeth Anne:

"We are incredibly excited to announce our new project, The EAD Library. After months of development and research, we are launching a new resource for brides, Tuesday July 22nd. The Library is filled with hundreds of useful links, from photographers to shops to stationers. Our goal is a simple, comprehensive list of vendors. The Library will help every bride, no matter her location, find the vendors and inspiration she needs for a beautiful event. "

I agree, this is very exciting. Everyone, please go check it out, and support EAD with your continued readership! Also, I am extremely proud to have a listing on the new site and am really happy to have a place in the Library.

Invitations by Abby Jean

I was delighted to hear from the girls at Fontaine Maury today that Abby of Style Me Pretty fame had done a lovely inspiration board incorporating one of the invitations I lent a hand with this past spring for the Abby Jean line. This Tiffany blue and white invitation pairs a traditional block lettering style with beautiful Allegro Script. It is a gorgeous but subtle invitation suite. Stay tuned for photos of the entire set.

Hard at Work

I know, I know I have not been posting to my blog for over a month. I feel so guilty and those of you I have talked to know how hard I have been working. The good news is that I have so many things to blog about, hopefully I have about a month's worth of items to discuss so stay tuned!