Hot Color: Lavender

You've been seeing it all around -- the Pantone projection book as declared Lavender {along with other shades of purple} as a hot color for 2009. I just saw an inspiration board on the Bridal Bar Blog that inspired me to post about a wedding I did the calligraphy on last year.

All the stationery for this wedding was designed by Joanna at Nickelson's Invitations, one of my favorite designers, based in the UK and LA.



The invitation and all the accessories are from Nickelson's Veronica Suite.

The bride had the calligraphy on the envelopes done in Bickham Swash Caps, and then to match on belly bands that adorned the custom menus and the placecards that showed guests to their seats.


The wedding was designed by Details Details in OC, in shades of purple. It took place in Santa Barbara. Photos courtesy of Ira Lippke, via Inside Weddings.

The wedding can be seen in the Winter 2008 issue of Inside Weddings, on newstands now!

Real Weddings: Kristen and Sean

Last spring I was approached by wedding coordinator Rebecca Stone of Duet-Weddings to design the complete stationery package for her clients, Kristen and Sean. I was pleased to speak with Kristen over the phone, and as we discussed her ideas for the invitation I started to put the pieces together in my head about what I would present her. {All photos & inspiration board above courtesy of Next Exit Photography}
While she didn't have anything specific in mind, she knew she wanted a custom design that reflected the feel of their venue, the La Venta Inn, situated high atop the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California. It's a Spanish villa, and Kristen wanted to convey the warmth of the location in the invitations. She had plans to have beautiful crystals and flowers in birch branches and wanted the invitations to be as ethereal and whimsical as the decor, and they would be mailed to her guests in the baby pink silk folders above.

With this in mind and her colors of a pale pink and antique gold in mind I set to work on her invitation set, which also included an adorable letterpress map. I chose a subtle, natural white letterpress paper and all metallic gold ink for the invitation set. One look at the initial proofs and she was sold. We made minor adjustments and then it was off to the letterpress!

After the invitations were sent off to their friends and family, Kristen came back for her reception items. Designed with the same theme in mind, there were various things she needed:

Vertical escort cards to which she would attach to floral arrangements. Adorned with beautiful crystals and flowers, these cards were the perfect way to show guests to their seats.

I also provided Kristen with the design so that the cake could be patterned to match. {Cake designed by New York Food Company}


A beautiful monogram for their favor cards, to be attached to favors of Voluspa Candles, and exotic Vosges Chocolates.

The favors had signs matching the table numbers to tell guests what they were.


And finally book-style programs for the ceremony and menus to be placed at each table setting.


It all came together so beautifully -- It's always wonderful to work with a couple from the very start and see the project through, all the way to the thank you notes!

Again, thank you so much to Cat at Next Exit for sending over the photographs. I am completely in awe of your photography skills!

Elizabeth Anne Designs Library Relaunch

I'm very pleased to announce the launch of the re-vamped Elizabeth Anne Designs website! For those of you who know, the EAD site has a fantastic wedding blog, an everyday life blog and a full library of resources for the best professionals in the wedding industry.

The new Community includes both Message Boards and a Bulletin Board. A new a favorite, the Bulletin Board - using the Post a Bulletin page, vendors and readers are able to post news, announcements, discounts, offers, and other information directly to the Bulletin Board. The latest bulletins are displayed on the sidebar of the EAD blogs, and will be featured in EAD blog posts frequently - the Bulletin Board is a one stop shop for all of the goings-on in the wedding and blog communities! The Message Boards will allow all of the EAD readers to connect and share information, and we will be active participants on the boards.

I'd encourage everyone to stop by and check it out! You might also notice the little illustrations on all the pages. I was thrilled to be asked by Elizabeth Anne to contribute to the new, sleeker site with a variety of images similar to the maps I work on on a daily basis. We're so happy to be a part of the new site!