2.26.2010

Customer Pickups


One of my favorite aspects of being in the "industry" (of weddings that is) is handling customer pickups. When clients come to pick up their envelopes (or maps and invitations) it's always fun to present them with their package and show them their calligraphy. More often than not, my brides will sometimes start to tear up because they feel that seeing their names on the invitations, or their guest names in calligraphy, really makes the fact that they are getting married "real!"  We love this, and look forward to being a part of many, many more of our clients' special days.

2.24.2010

Eco Friendly Inspiration

Tina LaMorte and the team from Oh So Fabulous! designed these lovely table tops and we were pleased to be a part of the shoot! They put together some eco-friendly but not impossible tabletop ideas for NJ News 12 to show brides how they can go "green" without sacrificing style.

First was a beach inspired table top using a denim linen, shells and candles.







Next they featured a nature inspired theme with succulents, river rocks and a burlap linen.



Rocks like these can be hand calligraphed with your guests names and make for excellent place cards or escort cards!

Thank you to the team at Oh So Fabulous for including our pieces in this special shoot! Visit their blog for more details on these eco-friendly table tops.



The shoot will air on NJ News 12 starting today and will also be in the next NJ Bride issue {along with another one of our weddings!}

Floral design by Stem & Co. Photographs courtesy of Images by Berit.

2.23.2010

Envelope Addressing Etiquette


Many couples have questions on appropriate traditional envelope etiquette. The following guidelines give examples from the most common situations. Keep in mind that these are formal guidelines. Many couples are less formal in their approach to addressing. For example, they use first names on the inner envelopes (Ex: John and Mary). 

Our suggestion is that you enter your guests' names the way you feel most comfortable. My policy is that we write the addresses exactly as our clients submit their lists, so feel free to apply these notes as desired.

Outer Envelopes
  • Use full names, including the first names. Example: Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jackson
  • Do not write "and Family" if children are to be included on the invitation. Write their first names on the inner envelope beneath their parents' names. (See "Inner Envelopes" below)
  • Write out the words "Street," "Boulevard," "Avenue," "Road," etc.
  • Do not use symbols. Spell out the word "and".
  • Use figures only when writing house numbers and zip codes. Example: 225 Third Street
  • Spell out state names.
Inner Envelopes
  • Exclude the first names of the guests. Example: Mr. and Mrs. Jackson
  • Write the first names of children to be invited below the parents’ names in age order. Example:
    Mr. and Mrs. Jackson
    Susie, Jane and Thomas
  • Children over the age of 16 should receive their own invitation.

  • Omit names of children if you are planning an adult-only celebration.

  • If an invitation to a single guest extends to an unknown escort, address the inner envelope with your friend's name followed by "and Guest." Example Miss Jones and Guest
If you do not have inner envelopes, it's perfectly acceptable to include "and guest," guest's names, and children's names on the outer envelope.

For more information and situations, please visit our website and do not hesitate to contact me if you have specific questions regarding etiquette.

2.22.2010

Playa del Carmen, Mexico Map

This sunny and bright map of Playa del Carmen is full of charming icons including the lighthouse, tropical drinks and beach hut umbrellas, but we especially love the representation of the historic landmarks of the Mayan Ruins and Tulum. The local architecture is also captured in the "Iglesia" icon.


We also love the character that the sun adds to the map and the sweet seashells in each corner! These maps were made into totes for all of the guests at this wedding. Be sure you notice the title of the map too ~ such a cute spin on the hit romantic comedy from a few years back.

2.19.2010

San Diego, CA/Tijuana, Mexico Map


Talk about a wedding/event weekend ~ this family is hosting a San Diego wedding immediately followed by a Tijuana Quinceanera!

The highlights of San Diego include Sea World (with Shamu of course!), Coronado, Chargers Stadium and the downtown area. Guests will cross the border into Mexico the next day for the party festivities to continue!

Calligraphy style is Costello.

2.18.2010

Vendor Spotlight: QuatreCoeur

We are pleased to introduce our readers to a new blog by QuatreCoeur, floral design studio in Brooklyn!


QuatreCoeur is the work of two friends (Ruth Muzio and Amanda Peters) who share a love for flowers and plants that are just a little bit unusual, things that are made by hand, and containers that are out of the ordinary. The flowers are hand selected and always fresh and seasonal.




They specialize in creative arrangements and botanical designs that are simple and elegant ~ they even do fabric bouquets!


Available for all of your floral needs, QuatreCoeur specializes in simple arrangements, weddings, dinner parties or any special event. Visit their new blog today for ideas, inspiration and simply beautiful florals!

2.17.2010

Wedding Survey

Get Married recently conducted a survey of over 1, 500 brides to get insights and trends on their engagement and wedding planning habits. The results revealed that brides today are working within their budgets while still realizing the weddings they've always dreamed of!

According to Wendy Cornblum of Get Married, "In today’s soft economy brides are definitely more budget conscious, however, 70% of brides are either pleasantly surprised with their budget or feel like everything they want will fit into their budget. So, while times may be tough, brides are still planning to have the wedding of their dreams. In fact, 92% of brides are personally paying for some portion of their wedding in order to ensure they get everything they want.

Interestingly enough nearly 2/3 of brides are personally paying for their wedding invitations or wedding stationery. Today’s modern bride continues to embrace elements of tradition that reflect her bridal style and, in an era where so many invitations have become virtual and offered for free online, brides still consider the paper invitation to be an important element of the wedding."

We of course love custom creating invitation suites, and we are so pleased to know that invitations are still so important to a majority of brides today!



Interestingly enough nearly 2/3 of brides are personally paying for their wedding invitations or wedding stationery. Today’s modern bride continues to embrace elements of tradition that reflect her bridal style and, in an era where so many invitations have become virtual and offered for free online, brides still consider the paper invitation to be an important element of the wedding.

2.16.2010

Real Wedding: Invitations

Last July we featured a post on a gorgeous Beth Helmstetter affair at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel. It included all the beautiful details you could imagine, and it all started with this custom invitation suite!


The suite consisted of two color letterpress {lemon yellow and navy blue}. It included an RSVP Card set, a full color map and even thank you cards!



The envelopes were lined in a custom liner, and the couple included a small insert card for those who were invited to the rehearsal dinner.

The set was letterpressed on 2-ply pearl white letterpress paper for an extra deep imprint.


As shown before, the day of pieces included menus, programs, place settings and signage!


2.12.2010

Kraft Bag Favors


Looking for a special gift for out of town guests? Want to leave your guests with a small momento of your big day? Custom print your monogram on a small paper kraft bags! Letterpressing on these small bags is a nice alternative to canvas totes, and they come in various sizes.


They are also available with personalized favor tags.


A variety of custom color combinations are available.

2.10.2010

Boothbay Harbor Save-the-Date


You can tell right away we are in Maine because of the lobster! I love the quaint simplicity and small town feeling of this map; and how sweet is it to take a boat to Squirrel Island to get married? No map of Maine would be complete without a lighthouse and a visit to the Chowder House, and this couple even included a sailing ship - does it remind you of the Mayflower?

2.09.2010

Real Wedding: Washington D.C.

A couple weeks ago we did a post on a wedding at Andrew Mellon Auditorium, and we have another one from the lovely planner Jen Stiebel at Soco Events.



The escort cards were written in Elegance Script with black ink on a pearl white card and envelope set.



The menus were done in the same writing with a gold foil motif in our Venice design also on pearl white paper. 



We also created matching signs for the adorable popcorn buffet!




Other items not pictured: 8-page programs in the pearl white paper with blind embossing in the Venice motif and golf foil lettering. It was tied with a double faced Vanilla satin ribbon; itineraries and welcome notes. The couple also had baseballs for the guests to sign - a great memento!


And here are some ambiance shots just because!




Congratulations to the bride and groom!

2.05.2010

Tri-fold Invitation

One of our Australian brides who recently married in Tuscany had us use a previous map and adjust it to her needs. The biggest difference was changing the calligraphy script from Ella to Cezanne.


{Notice the icon for Sydney!}


The groom was Danish, so we included both the Danish and Australian flags throughout the design - even in the envelope liners!

2.03.2010

Engaged! in Washington

Engaged! Magazine is excited to announce a fabulous bridal event for 2010: Engaged! in Washington will be held this Friday, February 5 from 5pm - 10pm...and we are honored to be a party of it!

You can meet me (Laura of Laura Hooper Calligraphy) as well as Sylvia Weinstock of Sylvia Weinstock Cakes.

The first event of its kind, Engaged! in Washington will be held at FIVE of the city's premiere wedding venues: The Four Seasons Hotel, The Hay-Adams, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis Hotel, and The Willard Intercontinental Hotel. From 5pm to 10pm, couples can arrive at any of these properties and experience each venue as it would look for an actual wedding, meet the people that make fabulous weddings happen, linger and look, ooh and aah, and then take a limo bus to the next venue for more eye candy!

We are also excited to let you know that Soco Events will be giving away this pair of Christian Louboutins to one lucky bride!


For more information, and to see what other vendors are involved, click here.

Looking forward to meeting all the D.C. brides!

Related Posts with Thumbnails