Floral Invitation with Custom Map

We often see maps used as save the dates or as a separate piece in an invitation suite. But if you wants a cohesive single element, this floral invitation features a custom map and is a perfect way to acquaint your guests to the area! The adorable, folded invitation cards include a maroon floral design on white 110# cardstock. Full color in flat printing.

A standard set includes:

-50 Customized Bi-Fold Invitation Cards, 5x7 size

-50 matching envelopes, with return address in calligraphy

-One Time Custom Map Design Fee

Click here for more details from our Etsy shop.
All photos by Hannah Bergman.

White House Pilates Bride-to-Be Tips

The Pilates Roll-up


Let's hit the Mat and learn the Pilates Roll Up Exercise. Lie down on the mat with your arms and legs extended. Reach your finger tips to the ceiling and prepare with an inhale. On your exhale, look at your toes and bring your chin toward your chest as your hands come down in front of you. Roll all the way up, moving and articulating one vertebrae at a time off the mat. (If you have trouble, bend your knees and plant your feet firm into the ground, or hold behind your thighs to help you in the beginning.) Stack your spine up tall at the top as you sit (practicing good posture), then roll all the way back down. Keep energy reaching out your legs (if they are extended) in opposition of your roll down. Try to get each vertebrae to move into the mat. Move slowly and don't use momentum. (that's cheating!)

Notice which places you feel stuck, or have difficulty moving through. This is where there is a weakness in your core. To overcome it, move back and forth and hold for three full breaths pulling your navel in deeper. This will help strengthen that particular spot and then the next time you try this exercise, it will be easier.

Complete 8-10 full roll up and downs. Too Easy? Increase the reps to 12-16.

Wedding Stationery Odds 'N Ends

If you are a fan of stationery or simply love an elegant look, you are familiar with using calligraphy and quality paper products for your special events or wedding save the dates, invitations and possibly escort and place cards. But there are many more uses for paper products at your wedding that you may not automatically think of.

Other good uses for paper products are:

Petal tags...let your guests shower you with flowers along with their love!

Reserved signs...make sure your VIPs get front row seats as you and your betrothed exchange vows!

{photos by Hannah Bergman}

Table number signs...

Leave a lasting impression with custom, coordinating Thank You notes!

{photos by Hannah Bergman}

Other signs not to miss are bar signs, hors d'oeuvres menus, dinner menus, cake sign, dessert signs and anything else you want to feature at your fete!

All are available in custom colors and designs. See our Etsy shop for more details.

Adventures of a Bride-to-Be

This has been such an amazing weekend but I have decided to wait a week and blog about it next time so I have time to upload pictures and tell my fabulous weekend stories and share photos all at the same time...

But, besides a fabulous girls weekend, I recently got the urge to go vintage antique shopping. After cutting into my work hours with an hour long escapade to the antique mall in Apache Junction, AZ, I found some great wedding decor: milk glass jugs and table accessories along with a vintage Hires root beer box! Though unsure of where or how I am going to use these pieces, I purchased $100 worth of it and I am sure that's just the beginning.

Here are some of my wedding inspiration pictures that I heart ...

Wedding Status Update:
Matron of Honor dress: check- purchased at Saks in Dallas
Flowers: Still under discussion
Wedding Bands: Picked out
Honeymoon: Books purchased for reference and ideas
Rentals: Town and Country Rentals
Lighting: Still under discussion

Somehow this weekend made me think about all the important things about my wedding day. My sister told me this past weekend that my mom told her something on her day that has stuck with her for over 5 years... "Take in everything on your day. Take a deep breath in and breathe out, take in everything you can as it's your day and is only about you and your husband to be." I loved that and was so excited she shared it with you.

Till next week when I share with you my girls weekend in Dallas with my lovely ladies.

Always with love,
Alyson

Engage!10: The Breakers

My sister's wonderful wedding wasn't our only fun October event...I also had the priviledge to attend Engage!10: The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida! Twice yearly the lovely ladies at Engaging Concepts, Rebecca Grinnals, Kathryn Arce and Trisha Hay, put together an outstanding conference for wedding and honeymoon industry professionals. It is consistantly an informative, and fun, event!

We contributed some printed materials including this itinerary and map.

And we were also able to calligraph these beautiful paper products by Chariot (design) and Two Paperdolls (letterpress).

{lower two photos by averyhouse}

Attendees had the opportunity to hear from industry experts such as Sean Low, Mindy Weiss and Simon T. Bailey speak on various wedding and event planning topics and advice, and we of course got to see tons of new event ideas!

We enjoyed delicious food and the gorgeous beach at The Breakers and also found some time for shopping! The highlight of the conference was definitely the final night gala with a gourmet dinner and dancing with our friends...old and new!

Looking forward to the next Engage! wedding planning conference!

Adventures of a Maid of Honor::The Wedding of the Year

Tomorrow my beautiful baby sister, Alyssa, is getting married! Congratulations Alyssa and Ryan, I hope you have a wonderful life together as husband and wife! Have a great weekend everyone, and stay tuned for all the details in the weeks to come as we wrap up our Maid of Honor series!

(me and lil lys, circa 1986)

Lys, now that you are getting married, I guess we are all grown up...kind of.

Adventures of a Maid of Honor:: Wedding Week

The gorgeous letterpressed menus arrived last week and we got the darling programs back from the printers and I’m thrilled with the result. They are a smaller, folding program and we’ve decided to tie them up with twine. There are just under 100 of them and my mom and her best friend in town for the wedding will be doing the twine assembly themselves. Everyone is chipping in to help with this fete!

The bride-to-be and I will be trying to relax and heading to the hotel tonight. Tomorrow we have morning massages and then we're meeting up with other bridesmaids for manicures and pedicures over champagne and chit chat. Everyone in the wedding party will receive special itineraries outlining the schedule from the rehearsal through the wedding preparations the following day - we wouldn't expect anything less from an extremely organized person such as my little sister!

The excitement is building...just two more days!

Adventures of a Maid of Honor:: Wedding Week

The Stationery

The past few weeks leading up to the wedding have been all about stationery. It’s been an endless flow of emails back and forth between Beth, Alyssa, my mom, and myself. I definitely have had a vision in my mind which has been sculpted into the final details as the day approaches.

Here are a couple of first drafts from the simpler signs at the wedding.

I now have a list of items that I’ve been diligently crossing off as I go: Letterpress menus – check, order custom escort cards and signage – check, construct the large wooden signage for around the venue – check….it goes on and on.

I still have a variety of things left to do and I’m starting to feel the pressure. Early on my dad and I had a “talk” about making sure my little sis got whatever she wanted – well, I think she’s gotten that, and then some! There are so many ideas I’ve been wanting to try out, but haven’t gotten to – so my sister is my little guinea pig in that respect.

Beth and I have also been chatting back and forth about the rehearsal dinner stationery. We’re excited about this as well and have been working with Janet (Ryan’s mom) on how to make this night perfect, too! We did the invites and loved collaborating to get the perfect design!

Also good news – we learned that Steve Steinhardt is going to shoot the rehearsal dinner so we’re sure to have amazing photos to remember that night after the fact.

Adventures of a Maid of Honor:: Wedding Week

The Bachelorette Weekend


Several months ago the planning of the Bachelorette Party came up. My dad alerted us to the fact that UCLA was playing Texas in college football in Austin, Texas and would anyone be interested in going. Alyssa isn’t into the whole crazy Vegas thing (which not surprisingly is where the groom is as we speak!) and she’s been wine tasting on several occasions, but she is definitely into college football. So, my sister and a couple friends who attended UCLA thought this would be the perfect way to spend her bachelorette. I received a text about it and agreed. I immediately booked 2 flights for Alyssa and myself into Austin and a within a week or so booked the hotel rooms, estimating that we’d probably have about 8-10 girls who were able to go.

Finally the day to leave arrived and I ended up on the same flight as a couple of Alyssa’s girlfriends, LeAnn and Sheila. We got to Austin and waited for Alyssa’s flight to come in from San Diego before catching a cab to the hotel.

Once at the hotel we changed for a fun night at a bar or two and a late dinner.

The next day was all about football. At the last minute, Ashley and I decided to have cute shirts made for the 10 girls who were coming. Alyssa of course got a special shirt and was completely surprised by the adorable shirts we had made (thank goodness for my printers- they pulled this off in less than 3 days flat!). The shirts ended up coming in handy though – it was easy to keep our group together in the crazy sea of burnt orange jerseys and other Longhorn paraphernalia.

The stadium was within walking distance from our hotel, and that morning it was so exciting. Fans and tailgaters were everywhere! People were selling shirts and drinks and food along the streets – it was really an amazing experience. Being that it was supposed to be a blowout (in favor of Texas) it was a pleasant surprise when UCLA took an early lead and was able to win the game….

That night it was another night out on the town with a fabulous dinner at La Condesa and the swanky bar upstairs, Malverde, followed by brunch the next morning and afternoon flights back to our respective cities.

{the beautiful bride in ivory!}

All in all, a successful Bachelorette weekend!

Adventures of a Maid of Honor:: Wedding Week

Alyssa actually had two showers and the first one was great, because all I had to do was show up!

It was thrown by our longtime family friend Bonnie, and was attended by Ryan’s mom, Janet, our mother’s close friends, and our grandmother, as well as the other Bridesmaids and myself. Bonnie had the shower at Marmalade Café in Sherman Oaks and there were cupcakes and a delightful array of entrees on the menu to choose from. We enjoyed a delicious brunch, mingled and chatted.

After the luncheon – Alyssa opened gifts and I diligently took notes so she could promptly send her thank you notes….and promt she was – I received mine just a few days later in the mail!


The shower weekend was a great way to rev things up before the wedding and everyone is so excited! I can’t believe the wedding is almost here….only 5 days to go!

Adventures of a Maid of Honor

Summer was a busy time for the business, but that did not mean this Maid of Honor was neglecting the Bride! With the wedding just a week away, we will be doing an entire "Wedding Week" series updating you on all the planning and events.

Much of August was spent collaborating with Beth Helmstetter and the other bridesmaids, Ashley, Maggie, and Melissa, on ideas for Alyssa's bridal shower. By collaborating I mean that I asked Beth for her ideas and then I put together the paper products. This basically included a simple menu, various signs, and the invitations. The whole planning process was kept a secret from Alyssa, who showed up early for her makeup trial and was ushered into a side office while the preparations were underway.

I’m not huge on party planning (my job function allows me to work on such a small sliver of my brides’ wedding planning process so I have no practice in this art) so Beth took the reigns and had the bridesmaids and me help with the design, step by step, which was nice.

The party took place at The Event Studio in Burbank, and was the perfect place for a gathering of 20 or so of Alyssa’s close friends.

Our colors were blush pink, grey and black and it was an adult tea party theme. We had delightful tea-infused cocktails, tea sandwiches made by our mom, the perfect little bite-sized scones (also made by our mom) and gourmet ice cream provided by Carmela – which was SO good.

Here I am with Alyssa and my fellow bridesmaids, then one of us with Beth!

Our photography was done by Steve Steinhardt and his lovely second shooter, Hannah, who has been documenting the entire planning process as we’ve progressed this past year.