Adventures of a Bride-to-Be

Here is one of my sister's favorite quotes " Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the places and moments that take our breath away"- anonymous.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this past week. Wes & I decided to get away from all the day to day chaos and head up to his parents' cabin up north right outside of Flagstaff. We had a plan of attack to get some wedding preparations accomplished while we were there. We wanted to book our honeymoon, or at least our flights. Since our wedding is in Santa Barbra and is a destination for us, we are not planning to leave right after our wedding but instead a few weeks after. Our plan is to do a "mini moon" somewhere close to Santa Barbara a few days after and leave mid May for our true honeymoon.

We got up to the cabin on Friday afternoon, opened a bottle of wine and started looking into flights and places we may want to visit: Greece, Rome, and France. We had come prepared - we had 2 books with us, Frommer's Italy Day by Day and 1,000 Places To See Before You Die, that my sister and brother in law had bought for us. After a complete day and almost a half of looking for flights and 4 bottles of wine later we booked our trip!!

Here is our game plan (hoping wine didn't influence our trip too much). We are going to do a tour of Italy for 10 nights and 12 days traveling into Rome and out of Venice. With trips to Capri, Florence, Tuscany and Bologna in between. I could not be more excited with what we chose to do. Now we just need to do all of the little details such hotels, excursions, train tickets - this is going to be so much fun.

On another note, my parents are coming into town next week to spend the weekend with us so I'm excited for that. And you just know that means we will be going to see my dress again! Its a must that I go see it and will be good now that I have my jewelry to make sure it goes with the dress.

What a great way to end such a great Thanksgiving weekend, looking forward to next weekend with the parents.
Always with love,
Aly

Peacock Invitation Suite

This art deco inspired suite features a teal and lemon peacock design with custom calligraphy. Full color in flat printing on ivory iridescent cardstock. This couple even included the sweet tagline, "Love Fills a Lifetime," to set the mood for their guests.

The return address included a complementary logo with the peacock.

Please inquire for custom quantities, colors, and letterpress options. This design can be made into thank you cards or other stationery. Please visit our Etsy site and inquire for more details.

Save on Map Design with our Map Alteration Process

If you love our maps, but don't necessarily want to create a fully custom map, our map alteration process may be the perfect option for you! It is a great choice for the budget conscious bride.

To convert an existing map, there are a few guidelines:
*You must have 5 changes or less
*Calligraphy style must remain the same
*Roads cannot be added to the existing map
*We can add in icons specific to you, however, they must be icons that already appears on another map on my website (ie, cannot be custom icons)
*2 proofs are included

We create many custom maps for all aspects of our clients' weddings. Save the dates, welcome bags, rehearsal dinners, wedding weekends, and of course for the invitation suites themselves...if there is somewhere to be or something going on, we can create a map for it! Many of these maps include dozens of icons and personal, custom locations from the bride and groom; others include just the layout of the area and one or two locations such as the ceremony and reception venues.

Please contact us for more information on your custom or altered map order! Aren't sure if your location is a place we've mapped before? Just ask - we've created maps for cities all over the U.S. and world!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Laura Hooper Calligraphy! May you enjoy a special day shared with family and friends.

Photo courtesy of Wine Country Food.

Scroll Design on Wood Invitation

Looking for something unique? This suite features a scrolling leaf design with custom calligraphy on beautiful, thin natural wood stock. You can tie in the wood feature through the wedding with wooden menus, escort cards and other signage!

Visit our Etsy site for more details. One color printing on natural wood and ivory cardstock. Please inquire for more information and custom variations.

Photography by Steve Steinhardt.

Adventures of a Bride-to-Be

This weekend marks Wes & my 1 year anniversary of being engaged. This time last year, on November 21st 2009, Wes completely shocked me and the majority of his friends and family with this engagement. On Sunday, Wes surprised me with drinks at the Four Seasons where we had dinner on our engagement night. We would have revisited the golf course where he proposed except it was raining, one of the 5 days a year it rains in Arizona. He is constantly surprising and spoiling me.

Since we pretty much have everything booked officially for the wedding, I started diving into how we wanted the invitations to look. Thinking I was a head of things, I emailed Laura to see when we should start our invitations. In my mind January for an April wedding would be ideal. I got an email back form her saying she has two April brides whose invitation she was already working on now! WOW, and I thought I was somewhat on top of things. So, I spoke with my mother and Wes, and we started talking about the invitations and how they should look, and what they should say.
Goals for next week: Hire a stylist for myself, my mother and sister, book honeymoon and mini moon, and start invitations.

PS. My weekend besides dinner and being spoiled on Sunday consisted of back to back episodes of Bridezilla's for 4 hours straight...can I say hilarious. And that Wes should be happy he has me and my mini meltdowns. Bridezilla moments are only at 1, thus far...and counting, as Wes likes to say.

Always with love,
Aly

Holiday Greeting Cards

The holidays are upon us, and while I personally like to wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating, it's never to early to start your holiday shopping or to order your holiday greeting cards!

And what better way to wish your family and friends a happy holiday season than with personalized greeting cards boasting a photo from your 2010 special occasion? Whether it was your beautiful wedding or a new baby in the family, these cards are perfect to share your most memorable moments.

The process is extremely easy. Just send us your favorite photo, let us know which design and color combination you prefer, and within days we will have your proof options back to you.


Each set includes a 4.25 x 6" full color card with your photo, and a blank envelope in white or ivory. Return addresses can be imprinted with an additional charge, or add a custom return address sticker on the back flap! It's simple, fast and easy.

Get ahead of the game this holiday season by placing your order today! Please email us for more details or to place your order.

Fall Centerpieces from Fiore Designs

Wonderful boutique shop, Fiore Designs, in Venice, CA is offering beautiful Fall & Thanksgiving centerpieces for the upcoming holiday season! Here are just a few samples...

The arrangements range in price and are offered in a variety of styles and shapes depending on your table size. Fiore Designs also offers candles and other adornments to complete the look.

Fiore Designs specializes in custom florals, event design and little luxuries.

Beach Chic Invitation Suites

Here in Southern California and also along the East Coast, coastal events are quite common. Many couples choose to either get married on the beach itself, or at restaurants and hotels lining the beach. The sunny weather allows for these beach inspired weddings for about 9 months (or more!) out of the year.

In addition, destination weddings have become very popular as well, allowing couples and their nearest and dearest to travel all over the world for these important celebrations.

Here we share some examples of our beach themed invitation suites. This first set includes a monogrammed starfish which is also featured on the custom stamp! It also makes use of our custom map design and trifold invitation to layout the events for the wedding weekend.

This second set uses cool blues and maintains a simple pallette with a more realistic starfish design.

The magenta seashell suite mixes the pink calligraphy and images with the black writing throughout the suite. It's a perfect combination. 

Finally, this beautifully letterpressed suite includes a cartoon-like image of a starfish and ties in the blue of the ocean through the envelope liner. The natural color envelope combined with the rest of the design creates the ultimate "beach chic" invitation suite.

Please visit our Etsy site for more details. All sets can be made in a variety of color and paper options. Flat print, thermography or letterpress. Photography by Steve Steinhardt.

Hydrangea Invitation Suite

This beautiful garden inspired invitation suite is perfect for any spring or summer wedding or even a bridal shower.

The soft blue and green on the offwhite paper create a gorgeous palette with a simple elegance. The hydrangea image is tied throughout and can be used on your save the dates as well as reception pieces.

For more information or to purchase this, visit our Etsy page. Photography by Steve Steinhardt.

Adventures of a Bride-to-Be

feel like I need a drum roll for this blog.......


I am over the moon excited that I have a huge part of the wedding completed - I have finally picked and paid the deposit on the florist. After weeks of agonizing over which florist I should chose and which one got my "vision," I went with my gut: the first florist I met with. The florist who has done amazing work at the Ranch before and has a great relationships with the crew at the Ranch (I mean he is the official florist at the Ranch and the Biltmore for a reason right!). So how I could I go wrong. Jerry and his crew at SR Hogue are my florists.

{this is their shop!}

Here are some pictures of SR Hogue's fabulous work. I can't wait for our trip out to Santa Barbara in February to finalize all the flowers for the "Big Day".

Now, on to the next task getting a stylist to do my hair and make up for the day of.

Wedding Status Update:
Photographer: Kirsten Ellis of Beaux Arts Photographie
Flowers: SR Hogue
Wedding Night Accommodations: San Ysidro Ranch
Honeymoon: Books purchased for reference and ideas
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Musician: Anthony Ybarra
Officiant: Richard Tobin
Wedding Venue: San Ysidro Ranch
Invitations and Signage: Laura Hooper of course!
Bride's Hair & Makeup: Still searching

Always with love,
Alyson

Porto Heli, Greece Map

This wonderful bifold map includes information for the fabulous wedding weekend, a personal note from the couple, and a couple of quotes to really set the mood for the wedding! It was given to the guest upon arrival at this destination affair.

Being the outside of the bifold map, the right panel here is the first thing the guests see. It is a welcome from the couple displaying the location of the destination wedding and quote from a popular Van Morrison song. It really lets the guests know that these are memorable days, that they will cherish for time to come.

Inside, the guests are presented with this colorful map that highlights the important locations for the weekend's festivities and other popular Grecian icons such as the boats on the water, the flag and beaches.

It is very popular for destination weddings to feature multiple events to enhance the "vacation" that the guests have taken to be there for the wedding. This wedding weekend did just that, and the back of the bifold lists out the various activities provided for the guests including a welcome reception, a rehearsal outing to a nearby isalnd, and of course the wedding itself.

A map such as this is an excellent way to welcome your guests to your destination fete!

Modern Monograms

Last month we shared a beautiful monogram invitation suite with you, and here we offer more variations of the modern look.

First is a lime and brown monogram suite with a custom map.

The pieces are clean and crisp, truly setting the overall mood for the wedding itself months in advance. The beautiful white pieces are tied together with a lush bow and mailed in a dark brown envelope - the perfect contrast.

This next set makes a true statement with its simplicity...and avocado colored envelope!

For more information and pricing, visit our Etsy store. Photography by Steve Steinhardt.

Real Wedding: Pleasanton, CA

This lovely vineyard wedding in Pleasanton, CA was beautifully captured by Ryan Jones Photography and we are so excited to share it with you!

Our work on this wedding began with a save the date and invitation suite with all the bells and whistles! The set features a dual color scrolling leaf design with custom calligraphy and a custom map design to help the out of town guests (that was everyone at this wedding!) explore and find their way.

{invitation suite photos by Steve Steinhardt}

For more information on this invitation suite, please visit us on Etsy.

The excitement continued at the wedding itself. The ceremony was held inside a wine barrel room, so we created a monogram to be reflected on the floor at the beginning of the aisle.

We created coordinating programs for the ceremony and then a seating chart, menus,place cards and table number signs at the reception itself.

We also made Bride and Groom signs that they used at the sweetheart table!
 

 

For more details and amazing pictures of this wedding (the lighting is truly fabulous), please visit Ryan Jones' blog.