In the Press: VOGUE Sposa (Italy)

Our clients often ask if we can work with them out of state and we are delighted to inform them that we work with couples all over the world getting married all over the world. So when we found out that one of our couples, and in turn our Capri map, was featured in the current issue of the Italian VOGUE magazine out in the EU - we were beyond thrilled!

"For all the guests to really appreciate Capri, all the wedding couple's guests received a chic welcome bag and also an original map which was hand designed for the occasion."

Coordinated by Diana M. Sorensen of Sugokuii Events, the wedding was unique and glamorous!

From Diana...This wedding was designed for a couple from San Francisco, who invited 75 guests for a 4-day wedding weekend in Capri. They wanted to incorporate as many local traditions as much as possible, as well as primarily use floral product that was local for Capri. They incorporated beautiful linens from a 100% Capri boutique for draping the restaurant in white linens, and the bride, groom, groomsmen & bridesmaids (their 6 children) were also outfitted in linen clothing designed for them in Capri.

The ceremony took place in the intimate Anglican church on Via Tragara, one of the most picturesque roads in Capri. The music was that of a single mandolinist - an ancient instrument typical of this region, who played Ave Maria as the bride walked down the aisle. There wasn't a dry eye in the church!


After the ceremony, guests threw rice from cones made of leaves and were then escorted by the local Scialapopolo folk group dressed in traditional costume who danced and sang around the couple through the center of Capri, while being greeted by almost everyone in Capri who passed by them. The escort ended in the main piazza, with the Scialapopolo engaging the couple into dancing the Neapolitan tarantella.

The guests were then met by the local open aired taxis that drove them to the reception venue in Anacapri, overlooking the sea. The multi leveled restaurant was rented for the evening - and started with Italian inspired cocktails on the lower levels, then a sumptuous seafood dinner that included Italian caviar bruschette and later dancing and Millefoglie wedding cake served on the roof top terrace where an Italian inspired cocktail bar was set up under the stars overlooking the sea.
This gorgeous backdrop at the wedding reception?! Yes please!

Photography by Umberto D'Aniello.

Style Me Pretty| Real Wedding: Malibu, CA {my sister's!}

As most of you know, my younger sister Alyssa got married last year, and I of course was so excited to handle all of her printed materials! We used our Manhattan script to take care of everything from programs, escort cards, menus, cocktail hour signs, restroom signs - everything - and we have tons of luscious photos to share from Steve Steinhardt!

The overall look was based on Western charm combined with casual elegance. The happy couple chose the gorgeous outdoor setting at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu, CA and as you can see, Saddlerock provided a truly picturesque backdrop!

Beth Helmstetter was the planner and from day one she guided us through all our choices from tables, to linens, to the beautiful china my parents purchased for the delicious meal. She helped us pull together all the adorable items we sourced and made sure everything we chose was cohesive.

As guests headed to the venue, they were greeted with wood signs we made guiding the way.

Before the ceremony, guests were invited to sip iced tea and lemonade while signing the custom guest book or grabbing a pashmina for later in the evening.

{we used Ryan and Alyssa's artwork to have this custom leather

guestbook created by Dewdrop Designs!}

For the programs, we created a bifold card with a design that matched the invitation set. We also tied each program with twine to tie that in as well. All the paper products were done with guidance given by Beth regarding the style and colors. I wanted them to coordinate with the invitations, of course!

After the ceremony, guests moved to cocktail hour where we included custom printed cocktail napkins, signs for the hors d'oeuvres, and a special bar sign with the bride and groom's choice signature drinks!

My mother and sister scoured etsy to find these worn horseshoes - the perfect touch. These rustic looking wooden signs were carefully placed in various places around the reception area. The cocktail sign sat right on the bar.

These adorable custom bark frames are a speciality of Beth Helmstetter's.  They capture the charm of the wedding perfectly! We love them in all their different sizes, both large, and small.

Before heading up the hill for the reception, guests located their table numbers with escort cards made of wooden tags tied onto Dublin Dr. Pepper bottles shipped in straight from the groom's home state of Texas! We also included a small sign with the story of the original Dr. Pepper bottling source in Dublin.

Everyone found their tables with our coordinating wooden table number signs and at each place setting was a letterpressed menu with the guests' names hand-calligraphed at the top.

For the table numbers, we chose to keep it simple with a larger version of the little escort tags. They are made of real cherry wood.

The menus were enveloped in a delicate lace band, and tied with twine, just like the invitations.

Combined with the florals by Holly Flora, it was everything the couple hoped it would be and just perfect!

With not a detail too small for this very important client, we also created signs for the restrooms and Beth and her team used the western font to stamp the bags for the favors created by a family friend.

It was such a beautiful day and so special in every way!

Visit Style Me Pretty to see more from this lovely affair and to get the full scoop from the bride herself!

Wedding designed by Beth Helmstetter Events. We can't thank her enough for all the hard work she put in on making this day so special.

White House Pilates Bride-to-Be Tips

Mindless Eating...and the solutions to avoid it!

Today's tips are brought to you via "Today's Dietician Magazine"
Today the average person makes nearly 250 food decisions each day. Wow! and most of these decisions happen without thinking!


Research shows that people eat an average of 2.2 more candies each day when they are visible, compared to when they are not. Solution? Don't leave candy out on your desk, dining room table, or anywhere near them! If you don't think 2.2 extra pieces of candy is a lot, you should do the math (2.2 x ~50 calories = ~100 extra calories per day, times 365 days = 36,500 extra calories a year, which is 10 pounds.......)


Be careful when you purchase 100-calorie packs. While the idea may be a good one (portion control) they tend to backfire for about 30% of the population, according to research. The idea of portioning out your food is a great way to make a healthier environment, but you're still going to be better off eating 100 calories of a fruit, vegetable, or low fat dairy product than you will eating a 100-calorie pack of cookies. Also, it's cheaper just to do the portioning yourself!


Have you ever noticed that the foods with the most marketing tend to be the ones that the worst for us? If you have the ability to do so, fast forward through your commercials, or just leave the room when they are on.


Believe it or not, food is cheaper these days, and according to the article it only takes up about 6% of our income (this is an average). I think a lot of us get caught in the traps at stores where we see a "good deal" and then we must buy it, even if we hadn't planned on doing so.Can you say "mindless shopping"! Remind yourself that unhealthy food is typically cheap food, so stay away, unless you really must have it....


Happy & healthy eating!

~ Caroline
White House Pilates

Creative Tip: Menu Signs

You may have noticed the menu boards in some of our recent "Real Weddings," but if not, we thought we'd share the idea with you! If you don't necessarily want to have a menu at each place setting, our menu chalkboards and signs might be the perfect alternative for you.

We can create the signs in nearly any size and various calligraphy scripts. They are great for rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and of course weddings themselves!

 

{photos by Steve Steinhardt}

{Costello Script | Photo by Next Exit Photography}

{Ella Script | Photo by Jose Villa}

{Spencerian Script | Photo by Steve Steinhardt}

 

Adventures of a Bride-to-Be

Wedding planning this week has been crazy and the most funny of all thus far.....


Wes signed us up for our first private dance to take place Saturday at 4pm with dinner set for after. We did our usual Saturday routine - gym, cleaning and then at 2:45pm I decided to take a nap, thinking I would be up way in time to make it to class. At 3:45pm Duke barked, waking me up, and I frantically tried to find Wes, yelling at him that we were going to be late. What comes out of my mouth next is "What do I wear?" If anyone knows me really well, I always have to be dressed appropriately. So, I channeled my inner "Dancing with the Stars" moments and thought they wear gym clothes! I got changed into my Lululemon outfit and Wes did the same. Then Wes asked where our music was thinking I had done it and I had been thinking he had done it!!! NO. We then both had our diva/wedding stress moments of frantically trying to find our music all over the house. It was now 4:15pm and we were soooo late and now mad at each other since we couldn't find our music anywhere. We started panicking and Wes called Robert (our dance instructor... now mind you Wes booked 2 prior classes and forgot about them) who suggested to Wes that we change the lesson utnil the next day at 2pm. Wes and I agreed that that time would work much better, we would definitely have our music found by then. As I walked out of the room I heard Wes say "OOOO (not nice word)" the playoff games are tomorrow and right in the middle of that time. I started laughing hysterically at this point, and am thinking to myself revenge is sweet especially when it is during football season.

Saturday night after arguing and then laughing about it we decompressed with "date night" at a new French restaurant in town.

Sunday was the day! We were not going to miss this lesson for anything. I agreed to go to the sports bar with Wes to watch the 1st half of the game. While we were there I felt the need to have some liquid courage for myself to get through the lesson so I had a shot of tequila and two beers and for Wes two IPA's on draft, his favorite. We arrived promptly at 2pm, to Robert's surprise.

As we walked in it was like watching "Dancing with the Stars" times twelve. We were rushed to the back of the studio and began our introductory class with Robert and Heide. To all of our surprise we were actually pretty good. We picked out our wedding song, that we are keeping a secret and the style of dancing that we wanted to do. It was so much fun, we actually got pretty into it. And we also booked lesson #2. Till then we will continue practicing.

Always with love,
Aly