Map: Follina, Italy

Follina is a charming municipality in the Province of Treviso in Italy. Known for its lush green landscape and picturesque scenery, Follina is the destination for this fabulous wedding extravaganza!

This adorable maps includes both direct routes as well as a "scenic route" for the guests to enjoy. The sporadic hearts in the background are an extra sweet touch!

On the reverse the couple includes details on the weekend events such as a welcome event on Thursday evening and a send-off BBQ on Sunday following the wedding. The information also lets the guests know which airports are the closest (with their distances to the hotels), and the various hotels the couple has blocked off rooms at.

Creative Tip: Stir Sticks & Food Flags

Looking to spice up your cocktail hour beverages? Want to let your guests know what food they will be enjoying in a creative way? Customizing your stir sticks and labeling your items with flagged picks can add some excitement to any spread!

Flags like these are perfect for cocktail parties, baby showers and bridal showers in addition to weddings!

Adventures of a Bride-to-Be

I do not think I have had more contact via email with someone in my entire life in one week as I have had with Laura over this past week. I have realized we work really well together later in the evening; specifically 5pm when we speak via email the most. Over the past week we have collaborated on ideas...more of Laura's ideas then mine of course. She meshed our save the dates and wedding invitations with all of our ceremony and reception pieces for the wedding. I have received my UPS tracking number from Laura for delivery on Wednesday and the day can not come soon enough for almost all of my pieces to come! It is going to have so much stuffed into one box: place cards, menus, and so many more goodies that are surprises.

I worked on updating our website over this weekend with some new pictures and updates on dress code, welcome dinner and farewell brunch information. The website we chose to go with was wedsite.com. It is such an easy and dummy proof site, I love it as I am technically challenged sometimes. We even have our own personalized web addres http://www.alyandwes.com/. The site is a great way to update our guests on what is going on. We have already gotten so many compliments on it, so for the guests who read it and see the updates, "Thank You"! Plus, it was so much fun to put together and let everyone near and far know how Wes and I met as well as the proposal story.

We are making great headway on marking things off Wes & my to do list. One of the largest tasks is the seating chart for the wedding. But since we only have a total of 44 people coming to the wedding, it wasn't too hard. We may have a few revisions last minute, but I think we did a pretty good job for the first go around! Our photographer is working with us on our wedding day timeline, and I think I finally feel that things are all falling into place. Only a few more major things, but I am so relieved to have the reception stationery items out of the way.

Also this week I signed up for unlimited Bikram yoga for a month. I am so excited to start going, although petrified I will not make it through my first class! If you have never tried Bikram before I highly recommend it, you will hate every minute of the 90 minute class but when you're done you come out like a new person.

Days till wedding: 31

Always with love,
Aly

Creative Save the Date

We were so excited to see our client share her save the date card in her Real Life Bride post on the Beth Helmstetter Events blog!

The couple started with their adorable photo by Lauren Ross Photography, and on the reverse we included their important wedding details. You might notice the adorable icon of the bulldogs on the postcard, too. The couple has two bulldogs that are very important to them and have been incorporated here in a playful way!

We also created custom stamps on Zazzle to complete the look of the set.

This showcases how fun a save the date can be, even if you plan on making the invitation more formal. This can showcase your personality and love in a very unique way!

Creative Tip: Favor Bags

Looking for a simple but unique way to gift your guests? These brown paper bags adorned with our hand calligraphed "gateau" {or wording of your choice} are a super treat!

For more on this gorgeous Napa Valley affair designed by Beth Helmstetter and photographed by the amazing Jose Villa, visit Style Me Pretty.

{here's a sneak of the beautiful bouquet}

~ brown bags sourced and styled by Beth Helmstetter Events ~

Invitation Suite: Eggplant & Ivory

This Scroll & Emblem letterpress invitation suite features our Citadel calligraphy script with eggplant and ivory design on white paper for the invitation. The program and menu use eggplant lettering on ivory paper.

For more information visit our Etsy site here, here and here!

Photography by Steve Steinhardt.

Wedding Shoot by Bella Weddings & Events

We were so honored to be included in this gorgeous green + white inspiration wedding shoot by Bella Weddings & Events that was recently featured on Green Wedding Shoes!

From Susan & Kathy at Bella..."When Leila came to us asking to collaborate on a shoot, we were thrilled. We immediately thought of Vibiana as the perfect venue for the shoot and a fresh green spring theme started to evolve. Vibiana is a gorgeous venue with so many amazing architectural details - we loved shooting the details in the church's old altars and confessionals. The white marble is a gorgeous background!


Carissa's inspired floral designs brought to life the modern look for the dining and cake tables and through the light and airy bouquets. We had so much fun playing around in the Classic Party Rentals showroom to find the perfect place settings and chairs. The cake designed by Melody from the Sweet & Saucy shop picked up details from one of the gorgeous wedding gowns from the Alisa Benay collection. And Laura Hooper's classic custom calligraphy invitations, menus and place cards completed the look."

To tie the stationery in with the green + white theme, we provided invitations, menus and place cards using our Manhattan script in green ink. To play up the elegance of the venue and decor, we used a formal, all-calligraphy invitation.

We just love the dessert pieces!

Thank you to Leila at Be Inspired PR for bringing us into the shoot and to all of the vendors involved!

Venue: Vibiana
Coordination & Design: Bella Weddings & Events
Florals: JL Designs
Photography: Barnaby Draper Studios
Wedding Gowns: Alisa Benay
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals, Culver City
Linens: La Tavola
Cake & Desserts: Sweet and Saucy Shop
Producer: Be Inspired PR

Adventures of a Bride-to-Be

This week has been all about the reception pieces, so I have been working with Laura on all of my little details. We are working on a welcome letter, place cards, menus and favor tags. Here is an example of one of Laura's menus that I like and used for inspiration.

I have seen our proof and am looking forward to seeing the final piece. Since my mom was in town this weekend as well, we got the seating chart accomplished and nailed down the farewell brunch catering. I had so much fun with my mom and family friends this weekend, and Wes was out of town in New Orleans for his bachelor party. It gave us girls an opportunity to have girl talk and knock out a ton of my to-do list. I got to visit my dress again and scheduled my first and final fittings, I cannot believe my alterations lady wants to do my final fitting 48 hours before we leave for our wedding. Makes me so nervous but I have faith in her.

I also went shopping and got a lot of items off of my list: gifts, bins, label maker, welcome dinner dress, shoes and accessories.

Even though I have knocked about a dozen of to-do items off my list, they have been quickly replaced with other to-do items! But at least I have all of the major items taken care of. I cannot believe how quickly our wedding day is coming up. So much to do, so little time....

Always with love,
Aly

Real Wedding {Rehearsal}: Westlake Village Inn

Last week my sister's rehearsal dinner, beautifully designed by Beth Helmstetter, was featured on Style Me Pretty ~ and we are so pleased to share all the print material details with you here!

The dinner took place at the Westlake Village Inn where the bridal party and families stayed for the wedding weekend. The hotel has a private room called the "Wine Cellar" that is a bit more rustic and private than simply using the restaurant.

Guests were greeted with this custom sign that featured artwork to correlate with the other paper goods.

Beth filled the room and tablescape with candle to create a feeling of warmth and intimacy. The charming blush color of the florals mixed with ivory, champagne linens and rattan chargers finished the look.

Each guest had a placecard with his or her meal choice indicated with a different icon and a sweet "thank you" bag complete with a Texas shaped pecan brittle shipped in directly from...Texas {the groom's home state}!

We also created a wooden menu board and hand painted the evening's gourmet fare for all to see!

Everyone received welcome tote bags filled with the couple's favorite treats and useful information for the weekend!

Calligraphy used is Ella script in dark brown.

Florals by Holly Flora
Photography by Steve Steinhardt

For Japan With Love

The ladies at Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours have teamed up to raise awareness and relief efforts for the victims in Japan, and they have currently raised over $20,000 {so amazing}.

Laura Hooper Calligraphy will be participating in a bloggers day of silence tomorrow, Friday, March 18, and we encourage you to donate here if you are looking for a way to help.

We’ve all seen the images and videos rolling in of the devastation from the Japan earthquake and tsunamis. While aftershocks and tsunami scares are still happening days later, the nation is in for a long long road of recovery. So far, the death toll is estimated to be 2,000. In just one town, 9,500 are missing. Not only do the survivors have to suffer the loss of loved ones, but as temperatures fall, electricity, water and food are now scarce to none. Many have tried to go back to their homes and to start picking up the pieces, only to find the tsunamis have plowed their homes down and there is literally nothing for them to come home to. Convenience stores have lines hours long and a limit of 10 items to each person. The second crisis has only begun and so many are left helpless.
- Utterly Engaged

All proceeds will go to ShelterBox who provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters at the time when they need it the most. Each large green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.

Please visit the For Japan With Love website for more information and to donate. And remember, every little bit helps!

Creative Tip: Tie it up Pretty

Using beautiful ribbon can be an easy way to add an extra touch to your wedding invitation suite - plus it has functional value to keep all of your pieces together!

Be sure to inquire about using ribbon on your next order!