Samira & Jesse’s Gotham Hall Wedding published in the The Knot Magazine

I am super excited to be published in the Summer 2012 Issue of The Knot Magazine- SPECIAL NEW YORK EDITION! They featured Samira and Jesse’s gorgeous wedding at Gotham Hall planned by amazing and talented Christine Godsey of Engaging Affairs.


Vendor List: Events Consultant: Engaging Affairs Venue: Gotham Hall Dress: Vera Wang Draping: Dazian Fabric Videography: I Do Films Catering & Cake: Thomas Preti A/V: ESP New York Musicians: Vali Entertainment Invitations & Stationery Elements: The 2u Collection Lighting: Jeff Ledford, Bentley Meeker Florist: Golf Srithamrong, Tantawan Bloom Hair & Makeup: Maria Licari Limo: NYC Royal Limo Bridal Hotel Room: Trump SoHo Groom’s Hotel Room: Radisson Martinique Photography: Shira Weinberger 

I am extremely proud of this! Stationery Images made it on 3 of the 5 pages!! Congratulations again to the Bride and Groom, and to all of the vendors who worked so tirelessly to create this amazing wedding, it really is one for the book of "All time best weddings!" (if there even is such a thing. LOL)

If you are interested in others posts related to this wedding, be sure to check them out!

You can read previous posts I've done on this wedding here (part 1) and here (part 2). You can check out THE KNOT LIVE show here, Samira was a guest and discussed her wedding, we even got a mention! Her interview starts at the 21:00 minute mark. Our invitations for this event were also featured in Central Florida Bride Magazine, you can read that blog here.

Clients from here, there and everywhere!

We get asked all the time if we are open to working with out of state or out of country clients. And my answer of course is YES! 
Luckily, with today's technologies we are more than able to do so. In fact, even with the busy schedules of my in town Bride's sometimes I will only meet with them one time face to face and the rest of our correspondence is done via phone and email. I only end up meeting about 25% of my clients. So majority of my in town clients work with me {and technology} the same way an out of town Bride would do so. So you ask, how exactly does working together without meeting face to face actually work...allow me to break it down for you. 

Conception

The first and most important step before designing a couples wedding invitations is getting a clear idea of their expectations. What design have they envisioned, what colors are they working with and are they traditional or contemporary are just a few questions I like answered before designing. For an in town Bride I would gather this information in person at a sit down meeting. However, with an out of town Bride-to-be we will often schedule a phone or Skype call. Instead of sorting through several images via email I ask Bride's to use Pinterest or The Fancy as a tool. The site can be particularly helpful in the conception stage because with just a few clicks I can get a very clear understanding of the Bride's style and preferences. I can also see what other wedding elements she is planning because after all the invitation is the first piece the guest will receive and a first impression is everything. It should help the guest anticipate and visualize what to expect on the wedding day and I can only design that if I can visualize it myself. 

Design

Once I know what direction to go in, I begin design process. Once I get a few invitation concepts together I will send them to the Bride in a PDF format to review. Clients often want to get back to me right away and I encourage them instead to intentionally not answer me right away. Everyone has lots of thoughts and ideas running through their minds and by not letting concepts sit with you for a few days we might end up doing more revisions than necessary. Everyone has different thoughts the more or longer they look at something. This is why it's good to let the concepts "marinate". After they have let the concepts settle in we start the feedback and revision process. Sometimes Bride's will love one concept in its entirety while other Bride's will want to combine a few elements from all the concepts into one invitation. From there we chat and re-design until we've created the perfect invite. Once the perfect invite is decided on it's time to choose paper, I can overnight samples right to the Bride's doorstep and once she's decided on her paper her invitation is ready to order!

Time to Send

Many of my clients opt to have my team send their invites out for them. This can be a huge stress reliever for the Bride and all those around her. Even the budget conscious Bride should consider allowing her stationary vendor to do this task. Not only does is save time, but it ensures it is done correctly. My team uses digital calligraphy (pictured above) to ensure the envelope looks as stunning and the invite and even takes care of proofing the guest list, stuffing the invites, postage and mailing. Selecting this option really allows the Bride to enjoy the planning process. As her guests are receiving and opening her wedding invitation with excitement, she too has one waiting in her mailbox! Keep in mind we also offer Hand Calligraphy, if you want it. But a lot of our brides opt for the Digital Calligraphy option as it is a little more affordable.

See the below pictured invitation from a client of mine that resided and was wed in the Big Apple! We designed her invitations without ever meeting face to face and the process could not have gone more smoothly. 

As you can see from the steps above, meeting in person is no longer necessary to create the perfect wedding stationary. All the above steps also apply to designing your save the dates, place cards, menu cards, table numbers, thank you cards and endless other stationary needs. With the technologies provided to us today communicating has not only become much easier but even more fun with the use of design sites such as Pinterest and The Fancy! 

However, If you are one of those Bride's that wants to meet face to face please know we always encourage studio appointments because nothing tells us more about your style than actually meeting you. In the occurrence however that we don't have the luxury to meet a Bride that are other endless ways we can still work with her and design exactly what she'd envisioned. 

Managing your Wedding Invitation List..... +1's? Kids? Co-workers?

Planning a wedding is both a stressful and exciting time in a couples life together. Especially for couples with careers completely separate of the wedding industry planning a wedding can be an extremely daunting task. Bride's {and Groom's occasionally} have to become educated on etiquette, traditions, budgets, timelines and so on. One of the most difficult wedding tasks couples face is who to invite and how. Hundreds of questions can become factors. After all, you can't have everyone, only a few Bride's have the budget capabilities to have a 'Skys the Limit' approach. 


The Puzzling Questions
Do I have to invite all my co-workers? Do all my friends expect to get a +1? How do I tell my guests I want no children? These are just a few of the questions we get asked on a weekly basis. So here you have it---my inside scoop on the guest list!


Divide and Conquer
First and foremost, you and your fiancé must sit down and establish your wants and expectations from you wedding day. Do you want a huge dance party or an intimate dinner affair? Once you know what you want out of your wedding day, decide with your budget in mind how many guests you ultimately can afford to host. Let's say you decided on the number, 150. From there if you have similarly sized families it might be best to give each set of parents a limit of 50 guests they can invite and then you and your fiancé invite another 50 together. This brings you to 150 guests invited. On average you have to assume every guest will not be able to make it, bringing your number down a bit. This approach can be much easier than calling your future in-laws and hashing out with them who of their friends can come and not. Just give them a limit, and let them solve it. 


A and B Lists
Let's say your families are HUGE, you were both Greek in college and your guest list is enormous in comparison to your budget. In that case, we suggest couples make an A and B list. Must have guests on List A and then a seperate List B of possible guests. You can select to invite from List B once you get a better gage from List A who has responded yes or no. The big NO, NO in this case is to let anyone know that two lists exist. Also you must only limit your Save the Dates to List A. Nothing would be more de-classy than receiving a Save the Date to a wedding your not invited to. OUCH! 


Co-workers at the Wedding
As far as co-workers are concerned, that's a tough one. Several factors play into that, is it a small firm you plan on being with for the next ten years or is it a huge office you've only been employed with 6 months?  Once you answer those questions you can be more decisive about whether or not your co-workers should come. In the case you have a huge office and can't invite them all it might be best to invite a couple key co-workers you're close with and your direct boss. The rest of the office will understand you have budget concerns and limitations and will still send congratulations your way. 


Friends and their +1's
+1??? As far as your close friends go, especially if your guests are in their 20's and 30's a lot of your friends might still be single. The question is, do you have to let each of them bring a date? And if not, how do you say who gets a +1 and who doesn't. Obviously, you want your friends to enjoy themselves but at the same time if you have a dozen single friends and they each bring some arm candy, that's another 12 people on your list--and it adds up quickly! If your reception size is limited the best way is to simply omit +1's from single dates {if and only if} there are other single friends from the same social circles going to the wedding. Etiquette says if a couple has been dating for a year or longer or is living together that significant other should be invited. If your friends do have girlfriends or boyfriends you're allowing them to bring, don't just put 'and guest' on their envelope. Take the personalized step and make the date feel special by having his or her name addressed on the invitation and place card as well. This is an extra touch they will always remember. And say you're best friend went on to marry that person, you putting 'and guest' on their place card may not be the best way to start your relationship with them as a new friend.


No little ones at the party

Now on to the trickiest question in invitation history.....how do we politely say 'no children'? Well, first let me start by saying only you knows your guest list. The average wedding guest will read your invitation and follow the guidelines you've suggested, i.e. no children, dress code, etc. but there is always the one off, so be prepared to handle any situation with hospitality and grace. I normally suggest to Bride's we put a phrase on the bottom of the response card "Adult only reception" and for a more unmanageable crowd it might even be necessary to say "Due to space limitations, please no children". Sometimes for out of town weddings you can suggest local babysitting services to try and hint to your guests their little ones are not invited. I've even known some Bride's with larger budgets to even host a private children's reception in another room with babysitters to ensure their party stays kid free. 


As far as ordering your invitations goes, we always suggest Bride's order 20% more than what they plan on sending. From the time you order invitations to the time you actually mail them, you could have acquired a few new friendships, moved into a new house and really hit it off with your neighbors and so on. Once they're ordered, you can't go back and ask for 10 more without it costing you a fortune. Having some extras for 'swing guests' and also as a keepsake is always best!


These situations are sometimes difficult to navigate but wedding industry professionals will know best and help guide you to the best of their ability. Happy planning and remember when dealing with the stresses of wedding planning what the day is ultimately about celebrating your love. Don't get caught up in the details!

Inspiration Series-Golf of Tantawan Bloom

I am often asked how I fight through creative block and what inspires me. So, here is an installment of my Inspiration Series. 

I've found that sometimes to break out of a NON-creative funk, it's best I go look at some work of other artists I admire. Being a traditional artist as well, It's fun for me to see what other artists use as their outlet, although I paint, and sketch my primary outlet for my art is through graphics, type and paper.  Sometimes to see how other creative minds put out their ideas, and the creations they create will jostle my own creative juices.

For this installment I chose Golf Srithamrong of Tantawan Bloom out of NYC! I recently worked with Golf on wedding we did in October together at Gotham Hall and his and his teams designs truly took my breath away. As you can see in the photos pictured below Golf is not afraid to do much of anything with flowers and he definitely takes the art of floral design to the next level. His versatility continues to amaze me. He can do a traditional centerpiece design for a Martha Stewart-esk Bride and then completely shift focus and do something so imaginative and modern for the cutting edge Bride. His reputation preceeds him and he was even named "The Orchid King of New York" by New York Magazine. To say his talent inspires me would be an understatement. His use of color, texture, and unusual floral variety pairings really expresses his love for what he does and it shows. Enjoy the images and may his work inspire you in the future! (to see some of his amazing creations from the wedding we did together in October. Click here for part 1. Click here for part 2.)

Color Inspiration in the form of stripes!

Every once and a while I like to do a color series blog where I share some of my favorite pictures and ideas from a certain color palette. Today I wanted to shift your attention to a pattern verses a color. Stripes are one of my personal favorite inspiration patterns, they are bold and such a statement piece when incorporated into any design. First introduced as a fashion trend, they slowly became popular for decades  in home design and have now recently taken a major role as the focal point at many weddings and events.