Inspiration Series - Ronnie Renaud @ RW Chocolate Fountains

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. All photography images courtesy of RW Chocolate Fountain Rentals.

Featured in this installment is the oh-so-sweetly talented Ronnie Renaud of RW Chocolate.

At The 2u Collection we have been fortunate enough to indulge (inspiration enough) in the simply fantastic creations of this master confectioner & chocolatier extraordinaire. We like to consider ourselves "official" taste-testers, and let me tell you there is nothing to complain about! The only challenge? Putting these delectable dessert treats down! Solution?... We simply refrain from having scales in our creative space..... *wink*

Ronnie sets RW Chocolate apart from other industry professionals with her strong consideration for not only taste but the overall event aesthetic as well. It's not just chocolate flowing down a fountain, it's an adorned focal piece that fits. Truffles and cakes  are carefully arranged to compliment and enhance. You just haven't experienced sinful indulgence, until your lips are glitzed with glitter from her infamous Disco Balls. I'd have to say it's the fun and whimsy of it all that inspires me most. She also does amazing chocolate molds. You can see in the picture below! I had her make these for my best friends baby shower and they were a huge hit!!

I hope that you are lucky enough to enjoy not only these images, but her edible artistry as well.  May her work inspire you to 
break free!

It's all in the Details!

(ALL STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIGA PHOTOGRAPHY)

I often have brides ask me how do I create a full wedding package with each piece unique, yet they all tie together.  Well, I'm going to share with you a little secret. It's all about the details. And this doesn't just go for your stationery, incorporating similar details throughout your weddings, in the flowers, in the stationery, in the cake, and in the dress. (Of course I know there is more to a wedding then these things, I'm just using these things as examples)

As we all know, every bride wants to have an AMAZING event that could grace the pages of a magazine. My first suggestion would be to get a planner.  There are several reasons for this. Planners have experience with tons of different vendors with different styles. And they can help you put together a team of creatives with styles that will compliment each other and give you the dream you are imagining. Plus, any good planner will help you design your wedding from the furniture at the reception to the church or venue you get married in. As well as take the stress, that comes with getting married, off of you so you can truly relax and enjoy every minute of your engagement and wedding experience.  

Okay, now that I have gotten that out. It's time to discuss the details, since my expertise is everything paper and stationery, I will use one of my favorite stationery designs to illustrate what I'm trying to say.  

The bride loved the feather element we incorporated in the wedding invitation (see wooden box above) but we didn't want feathers to overpower the reception or the stationery, so they were incorporated into the cake and the coloring book above we illustrated for the children at the wedding.  

PS. another nice PERSONAL touch was the illustration of the coloring book was the love story 

of the bride and groom. Personal Touches can really help the overall tone of your wedding and make the stationery of your event really move your guests.

You can easily create an amazing wedding experience, you just need to keep in mind you need to sprinkle similar design elements throughout. For example As you can see in the Main image at the top, the bride really liked the design elements of pearls, lace and feathers. Now, something to keep in mind is A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY.  Mistakes a lot of brides make is they take their favorite design element and then WAAAAAAYYYYY overdue it.. 

My advice is you pick at least 2, NO MORE Than 3 design elements and then sprinkle them throughout your wedding or your wedding stationery.  If your instinct tells you you're using something too much. Than you probably are and should dial it back.  My suggestion would be to decide what the feeling is you want to convey at your wedding, and focus on that feeling more than the parts and pieces of your wedding. For example, the images I'm using, this bride wanted a romantic, elegant feeling. Focusing on this, is what helps me in every design project I take on. 

The Iridescent Wooden Invitation Box inspired these table numbers, the guests only saw the wood texture in the invitation, so it was a nice detail in the reception table numbers to 

remind them of how they felt when they received that invitation.

PS. we filled the glass vases with pearls, as that was detail throughout the 

wedding the bride wanted to see.

As you can see, buy the above pictures, we loved the lace and pearl elements but didnt' want to go overboard with them so one pearl embleshined the passed appetizer trays, the reception menus, and the church programs, small lace borders we used just on the programs and the appetizer tray cards. 

When I feel that I'm struggling with a particular element of the stationery set as a whole, I step back take a minute and go back to the feeling we are trying to create. A perfect example of this is the escort cards from this wedding stationery. I wanted to do something that went with the other stationery pieces, but didn't look exactly like them. So I thought.. ROMANCE & ELEGANCE, what I came up with is below, they were a big hit and really added to the romance of the cocktail hour.

Glass votives with lit candles and translucent vellum created these unique escort cards, and although they didn't incorporate pearls, lace or feathers, but it really added to the romantic feel, 

along with matching the other stationery pieces.