project: a photobooth strip garland i made last night after going through stacks of pics... all you need is string & some colorful japanese washi tape. would make a lovely party or wedding decoration, dontcha think? :)

last wednesday, i got a very cool & totally unexpected shout-out from brides.com: inclusion in their "10 best wedding invites of 2010" story! so, because of that and as part of my year-end purge, i thought i'd share one last tidbit from our wedding: the invitation suite design (and then, i'm calling it a wrap!)

the how-to for those on a real budget:
we wanted to keep the entire wedding artful, handmade, modern & simple, all on a very serious budget. inspired both by nature and the city (we call both the midwest & nyc home), we wanted the wedding & invitations to reflect that.
i started making little watercolor blots, not knowing exactly where i was going with them. i scanned some of my favorites into photoshop and realized that they made great mountains. one of my prized possessions is a drawing of mountains by husband, so i knew right away that it was the perfect image for us.
we hired the amazing betsy dunlap to do the calligraphy. she sent us a digital file of our names in her beautiful hand-written style - a very affordable way to have a customized look without the custom price! i assembled the image, names & text in photoshop.
after a long search, i found a reasonably priced printshop in soho - soho reprographics. i gave them my files, and they digitally printed & cut the invitations - about 100 invitations for under $100. i was so happy with their price, paper, & print quality, especially after many disappointing visits with some very expensive (not to mention, cheap-looking) "wedding" printers.
we included a small rsvp card that i ordered online via overnight prints for under $25. we took a small instant photo (fuji instax) of the manhattan skyline from our neighborhood in brooklyn. the photo became the front of the rsvp card, and i added the online rsvp info on the back. i printed the cards two-to-a-postcard and cut them in half myself.the invitation, rsvp card, and a small square of matching tissue paper were tucked into a kraft paper envelope (about $50 at jam paper) and sealed with matching washi tape. betsy also hand-addressed each envelope, and i had a custom return-address stamp made in the same font as our invitations (also from soho repro, about $30).the mountain design was featured throughout the wedding - on programs, fabric, signage... i got lots of mileage out of those little watercolor blots! for more of our wedding, clickie here.

now, back to the freaks & geeks marathon and plotting my new-year-all-veggie-all-the-time-run-yoga-go-to-sleep-early-read-a-book-and-make-shit-happen plan...

well... we're packing up the apartment. it is very bittersweet. we are leaving brooklyn after living in the same neighborhood (same block, for me!) for 7 1/2 years. although we are excited about the change (& we'll be back in the city for work nearly two months out of the year!), breaking up with new york has proven hard to do...

we are headed to the midwest, and i have a short list of new yorkie things i'd really like to do before we check out of this city for good:

• visit the new creatures of comfort store in noho
• visit printed matter in chelsea
• buy a few small dishes at the muji store
• eat at luke's lobster (this is non-negotiable!!!)
• eat one last really good sushi meal
• see the tim barber "burning bridges" show

so, back to packing. i'll leave you with this pic of me & grant from a sweet wedding we attended last weekend. our friend, noelle (one half of the identical twin duo extraordinaire, hello again girls), married sweet patrick. the wedding featured lots of cute little details (the bride wore a cool braided shrug from etsy!). i'll let you all know when she gets her pics online - it's worth a peek!

until i resurface...

our wedding invitations were featured in a "100 layer cake" post last month. alongside two of my faves: saipua & east side bride. i mean, gah.
"gah" meaning "thanks, ladies!!!"

without further ado.... OUR WEDDING PICS! but you have to click over to the lovely a desert fete to see them. as if that's a chore! :)

well, bloggerettes & bloggerdudes (are there really any dudes that read my blog???) - i am about to disappear into that otherly world we call "fashion week video production" where time & space (and certainly BLOGS, or mine, anyway) don't exist... i shall reemerge with wedding pictures to share and hopefully some sneaky backstage iphone snapshots (of gaunt, rich models & b-listers)! :)
'til then, here's a peek at our wedding pics that i have finally started to sift through...

PROCESSIONAL:


RECESSIONAL:

i'm waiting to post wedding pics until i can gather more together... we may even retake a few portraits in our nuptials attire... until then, here's my shoes! :)

i can't help it. i'm so anxious to get our wedding photos that i'm posting pictures of trash (and the beautiful cacti from our reception tables).

waiting for the pics to roll in. 'til then...

it was a beautiful night. i'm a happy girl. pics to follow...

tie dye. :)crepe myrtle & diana lens. :)scored a rockin' masonic ring of my great-grandfather's while trolling thru the family jewels. :)

gathering up the raw materials...

For our wedding reception, I really want an artful alternative to the old-photos-in-frames-on-a-table, as well as something that will look good (& fill space!) in the big empty gallery... I've decided to do a photo wall with old family photos & pictures of us through the years. Some images that I keep referring to:

(L to R:)
• For the life of me, I can't find the source of these top two photos, although I'm fairly certain they both came from sneak peeks on Design*Sponge
• The photo wall from Cheri & David's endlessly inspiring wedding party
• My newest obsession: Happy Tape

As the countdown to our wedding begins, I thought I would share some inspiration pics for the upcoming nuptials. First up: mobiles & garlands & streamers, oh my!


(L to R:)
• driftwood mobiles via NYTimes & Paul Noll
• confetti system garland & merci fabric streamers via montmartre
• tsumori chisato paris store mobiles via montmartre & more merci streamers via dwell studio

well, we're officially hitched! now, onto the wedding (next month!)...

the bride wore mociun, sigerson morrison, grandmother's timex, st. kilda rings, homemade bouquet...
i'm pretty sure the groom wore mostly uniqlo, vans, homemade herbal boutonniere, and a 1903 masonic ring from erie basin.

Oh, Saipua bouquet... is it too late for us?

Correction 6/10/10: Oops. Pic #2 (pulled from my deep vat of archived wedding inspiration photos) isn't actually from Saipua. It was handmade by this lovely bride.

Would love to have my own little Brooklyn shop one day - house plants in the windows, studio in the back...
A little garden...Much like the St. Kilda jewelry store in Park Slope where my wedding rings were crafted...

St. Kilda designer, Nora, also keeps a great blog.

I did see a quaint little storefront for rent yesterday, near the waterfront...

Holy wedding garland! I just received the "palette" for our Confetti System garland that I ordered for the wedding. It's goooorgeous! I cannot wait to see it completed. I have been a big fan of their products for a while now, and they've worked with a few of my faves: Opening Ceremony, Beach House (see below). I'm so excited to know such a beautiful & artful piece will be part of our special day.
(I can't believe I'm saying things like "our special day". What's happening to me?)
Confetti System for Beach House: