simply smashing

Sweetest Save the Date EVER

Yes, I am slightly biased because I played a small part in this project, but I do believe this is the sweetest save the date concept that I've ever seen.

If you're not yet familiar with the incredible talent of Ursula and Eddie of Belvedere Stories, please take some time to peruse their newly launched website and blog for some adorable save the date videos and stunning wedding footage. This is not the first opportunity I've had to work with Ursula and Eddie (see their wedding invitations here and wedding-day photos here; stay-tuned for two other projects we partnered on in 2011) and each project just gets more creative and fun.

Working to achieve an "elegant-retro" styled presentation to accompany the save the date DVD and adorable calendar cookies, we opted for a two-sided printed pocket holder and a DVD label that gave a nod to the retro kitchen timer opening and closing the video. Here is the digital version of the holder and DVD label design we created:

...and here is a snapshot of the final product featured on the Belvedere Stories blog, where you should definitely take the time to watch Nathaly and Greg's adorable save the date video.

Real Wedding: Liz + John

Another of our 2010 weddings! Today's feature is Liz and Jon, whose lovely wedding was in August of last year. Working with Liz was an absolute pleasure. I loved her request for a color palette of deep purple and celery green, and her plans for a romantic summer garden wedding with vibrant color were very inspiring. Here are the preliminary designs that came about from our initial planning discussion:

 

Liz was drawn to the design element from one of the preliminaries and the text from another, so we did some tweaking and maneuvering to get to that perfect invitation.

 

For the final design, we chose to bring in a medium gray for the text to keep the look of the printed components of the invitations softer and more formal. Here is the final invitation design along with the rest of the coordinating components of the suite:

 
 

And here is how the final product came together. Raised printing on soft ivory cardstock, housed in a metallic purple bi-fold holder with celery green accent and satin ribbon. Liz also opted for digital calligraphy on her mailing envelopes for a fully coordinated look.

 

 

 
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{photo credit: Joseph Pessar Photographers}

 
{photo credit: Joseph Pessar Photographers} 

We also had the opportunity to create some items for the wedding itself, including paddle fan programs, dinner menus, and table numbers.

 
{photo credit: Joseph Pessar Photographers}

 
{photo credit: Joseph Pessar Photographers}

Thank you again for allowing us to play a part in your beautiful wedding, Liz + Jon!

 
{photo credit: Joseph Pessar Photographers}

Friday Snapshot

Busy, busy, busy week! A few rush projects, some fun non-wedding work, pushing some invitation designs closer to completion, searching for the perfect shade of silk ribbon... here's a glimpse of what went on in the studio this week!

Stay tuned for another 2010 real wedding on the schedule for sharing next week! 

Friday Snapshot

Florida sunshine, a teeny teeny glimpse of an amazing wedding shoot that I contributed to, and lots of vintage doilies inspiring a current design project... here's a little peek at what's been going on this week!

 

{image credits: amazing doily globe lamp by shannon south | frances janisch for country living magazine, created by sweet paul | menu photographed by jen kloss}

And happy, happy, happy wedding wishes go out to our clients Felicia and Sean who are getting married on Sunday!

Confetti

All I have to say about this dress is WOW. So beautiful and very inspiring in design and color.

 

Stunning dress from Monique Lhuillier's pre-fall 2011 collection. Thanks to The Sweetest Occasion (via La Dolce Vita) for sharing!

Friday Snapshot

New feature! Fridays are going to be for sharing some little snippets of what's been happening in the studio all week... designs in the works, projects in production, current inspiration, whatever was going on behind the scenes. Enjoy!

 
{image credits: police gazette | ties from thomas pink | dress from alberta ferretti resort 2011 via style.com}

 

Real Wedding: Monica + Ryan

Today I'm sharing some photos from one of my favorite 2010 wedding projects! Monica and Ryan tied the knot at the end of May last year, and we did a teeny sneak peek of their wedding invitations way back in this entry. Monica was sweet enough to share some of the photos from the wedding taken by Tony Gajate, so here's a trip from inspiration to invitation to the actual wedding!

 
{photo credit: Tony Gajate}

The inspiration guiding Monica's wedding plans was very vintage and ornate, with some whimsical touches, incorporating lots of different pastel tones (her plan was for the bridesmaids to each wear a different color dress). Her main inspiration was a box of the famous Ladurée macarons. For the preliminary invitation designs, I referenced lots of images - ranging from my personal photos of Paris and Versailles to some unique hotel interior design to vintage French ephemera. Here is the inspiration board that I pulled together after my initial consult with Monica:

 
{photo credits, clockwise from top left: AD Place in Venice | Annmarrie Kostyk | Jessica of Such Pretty Things | Poster Art House | Ian Stuart wedding gown via Wedding Magazine UK}

And here is the first round of invitation designs that came out of that:

 

Monica loved everything about one of the preliminary designs, and all we needed to do was tweak the color scheme slightly to get to the final version. For the enclosures, we used different components from the invitation in different ways so that the overall look was cohesive but not identical. Monica also requested a whimsical liner for the inner envelope that incorporated the pink stripes and some cute text.

 
At first I was a bit daunted by the number of colors Monica was working with in her palette, but it really all came together perfectly. Here is how the invitation came together in the end, printed on soft ivory cardstock, housed in a metallic lavender bi-fold holder with aqua accent and satin ribbons:

 
 
 

 
{photo credit: Tony Gajate}

We also had the pleasure of creating several items for the wedding itself, including tented escort cards, dinner menus, and - a first for us! - cigar labels!

{photo credit: Tony Gajate}

{photo credit: Tony Gajate}

{photo credit: Tony Gajate} 

 
{photo credit: Tony Gajate}

It was such a delight for us to play a small part in such a beautiful wedding. Thank you again, Monica and Ryan!

{photo credit: Tony Gajate}

better late than never, right?

You can now (finally) find us on Facebook and Twitter. I'm not sure how successful I'll be at keeping up with everything, but please feel free to become a fan or a follower if you'd like!

Smashing Cards on Facebook!

Smashing Cards on Twitter!

font fling

I'm having a bit of a fling right now with vintage-inspired unicase fonts, like Brian Jaramillo's Opula

 
{feature sample courtesy of veer.com}

While heavily flourished scripts will always be my first love, it's nice to mix things up every now and then, right? :)

Compared to last year's work which mostly trended uber-romantic in its style (as you'll see over the next few weeks when I share more of it), this year most of our clients are interested in cleaner, more modern designs with bolder typography, so I've had the opportunity to venture into a category of fonts that I haven't really explored before. What fun!

Real Wedding: Kelly + Matt

Custom work from 2010! Hurrah! It's about time, right? :)

As an extra treat for our blog followers for waiting so patiently to see photos of our recent work and our clients' beautiful weddings, I'm going to start doing a little peek inside the process - sharing more about the inspiration behind our designs and some of the unused drafts that helped push us to that perfect final product for each couple.

 
{photo credit: Imagine Studios}

First up from 2010 are Kelly and Matt whose wedding was on February 27th of last year (happy belated first anniversary, K+M!). Kelly was planning an unabashedly romantic wedding and wanted the invitation to be classic and traditional but with that same romantic feel. The focus was on incorporating the lace from Kelly's gorgeous wedding gown into the stationery. In the end, that was achieved in both the design and the layout or the invitation. Kelly was kind enough to share some of the photos from her wedding, taken by the talented photographers at Imagine Studios.

 
{photo credit: Imagine Studios}

With Kelly's request of lace-inspired imagery, a classic pairing of fonts, and a flourished monogram directing the process, here are the earliest invitation designs...

 

Once we zeroed in on the band of lace in one of the original designs, it was simply a matter of determining how and where to incorporate it...

 

Here is the final design of the suite in digital form: 
And here is how it came together as a finished product, printed on a linen cardstock with a metallic gold accent, housed in a soft cream textured cotton blend cardstock tri-fold holder with ivory satin ribbons:

 

 

{photo credit: Imagine Studios}

Sealed with a wide ivory satin ribbon and vintage lace overlay with a printed monogram tag:

 

{photo credit: Imagine Studios}

We also had the chance to work on some items for the wedding itself, including ceremony programs and dinner menus:

 

 

 
{photo credit: Imagine Studios}

 
{photo credit: Imagine Studios}

Thank you for the opportunity to work together and for sharing your beautiful wedding with us, Kelly and Matt!

 
{photo credit: Imagine Studios}