Wedding Planning: Save the Dates

I am happy to report that wedding planning is now in full effect. My fiancée and I decided a couple of weeks ago to plan our wedding in Europe,  Summer 2012.  First thing’s first when planning a destination wedding:  Give your guests as much notice as humanly possible that you are abdicating tradition and fleeing Toronto in pursuit of a romantic, coastal/beach/vineyard/mountainous/palatial destination somewhere Europe.  Sounds more appealing to me!

Back to the save-the-dates.  Selecting save-the-date cards was a simple process, contrary to what I thought would ensue.  I thought I would spend hours browsing all my favourite stationery sites, unable to choose from all the magnificent designs, but I was under a bit of a time crunch to find something, see a proof, have it shipped to Toronto and mailed out before September, so I started with Minted.com and ordered a set without looking anywhere else.  We narrowed it down to four choices from four very talented designers:  The R Studio, Marabou Design, Please Reply Designs, and Ana Gonzalez (i can’t find her site).  I”m not going to spill the beans and tell you which invitation I chose, but…. stay tuned.

#1

via Minted.com by R Studio

#2

via Minted.com by Marabou Design

#3

via Minted.com by Please Reply Designs

#4

via Minted.com by Ana Gonzalez

 

 

 

Ikea Wedding

Lo Bjurulf, Swedish stylist with Agent Bauer teamed up with Ikea to create some inspirational wedding scenes. And who says you have to spend a lot of money on a wedding or an event for it to look fabulous?  Below are some of my favourites from the portfolio of wedding scenes.  Each one is more romantic than the next. It’s hard to believe that Ikea products fit so well into a wedding scene.

purple frames

Another weekend spent in reno-prep madness.  This time it was a three hour ordeal at Ikea to purchase a kitchen.  I love Ikea and I am really happy about the kitchen my boyfriend and I chose however, the standing, and waiting and checking and revising and screaming children running around and random people moving in on the computer you have been hard at work on for an hour, I would rather pass on.  Those are the things that make Ikea less than enjoyable.  However, for Scandinavian design, I am willing to make a small sacrifice.   

How Ikea relates to the topic of this post is that I received yet another engagement phone call while at Ikea this weekend, this time from a close family friend announcing her engagement where she sealed the deal with a canoe.  I think this is my fifth engagement post in two months.  I guess the warm weather brings the romance out in couples.  Keeping up with tradition on this blog, to honour the couple, I have chosen some inspiring, wonderful photos from other parties that I hope will awe and inspire. 

Below is a creative example of eye catching decor/table cards/gifts that was executed really well because the couple chose a bold colour story for their wedding theme.   The picture frames and messages inside were selected match the same monochromatic colour palette as the flowers, desserts and candy.  What a lovely looking event. 

via green wedding shoes

via green wedding shoes

via green wedding shoes

via green wedding shoes

BED: Matthew Robbins

Matthew Robbins is very deserving of a Beautiful Event Design feature on Out of the Event and is a name you should familiarize yourself with  if you are into learning from the best to inspire your own events.

A bit about Matthew: His educational background in art not only complements and illuminates his floral and event designs but has also helped him create the successful event design company which runs with a team stacked with talent in New York.  To highlight some of Matthew’s successes and accolades, Matthew is a regular contributor on the Bride’s Guide and has been featured countless times in Martha Stewart’s Weddings magazine as well as on the show and has worked on events around the US and the globe. 

To get some insight into what makes a great event and what inspires Matthew to do what he does, check out this great interview with Matthew Robbins on blog, The Bride Cafe here, or you can check out his posts on the Bride’s Guide here.   I have some pictures to share with you but they really do not do his work justice and I would recommend browsing his portfolio on the company website here.

via the bride cafe blog

 

via the last detail blog

via the bride guide by darcy miller

 

via the bride cafe

via NY Daily News

Cori Cook Floral Design

I have not done a BED post in a while and I thought this person who I stumbled across tonight was deserving.  Denver, Colorado’s Cori Cook has an eye for colour, events and photography.  I stumbled across her blog this evening and after giving it good read through, I decided that she get’s some exposure for her work and her passion for flowers!

What particularly stood out for me was her coordination and planning of the lime and cantaloupe colour themed wedding she did. See post here.  I have included some highlights below but you can read more about here event and floral design on her blog here.

via cori cook

via cori cook

via cori cook

Apple and a Peach

via icecreamsocial

When I read about this post on blog, icecreamsocial today, I had to share it! 

The designers and the couple getting married picked symbols that charmingly (is that a word?) represented where each person is from, New York (apple) and Georgia (peach).   I like witty humour in invitations.  Not something you see very often.  Clearly much thought and ideation went into creating the finished product.  I think any guest who received the apple + peach invitation would certainly stop, think and smile and look forward to the event!

If you are not familiar with Icecream Social, it is a visual communications design studio duo that produces beautiful paper inviations in New York.  They have a shop on etsy and a blog if you want to see more.

J+D Wedding

I attended the beautiful wedding of two friends last night.  With a lot of thought and love put into the affair, it had the right components and made for a warm, fun, entertaining evening at Vaughan Estates in Toronto. The colour palettewas a combination of pale colours that were depicted in small floral arrangements around the tables and in the bridesmaid bouquets.  The bridesmaids all wore different combinations of black and white which I thought looked pretty cool.

The food was great- hors d’oeuvres were a true international feast ranging from a Thai chicken skewers, to bruchetta, mini hamburgers, Vietnamese fresh rolls and a baguette with brie and pear.  Dinner was a simple three course meal with a goat cheese and caramelized onion salad, chicken and asparagus with potatoes and a trio of mousse, creme brule and biscotti for dessert.  Following dessert the couple put out a great spread of cakes, mini gelatto frescos, squares, fruit and candy.  I think everyone was stuffed by the end of the evening.  I didn’t get the name of the caterer but when I do, I will update this post.

The band played a mix of Motown, top 40 and romantic ballads and all the speeches were really well thought out and delivered.  I heard comments from people saying it was one of the best weddings they had been to in a while.  It’s simplicity and authenticity made it truly enjoyable- a reflection of the happy couple.

Wedding Cupcakes

Great new blog about cupcakes is on the web called the cupcake decorations club.  It’s a how to blog about decorating, presentation and troubleshooting everything to do with cupcakes.  Looks like the author has been writing since Jan 09. 

This picture came from the site.  I love how symmetrical the cupcakes are displayed in this picture.

The white monogramed “m” on the lime background really pops against the purple ribbon on each tier.

photo via the cupcake decorations club

myhkwedding.com

I lived in Hong Kong for a year and there is no shortage of parties and event resources in the city.

Should you ever have the opportunity to plan a wedding or party in the city that never sleeps, I would recommend checking out www.myhkwedding.com 

The site has tones of resources on flowers, venues, dresses, gifts and anything else you should need to pull off a successful party.

I would recommend looking at the florals from Kim Chan Flowers and Gary Kwok Flowers.

Daily Candy Wedding Site

I am so excited.  One of my favourite style/food/design/travel websites expanded into the event/wedding forum! 

If you consider yourself a stylish, culture loving, modern, jet setter, then Daily Candy.com  is a site you are  well acquainted with. 

(via runway to retail)

Now you have another reason to surf their site with the creation of their new, Daily Candy Weddings that recently launched and is fantastic.

(via Mindy Weiss)

http://www.dailycandy.com/weddings/