Designing the Invites (Part I)

We loved our save-the-dates so much, that we decided to hire Sarah Parrott to design our invitation suite as well. After stumbling across her blog, A Homegrown Wedding, I feel like she gets our vision even more now. We have very similar taste. Now, onto the invitations...

They will have about five parts to them. Five! I know, that's a lot. 1) An Invitation Card, 2) A Map, 3) An RSVP Card + Envelope, 4) A Hang Tag attached to raffia, and 5) some will have a Rehearsal Dinner invitation.

In designing these, I really want them to seem connected to our save-the-dates and feel similar to our inspiration stationary. One of the ways we're doing this is to include another drawing from my very talented husband-to-be, Mr. Cowboy Boot. If ya'll remember, he drew the horse that adorned our STD postcard. This time, the drawing is of a barn since that's what our reception will be. 

Mr. CB's barn drawing

And, while I tried to get Mr. CB to pen some barn swallows and more horses, illustrating wedding invitations doesn't make him very excited. Thus, I turned to Ms. Parrott to find some coordinating images to use throughout our suite. Here's what she came up with:

Image 1:

Image 2:

Image 3:

Image 4:

Image 5:

Image 6:

Image 7:

Which are your favorite? Which do you think go best with Mr. CB's barn?

A Homegrown Wedding

While planning out my invitations with Ms. Sarah Parrott (our stationer), I stumbled across her fairly new blog, Homegrown Wedding. First, I had no idea that she was engaged but now that I know she's scoping for inspiration, I'll be checking her site often. It's adorable. Here are some of my favorite inspiration photos she's collected:

Dahlias from Country Living

Decor from Farmhouse Wares

Inspiration from Earth Friendly Weddings

Sunflower setting from Country Living

Save-the-dates by Rifle Design

Natural hair; Photo by Jenna Carver

Wedding Sign Inspiration

Her plan is to use organic, local food, flowers from her garden, a homemade cake, and handmade decorations.

In what ways is your wedding homegrown?

A Whole Lotta Wedding Planning

This upcoming weekend, I've got a whole lotta wedding planning going on. A six-hour drive on Friday will pretty much put me into wedding wonderland for the following 48 to 60 hours. Saturday entails a hair trial and menu planning, Sunday involves on-site rehearsal dinner research, and Monday (yay for holidays from work!), I'll be testing out who I think will become my make-up artist. See some of the hair and make-up vendors work below!

Katelyn Simkin's Make-Up

There's something to be said for not getting married in New York or Los Angeles. While Denver (the nearest major city to my venue) is large, it's make-up artists and hair dressers are a bit more navigable than a city thirty-two times its size (yep, that's the Denver to New York ratio). While I tried Ms. Joey's Craigslist method of finding wedding-day beautifiers, it didn't quite work out. I got one reply and, alas, I wasn't excited by it.

Tasha Valenti's Hair Styling

(source)

So, I scoured Wedding Wire for some recommendations. Originally, I wanted someone who could do both hair and make-up. And while the girl I think will be doing my make-up can do hair too, she had a recommendation of a superb hair stylist since all five of my 'maids want to get their hair done.

A Before and After Make-Up Job by Katelyn Simkins

As I e-mailed a few various vendors, though, I began to see that the two-hour drive to my venue was creating some massive travel fees: $50 per hour or $125 round-trip. Yikes. Then I came across Ms. Katelyn Simkins who seems to have a real talent and charges .50 cents per mile (which ends up being about $40 each way). Not only that, she recommended Tasha Valenti from Denver's Look Beauty Boutique to do hair. Tasha agreed to jump in Katelyn's car (they're friends) and charge no extras for travel. So this weekend, I'll be giving them both a shot! And, since I likely won't be driving back up to Colorado before the wedding, I hope they work out.

Tasha Valenti doing hair for a photo shoot. She looks fun anyway!

I blogged about the Vogue cover make-up inspiration before, but besides that, I haven't shown you anything else! So, below, are the images I'll be handing to the respective stylists (note: while I have a few more on the hair side, here, I actually have some magazine tear-outs for make-up that I didn't scan in time to show you). All images below are from Project Wedding.

For hair, I'm back and forth between a low chignon and a pinned-back down look. So far, I've only seen one down-do that I like (below). I have stick-straight hair so romantic curls just aren't in the cards for me. We'll try both the bun and the down style, I'm sure.








For make-up, I'm going to a dewy look with hints of peach and gold:


Where did you find your inspiration? And your make-up and hair stylists for that matter?

Daily Candy: Wedding Edition

That's right, folks. My beautiful bridesmaid AC just sent me a link to Daily Candy's Wedding Edition. It doesn't look like you can get daily inspiration sent to your inbox like normal Daily Candy, but their site has some great tools and out-of-the-box inspiration. Mainly, they're covering: Attire, Food & Drink, Decor, Entertainment, Planning, and a few Real Weddings.


Within each of those categories, though, they have sub-categories: everything from funky, non-traditional bridal gowns to sexy lingerie, menus and cake alternatives, favor ideas and reception spaces, a planning checklist and off-the-beaten-path places to register, and first dance songs and playlists that don't include "Wind Beneath My Wings."

Here are my faves of their selections:

Jane Dress by Morgan Boszilkov

Dress by Saja NYC

Encrusted Crystals on Silk Chiffon by Jennifer Behr

Carlyle by Court & Plume

Party Dress by Tucker by Gaby Basora

Dress by Geren Ford

Sculptural Tablescape by Holly Flora in Los Angeles

Vintage Charm by Cherries in San Francisco

Bess and Ollie Cake Toppers by Ann Wood Handmade

What are your favorite online tools for practicality or for pure inspiration?

Top Ten Wedding Blogs

When I first got engaged, I had no idea that there were so many design decisions that went into a wedding. I had only been to about three weddings and I never noticed what sort of details and decor went into that wedding to make it unique or special. But then...I started surfing. Yep, that's right. Surfin' the 'net. More like the black hole; Once you start with one wedding blog, you get sucked in. Soon you're clicking on links to different design blogs which lead to more links which leads to complete design overload.

(Snippet and Ink)

There is so much inspiration out there, it's overwhelming. Do I want to go modern (wheatgrass in wooden boxes with Gerber Daisies "growing" out of them), romantic (lush hydrangea-and-rose bouquets teeming over vintage coffee cans), or will it be more whimsical (birch branches with birds hanging from them)? The options are endless and it can make you more confused that ever.

So, here's my guide to the ten blogs that make me swoon in my desk chair (when I should be working).

1) Snippet & Ink: Besides inspiration boards that are extremely helpful with choosing a color scheme for your event, Kathryn posts tons of Real Weddings that are often country-inspired. My favorite thing to do here is type a color into the search engine and see what boards pop up.

(Snippet and Ink)

2) 2,000 Dollar Wedding: More anti-design than design, this blog is a reminder about what's truly important about the wedding: friends, family, food, and dancing. This couple pulled off a secluded, wedding-in-the-mountains for 2 Gs (a hard feat). The blogger details her process and posts about good deals going on in the wedding world.

(The Dress: 2,000 Dollar Wedding)

3) Elizabeth Anne Designs: My real love for this blog is in their "Link Love" section. They have the most comprehensive list of wedding blogs (something you can surely lose yourself in for days). Just know you've been warned.

(DIY Daily: Sewn Doily Garland. Elizabeth Anne Designs)

4) Etsy Wedding: A selection of wedding-appropriate findings from Etsy.com--a treasure trove for handcrafted goods such as jewelry, soaps, invitations, dresses, anything really. As their tagline says: "Offbeat Finds for the Eclectic Bride." My favorite feature? The top ten vintage wedding finds of the week. 

(Handmade Scrapbook Tins: Etsy Wedding)

5) Once Wed: Whether you're looking for Anthropologie-style design inspiration or a pre-owned wedding dress, this is your hub. I actually found the dress I thought I wanted on this website for a lot less than the store was asking and in my size. You can find the gamut of designers here: Vera Wang, David's Bridal, Lela Rose, and Nicole Miller.

(Real Wedding: Once Wed)

6) Oh So Beautiful Paper: Out-of-the-box invitation inspiration. 'Nuff said.

(Today I Love by Oh So Beautiful Paper)

7) The Ritzy Bee Blog: Details, details, details. Flowers vessels, place cards, lighting, invitations, bowls, cupcakes, and buttons, and all of the little things that us brides-to-be just can't get enough of (but, most likely, no one else will notice). Sigh.

(A whimsical boutonniere: Ritzy Bee)

8) Style Me Pretty: Real weddings galore. All with creativity and soul. This is the blog that will make you want to design away--just so you're worthy enough of possibly being on it one day.

(Style Me Pretty)

9) WeddingBee: Duh.

10) Junebug Weddings: Wedding-centric, Junebug brings ideas in from outside the matrimonial realm which can be quite helpful in straying away from the norm. Flowers, food, fashion, and creativity in a nut shell.

(Navy, cream, and fall fruit palette: Junebug Weddings)

Which blogs have you turned to for design-inspiration?