About a year ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet wedding photographer and photo journalist Neil Cowley from Make Love Real. He took interest in my Bespoke Stationery designs, the story behind my personal wedding stationery, and how I got involved in the wedding invitation design business. In his free time, Neil put together a beautiful photo montage with photos from our meeting. At long last, Neil launched the storytellers series on his website yesterday!
While the entire story behind me and Mr. D’s courtship didn’t make it into the photo montage that he put together, (you’ll get a hint of our story from the photos I selected in this post) what did get included was our conversation about wedding blogs. There are so many more wedding ideas now that there has been an explosion of wedding blogs on the internet. I think all this added information has put more pressure on brides to plan a “perfect” blog-worthy wedding day.That being said – it’s even more important to take a step back and plan your wedding to reflect your personality as a couple. My advice: don’t follow in the footsteps of the latest, greatest trend you saw on the internet. It is important to be true to yourself and your personality as a couple when planning your wedding. As you can imagine, I believe that Wedding invitations are the perfect place to tell your story and set the tone for your celebration.
For my entire life, I have always made collages and sent envelope art. I couldn’t imagine sending out our wedding invites without decorating the envelopes! I wanted our wedding guests to know that in my case, I caught the bouquet at my best girlfriends wedding less than 3 days before Mr. D popped the question. The old wives-tale came true! Those images ended up on the front of my bridal shower invitation.
That is just one example. I could go on and on about the designs I created for our wedding day. Each printed piece told a little bit about our love story. It’s true. There wasn’t a “theme” or even a color story for our stationery – or our wedding for that matter! Instead, it was the little details about us that were woven into our suite that told our story.It worked. How, you ask? Because each piece reflected us. Remember: It’s your wedding, your story and your celebration. Be YOU! Click the image below to watch the montage, hear some of our conversation and learn a little bit more about ABCD Designs Bespoke.

6 Comments » Posted by ABCDDesigns / ABCD Design Inspiration and ABCD Designs Bespoke Stationery and Collage and Envelope Art and Sealed with a Kiss and Uncategorized and Wedding Planning

{Wedding decor images via Matthew Robins Design, Artfool by photographer Lilian Haidar}

7 Comments » Posted by ABCDDesigns / Color Palette and How did I not know about this when I was engaged? and If I were to tie the knot again tomorrow *with Mr.D of course* I would... and Uncategorized and Wedding Decor and Wedding Planning

What am I doing “shopping” for crystal when I haven’t even completed the set of Baccarat I started?! Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love our crystal pattern. But boy-oh-boy, have I got a problem with loving crystal and collectables! I have to admit that this blue Hungarian Crystal Stemware has currently got my full attention.

Quick, will someone buy this set of Blue Crystal and let me live vicariously through you?

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So you all know that Mr. D and I traveled to Santa Fe a few weeks ago. The trip was planned around the wedding of one of my dear girlfriends. Monique has a passion for paper, the cooking and fashion. Can you say two peas in pod?
1) She is the type of chef who will forget to add the sugar when baking cupcakes and try to stir it in once the batter has already made it into the individual cups. (Yes, I once caught her doing this with a mini-2 bite cheese cake recipe I gave her.)

2) She is the type of Bride who says “Why would I pay someone to do the flowers? I will order them wholesale, ship them from Thailand to my destination wedding. I will simply arrange them the day before I get married, no problem.”

The Virgo *control-freak* in me thinks:

How could I ensure that the flowers would arrive safe, un-wilted?

How can I trust that I would actually have time the day before I get married to fuss with such “flower” activities?

Heck, I know how to design arrangements. I have worked in the field and STILL wouldn’t attempt to do my own wedding flowers!

The day before the wedding I arrived to “help” with the flowers. There was no filler and no plan for the arrangements. Just a pile of orchids and 24, 8 inch high glass cube shaped containers, and a pair of scissors. I popped on my “floral designer” hat, sourced some “filler” for the vases and got to arranging.

Both the wedding ceremony and reception were held at La Posada. It was one of the most lovely wedding celebrations I have ever been to. The menu at the reception was never-ending. So unbelievably delectable. We started with Pasole. Then they brought out a crisp salad with walnuts and goat cheese. We cleansed our palate with a little tequila glacé. The next course was Quail stuffed with cornbread and roasted peppers. And that was followed up by a melt-in-your-mouth Filet served at the perfect temperature = the crescendo. AMAZING.

Thanks to Triple8Photography who were sweet enough to share the photos in this post. They did a wonderful job! Check out their work here.

P.S. This is where I should take a lesson from the Bride. Let go. I have no doubt that her why-worry mindset will keep her healthy into old age. Seriously, she is so relaxed. So.Not.Stressed.

8 Comments » Posted by ABCDDesigns / Personal and Uncategorized and Wedding Decor and Wedding Planning

Who says you must buy your bridesmaid dresses from a bridal store? Let’s think outside the box for a moment. When I saw the Wonderland Dress in the Peruvian Collection Holiday catalogue, my first thought was that it would make a beautiful bridesmaid dress. Can’t you imagine the ceremony with candles a-glow, these dresses studding the altar and catching the light just-so? Oh my goodness-gorgeous!
Throw a Baby Alpaca Chevron Lace Cardigan on top. Sweet, no? I think this is a wonderful option for a vintage style Winter wedding.

6 Comments » Posted by ABCDDesigns / Shopping and Uncategorized and Wedding Planning and What to wear?