Nearly Newlywed Introducing Accessories

Ok, is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen?? The wonderful ladies over at Nearly Newlywed sent me this custom drawing of me in my wedding dress. The talented Jennifer Vallez creates these custom sketches perfect for any bride after her wedding day. (Get one for yourself)

So I've told you all about Nearly Newlywed before but I can't help but sharing all the new goodies they have added! And by that, I mean ACCESSORIES! Oh ya, tons of glittery, glitzy, crystal amazingness can now be found on the same site that you find your perfect wedding dress for less. Here are a few of my faves, which are your faves? Shop Now.

Photographer Shot List

One month countdown to my wedding! It is getting close and left on my checklist are the fine details. Not necessities, but the fun stuff!

My wise sister-in-law-to-be, who just got married, recommended I put together a shot list for my photographer. Something I wouldn't have thought of, but a great idea. Seeing all the beautiful shots out there, I know I want to make a list so I'm 100% happy when I get my photos back.

Here are some I definitely want in the mix...

Closeups of me with the bouquet.

Sources: left, right

The details.

Source

The ring bearer and flower girl getting excited for their walk down the isle.

Source

Sun behind.

Sources: left, right

Cute candids.

Source

Cool shots featuring the sky at dusk.

Source

Did you do a shot list for your photographer?

Statement Necklaces for your Wedding

I do love a good statement piece and right now J. Crew is filled with them! Perfect pieces to match with a wedding dress, don't you think? Crystal Compilation Necklace is my favorite in the multi-color. It is my new favorite statement piece! Happy Shopping.

SHOP: Oliver Pendant, Crystal Compilation Necklace, Crystal Floral Statement

Wood + Gold Bar Styling

A little gold sparkle and wood detailing create the perfect bar area for a party. Thanks so much to Jason & Anna Photography for getting together for a little bar fun while they were visiting San Francisco.

Picking up details

Long engagements get sort of a bad rap. When Erik and I set a wedding date nearly 20 months after our engagement, people thought I'd be worried about losing momentum or that I'd feel like I'd be waiting forever. While there are moments of "lets just do this already", I'd say there are many benefits of having a long engagement. One of the best things has been picking up some small details for the day as I see them and am inspired. Its been fun getting a little thing in the mail here or there, plus shelling out a few dollars here and there gives me time to save up in between. Plus, you can score clearance if you time the purchase perfectly.

So far I've picked up these fun items:

Source: Furbish Studio

Source: ABJ Glassworks

Source: Jason Wu for Target (No longer available)

Its so exciting to start gathering little details while the big stuff is still in the works. I've been using all my restraint to not get carried away with buying too much stuff we don't need, but when its something I love and a great deal (I snagged the Jason Wu dresses for the flower girls at $16 a pop), its nice to have those small things crossed off the list!

Sarah Seven Runway Show

 

We love showcasing the latest Sarah Seven collections at The Lab Event. This year we brought in the big guns and had none other than the top fashion bloggers of San Francisco model this collection! And boy did they bring it.  Huge thanks to Sarah Seven for creating so many beautiful dresses and Em The Gem for shooting!

Biggest thanks to these amazing gals for coming out and modeling in our runway show! It was a blast. (Also, if you haven't checked out their blogs just yet, make sure you do! They are all so good.)

Gal Meets Glam, Angela Tafoya of Refinery 29, City Sage, This Time Tomorrow, Natalie - Dressed, In the City With Crystalin, Pancake Stacker, Thirty Five Inch Inseam, Vmac + Cheese, Like Fresh Laundry, Britt & Whit, Kitties & Couture, Stylenik, The Drifter and the Gypsy.

Style It: Ceremony Sign

Ceremony signs are one of my favorite wedding details. I think they are one of the most special decorations you could have on your wedding day. Whatever you choose to do with that altar, make it a true reflection of you. I get lots and lots of emails about my ceremony sign, and even more emails about those fabulous doors. So how do you achieve the look? And where does it all come from? So here it goes!

Style It:

It is so easy to style a fabulous ceremony sign for your wedding day. Check out what you need to make it happen!

• Sign - $200 from Etsy. (Or make it)
• Doors - $50 each for rental from Milkglass Vintage Rentals (San Francisco Bay Area Local). Otherwise you can find them at most antique stores and faires.

Invitation Design

Today I get to show off my invitations! I worked with graphic designer and E&I blogger alum, Kimberly Roth, to create my invitation suite. I love how they turned out.

Along the way, I feel that I really solidified the vision I had for my wedding. We pulled inspiration from the location - Mount Hood, Oregon - by featuring the mountain, the muted lavender color from the lavender fields in the area, and the overall whimsical feel.

    

Photo credit: Kimberly Roth

I also got a chance for some DIYing. Kimberly designed and coordinated having stamps made for our 'belly band' and return address. During a visit to Paper Source, I realized embossing with white would show up much better on the Kraft paper than just a white stamp. Embossing is really fun and easy (but time consuming when you are doing it for 100+ invitations).

Here's what I used:

- Stamp

- Stamp pad

- Embossing powder

- Heat tool

Once I got the hang of it, it went by pretty fast. I would stamp three at a time, apply the powder, lay them out on the table (until it filled the table) and then use the heat tool on all of those. Much faster than doing the whole process for one at a time. Two of my bridesmaids came over one night to help and that really speeded things up. Note to self: make sure cat doesn't get to them before you set the powder with the heat. :-)

After embossing, I folded each belly band around the invitation and secured it with a strip of double sided tape.

Photo credit: me

Photo credit: Kimberly Roth

A Pattern Project

  Today I'm so excited to share one of the first tangible projects I've worked on during wedding planning.  A couple years ago I met an awesome surface designer at Alt Summit, and when I started wedding planning I knew she would be the perfect person to collaborate with on a visual that could help set the tone for DIY projects. We sent Tammie Bennett our inspiration board in the hopes she could design us a pattern that could be used for paper and fabric components of the event.

 Source: The Ravenna Girls

 Tammie took our inspiration board and ran with it. She pulled out those colors she knew we loved the most: turquoise, corals, and orange, with a neutral backdrop. She pulled out the midcentury vibe and also some of the decor that I told her we planned to use in the space: lights and garland. After a few weeks of work on the pattern she sent me three preliminary options:

Source: Tammie Bennett Design in partnership with The Ravenna Girls

So great, right? I instantly loved them all but for different reasons. In addition to the items from our inspiration board that I thought she'd incorporate, she also added in the playfulness of the paper airplanes which are a nod to our long distance relationship. After looking at them with Erik and thinking about all the different things we'd hoped to use this for, we felt like Option 1 was a little too whimsical (I almost felt like it looks like a kids birthday party), and Option 3 was a little too bold. Option 2, with a few more revisions would be great and versatile.

We went through a couple more design tweaks, removing the hearts and diamonds which I thought were a little too "cute", and infusing more of the dark gray for a richer look. With eager anticipation, I opened the final awesome pattern that Tammie sent me:

Source: Tammie Bennett Design in partnership with The Ravenna Girls

We absolutely love it. Tammie delivered us an Adobe Illustrator file, which means that we can scale the whole pattern as needed and also separate out individual components if need be. I'm looking forward to uploading it to Spoonflower to have some fabric printed for a few projects, have some wallpaper made to use as a photobooth background, and some gift wrap to use for bridal party gifts. We're also using this as inspiration for stationery and decor pieces, including our invitations, ceremony backdrop, chairs and the reception, and cake toppers. Can't wait to show those all to you as they come to fruition!

{The Lab Event} Poetic Whimsy

This past January the fruits of our year-long planning labor came to life at The Lab Event, a totally awesome bridal experience unlike any other. Myself alongside Erin of Bustle Events and Yasmin of Floral Theory produced an event filled to the brim with inspiration for brides. 6 amazing teams of vendors put together mock weddings showcasing the very best of their work.

This team was assigned an inspiration board entitled "Poetic Whimsy" and boy did they hit the nail on the head with their amazing ideas. Shot by Volatile Photography and designed by A & B Creative, they didn't miss a beat when it came to the details. Twigss did a phenominal job on the florals, (I mean, look at that bouquet!) and Batter Bakery brought it as always with a dessert bar is way too good for our own waistlines.

The entire shoot was featured on Ruffled Blog. Make sure to check it out!

Photographer: Volatile Photo / Event Design: A + B Creative / Event Producer: The Lab Event / Floral Design: Twigss / Event Venue: Cline Cellars / Desserts: Batter Bakery / Vintage Rentals: Milkglass Vintage Rentals / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Lighting: Creative Lighting Design / Paper Goods: Little Miss Press