Life. Love. Lipstick.

Wedding Paper Divas, one of my favorite invitation sites, has launched some new items – Destination Wedding invitations and Moving Announcements.  I was sent samples of the collections, and I have to say – they are quite lovely!  Divas truly makes some of the best wedding stationary available, outside of letterpress (however, they also have a small letterpress selection!).  

I received 5 different Destination Wedding invitations.  All are nice, but there are certainly standouts.

There is the Wine Country invitation (5″ x 7″), which I received in the color cabernet.  The color is rich, a lovely mix between scarlet and raspberry.  The vine motif and lettering are in white, and I love the contrast.  This would be amazing for a vineyard wedding or any wedding in the fall.  

The Seaside Elegance (4″ x 9.25″) came in wintergreen.  I like the polish of the white border, and the simple starfish motif sets the tone for the planned event.  This would obviously be amazing for an elegant beach wedding.   

I really love this next invitation, the Quilted Floral (5″ x 7″), which I received in the color basil.  It has a beautiful floral print along the top, with an inset text box, reading, “I ho’okahi kahi ke aloha” (Be one in love).  I also received the response card for this suite, which perfectly complements the invitation itself.  There is an inset text box on this card as well, containing the couple’s names.  This design was inspired by Hawaiian quilt patterns, and it would definitely be ideal for a wedding in the beautiful state.  

Another beach wedding option that I’m loving is the Palm Trees (7″ x 5″), received in chocolate.  With a rich brown border and soft blue background, the white palm trees set the tone, and the text contrasts nicely.  The stately palm trees really make this invitation, and it’s little details like a line of tiny dots underneath the names that make this one a standout for me.  The matching response card had the same layout, down to the dots.

This last invitation is my very favorite of the samples that were sent to me.  The Casual Beach invitation (5.80″ x 5.80″)is truly unique, with an almost abstract shoreline motif.  I love square invites, but beware of the extra postage required for mailing them.  I noticed that the nice people at Wedding Paper Divas note this is red type on the website.  This suite could work very well for not only an oceanside wedding, but lakeside as well.  I love it!  The simplicity is right up my alley.

Now, moving on…

Moving announcements.

For years, I have loved the idea of sending these (sometimes called at-home cards) not only in the case of marriage creating a new home, but also just for relocation.  I am a fan of sending a card for everything!  I love stationery.  

Wedding Paper Divas has launched such a pretty line of moving announcements with widely varying styles.

I received 5 samples, as follows…

The Fresh Start features your own photo and the ever-popular chocolate and sage combination.  It would be adorable with a wedding photo, the perfect way to get your first (or new) address as a couple out to your family and friends.

Second, the Moving Key is beautifully simple.  The antique key motif and scalloped edge of the blue area is adorable.  This would be perfect for anyone experiencing a change of address.

The Spring Tulips is perfect for a move occurring in the spring.  With spring being a time for a fresh start, and also a popular time for weddings, this would be ideal for a couple beginning a new life together in that warm, blooming season.   

Now, this Picket Fence announcement is seriously cute.  I love the picket fence and little red bird.  This would be great for any family or couple with a new address.

Ok, now everyone knows I love a damask print.  Naturally, my favorite of this collection is the Damask Bloom.  The rich chocolate background and blue damask print are a classic combination.  This is the most formal of the announcements I received.  Just don’t forget that square cards cost more to mail!

All the cards mentioned in this blog are printed by digital offset printing, on 110 lb. white cardstock.  The quality of the printing and the paper are amazing.  And let’s not forget, Wedding Paper Divas is extremely affordable, but you don’t sacrifice quality!

Thanks so Wedding Paper Divas for the opportunity to go through some samples and show my readers what they have to offer!

The always awesome photographer Justine Ungaro is planning what is going to be a really amazing wedding.  I read her wedding blog religiously, and was so happy to find yesterday that she finally graced the web with a new post.  She posted her completed Save-the-Dates, and they are so cool.  

If you suggested to me that I make t-shirts as part of my STDs, I would have thought you were nuts.  I would have thought, “who would want to wear a t-shirt with our names and wedding date emblazoned on it?”  But this shirt, fashioned after the famous CBGB shirt, is something I think people will actually wear!  I love it!

Wow.  I mean, really.  I don’t usually get excited about orange weddings, but this is amazing.  It really is.  This wedding uses orange and green in a wonderful way.  Most outstanding is the groomstyle!  I love it.  I just love everything about these photos, as captured by Michael Norwood.  I just discovered him, and wow, is he amazing!  

Do yourself a favor and check out the rest of this refreshing wedding!

1. Roses in ice cubes.  Mostly meant for prettiness, I love this idea!  Chill the champagne in a bucket full of rosy ice cubes.  You could do this with any flower, of course.  Maybe even seashells, berries, acorns, or some other season-appropriate item.  Instructions on how to freeze spray roses inside of ice cubes found here.

Platinum Weddings

Well, I watched Platinum Weddings on the WE network last night for the first time, and I have to say, I most likely won’t be doing that again.  I am completely unimpressed.  For anyone who doesn’t know, the show is about over-the-top weddings that really have no budget.  To add to the fact that these weddings lack originality, the show isn’t well-done.  It didn’t show the few details I was wondering about.  The focus is on how much money was spent.  I ordinarily love any and all wedding shows, but this one was quite the snooze.  I still sat through three episodes, hoping to find something inspiring. Instead, what I found was a total lack of creativity.  I’ve always thought that the tighter the budget, the more creative a bride has to be.  This further proved my point.  Sure, who wouldn’t love a martini bar made of ice, complete with the couple’s monogram etched into the ice?  Oh yeah, me.  All this over-the-top wedding stuff is definitely not my style.  The weddings were all very formal, and pretty standard.  I would love to have the money spent on those weddings.  One of them actually had a “budget” of $350,000.  I can’t believe someone would spend that much on a single day.  I would much rather spend it on a fabulous house, shoe collection, and car –  all three!

Anyway, if you haven’t watched this show, and were considering it, just… don’t.

I am packing today, and moving tomorrow.  I haven’t been posting much lately, but once I get moved, I plan to get very active on the blog.  Lots of great things coming up!

Upon moving, I will finally be operating on high speed again.  Looking forward to that, to say the least!

Okay, so I have to admit, I got sick of seeing damask.  Since making an inspiration board featuring damask when I first started my blog, I’ve noticed the pattern popping up on every wedding planning blog and website there is.

Then this beautiful wedding came across my feeder.  Black and white damask was used sparingly, mixed with other patterns and bold lime and turquoise.

LOVE IT!

Photos by Jon Koch, as posted by Southern Weddings.

I LOVE Independence Day. It has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. I am very patriotic, love summer, hot dogs, and being with family. And boy, I love parties. So what better holiday for me?! I had every intention of posting a 4th of July wedding inspiration board tonight, but time got away from me. I would do a Fourth wedding with seersucker, stripes, and of course, chic use of red and blue.

In my feed reader today came, courtesy of {ritzy bee}, this adorable wedding, as photographed by Stacey Kane.

And a red and blue wedding by Married & More with Michelle, with a turquoise shade of blue. It would be a refreshing color combo for the 4th of July.

And, the dress I had planned to build an inspiration board around…

This is “Stella” by Thread. I heard Thread had seersucker dresses, and boy do they! They have several different colors of seersucker, including white (if married in the summer, I always wanted to have a seersucker or eyelet dress made). There are also many styles. I love them all!

This navy seersucker dress would be adorable on bridesmaids at any summer wedding! I love it!

Happy 4th, everyone!

I have always loved for wedding details to subtly complement each other… like when a bridesmaid’s dress has the same neckline as the bride’s gown, or when the cake has the same color ribbon as the invitations. I don’t mean shoes dyed to match the exact same ivory as a gown, with shoe clips made to perfectly match the brooch on the gown’s sash. It’s more about bringing a cohesiveness to an event, rather than matching everything perfectly.

In my feeds this morning, I found this wedding shot by Jasmine Star, and immediately noticed that the bride’s shoes are perfect for the dress. The pleating matches on both. I sized down the dress images too small, I think. You probably can’t see the pleating. Go to J*’s blog and view the gown up close. It’s a beautiful wedding that you should see anyway!