Of two minds...

If you've read my blog for very long, you know how much I love invitations and paper and most of all letterpress! So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that one of my biggest priorities for the rewedding are the paper goods. Save the Dates, invitations, welcome packets, etc. are all of the highest priority to me. Now, what might surprise you is that I have NO idea what I want to do for all of that. Well, that's not true, I have two versions in my mind, but I can't figure out which way to go.

For as long as I've been planning this, I've been obsessed with the ladies of Ice Cream Social out of Brooklyn and Betsy Dunlap and her fantastic hand lettering from the great state of AZ{she's the best thing to come from AZ in a long time, if you know what I mean}. I've posted about both before and I'm sure I'll continue to post their yumminess long after I make my decision.

{Images below are from the super talented duo at ICS}

Anyway, my problem is that even though our venue is the quintessential beach town with a beach ceremony, etc., we have no desire to have shells, starfish or coral anywhere. Seaside isn't really tropical, it's more like Nantucket or The Hamptons. Think preppy, not palms. But, it's not nautical and all about sailing either. So, ready made invitations are out, not that I was considering them anyway. Don't tell the hubs that though, I tried to find some...really!

So alllll that being said, I'm thinking about having ICS design us a logo to use on the invitations and any other goodies{cups and stuff for the event and welcome bags} I might need. I really dig the idea of branding the event with a personal logo, instead of the same ol' monogram or starfish. I love the idea of seeing all our friends and family using cups with our logo on them. The thought of having a Kate and How brand/logo makes me giddy. LOL. I'm such a weirdo, I know. It gives us an instant mark, without really having a theme. Really, the only downside I could see if that it's expensive. More then I thought it was going to be...a lot more in fact. But, do the benefits outweigh the cost?

My other idea is the exact opposite basically, no logo or motif at all. I would have Betsy Dunlap's stunning hand lettering take center stage. I would have her do the whole invitation suite, plus the welcome letter and STD. Both ideas would be done in letterpress here in town. It doesn't say beachy at all, but it would be beautiful. The downsides to this is that she's kind of hard to get in touch with because she's always jammed and it doesn't really give the event a theme like I want.

{all images below from here}

So, I think after writing this all out, I've made my decision. I know what is more us and that's what I should go with. But, what do y'all think? I need some people to back my decision up!

Help!

p.s.~thanks to the crappy movie we watched, my inability to concentrate and Entourage, it took me two hours to write this. Seriously. It's still the worst post I've ever written. I'm not even sure it makes sense. Oh well, I give up. I am who I am.

Get in my belly...

Here are some shots of the food from our venue. I am STARVING right now, so this might have been a bad idea to post right now. I want one of everything! 

{Lobster Risotto~it's sooo good!}

{Salad with yummy cheese. They have the best vinigrette dressings in the world}

{My favorite drink on the planet}

{Opera Cake, Strawberry Tart and Chocolate Nut Tart~How's Fave!}

{The menu, which was printed by the friend who is doing Lil's bday invites}

{from here}

It's all in the details...

I've always been a bit enamored with Cheree Berry's work, but she hasn't had a ton of her custom work on her site until now! I finally saw more and it's all fantastic! I LOVE the little details in each of her pieces {like #1! How darling is that?} and she has a nice preppy style that appeals to the JCrew side of me. What else do you expect from a former Kate Spader?

Enjoy the paper goodness...

{click on images to enlarge}

{all images from here}

Look at these colors...

Love this new line from Milkfed Press

A priest, a rabbi and two doctors...

How cute are these STDs for a wedding in Napa? I love the wine stain!

Letterpress for less...

This is one of the pieces that made me want to have a whole week o' paper. Isn't it great? I've been waiting to share it and this time is here!

Not only is this suite beautiful, but Studio on Fire did a post featuring this invitation and tips on how to keep your letterpress costs down. How great is that? They share some really good information that you could use to print a job with anybody, but why not use the sweet people that taught you in the first place? Check out their blog and site, plus I'll be sharing another one of their pieces that is a favorite of mine!

{here}

Linda and Harriet...

I'm planning on doing a week of paper next week, but I wanted to share all of these as soon as I saw them. Love the new work that L&H is doing. 

{here via here}

I love garden roses...

I adore garden roses, so this invitation is right up my alley. They are so delicate looking, but still very modern and graphic looking. I also love the color combination. The only thing I might change is the ampersand. Maybe a bit smaller? IMO, it takes away from the beautiful illustrations that the designer drew and the great font that she used for the names.

 Oh well, they're pretty close to perfect no matter what. Just another beautiful thing to come from Australia. I really need to go visit!

{all pictures from here}

I hope everybody has a wonderful Christmas this year. Thank you for reading my blog these past few months and I hope to see you around here in the new year as well. 

Merry Christmas!

{card from here}

Flush Designs

I think I must be the last one to figure out that WeddingBee has a section for wedding professionals called WeddingBee Pro. Who knew? Anyway, today I came across these wonderful favors and programs by Courtney of Flush Designs. I love the organic look of these pieces. The bride didn't want the typical sand dollars and starfish beach theme and I must say I love it! The favor was a letterpress art piece, how great is that? It's not the most useful thing in the world {I believe that favors should be eaten for the most part!}, but it's stunning. I would love one. I also really the two-sided seal hanging from the program. I usually think that wax seals look old-fashioned, but these feel a little more modern to me. Check out Courtney's site and blog, she's super talented!

Sweet suite...

I know that's a cheesy title, but I couldn't help it! 

How great is this invitation suite that I saw on Style Me Pretty? It's just so great, I had to post it. It was designed for a wedding held on the bride's family farm, in Nashville, TN. I love how cohesive the whole set is...I love the use of the vibrant green as the main color and the horseshoe on the label. To top it all off, it's letterpressed! Be still my heart...

{click image to enlarge}

All of the paper goods were designed by the bride, Bonnie. IMO when people put a lot of time into their paper goods for an event, it shows that they really want their guests to be happy and they're putting their heart and soul into making the event the best it can be. That could be because I'm a major paper-aholic, but I do really believe that the details make the event. 

***I found Bonnie's blog via her post in the comments, so I've now linked her name to her blog in case you want to check it out. Thanks for visiting, Bonnie. Love the work you and Currier have done and put on your blog. The "Stock the Bar" invite is great! 

Great STD...

never thought I'd write that title...

Found these on Brooklyn Bride and I'm kinda in love with them. It's weird, because they're not my normal style. I'm not a huge "black as a wedding color" fan, but the nods to CA and the fact that they're letterpress and have a giant orange on them is pretty rockin'. They were designed by the couple, which once again reminds me that I'm pushing my daughter to go to art school, not law school, like her father did. ;) I wish I had talent!

My first letterpress card...

So cute!

{here via here}

More calendars...

Since I was asked what other calendars I've bought, I thought I'd share them...

The first two are not purchases yet, I'm trying to pick just one of them. It's hard! I also ordered the Paper-Source calendar and love it too. I like the Etsy finds better, but that's just me. 

{Tara Hogan/Pistachio Press}

{Papered Together}

{Paper Source}

Day by day...

I'm not going to have any problems knowing what day it is in 2009! This beautiful piece of letterpress goodness will be my 3rd calender so far! I've been in love with Linda and Harriett's work for awhile now and this just seals the deal. How great is August? I always judge a calender by August, since it's my b'day month. Is that odd? Probably! August is great, but so is every other month, so you can't go wrong. Perfection!

{all photos from here}