Invitation Inspiration: Unveiled

{images of new Unveiled invitations by Checkerboard}

When choosing wedding invitations, think about what your guest will feel like when they see it in their stack of mail. The envelope should stand out from all the others. Right? The addressing should be special, and when they open the envelope the design and the weight of the paper really makes a big difference. Even if you choose the simplest design, presentation and weight make all the difference. I love designing with our papers. Since I source most of them, because I am inspired by them, our designs begin with really wonderful papers that look and feel really good. When designing, I like to keep the potential couples in mind, thinking about what can make each invitation special and personal.

Keep your guests in mind when you choose your papers and envelopes, your invitation is a little gift to each guest actually. Inviting is a gift in itself. Expressing yourself with your invitation is easy when you start with a company that feels the same way! I am pretty lucky to work for a company that knows how important this is. It makes my job so much more fun.

Michèle M. Waite Photography

{images via michèle m. waite photography}

Recently, I have had the pleasure to work with some very talented wedding pros, one being Michèle M. Waite, photographer, mother, wife, and oh so creative. As long as I have been trolling wedding blogs, her images stayed with me. I can't imagine what that means to the couples that share their day with her. What a gift being a part of so many life changing events in people's lives. I know that creating invites gives me a pretty incredible feeling. Knowing we can create a lasting memory for people is pretty extreme. When I see our invitations on press, I am compelled to go take a peek to see the names and the place the wedding will be. Our clients are our dealers, so we never really get to meet the couples choosing our designs. I am lucky that I am a designer and also a dealer, so I can share a little of both worlds. I wish I could meet every couple really and say thank you!

Working with Michèle over the past couple of weeks has been amazing. I presented her with a crazy idea about changing the way our clients shopped and were inspired as they chose invitations. I started thinking that it is very romantic to plan all of the elements of such an incredible day. I wanted to give couples something exciting...imagery, that would get all of their ideas flowing. For this project, Michèle's photos were what inspired me really...looking at them, I thought how incredible it would be to share her creativity to enhance the experience of our customers and make it easier to plan. There are creative people that thrive on imagery and there are the people that gain so much insight as they use inspirational compilations as a tool.

Look at the 3 images above! I was so excited to share her photgraphs in our industry of paper, to inspire and guide. Wedding blogs and magazines are filled with imagery. I don't think there is a time in your life when you look for inspiration as much as when you are planning your wedding. Every detail is special. Michèle's work made my project rock! I cannot wait for our client to see it.

Networking and Collaboration for Innovation

{images borrowed from the blog of eInvite.com featuring photos by michele m. waite}

{image of silk kimono cake by something sweet by michelle}

{image via cookie creatives}

It 's spring here in the US and every wedding vendor is starting to feel the bustle. As the skies turn blue and the trees burst to life once again, we start to feel energetic and excited for the coming warm season. This is such a fun time for wedding vendors. If you are paper, there is the National Stationery Show, if you are flora, photog or sweet, your calendars are probably already full.

I am paper. Our new designs are about to be revealed to our clients in NY in May. We are brimming with excitement and last minute touches for the show. This year I had the pleasure of working with outside vendors on a collaborative project for one of our wedding stationery albums, Unveiled. Discovered on all the best wedding blogs, like Style Me Pretty and 100 Layer Cake, was Michèle M. Waite. Her unconventional photographic signature caught my eye and when I contacted her she was simply incredible. My idea was a little time consuming even in the bustle of spring business, but Michele was attentive and helpful, making my idea a lot more concrete and exciting. In the months prior it had been just an idea, a pitch to my management and administrators, but now it was coming together and becoming validated. Exciting, yes. {yay} The fun of creative people working together makes me insanely prolific in the idea department. So I continued with my adventure.

Earlier this year I met up with Michelle Bohigian, yes a 3rd Michelle, at Taste of the Nation in Worcester where she was serving up some incredible chocolate cake. I had seen her business, Something Sweet by Michelle featured in major wedding mags and on the Today Show. I knew if she was the creme de la creme of cakes then maybe a taste would be a great idea. A year later, at one of Michelle's personal tastings at local Tuckerman Hall, she introduced to me to yet another incredible wedding vendor, Jennifer Burkhart from Cookie Creatives. She had a sweet mention of us on her blog today. Great relationships come from open conversation. Both women proved to be amazing from hello and I instantly started bouncing ideas off each.
With finishing touches from our photoshoot earlier in the month with my Worcester girl Cathy Walsh from Sprout, plentiful flora was added to the mix.

{sprout worcester, a trend setter in flowers, a community advocate in the woo. love her!}

When my brain stopped spinning ideas, a brand new concept was created for a beautiful collaboration of talents and trades. From paper to imagery, cake to cookie we were all brought together by the wonders of media. From the far corner of the west coast to the opposite side of the country, a fun creative collaboration has come to fruition. I just want to tell you what amazing people and businesswomen they are. Each helping me develop my idea and work innovation into an industry that is constantly evolving with fashion, technology, the environment, and recently the economy.

What is the collaboration? The finishing touches are being added now. I will sneak a few tidbits out as they are available! Let's just say, your eyes will look at wedding invitations a whole new way! From networking and collaboration on the internet and locally, by getting involved with a community abundant with talent, together I hope we make a splash at the NYSS in May. It will all be "Unveiled" soon!

Lesson learned: never be afraid to reach out to people who you admire, it could lead to great ideas and wonderful places.

One last thing tonight before I say goodnight, Taste of the Nation mentioned above benefits the Worcester County Food Bank. You know I am a huge supporter personally and professionally, Checkerboard Ltd. where I design has contributed invitations to the event for years. Please come {empty} and enjoy amazing food and cocktails from the best restaurants in Worcester while supporting a great cause.

Taste of the Nation Worcester
April 19, 2010
5:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Crowne Plaza Hotel
10 Lincoln Square
Worcester, MA 01608

For ticket information to this premier national culinary event, visit Share Our Strength.

sweet dreams...

Natural Inspiration

I love the new tool over at Style Me Pretty in the "community section"! More to come from Festival Creative. Join me over there for wedding inspiration and insight on invitations, color, expressing your personal style and more of these amazing mood boards. Their tool is pretty sweet.

Did you hear about the Woo and Wed?

Worcester Wedding Open Houses

A day of wedding bliss will be going on and

Festival Invitations

will be there!

All this excitement, the brainchild of Cathy Walsh from Sprout.

{I just love her and her creations, like this recent gem!}

...all the juicy details coming soon!

follow on twitter or the Woo and Wed blog (in the works)

{oh, silly blogger shrinks everything, scroll to bottom to see enlarged}

Aesthetic Heaven!

{image via 100 Layer Cake, original sources are linked there}

If you haven't discovered 100 Layer Cake and are planning a fete of any kind, or if you are looking strictly for color inspiration...watch this blog. It is genious! I love that it is purely organic, modern and daring...the coordinated inspiration boards of unexpected and bold combinations give me amazing validity that the cookie cutter wedding may get overlooked for more unique and personal presentations.

I know from experience that watching the same kind of styles and "rules" followed are slowly evolving into more creative weddings. If you have ever been to a wedding where some unexpected things are happening, I think it raises the bar on creativity for your own inspiration. I have been to many weddings that were incredibly conforming. It is a little sad to me, as I know what kind of planning goes into each wedding, no matter how big or small. It is an incredibly special and memorable day. There are a few blogs out there to watch, that capture the little creative forces that make a wedding UNFORGETABLE, as they should be. The little personal touches, and unexpected things make a huge difference.

Thank you 100 Layer Cake for bringing it... your blog kicks aesthetic to a new level!

Sprout

{images via sprout-flowers}

There is a funky flower shop in Worcester on the West Side. Walking in, you can feel that the vibe is larger than the little block on June Street, where they are located. My first time in Sprout, I knew there was an artistic and edgy element that I just loved. The flowers displayed in vases were unique, handpicked from the floral market in Boston. The choices were unusual and stunning. The shop is inviting and casual, like home. Each vase is noted with a price, so it's really easy to figure out what you can get for your price range, especially if you are stopping by to pick up loose flowers for home, for a hostess, or for a special occasion. Of course, when you order an arangement from Sprout, you will never be dissappointed.

My work as an invitation designer means venturing out into the world for the occasional flower. I always head directly to Sprout, knowing what I could find there. When friends at work asked me where to shop for flowers, I sent them to Sprout. At this point, I did not know Cathy and her assistant Francoise very well. My dear friend Gregorio would stop by their shop regularly to pick up fresh flowers for the table. Our photographer would stop by to get flowers for his shoots. Everyone always went back!

The time came when I needed advice and direction for an event I was hosting. Since I was calling it Cirque du Noir, I thought it would be wonderful to have macabre arrangements. I thought since my budget was zero, I could maybe ask some advice and clean out Cathy's "dead stuff". The day I walked in to her shop, she was so sweet and offered me up all her dead flowers. When the time got closer to the event, Cathy proposed something very different. She wanted to do a floral arrangement for the table and auction it off, with all the proceeds giong directly to our cause, the Worcester County Food bank. I could not believe her generosity.

The morning of the event, we met at Bocado and I could not believe my eyes! She made this unbelievable creation of cirque-a-licious proportions. It was enormous and vibrant and so stunning. It did not stop there, she worked up some magical props to coordinate and fully capture the mood of the event and enhance her spectacular flowers. I was truly blown away, the boxes kept coming from out of her car and into Bocado. It takes alot for me to feel this way, but this little lady sent me over the top!

Before this I didn't even know her. She did not know me... but she took initiative to support what I was trying to do and make it even grander! It was a pretty incredible feeling leaving the restaurant to go home and prepare for that night. She single handedly made me feel like the whole pipe dream I had for this fundraiser was REAL as we set up the flowers. Someone I did not even know was working her *$#%& off and spending all this time to help me. Cirque du Noir and all it's contributors raised over $4000 dollars that night for the food bank. Not bad for 6 weeks of planning.

{image of decorative piece Sprout whipped up for Andreea Waters for Cirque du Noir}

Christmas time came and Cathy did it again. It was her dream to make sure every business in Worcester had a wreath on it's door that wanted one. All you had to do it call her! This was a woman after my own heart!


This woman and her endless creativity, her talent and her emense generosity, her presence as a Worcester business owner, all of this has really impacted me. I imagine people that meet her must feel the same way. Since then and onward, I have made a new friend, a valuable contact and a kick ass floral designer. I send all my friends, knowing Sprout will take care of them. In these economic times, businesses like her's have a huge advantage over others. She goes the extra mile, she sees the unseen and she creates magnificent beauty for her clients with a personality to boot. She makes a difference.

{***ah huh, If Holly Becker from decor8 is following Sprout, you know she's pretty cool!}

{all images in this post, borrowed from Sprout}

SPROUT is located at:
118 A June Street
Worcester MA 01602
t 508 757 5300 f 508 757 0891

HOURS
Tuesday 10-5
Wednesday - Friday 10-6
Saturday 9-3
Closed Sundays & Mondays