Well, it is another beautiful summer day and in honor of the sunshine, our summer highlight of the day is sunflowers! These large, happy flowers somehow capture the essence of summer: simple, fun, and glorious in their bright, bold colors.  Using sunflowers in your wedding, whether as a simple addition to wildflower bouquets and arrangements or as inspiration for your entire color scheme, will add tons of festive summer beauty and cheer!

PHOTO CREDITS

1. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2187/2675740104_08c09d3a7f.jpg

2. http://www.sunflowergardenwedding.com/

3.http://jenadevents.blogspot.com/2009/02/for-jennifer-sunflower-wedding.html

4. http://www.w-weddingflowers.com/sunflower-wedding-flowers-2/

5. http://blisstree.com/feel/party-ideas-inspired-by-sunflowers/

6. http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/2009/08/real-invitations-jennifer-james/

7. http://www.pdbloom.com/Sunflower%20Table%20Marker.jpg

8. http://www.momentaldesigns.com/2011/05/05/inspirations-sunflower-wedding-invitations/

9. http://bellafiori-events.blogspot.com/2010/04/flower-inspiration-rembrandt-yard.html

10. http://www.azweddingfloral.com/tag/sunflower-wedding/

Summer is absolutely my favorite season.  Despite being an avid snowboarder, and having a deep appreciation for the transitory natures of Fall and Spring, I can honestly say this is true.  For me, there is something magical about the longer days spent soaking up sunshine and the glorious sunsets that often come well after dinner.  I look forward to barbecues, walks in the woods, and days at the beach all year long, as well as the inherent time spent with family and friends.  And Summer is not just my favorite season, it also happens to my favorite season for weddings.

So, in honor of Summer and beautiful Summer weddings, I will be doing a series of posts highlighting some fun and unique decor aspects to really channel the fun of Summer.

Enjoy!

Part I: The Summer Barbecue

There are few things that truly capture the essence of summer like a barbecue.  It’s outdoors, involves tasty food, and brings people together for a good time.  I absolutely love barbecues!  For a wedding, the barbecue can be the focus of just your menu, or of the entire reception.  Either way, your guests will love such a tasty offering!  If you want to go all out, you can use it as inspiration for your table decor, using gingham and bandana prints.  You could even give guests mini bottles of BBQ sauce as favors!

Photo Credit:

1. http://www.jackdostal.com/images/WeddingBarbecueSunset.JPG

2. http://www.potterybarn.com/design-studio/articles/how_to_throw_a_summer_barbecue_by_summer_barbecue.html

3. http://www.yumsugar.com/Come-Party-Me-End-Summer-BBQ-Look-4414785

4. http://blog.hgtv.com/design/2009/05/25/summertime-let-the-parties-begin/

5. http://andwhataboutgrace.blogspot.com/2009/09/weddingand-summer-bbq_14.html

6. http://www.projectwedding.com/post/list/backyard-bbq-reception-inspiration-help

7. http://thecordialcricket.wordpress.com/

8. http://www.stylemepretty.com/2008/08/27/wedding-favor-ideas/

We all know a well stocked bar is, in most cases at least, key to a successful wedding reception.  But the bar, more specifically what is being served, can be a great way to add personal and unique details that guests are bound to remember (or try to forget as the case may be.)  Rather than picking some arbitrary, overly sweet cocktail as a specialty, think about the other aspects of your wedding and use those as inspiration; your goal should be a drink choice or two that ties into the rest of the wedding and really reflects you as a couple.  Look at things like your own personal favorites, your decorations, even the weather.  By finding a specialty drink that flows with the surroundings, you can create an even more seamless reception.

DÉCOR INSIRED

We love the idea of translating a wedding theme into liquid form.  For instance, if you are using the glamour of the Roaring Twenties as inspiration, consider offering Champagne Punch and Old Fashioneds.  You can even go one step further, and rent champagne coupe glasses, the traditional shallow glasses used in the era.  Your guests will feel like true members of the Lost Generation holding such glamorous drinks.

If your inspiration comes from a place rather than a time, look for regional drinks that your guests may already love or that may become a new favorite.  For instance, if you are going for a Spanish influence, sangria will make a great, festive addition.  If you are offering Spanish cuisine, like tapas, red and white sangria will make a great compliment to your delicious meals!  But if your are using Jolly Old England as your motherland, consider offering Pimm’s Cup, a cocktail punch that is traditionally offered at summer weddings in Britain.

A Jolly Good Cocktail

HIS AND HERS COCKTAILS

If you don’t have (or don’t want) a matching drink for you theme, consider personalizing by offering your recommendations to your guests.  If you absolutely adore a certain white wine, or dirty Grey Goose martinis, share it with your guests.  Even if your fiance’s favorite drink is a tall boy of PBR, both he and his guests should be able to enjoy something near and dear to his heart.

Beautiful and Delicious

SEASONAL LIBATIONS

Another way to offer guests something tailored to your day is to use the weather as your guide.  For hot summer weather, consider something light, refreshing and maybe fruity.  Watermelon is something just about everyone associates with the hotter months, so look into watermelon cocktails or even beer (odd sounding, but absolutely delicious!)  If you are getting married in the dead of winter, offer guests Hot Toddies or hot cider and spiced rum to help them stay warm.

A Delectable Summer Specialty

The final step in selecting your specialty cocktail choices is to choose a fun and unique way to display them to your guests.  You can have the list typed and framed on the bar, or even in larger frames hanging behind.  For a more rustic feel, chalk boards are always a good option.  Or maybe instead of having traditional framed cocktail menus, you have laminated cocktail recipe cards with pictures, like those used by bartenders.  Just be creative! And remember, no amount of drink testing and tasting is too much!

An Adorably Rustic Cocktail Display

We are finally getting around to posting photos from our 2010 weddings – and this one was truly beautiful. Sara and Chris decided to tie the knot in Boston and plan the wedding from their home in Chicago. With an incredible team of wedding professionals we had a fantastic party – with large thanks to Jo Cush Photography and Blooms of Hope for their stunning work.

Hope you are doing well and enjoying the summer, Sara and Chris!

Thanks to the fabulous team of:

Venue: Commanders Mansion
Photography: Jo Cush Photography
Flowers: Blooms of Hope
Catering: Above and Beyond Catering
Cake and Favors: Wilson Farm
Officiant: Mimi Graney

Today we are featuring our latest, greatest obsession, Mr. Boddington’s Studio.  Mr. Boddington’s is a stationer out of New York who creates simple, unique, and breathtaking paperwork, including (you guessed it!) wedding invitations.  After finding Mr. Boddington’s while looking for Mother’s Day cards, we fell in love with the entire line.

We chatted with some of the lovely people in the Studio, and everything we found out just made us love the brand so much more! “Mr.Boddington’s Studio started about five years ago but has long lived inside the head and heart of owner Rebecca Schmidt Ruebensaal, as she knew from the beginning she was bound to be a stationer. Mr. Boddington was her imaginary friend as a child. Never quite leaving her side or mind, she decided to honor his namesake when opening the business.”

Imagination and creativity is exactly what comes through when browsing the Studio’s website and the wedding invitations are no exception.  Not only are there several pre-designed invitation packages available, the designers are more than happy (even prefer) to meet with you in order to create an invitation suite that fits your personal style, theme, as well as any and all quirks and whims.

“Mr. Boddington sure isn’t your run of the mill gentleman. He has a sense of humor and wit that it seems our brides find refreshing! We keep things pretty light here in the studio, maintaining a bit of quirk in all that we do.

How custom can you go? Oh, just dare us… We will hand-tailor and draw until the cows come home! We love a challenge over here, so designing a super custom suite is truly a treat…keeps us on our toes! We have made everything from bookmarks to recovery kits to menus doubled as bingo cards.”

One of the most unique (and super fun!) parts of Mr. Boddington’s work is the illustrations that go into the design- these custom maps are a great way to personalize (think adding places that mean something special to you as a couple) and your guests will find them both thoughtful and useful.  And we simply can’t get over how enchanting the clean and colorful design concepts are!  The possibilities for imagination, customization, and personalization are endless!

A Custom Save the Date

“We have designed fully custom invitations inspired by all sorts of interesting and unique things. Take for instance, a groom’s Inuit heritage, vintage textiles and tapestries of India, and a filmmaker’s obsession over Audubon birds. I’m telling you, the more obscure the concept or theme seems the more creative we can be! We cherish all our clients, with a special wink to the ones that challenge us to think outside the box.”

Since discovering Mr. Boddington’s Studio, we have been trying to come up with any and all reasons to send out snail mail (or even something for which to order invitations!), just so we can keep buying more!

This Saturday, May 21, Old Navy is having a $1 sale on their flip flops. Summer weddings: this is the time to buy!

How many flip flops should you get? And in what sizes?? We suggest:

Purchase enough for your female guests { about 50% of your guest list }
Let’s approximate at 100 pairs. To accommodate the most guests, we suggest:
Size 5: 5 pairs
Size 6: 20 pairs
Size 7: 30 pairs
Size 8: 30 pairs
Size 9: 5 pairs
Size 10: 5 pairs
Size 11: 5 pairs

Then find an appropriate way to display them for your guests. One of our summer clients is planning to greet guests at the end of the venue’s driveway with a glass of champagne and flip flops – sounds like the start of a fantastic party!

{ post-dancing shoes }

For those of you looking out the window at the same type of weather I am (windy, rainy, overcast and cold- at a time of year that should be sunny and warm!) here are some ideas of how to turn a frown upside down, and get rid of the rainy day blues on your wedding day.  Rather than letting the rain ruin the mood, turn it to your advantage and let it inspire fun and memorable photos that incorporate rain boots and umbrellas!

Using Wellies (as rain boots are known over in England) and umbrellas can add a fun and colorful pop to your photos!  Whether you choose to use different colors, or to match all the way through, rainy weather accessories will add a unique and memorable element.

Choose Boots to Match Your Wedding

And even better, buying fun, color coordinated bad weather accessories can also make great gifts for the wedding party- and ones you know they will use again!

Colorful and Cute

So in case of rainy day blues, remember that you can make the best of it and even have some fun with that rotten, uncooperative weather!  And who knows?  That rain might just become a rainbow!

No More Rainy Day Blues!

if you know me, you know i love stationery. a beautiful presentation of personal words ~ the thoughts from someone dear, or a sincere note of thanks, the intention of a handwritten note makes receiving it a joyous event. so smile when the postman stops by ~ he may have a treat for you.