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Today’s summer inspiration comes from one of my all time favorite things: gingham!  I just absolutely love the clean look of a bright summer gingham, whether its a button down or a dress, even just as ribbon on a flower pot.  And the bright white and color combinations make it absolutely perfect for summer fashion.  These pictures were just some of my favorites (I really had to refrain from including hundreds!)  Enjoy!

PHOTO CREDIT:

1. http://weddingcenterpiecesonline.com/gingham-wedding-ribbons.html

2. http://www.weddingwindow.com/blog/2010/08/30/gingham-accents/

3. http://www.weddingwindow.com/blog/2010/08/30/gingham-accents/

4. http://www.theknot.com/

5. http://hankandhunt.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-heart-stripesdotsand-checkspart-2-of.html

6. http://alfrescoweddings.blogspot.com/2010/07/gingham-accents-for-your-wedding.html

7. http://itsabrideslife.com/grooms/gingham-ties-vests-and-suspenders/

8. http://www.thewhitelibrary.com/

9. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cococake/4817082426/

10. http://thingsthatwelove.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/table-setting.jpg

11. http://www.weddingwindow.com/blog/2010/08/30/gingham-accents/

12. http://www.weddingwindow.com/blog/2010/08/30/gingham-accents/

13. http://lisaricephotography.com/blog/2011/03/monday-math-wedding-decor-on-a-budget/

14. http://manolohome.com/2009/10/27/check-check-check/

15. http://www.petdogonline.net/?p=219

16. http://www.modeleweddings.com/2011/03/sweet-nothing-from-modele-weddings/

17. http://www.modeleweddings.com/2011/03/sweet-nothing-from-modele-weddings/

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

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!

Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down for coffee with one of our favorite people, Becca Brendler, owner and lead designer for Petal Floral Design, who says she has “a favorite flower for every moment.”

With a background of both fashion and horticulture,  Becca brings an innovative and truly unique perspective to floral arranging that we just absolutely LOVE.  She describes her style as “organic, ethereal… rustic with a modern twist.”  She informed me that her favorite season for weddings in New England was autumn because of the amazing colors and textures available for inspiration.  For her, it is all about the details, about using new and interesting design details to customize her work with her clients’ personality and individual style in mind.  For instance, her latest clients are doing a classic black and white wedding.  But rather than merely using a plethora of white flowers (which she is- orchids, lilies, etc.) she is also incorporating pearls, feathers, and black velvet to add texture and really channel the feel of classic glamour.   And for the bride’s bouquet she will be creating a modern version of the cascading bouquet carried by the bride’s mother many years ago.

For Becca, floral design is in the family and so opening Petal Floral was, like her creations, completely organic.  Her grandmother, Sylvia, was always looked up to, a legendary personality known for being delicate, sensitive, but also strong and influential.  She was also a florist.

When I asked Becca why she loved weddings and working with couples so much, her response was simple: “I just love love and love stories.”  Her goal is to take that love story, on one of the biggest days of their lives, and to express that love through beautiful and breathtaking flowers.  And she does an absolutely amazing job!

Do-it-yourself (aka DIY) is a scary, scary thing – unless you plan ahead, ask questions, and enlist help. One of our favorite wedding blogs, Beatown Bride, is looking to lend a hand with your challenging DIY projects by answering any and all craft questions. Check out their post and submit your questions.

In fact, Beantown selected one of our DIY projects as their photo feature! These are the adorable sailboat escort cards that we created for a nautical wedding shoot with Brett Alison Photography! We had a fabulous time creating these nautical elements and will share more photos next week.

{ alden blair events photo by brett alison photography }

At the end of a long week a little inspiration goes a long way. A photo may be worth 1,000 words – but it is the story, a window into the lives of this couple, that is so captivating.

{  tyra bleek }

I marvel at the focus and clarity of this couple in such a vibrant, busy atmosphere. Mostly, I love that they choose a location that connected with – the colors are amazing! Until next week, and the revelation of who won the Starbucks gift card from our Turkey for your Thoughts post… enjoy!

Boston’s beautiful architecture has been on my mind lately, so this inspiration board developed. Enjoy!