Cake Toppers

These are already so adorable all by their lonesome, can you imagine a cake beneath them? Lacy paper cake toppers by I Wanna Be.

Snippet and Ink

This was on Snippet and Ink back in June, but this is a fave design of ours offered at Wedding Paper Divas.

Shopfriend: Style Me Pretty

All of you brides out there...the creator of your favorite online obsession, Abby of Style Me Pretty is the latest member of Designing Moms (our other blog). Check it out!

Dolfin Chocolates

I love Dolfin Chocolate bars as favors... Their packaging is beautiful with a vast array of colors perfect for baby showers and weddings. So beautiful in fact, I couldn't bear to eat mine!

Wedding Tins

I love these tea tin favors by Heather Donahue complete with personalized hang tags and labels. If you don't know already, we have an affinity for tea tins...

Wedding Menus

This was featured on Design Sponge and I loved the refreshing and creative take on wedding menus! Just dial a filet mignon and dance the night away...

Cabbage Centerpieces

...and if you're looking to create a cabbage centerpiece, Real Simple has got the DIY.

Wedding Banners

Fun, festive, hand-cut tissue papaer banners by Ay Mujer that seem to herald a summer wedding or engagement party!

Shop Friends: Nella Designs

I just love these clever crossword puzzle prints by Nella Designs. What couple wouldn't be thrilled to receive this as a gift?

Lucky Green

Found this in a file I had kept for a bridal client who wanted deep, malachite greens for her wedding because it symbolized luck and prosperity. I love the richness of green paired with ivory for a summer wedding!

Personalized Wedding Plates

These personalized cake plates and ring bearer plates by Rae Dunn make simple treasures for the bride and groom to keep always and forever!

Pooch Weddings

Planning on including Rex or Roofus in your wedding? Pacific Weddings Magazine had a great little feature on incorporating beloved four-leggeds into your special day. The bowtie on that Frenchie is classic!

Tien and David: Recap!

You may have remembered a couple I posted about who had the sweetest story about how they had known each other since grade school. Tien and David sat side by side in their grade school pictures but it wasn't until much later (after they'd graduated from college) that David rang Tien up by phone and asked her out. The rest was history, and they planned a school house themed wedding to celebrate their love story. Click here to see the post, as well as the post of Minhee at Paper + Cup (whose own school house wedding was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings) helping out with some creative tips and ideas for their wedding.


I asked them to catch me and the team up with their newlywed life and they sent over these pics of their wedding. I gave a huge awwwww...when I saw those "Giving Tree" programs. So perfect!


And here is what Tien wrote to me about their newlywed life:
"Life post Wedding Day has really passed by in a flash--every once in a while, as I'm sure any newly hitched couple will tell you, you sort of catch your breath looking down at his hand or yours, seeing a ring and wondering in amazement: "holy moly, we're Married!" You feel overwhelmed with this rush of adulthood, all heady and heavy but still just as exciting as the first day you got behind the wheel."

above: the honeymooners in Bali

I am so lucky to meet couples that grace our Paper Studio with such connected spirits. Congratulations to you Tien and David, we wish you only the best!

Leah & David: San Francisco dream wedding cont'd...

So here we are...swooning from their romantic ceremony. What a trip for guests to trolley over to the very tony, 30's inspired Bix restaurant in the financial district of the city. The interior of the restaurant was inspired during the time of luxury liners like Cunard and if you've ever been, then you know it mixes glamour and speakeasy all into one.

above: Their colors were indigo and gold with a touch of pink.

above: a twirl on the dance floor (just love that little brooch on Leah's train).
They danced to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Leah says that David calls her his "Princess of Sparkles" so how appropriate to end the night by lighting two foot sparklers outside of the restaurant!

Thank you so much Leah for sharing your beautiful story and wedding. We wish you and David continued verve, laughter and love!

Leah & David : A San Francisco dream wedding

If you got a peek into Leah & David's newlywed pad last week, then you got a good feel for their personality and spirit as a couple. Well...as promised, their wedding was not only an undeniable ode to them, but what I feel is a San Francisco city wedding in its truest form....done with panache, wit, depth and an effervescent sense of celebration and joy.

Their story starts with a wish:

"We started dating in October of 2005. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, we were on the verge of breaking up. Sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with my family in NC, my father offered to let me pull the wishbone for him. As I pulled, I made the wish "I hope David and I are able to make it work." I got the bigger piece and saved it. Things improved between us to the point where I told David the story and gave him the wishbone, telling him my wish had really come true. He promptly put it in his coat pocket over his heart and has carried it there ever since.
I snuck it out before the wedding and had them dangle it from my bouquet...

"The theme of our wedding was actually expressing the way David makes me feel: beautiful, fun, full of verve + elan, vibrant, elated to be alive!"

above: Leah's gorgeous "rum pink" gown is by Alvina Valenta.

hair by Stas at Metamorphosis Salon, makeup Priscilla at Shu Uemura

"I have had a love affair with peacocks ever since I was a little girl--while my parents were at work, I stayed with my nanny on her farm in Texas. She raised peacocks and I have very vivid memories of chasing them, trying to pull the feathers from their tails..."

"Our 3 year old niece Mia was adopted from Japan, hence her origami flower bouquet!"

above: their beautiful ceremony was held at Hotel Monaco.
Photography by John Griffin. Flowers by Loop Design.

"We had friends read selected poems during our ceremony, including an excerpt from Plato's The Symposium--a nod to our fervent support of gay marriage."

Ready to attend the reception? Hop on the trolley (where guests were transported to their posh, sparkly reception at Bix) and stay tuned as I post up pics for tomorrow!

Jenny Packham Bride

If you ask me for my top five favorite wedding designers, Jenny Packham is most definitely one of them. And if you happen to know about our custom invitation line (where we offer brides the option to embellish their invitations with crystals), then you'll probably be able to figure out why. I go gaga over her designs which always offer embellishment, but just a touch or so here and there. Enough to melt me...and I'm sure any guest (and the lucky groom!) who watches the bride walking down the aisle.

Shop Friend: Letter Perfect

above: the adorable Letter Perfect shop and some of their available stationery.

It was wonderful to hear from one of our beloved retailers Ruby of Letter Perfect in Deephaven, Minnesota. Even more wonderful that she attached a page from the recent issue of Minnesota Bride Magazine featuring Letter Perfect and a wedding invitation from our new "Gallery" custom wedding album. If you are lucky to live near the shop, you will be assured of expert knowledge and service and they also have items from their shop available online!

Shop Friend: Cherries Flowers

This is long overdue...I've been meaning to post about my wonderful Shop Friends and neighbors, Cherries Flowers for quite some time but every time I go in there to take pictures I end up talking and laughing with them instead! They are truly talented and their shop shows their love for floral design...tumblers filled with pheasant feathers, loose vases overflowing with orchids or hydrangeas and glittery paintings by local artists on the wall (I promise to take pictures of their shop and post them!).

They have an impeccable eye and I highly recommend them for your special event. If you are lucky to live in the San Francisco, they are also great for putting together the perfect bouquet...I was introduced to a flower that smells like chocolate and have been graced by "mini" arrangements tied in bows for our own shop.

Happy Cupcake Friday

These are the cutest cupcake placecard holders by Jenni B Originals and Red Light Studio.

Have a happy cupcake Friday and weekend everyone!

Jason Wu: Michelle Obama's inaugural Gown

What a special week it has been! The inauguration of President Barack Obama has been inspiring, humbling and his message of service has touched me to the core.

I couldn't help but swoon over Michelle Obama's inaugural gown which looked so perfect on her. I was also thrilled to hear that she chose young 26 year old designer, Jason Wu, to be the the designer. Just looking at his work I am immediately casting a fashion vote for him to start designing his own private label of wedding gowns!