A Gown's Best Friend: Lynn Kiracofe

Anne of Perfect Bound had asked about the veil of the bride in our previous "Napa" post and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to post some of Lynn Kiracofe's stunning veil work.
Above: My post contained a photo I clipped of Lynn's work many moons ago and kept in my stash of magazine articles.

Above: Each of her veils are designs that are restored or created by hand and make true heirloom pieces.


Above: If her veils aren't beautiful enough, just get a look at the tiaras that Lynn also offers. From art deco birds...to ivory rosettes!

sketch: in the spirit of weddings

I think this photograph of the wedding between attorney Rajal Lele and entrepreneur Jordan Young is magical. It captures the height of romance and spirituality at their ceremony. Strung flower garlands and a canopy are all that is needed to frame this beautiful couple.


Above: the "good karmal" favor boxes bestow the simple luxury of good karma to guests and can be used for any type of wedding. Simple flower garlands, natural paper favor boxes and table linens can help give resonance to more ornate elements of wedding decor. Poring over beautiful Hindu weddings inspired me to sketch this bride.

Shop Friend: Teashi

Our extension of wedding week continues and I thought I'd introduce the perfect place to hold a private event like a bridal shower. As part of our holiday office party, I wanted to take the team out for a manicure. And what better place than Teashi, the cutest little salon just a couple of doors down?

Seeing that a manicure would be the antithesis of working with our hands all day, I knew that even though we would probably end up chipping them by the end of the day, the salon might offer a nice little getaway from our printing and production.

The decor is so charming and chic. You can stare dreamily at the cherry blossom wallpaper while sipping their complimentary citrus teas. And the best thing about Teashi is their standard on hygeine. They have an on-site autoclave for their utensils and specially designed their stations so that the bowls can be lifted and washed between services.

below: it took a while to unwind but once we did it was hard to peel us off those chairs! Any bride couldn't help but feel charmed and pampered here.

Cat Seto custom: Napa Wedding Suite

Our Cat Seto "Napa" Wedding Suite is another design that hails from our Town & Country wedding book. Yellow and pewter tones are one of my favorite combinations and a perfect way to combine a cheerful outdoor setting with elegance and a hint of glamour.

Gown Recap: Four Seasons Wedding Fair

Hope you enjoyed wedding week at ShopFriends as much as I enjoyed posting and sketching for it. I still have some posts that I'd love to put up so I've decided to continue it for a little longer this week!

Starting off with our Sunday show at the Four Seasons "A Five Star Afternoon" Wedding Fair: it was sooo much fun to meet brides, current customers, our fellow exhibitors and colleagues (and in such a posh setting)! We can't thank you enough for coming to see our invitations and designs at the Paper Studio! The event was truly five star with fashion shows, talented vendors and a drool-worthy GOURMET presentation of edibles, including a chocolate dessert bar on the veranda. Cadenza captured some of the models that paraded around in San Francisco designer, Jin Wang's gorgeous wedding gowns.

I love the fur shawl and the lines on this gown give off a modern vibe to old world glamour.


So classic and the photographs don't do the beading justice!

My favorite. Her bodice is lace and that skirt is beyond ethereal.

Convertible Wedding Satchels

Hibaya-Kadan has over 170 floral boutiques in Japan and in their edition of "Petale" they showcased trends and the latest in bouquets which resembled elegant purse satchels. I am particularly drawn to the top two because a bridal customer of mine had shared with me details about her own wedding bouquet which doubled as a "convertible wedding satchel." The beauty of this bouquet was that it was a traditional bouquet with a stem handle by day but was converted into a chic and playful bouquet satchel at night.

While I wouldn't take this on by yourself unless you plan to make your own bouquet from scratch, I would however, find a florist who was open to creating one for you.
My bridal customer gave some good tips:
--make sure you request a very round bouquet, preferably with tight blooms.
--you will need to ask your florist if they are willing to fashion a stem/handle that can be detachable vs. one which has a built-in wire and foam ball.


-- Next, select vintage necklaces, crystal chains or a pretty ribbon to be fastened to your bouquet. I prefer satchels with the chains attached apart rather than in one loop.
--Ask your florist to take the chain or ribbon and criss cross or weave it around your handle.
--When night arrives, simply remove the pins, detach your handle and you've got yourself a satchel that you can sling over your shoulder when you take to the dance floor.

Shhh...a surprise!

There is something about the light in Napa and Wine Country that softly touches any wedding and its guests with a golden light. It is no surprise that this is a top destination for weddings where the big day can be held before rolling vineyards.
I wanted to share some of the photos from my sister's beautiful Napa wedding this past summer at the Andretti Winery.

As her sister and maid of honor, it was truly touching be a part of her special day...I was so sentimental through it and teary-eyed through most of my toast!

My little sis glowed and I think her photographer, Joseph Hong of John & Joseph Photography, truly captured not only the beauty of their locale, but their essence as a couple.

Below: Ok, so here's the surprise part...a little gift for them which I've been meaning to present for some time now: the photo above where they are standing before a wall of ivy inspired this sketch (and a portion of my toast). It needs to be finished out, but I hope you like it guys!

Giveaway and Wedding Fair

We're continuing with our Wedding Week!
Just some reminders:
This Sunday, January 13: Our invitations and Paper Studio will be a part of the Four Seasons Wedding Fair "A Five Star Afternoon." If you are in the San Francisco area, please attend and come visit us!

above: from our vintage chic collection. enter to win!

Giveaway: If you haven't already, check out our giveaway on Weddingbee. We are giving away 50 custom invitations from our Vintage Chic collection that would be perfect for showers, rehearsal dinner and save the dates. The contest ends tonight at 8pm est so you still have time to enter! **And if you don't happen to win, we will be holding another drawing for invites/thankyous at the Wedding Fair. If you'd like to be added to that drawing please add your name to the comments window below!

Paper Studio Designer: Cheree Berry

If this design looks familiar, say in a Kate Spade'ish sort of manner, then you're on the right path. This is Cheree Berry, and she was the graphic designer behind Kate Spade's custom wedding line. We are so lucky to have Cheree at the Paper Studio not only because of her truly outstanding, beautiful invitations but also because she is superb to work with. I hear actual "cooing" noises whenever a bride looks at her work!


LUXE
The green in Cheree's invite and her play on a striped envelope liner inspired this all out modern, city wedding theme.
Below clockwise: If you want a posh, intimate wedding, hold it at The Soho Hotel in London in one of their private event rooms. The tea length hem of Ulla-Maija's lace gown is perfect for traipsing down the city streets and stealing a kiss before rejoining your guests. Leave it to Jill Sanders for a modern, minimalist dress for your bridesmaids.




LUXE FOR LESS

So most of us probably can't make it to London (let alone fly out 75 friends and family). But that doesn't mean you can't create a reception that reflects something truly modern and unique for less. For this theme, I would recommend sticking to 3-4 colors...Cheree's invite evokes emerald, black and a deep, chestnut brown. Her liner inspires playing with fun prints and to keep them from spilling over, I'd refrain to just black and white for the prints and experiment with toile, damask or polka dots.


Below: 1. Wall hangings at your reception (especially behind you at the head table) can instantly inform the theme of your space. This modern palette is especially stunning if your reception space has walnut or deep oak walls! The green geometric print seen at The Soho Hotel is simple enough to recreate a version by hand or on the computer. Black and white photographs are also easy ways to modernize any setting. 2. I've seen this done many times, and it really LOOKS luxe even when the framed print is matte gift wrap. This one is by Snow and Graham. 3 & 4. Stick with simple, clean frames and white or black candlestick holders if you want to go modern. 5. Black and white toile and striped tablecloths.
6. I found these fun paisley bandanas for $3 that could serve as napkins or settings beneath the centerpieces.

The Timeless Bride

What makes a bride and her wedding timeless & classic?
There are the weddings that have withstood the test of time and they possess within them a certain kind of aura. My all time favorite has got to be Grace Kelly's wedding. I could go on and on about the dress (the lace...that voluptuous skirt!). Lavish yes, and marrying a prince...well that's just plain iconic. But it wasn't the over the top details that struck me most about her. Hands down it was her presence. Her face was perfectly framed in her veil. And her perfect posture conveyed a sense of elegance and formality to the day. In all of her pictures it looked as if she was floating.


50 years +
Jackie Kennedy's wedding is another memorable one for me. Can you believe half a century later, we are still looking at the black and white photos and seeing the joy in her face as she and JFK sit before their gloriously set wedding table?


10 years +
Town & Country showcased the Napa wedding of New Yorker Lillian Wang in 1997 and I still have this copy stashed away in a box in my closet. A decade later I am still swooning. She wore the simplest white dress with only silk fabric flowers woven into her hair and held a small lily of the valley bouquet. Everything about this wedding and the way she blended cultures was mesmerizing. Just look at that color palette! Not to mention, her wedding cake is considered by many to be the first to cause a spark in the whole cupcake wedding cake craze. I've seen many renditions of it since but I still think hers remains the most lush and delectable ever.



5 years +
This bride had a destination wedding with Audrey Hepburn (goes tropical) in mind. You would think this wedding happened just yesterday! Instead of overwhelming her wedding with over-the-top details that could end up competing with one another, T&C Fashion Director, Gretchen Gunlocke, used a time old equation: simple details + fresh layers = an overall vision of stunning.


Reader poll:
Whether it's five, ten or fifty years from now, I'd love to hear what all of you think makes a timeless bride and her wedding. What classic details will you be including (or included) in your wedding? What have been the weddings you've attended that will remain timeless in your memory? Please share!

Stay tuned later today when I post a completely "modern" wedding and designer from our Paper Studio!

Paper Studio: Mr.Boddington

Save the Dates are one of my favorite invitations to work on with brides. It's the prelude, the teaser, the very "first" that a couple and their guests glimpse into the wedding day to come. I often tell brides to have fun with their save the dates. Let your excitement and anticipation shine through. The Rahjastan invitation from Mr. Boddington is my favorite from their collection and available at our Paper Studio. It is such a joyous piece -- doesn't the invitation looks like it has been hand-inked for each of the guests?

above: yellow lucite heart necklace, my sketch of the bride is wearing a Zuccaro dress available from our Cat Seto Boutique, Charles David sandal.

This lovely ceremony setting is from Madrona Manor.  This inn is in the heart of wine country and nestled into eight acres of gardens and woods.  Even though Napa and Sonoma are only about an hour away, every time I go there it feels like worlds away from San Francisco. The wine country is such a special place for celebrations and a big inspiration behind many of my invitation designs.  My sis doesn't know this yet, but I'm hoping to get some photos of her beautiful wedding in Napa to post up for all of you!  

Paper Studio: Abby Jean Press

Here is the pink and taupe color pairing that I call the "cousin" of coral & chocolate (see post below). But upon second look...I think I've let a little of my crush on "coral" into this one too!

Abby of Style Me Pretty was kind enough to post my sketch & inspiration board of her own line Abby Jean Press on her blog today. We carry her stunning line of engraved and letterpress invitations here at the Paper Studio. When a bride walks in looking for something of ultimate elegance I show her the Abby Jean Press line. She has an exquisite eye for bringing glamour through subdued, luxurious color palettes and papers (ahem...much like her inspiration boards!). She has achieved what every bride wishes for: to feel both modern and timeless.


above: in ode to Abby's inspiration boards at Style Me Pretty, I created this one with her sketch and invitation in mind.
Stay tuned for more sketches and all things wedding tomorrow!

Paper Studio: Town & Country by Cat Seto

It's Wedding Week at ShopFriends! And I thought I'd start it off with one of my all time favorite wedding color pairings: Coral + chocolate.

Below is our Coral Willow wedding invitation from our Town & Country /Cat Seto Wedding line. The album goes from "vineyard to ballroom" and was created for my brides and customers who were having gorgeous weddings in Napa, Carmel, Malibu and other dazzling destinations. They wanted invitations that could convey both the beauty of their outdoor ceremonies combined with chic indoor receptions.


Our wedding invitations are printed on luxe stocks and can be embellished with crystals. Though I have chosen to pair Coral Willow with a more classic gown and reception decor, one of our brides chose to use this for her utterly modern, romantic wedding in Paris. I can't wait to see her pictures!

Continuing with the coral + chocolate theme...
On gowns: I love a little texture on a wedding gown...something that the camera will pick up in photographs and something that will convey a bit of the bride's personality and taste. I fell in love with these gowns and then sketched my own slightly conservative version.



For reception and bridesmaid, I love how coral and chocolate is a color palette found in so many cultures and traditions. Cherry willow lanterns and branches would meld sweetly with chocolate cameo favors or an antique brooch placed in your updo. I recently saw this Karta dress and fell in love with it (of course I had to sketch it too!). On second look, I thought it could make a really unique bridesmaid dress and give any wedding a little bit of a modern edge.


I'll be back later today to post up what I consider the demure "cousin" to coral and chocolate: blush and taupe.

Can you already tell my little team and I are color obsessed? And so of course I would love to hear from some of you on this: what are your favorite color palettes for a wedding?

Paper Studio by Cat Seto

I wanted to give you a little preview into "wedding week" on ShopFriends which starts on Monday. I can't wait to showcase invitation designers, dresses, and all things wedding for the next five days leading up to our event at "A Five Star Afternoon" San Francisco Wedding Fair at the Four Seasons next Sunday, January 13.

The Four Seasons Wedding Fair will introduce brides to our newly opened Paper Studio (which resides three shops down from our main Cat Seto ). But for those of you who aren't in the San Francisco area, we hope that our wedding week at ShopFriends will also give you a glimpse into what we do.

The Paper Studio is an intimate, appointments-preferred space where we meet with our brides and clients for everything from weddings and showers to baby announcments and personalized stationery. It contains our signature Cat Seto lines as well as a highly edited selection of what I would consider the best letterpress, engraved, and flat designers in my industry. I not only respect and LOVE their styles, but each designer is a true perfectionist in their work and service and I know every bride would be so lucky (as am I) to be working with them. Abby of Abby Jean Press is not only one of the designers I will be featuring next week, but she had the exquisite vision for the talented designers that make up the Paper Studio's collection.

Keep us bookmarked and stay tuned next week for giveaways and wedding posts!

London Soles

If you love flats, then you probably own a pair (or two or three) of London Soles. These ballet flats do not have a left or right and are supposed to mold and contour to you feet. How cute are those pinstriped ones? They run around $195 a pair and come in every imaginable print and color. The pirouette style, for example, is designed to show more "toe cleavage" and the Henrietta is supposed to have a deep plunge in the front.


Being a novice to flats...I actually own just one pair, a burnished metallic gold pair which luckily matches almost anything. Above: Cadenza actually has lots of adorable flats that she runs around the studio in. Here she is posing with one of our cards and her shimmery pointed toe flats.

rain or snow?

I saw that there was a record snowfall on New Year's day in my hometown of Michigan. Now I'm seeing forecasts for storms and lots of rain for San Francisco this coming week. So rain or snow, here is a company called Pare that designs just about the MOST adorable umbrellas I have ever seen. I mean each one...like candy!

Great Wall of Parties

This New Year's, we are looking forward to something relaxing and low key. But it doesn't hurt to look back at some of last year's greatest bashes. Although the Fendi Great Wall of China show happened in October, I think it will always be remembered. Rumored to cost 10 million and with 500 exclusive guests shivering in the breathtaking locale, Karl Lagerfeld used the actual Great Wall of China to showcase his line during sunset.


Happy New Year everyone! We will resume posts Jan 2. Health and happiness to all!
Below: there was a model who wore a stunning dress that seemed to capture all of the penetrating colors of the Great Wall. This sketch is part of our Studio Series of notecards available at our boutique.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone! We will be leaving Michigan and heading back to SF soon. It was wonderful to see family and friends and I always forget how amazingly hospitable and warm everyone here is. Stay tuned for more posts from the shop next week!