January Charity

Over the holidays I had a minute to catch my breath and I realized how lucky I am to be doing what I want for a living, and to have a husband who supports me in my endeavors. I sometimes take that for granted and need to remind myself that not everyone is as lucky.

So I made a new year's resolution to pay it forward and be a more charitable person.

Every month in 2008, I am going to donate my time or money to a different charity and will post them on my blog. 

For the month of January, I'm donating to The Welcome to America Project. The mission of WTAP is "to build bridges of neighborly understanding between the local community and refugees recently arrived from countries ravaged by war, genocide and hate." 

For more information, visit their website or check out their blog. 

Creighton + Stacey

Creighton and Stacey's November wedding was coordinated by the fabulous Victoria Canada and took place at The Sanctuary (such a gorgeous location!) 

Stacey was an out-of-state bride, so amazingly enough we never actually met face-to-face. Email to the rescue! We quickly established that these two were looking for a combination of traditional and contemporary elements for their yellow-hued festivities, so letterpress printing seemed an obvious choice. I am always thrilled at the chance to make use of this printing style for clients -- it has a wonderful tactile and handmade quality that cannot be duplicated on digital presses. Very sophisticated. Very Martha.

Thanks to the super talented Stuart Thurlkill of Eyes 2 See Photography for sharing the images!

Christi + Matt

Christi and Matt were married in November at the Japanese Friendship Garden, followed by a reception at The Arizona Science Center. (I didn't realize the Science Center did weddings, but it's AMAZING inside!)

We started off with tickets in the form of "concert tickets" (will post images of those later) because as Matt remarked, "music is my church". So we took the idea of music and ran with it. They named their tables after their favorite bands, so their escort cards had cute sayings like, "please be seated with the beatles". 

Rather than making separate programs and menus, we combined the two into a booklet that went along with the asian/minimalist/green and brown decor. Brides, this is a great way to save a little money and keep your guests entertained while the best man drones on about lord knows what :)

Thanks to the lovely Hollye Schumacher for sharing the photos!

Spring Color Forecast

Twice a year, Pantone releases it's Color Reports that predict color trends for Fall and Spring. 

I love to see what they come up with, because it often ties into what brides will want to do with their wedding decor. (If you read Martha Stewart Weddings regularly, you'll notice that the color palates they use usually tie into these Pantone Reports.)

To see the full report, including fun illustrations from top fashion designers, click here.

Messy Mandy

Happy New Year!

This time of year always makes me feel like a bit of a slob. Every home/garden/decor magazine devotes its January issue to organization. I'd love to go on a spending spree at The Container Store, but all of those pretty binders and trays would undoubtedly be buried under a stack of paper and ribbon by the first of February. It's not that I'm not organized -- I know where everything is. I'm just more "organized chaos" than your average HGTV host would like to see.

Enter Messy Mandy, my sister-in-law and professional jack of all trades. She recently started her dream company and needed a logo and identity to go with it. (See her new postcards below). Amanda will organize your closet, walk your dog, do your grocery shopping and help you throw a dinner party. Unfortunately for us desert dwellers, she currently resides in a trendy Chicago neighborhood. But I'm sure her new business will be so successful she'll be able to "winter" in Arizona and help all of us who take pride in our organized chaos. 

PS - this is also a shameless plug for my graphic design services. If you need help with branding/collateral/logos/etc., email me.

Tess + Jeff

Another great wedding shot by the illustrious Mark Cafiero!

Tess and Jeff wanted bold, graphic elements to tie into their black, white and red wedding. We created fan-style programs for guests to read and cool off with during their outdoor ceremony.

For dinner, guests were beckoned to the yummy buffet treats with oversized menu boards that incorporated the stripes, dots and color scheme they selected. 

Matt + Sherry

Matt and Sherry were married in May (yes, I'm a little behind in my posts) and were an absolute blast to work with! Such a kind and generous couple, and you could really tell they liked each other. 

This wedding was as much about two people joining together as it was about the merging of their two families. They used "Live well, laugh often, love much" as their slogan for the day and we carried it through all of the printed materials; from the tags on the hotel bags to a giant "red carpet" sign that was used as a photo backdrop at the reception.

They also requested that their guests dress in shades to match their wedding (not a stretch as it was black, white and pale blue) which made for some exceptionally coordinating photos.

Here are some highlights below, provided by photographer genius Mark Cafiero.