free for all

i’ve always been into graphic design and typography. which means that by default, i tend to obsess over the paper elements involved in a wedding… from the invitation suite to the program to the favor tag.

so the thing is, a fabulous font really makes a difference. particularly if the paper item is  DIY labor of love. just because it’s being done on the cheap or at home, there’s no reason you have to stick to the 12 basic fonts your computer came with. of all the stationery pieces i’ve designed this year (i’ll show you soon, i promise), i’ve integrated fonts i’ve downloaded online.

so, without further ado… i’m letting you in on a few of my favorite sites:

dafont

free fonts

fonts for peas

if you’ve got good penmanship, turn your handwriting into a font! but don’t even think about using it for your thank you notes. that’s what a pen is for. learn how with your fonts.

candy is dandy

in 2010 i found myself putting two very different candy bars together. the first, at a bat mitzvah, had a very distinct color palette, and standard 8-foot table. i kept it simple, using footed glass vessels, a few choice grosgrain ribbons, and my client’s monogram/logo as stickers for the bags. i took a few things away with me from doing this project, the most interesting being that kids love blue gummy bears. orange twizzlers…not so much.

photo by roey yohai

 

months later, it was time for another candy bar. this time, a bar mitzvah. instead of a simple candy bar, my client’s vision was a bit grander; she wanted me to recreate the feeling of the lower level of dylan’s candy bar in new york city. this was quite the production: a large plexiglass tray sat atop 6 glo-cubes (we lit them up just before we let the guests attack) from taylor creative, which were rigged onto a wooden dolley so we could wheel it into place after putting enough candy on top of it to rival a sumo wrestler on the scale. the key here was having the same candy on both sides to maximize traffic. oh, and just standing back while it was completely foraged.

smilebooth love

i love photobooths. LOVE them. as in, can’t get enough of them. must seize every opportunity to pose in one.

while i treasure a vintage-style booth with an actual old-school strip, i also love the newer options…including the digital amazingness with custom backdrops from smilebooth.

i’m so happy that smilebooth was able to be a part of the big bridal market party at msw in october and that ashley meaders made such a fun, metallic background. and it was cool when she emailed me the other day to let me know that i made it onto their newly redesigned homepage. that’s me in the lower left thank you very much. it was the last photo of the night, and i’m glad i took it!

head to toe bridesmaid

this year i was a bridesmaid three times over. i’m well on my way to starring in my own version of ’27 dresses’. each bride chose a different route…

bride #1:
-one dress for all bridesmaids in a taupe/champagne nude chiffon by carol hannah
-we kept it all nude and dreamy with pink nails (sugar daddy by essie) and soft gold heels (my feet thank you, naturalizer prissy)
-i prepped my hair for the outdoor summer ceremony with plenty of angel from devachan

bride #2:
-as long as it was navy, short, and cotton cady we could pick any j.crew dress
-to tie in the clover green in the color palette, we slipped into dessy flats and kate spade earrings
-barely there nails in allure

bride #3:
-i again got to choose the cut of my dress from a selection of plum-colored tissue taffeta amsale options (i chose an a-line with thick halter straps)
-after one successful go wearing my comfy heels, i found a silver pair for this wintery wedding
-i added some personality by painting my nails a dark purple and wearing funky lucite and swarovski earrings by alexis bittar–both matched the irridescence of my dress perfectly

five quick tips

recently i was asked to be a part of amy nichols special events’ five quick tips column. it was fun putting my list together, and sharing the one thing i’ll 100% be sure to do when i’m the one getting married.

read and heed!