Some Beautiful things for the wedding

Though I've been organized about lining up vendors, I've been less successful trying to visualize our actual wedding and have yet to think about colors. With a little help from The Inspired Bride, I'm hoping that I will become inspired.
In this color scheme, I really love the pop of orange and the emphasis on the fall season. When I think of fall, I think of deep aubergines, rust, baby blue and other reds, yellows and leaf yellows, and I think that color scheme represents all of these elements in a subtle yet sophisticated way.

In addition to etsy, I also recently was enlightened about a site called Wedzu - "the etsy of wedding things." What I love about Wedzu is that it separates wedding elements into different categories, such as "accessories," "Ceremony & Reception" and various other categories in order to make browsing more accessible. So much fun.

Table markers from etsy

Love these earrings

beautiful invitations by Mitchell and Dent

something lovely for my bridesmaids?

Invitation Time?

We have a date...a dress ...a venue..... and now we need "save the dates." I'm trying to figure out if I want to design them myself (and the invitations) and figure out the printing somehow....or just outsource it all (since I already have a somewhat busy life) - but either way....started to look at some pretty typefaces, just in case I find the time! :)

I really am loving Brownstone. It has a whimsy that is just delightful and is both geometric and legible with some pretty ornate elements.

Phaeton just makes my heart sing - it feels like an old medicine show meets Tim burton. There is something about it that just feels so me.

Businessman Penmanship, also designed by Umbrella type, is an ode to 1800's script business penmanship - so it feels fluid and authentic while also looking really poetic and quirky.

Mary Read is a modern handwritten typeface inspired by the wind and the sea. Harsh curves are combined with graceful swashes. It feels funky and modern and also lavish at the same time.

I just love Nelly Script. It is the font for Lovely Bridal in NY and I see it used a lot on wedding invitations, boards and the sort. I love that is maintains the calligraphic feel of thicks, thins and bumps while also just being breathtaking.

Unbirthday presents - or engagement gifts ::wink wink::

So my sister today asked me about a registry - I told her that I hadn't even chosen a date yet for our wedding let alone thought about what we need... but then she got me thinking about all the lovely things that I would want and my list is already growing

Anyhow - if anyone wants to surprise me with an unbirthday gift - or surprise us with an engagement gift that is one of the following things, I would be more than thrilled!

We don't currently have the space for a grill - not that our fire alarms would allow for us to have a grill pan...but a good old cast iron grill pan will be nice for when we move to a place where the smoke detectors don't go off all the time (which will be soon) - this one is a Lodge

My mom bought me Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution cook book and all the soups call for an immersion blender...so that would be nice - since a regular blender (or at least the one we have) isn't cutting it!

This would make my life so much easier when I want to eat carrots in my salad.

I love these plates that they have right now at Anthropologie - I just love the nautical themes and the Kraken (or as I discovered today from the Sketches of Creation by Alexander Winchell the cuttlefish - see page 112)

Jonathan Adler is amazing and very creative - his whimsical platters, salt and pepper shakers and other kitchen accoutrement make me very happy.

ok - my not to subtle wishlist has begun

Venues - First look

Mason Murer via 100layercake

ambient plus studios via OnceWed

The Foundry at Puritan Mill via YoursMoment

King Plow Art Center wedding via StyleMePretty

So... my mom keeps calling to double check that I'm starting to look at Atlanta venues for our wedding. I've started to look, but not too seriously. Some of my initial options are:

King Plow Art Center
The Foundry at Puritan Mills
Ambient Plus studios
Mason Murer Gallery

Everything that I'm looking at is kindof industrial but also large spaces, since it seems that we might be needing room for many! And I want to be able to choose caterers and bartenders (possibly) since Ken and I are pretty keen on making sure that the food we serve will be dynamite!



Some caterers on the initial list:
Bold American
Sun in my Belly
Avalon Catering
5 & 10

so much to think about!

Wedding Accessories

Since I've been checking my blogs over the past 3-4 months, I've compiled quite a lot of stuff that I would potentially want to include in my wedding - but the most fun stuff has been accessories. Here are a few of my finds:

The English Department

Also a store in Portland, OR

cookoorikoo

twigs and honey

MiniatureRhino

emersonmade

Ban.do

Wedding Designers

So the wedding planning has begun - well...I've started to do research. But there are so many good ideas and interesting ways to go it is pretty overwhelming. Something I have been researching a little is wedding designers.

A wedding designer has a different role from a wedding coordinator or a wedding planner, though it seems that her role will merge a little with both the coordinator and the planner in that it is her job to make your wedding beautiful - so I would assume that include vendor coordination and wedding day set-up.

Two of the prominent Atlanta wedding designers I've been looking at are:

Joy Thigpen, Ashley Meaders - I've seen both of their weddings on Oh Joy! and Once Wed

In addition to wedding designers there are the planners and the coordinators.

A wedding planner is a seasoned professional who can confidently guide you through the entire wedding planning process. From engagement to the grand exit, they are your experienced guides in the world of all things wedding! They help you plot the course down the aisle and are there to answer questions all along the way. Often a wedding planner will also have a hand in event design. They will proffer ideas and inspiration for the “look and feel” of your event and help you secure vendors who will contribute to that cohesive vision.

A wedding coordinator, by contrast, is not necessarily deeply involved with the wedding plans. Their primary function is to facilitate a smooth-running event on the wedding day itself. They often jump into the picture a month or so before the wedding to gather key information and create a timeline. They may help you iron out final details and contact your vendors to confirm contract obligations. On the day-of, they run the show and ensure that things go according to plan.

I have a feeling I'm going to need a wedding coordinator - but...first we need a date and venue!

Monday Inspiration

When I can afford a $600 lamp - this will be hanging in my house. The new Miconos collection designed by Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide features glass globes over exposed bulbs, very simple and elegant.

via Design Woo

via FriendsofType

via PackagingUQAM

love this cute packaging work with illustrations by Ben Javens. Ben is a young illustrator our of the UK who says that "after wandering for several years in the wilderness that is life after graduation I found my true calling as an illustrator and haven't looked back since."

Copy me?!

I was doing some identity browsing today - as I like to do - and came across the following work from The Official Mfg. Co. aka OMFGco out in Portland, OR. Their work is cute, trendy and fun. But I noticed that their branding for Olympic Provisions very closely matched work I've previously blogged about by ptarmak for The Chop Shop.

Not only do the brands look similar, the photography is and style of showing work is similar too. Now, I know that copying is the greatest form of flattery - but this might be going a little closer to plagiarism - although in the world of the internet, I don't know which came first - the chop shop or olympic provisions.

by OMFG

by PTMK

more cups and bowls

i want

in case you were wondering...

If I were a month, I’d be november.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be saturday.
If I were a time of day, I’d be dusk.
If I were a planet, I’d be saturn.
If I were a sea animal, I’d be a whale.
If I were a direction, I’d be east.
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a bed.
If I were a liquid, I’d be rain.
If I were a gemstone, I’d be a emerald.
If I were a tree, I’d be a willow.
If I were a tool, I’d be a rope.
If I were a flower, I’d be a hydrangea.
If I were a kind of weather, I’d be snow.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a banjo.
If I were a color, I’d be orange.
If I were an emotion, I’d be merriment.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a plum.
If I were a sound, I’d be harmony.

If I were an element, I’d be carbon.
If I were a car, I’d be a reliable one.
If I were a food, I’d be a matzah ball.
If I were a place, I’d be by the sea and the mountains.
If I were a material, I’d be a cotton.
If I were a taste, I’d be sweet.
If I were a scent, I’d be patchouli.
If I were an object, I’d be tchotschke.
If I were a body part, I’d be a shoulder.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be a surprise.
If I were a song, I’d be classical gas by eric claptoon.
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be sambas.

A little help from fellow designers about creative block

How I get over creative block

thank you Scott Hansen

Some SVA staff and posters

I'm wondering if I want to invest in the 2009 Feltron Annual Report. Nicholas Feltron is a designer and organizer based in NY. He is a master of mapping data and creating really interesting, dynamic and organized infographics for clients such as Wired, Real Simple Magazine, Time Magazine and CNN.com. He also is one of the men in charge of Daytum.com - a website for collecting personal data. He is in SVA's interactive department.

Beautiful identity work from Graphic ExchanGE from a company called MyORangeBox. MyORangeBox (or MyORB) is Lucie Kim's art/design company located in NYC. She describes her work as "curious, intriguing and playful" - I like the sound of that. Lucie currently teaches at SVA and is a full time designer. I really love the website, it is "curious, intriguing and playful", as is her work.

Also loving the beautiful work by Adam The Velcro Suit

Jim Tierney's Jules Verne Designs

You need to check out Jim Tierney's work.

Just look at this:Jules Verne cover designs by Jim Tierney from Jim Tierney on Vimeo.

Rubber Design - San Francisco

While researching today, I came across work from Rubber Design - A flexible firm (cute little tagline). They are a fairly new firm - started in 2001 - but their work is cute, graphic and succinct. Their brands are also very well established and executed on all fronts - signage, interactive, print, logos & colors. Definitely fun.

Mid-Week Inspiration

Lauren Kaiser's typographical interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood

Jessica Hische's interview with LetterCult and her Day-Ruining client Invoice pads

Mossimo Vignelli's experiences with the NYC DOT and Helvetica