Invite Couture on Elegance and Simplicity

During Bridal Fashion Week in NYC at the Get Married Magazine Launch Party I had the pleasure of meeting Katie Martin of Elegance and Simplicity Wedding & Event Designers. Elegance and Simplicity is an event planning company with a green, ec0-friendly focus based out of Washington DC.

Katie was nice enough to do a feature of Invite Couture on her Elegance and Simplicity blog. You can check out the article here.

Whimsical Custom Note Card Stationery

When most folks think of what stationery they'll need for their big event, the first thing that comes to mind is invitations. So when a previous client contacted me that she was interested in creating some additional thank you cards to send out after her 50th birthday party, I was so impressed she was not only thinking that far ahead, but would consider having a custom note card made as opposed to buying a generic pack at a local pharmacy or what not.

After a quick phone consultation, we both determined she'd most likely get more use out of personal stationery note cards. That way she can use them for both personal and business correspondence as well as thank you notes.

The design I created for her mirrored a lot of similar elements from her birthday invitations (which were the Fall Inspired ones here). She wanted something fun and not too serious. My favorite part about this design is how the design carries from the back to the front of the note card.

Do you have personal stationery? If so what do you use them for?

My Own Gatsby Inspired Wedding

I've been meaning to post photos from my very own wedding for the past year. When it's your own wedding it's so hard to try to edit down the photos, you just want to include them all! I've finally edited down my photos to what I thought were a reasonable amount so here it finally is!

I was married at Oheka Castle in Huntington, Long Island on the most beautiful, picture perfect day on October 4th 2008. Oheka Castle is the 2nd largest (originally) private home in the U.S., ranked behind the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. It's a classic, Gold Coast home whose owner was the inspiration in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby". For my husband and I, we love NYC area architecture and history and we wanted to choose a venue that reflected what we love about NYC art deco style. Being a 1920's mansion, we felt Oheka was the perfect place to hold our big event.

In the event you've seen the WE Channel special "Unforgettable Wedding Venues", Oheka was ranked number one, and my wedding is the one featured on the show. It was a pleasure to be a bride planning a wedding and be featured on the WE Channel without having to be a Bridezilla (haha). You can see me and my husband being interviewed at the end of the video clip below.

The wedding was a wonderful, yet laborious process. I did not have a wedding planner, so my mother (a VERY talented interior designer) and myself handled planning my wedding for 300 guests ourselves. Every single detailed I dreamed of and imagined for my wedding we created by hand. For example, I sketched out a centerpiece idea I had where I wanted to create a tall centerpiece where the top resembled a crystal chandelier, and a 1920's inspired palm arrangement was nestled inside the chandelier. My mother located these great garden planters which we then spray painted gold and hand beaded the top to create exactly what my sketch looked like. Each centerpiece took us around 6-8 hours each to make, so we were both happy once we had them all completed!

I also personally designed my own wedding cake. I created yet another sketch to provide our pastry chef who executed my vision beautifully! The cake features the same design elements as the invitations I had designed for the wedding, which has now become a signature design for my invitation design company Invite Couture.

We also wanted our wedding to be one our guests never forgot, so we were sure to include lots of unique activities to keep the evening exciting. Our guest book featured a photo booth where our guests to take photos, insert them in our guest book and write us a message. During dinner, we kept the guests entertained with a cirque du soleil inspired hand balancing performance. We also ended the evening with White Castle's (NOTHING is better after an evening of drinking!), cigars and karaoke. Overall it was an amazing day and one our guests are still talking about even a year later!

What was my favorite moment of the day? It was standing on the alter/stage with my husband, holding hands and reciting our vows to each other. The weather was beautiful, the setting even more gorgeous and there I was standing with the man I love in front of all our friends and family, professing our love to each other.

What was your favorite moment of your wedding? Or if you haven't gotten married just yet, what was is your favorite part of the planning process?

All photos by Silk Studio Weddings.

My Wedding Vendors:

Invitations: Designed Myself (now Invite Couture)
Dress: Priscilla of Boston
Bridesmaids Dresses: Priscilla of Boston
Floral Design: Fleur de Florissima
Photography: Silk Studio Weddings
Event Production and Entertainment (Props, Musicians and DJ): MME