Emily & Charlie....A Winter Wonderland

It was just about this time last year that I first met with Emily and Charlie to begin the design process for their Winter Wonderland Wedding that would take place January 7, 2012. I was so grateful to Gregory at FLOUER as he is the one that referred them to me. In order to give you the full picture lets start with their Save The Dates, this was the first piece that their guests would see a little hint of what to expect. The venue would be the Harvard Club in Boston a stunning city venue rich in history with a color palate of silver, white and just the slightest hint of ice blue. For the Save the dates we began with a long 4x9 2 layer card in platinum with the text card in first snow. The coordinating platinum envelopes had each of the guests addresses custom printed and the wedding date was highlighted by clear glitter.

The next part of the design process were the invitations for Emily's Bridal Shower click here to re-visit the blog I did about her design.......this was one of my favorites!

When we began the design process for the Wedding Invitations the first thing Emily told me was she did not want to use a snowflake because she felt it was to typical of her overall theme. However, after a few rounds of samples with monograms in the end I gave her one with a snowflake which was the winner. The main invitation was a portable pocket in graphite with a stunning brocade design in the back. We used an ever so slight edge of the ice blue and continued the use of that color throughout different accents in the text. The main invitation and coordinating cards were all first snow and the outer envelope was graphite custom printed with each of the guests addresses in the same fonts used throughout the design.

When I say they cared about the details I was not lying just look at the aisle runner, printed in a pattern almost identical to what we used for her invitations the pattern even had glitter in it too. Their caring was not just reserved for the material items of the wedding but also for their guests, notice the menu card......there were TWO four course offerings one solely designed for guests requiring a Gluten Free Vegan Diet. The menu card was on the longer side with a titanium backer and all the text printed on first snow, you can see from the chosen table linens how stunning the menu looks against the white napkin.

When it came to the topic of place cards they wanted something different......why not mittens for this Winter Wonderland Wedding. The paper was slightly more casual so in order to dress them up each number was hand embellished with an ice blue glitter and then the cuff of the mitten was accented by a stunning blue double faced satin ribbon. The wedding program was a folded 4x9 card which match the over design and feel of the wedding.

As you know it is not often that I am on site at the actual weddings of my clients but when Gregory at FLOUER who was handling all their arrangements told me he would be the one setting up the menu cards, place cards, signage and programs I offered to come in and do it myself. It was truly incredible to see everything come full circle.........all the details that they cared about truly showed. From the STUNNING table arrangements, to the linens, to the ceremony site not one item was out of place.

I always enjoy working with Gregory he is extremely talented and has the NICEST staff. It was amazing to see how they built all Emily and Charlies arrangements on site. When she told me that her arrangements were going to be ALL WHITE I was not sure how that would work until I walked into the ballroom. Every inch of this room has beautiful deep wood paneled walls it was at that moment I realized one, I was wrong and two, Gregory knows what he is doing. Color would not have looked as nice as the white because it would have competed with the darkness of the wood paneled walls.

The best part of the day was being able to see Emily and Charlie.....yes Charlies Tux was nice but on this day Emily's wedding gown totally took center stage...........seriously STUNNING! I have yet to have a client not be happy with my services and I hope I never do but as I was saying my goodbyes Charlie gave me the nicest compliment.....he said, "that he and Emily felt like they had the DREAM TEAM of wedding professionals" I am thrilled that I was just one of the professionals that made up that team. Yesterday, was unseasonable warm for Boston and there was not a snowflake on the ground to be found but inside at the Harvard Club it was a PERFECT Winter Wonderland for such a great couple.

Congratulations to Emily and Charlie I wish you all the happiness and are so honored that you chose me to be a part of your wedding.


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Introducing.....Pantones Color of the Year 2012

PANTONE has become the authority of color basically for any Creative Professional in the design community including the wedding industry. On December 8th, 2011 Pantone released that Tangerine Tango a vivacious, enticing hue, as the color of the year for 2012.

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

Depending on when you are getting married will depict how you can incorporate Tangerine Tango into your color palette and with what other accents colors would work with it. I made a wedding collage using the Tangerine Tango and some stunning accents colors that you may use if you were a spring bride. The center square offers some of my card stocks that I would considering using if a bride came to me with this particular palette. Whether you are a bride or just a fashion forward individual thinking of your spring wardrobe I hope to spread some inspiration your way.

Welcome 2012...I have high hopes for you!

First of all I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and to THANK all my past and present clients for allowing me to design for and be a part of their cherished events. One of my ultimate discoveries of 2011 was Pinterest this site allows you to make electronic inspiration boards......I LOVE it because when it comes to designing the first thing I always do is research and Pinterest makes it so easy. If you have never used it I recommend you do.....it will change your life. I have countless PIN BOARDS (click link to view) and one of my favorites is my INSPIRATIONAL BOARD. I'm a sucker for "inspirational quotes" and though I have so many favorites I will only share one which ironically I found this very morning. Steve Jobs know him, love him, hate him, he is a major source of inspiration for me. The first computer I ever used was an APPLE and honestly it's the only computer I have ever used. I was a follower/fan of Apple before it was COOL to be. So this quote from Steve Jobs is my favorite for 2011 it gives HOPE to all the individuals who are or did pursue a road less traveled for their career. It's not easy to make what you LOVE doing a career but if you CAN and DO....what a rewarding feeling it is. I have been on this road for 4 years now and are slowly making my way there, questioning myself everyday if it was the right decision. More often than not I know it was the right move for me, so I keep going having faith that it will get better and grow a little more with every NEW YEAR.

I have some EXCITING NEWS I would like to share........as a designer I meet and work with a lot of other talented professionals, quite a few have been featured in my blog postings as I'm a firm believer in spreading VENDOR LOVE. I love designing and are always looking for anything that will help me grow and make me a better designer. Last February I was invited to do a wedding workshop with Gregory Costa-Saint John owner of FLOUER which is where I first met Jen Hansen owner of Gracious Events Management in just ten short months I've worked with Jen on quite a few events and a few weeks ago received an early Christmas present.....Jen asked if I would come on board with her company part-time to work events and to handle the DESIGN needs for Gracious Events and their clients.....of course I said YES. This opens a whole new world for me.......as a designer it's rare that I am at the venues for the invitations I designed. Seeing the inside as well as meeting and working with the other vendors involved will not only give me new ideas and vision but essentialy make me a better designer. Nothing will change with BeeCustom Design or how I operate I am just increasing my experience and are so excited to pass it along.

Last night was my first REAL event working for Gracious Events......and I will say there is nothing like working an event for the FIRST TIME EVER that you came on board one week prior, that it's a large wedding, on New Years Eve, the venue Spring Step consists of 4 levels, which all needed to be set and flipped in a very short amount of time. It was the fastest 6 hours I have ever spent working and LOVED every minute of it. It's INCREDIBLE to see how a wedding comes together from the ground up and I have such an appreciation for the amount of work it takes. Below are some photos I took of the wedding......ENJOY:)

VENUE: Spring Step in Medford, MA
EVENT PLANNER: Gracious Events Mangement, Newburyport MA
FLOWERS: Flouer, Woburn MA
LIGHTING:moveitmusic.com

A Casino Wedding Celebration

Over the last couple of years I have noticed that Couples are planning intimate Destination Weddings which are proceeded by a huge back home reception party. Such is the case for this recent design I worked on for Amy and Dennis. Their formal Wedding took place in Costa Rica and would be followed by a large at home reception a month later. Amy and Dennis did not want this to mimic the wedding they just had but do something totally different. They decided on a Casino Night for all their guests which I thought was brilliant. We began with a color palette of deep purple and black, where Amy's wedding invitations were already extremely formal she wanted these ones to be fun and reflect the tone of the event. I started with a shimmery purple backer called majestic, the invite was printed on white linen and everything was inserted into a white linen envelope.

For the design I of course wanted to incorporate a Casino feel but also for it to be personal. I started with the the brides new last name which is KANE, paired it will a heart in two of the corners that was hand embellished with clear glitter........end result was the KING of HEARTS.....LOVE IT! I included some fun casino related text in order to make the invite less formal and more fun. The overall casino theme from the invitations was carried over to the custom stickers for all the favors which was a deck of cards. For the table numbers I designed a folded black card with all the numbers glittered in purple. As you can see from the reception photos the lighting also was a perfect fit with the overall theme thanks to the fabulous group over at Boston Lighting.

A Dirty Water Holiday

So I feel like Christmas has come early this year for me.......at least on the design side. When I first started BeeCustom Design I would often do a lot of shows or events where I would display my designs in an effort to promote what I do...........to be completely honest I never got that many clients from doing the shows but what I did get was to network with the other professionals either displaying like myself or the ones running the event. I have blogged about Julie Fairweather who owns In Full Force before, have done three of her events and the BEST thing that came out of those three events was the business relationship that I gained with her. I have been waiting for the opportunity to work with her and within two months I have come on board as the designer for two of her current projects and could not be happier. The first project I will blog about later because it is still in the design process but most recently she offered me such a cool project which was to design an invitation for Dirty Water TV's upcoming holiday party.

 
I have often said to Julie that I get tired just reading her FB page........because not only does she own In Full Force which puts on tons of events throughout the year, she also heads up the entire Marketing Department for Dirty Water TV. For all of my blog readers that do not live in Boston Dirty Water TV is a FABULOUS source for what is happening in the New England Nightlife and is on every Saturday night at 11:30 on NESN.

I know I say I love everything I create but honestly this is one of my favorites for 2011. Designing for a business event is no different then designing for an individual person. I knew the invite design needed to possess everything Dirty Water TV is.....informative, sexy and fun! I'm not sure who designed their logo but I have always loved it.......and wanted to some way incorporate it into the design without it looking like a piece of business stationery.  Julie of course made my job even easier by providing me with all the content......which in turn inspired the design. I went with a single 4x9 card in metallic white which set the feel of winter I LOVED idea of using the fancy sleigh being pulled by a motor cycle because it just screamed cool. Once I placed the logo in the sleigh.........it all came together and perfectly sets the tone for their upcoming holiday party. I LOVED it, Julie LOVED it and hopefully every guest that receives one will LOVE it too. Happy Holidays Dirty Water TV.....I am sure the party will not disappoint......we all know Julie can put on one FABULOUS event!!!!!!

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Brigham Women's Holiday Party 2011

This is the time of year when lots of holiday parties are being thrown.....a few weeks ago Elisabeth Accardi owner of Upon A Star contacted me about a project she was involved in with Brigham Women's 2011 Holiday Party. She was brought on board to handle all the children's events for the day of the party and needed me to design a poster and signage for all the activity stations. The color palette was grey, black and a bright raspberry.........she wanted the look and feel to be magical. I first designed a magician hat and wand then positioned it so that all the names of the activities were spilling out of the hat. I used a magical style font that has a star like feature and positioned additional stars in the background. The same design was carried over to the smaller activity signs that would be framed and placed at each station. I LOVE how it all came together and best of all so did Elisabeth. There are some fabulous activities planned for all the kids and I am sure they will not be disappointed:)

Holiday Graphic Design

So as much as I would LOVE to share all the fabulous holiday cards and invitations that I have been designing you will have to wait until my clients have actually mailed them.......would hate to ruin the surprise. I work with a lot of small business owners who may not need holiday cards but need holiday designs to promote their businesses. I thought I would share some of what I have been doing.
First up is Mason and Madison, Gifts With Style as you know owner Liz White and I work together on a lot of different projects; she is never at a loss when it comes to fun ways of promoting her business! This year she is doing the 12 days of Christmas each day she posts a great deal on a product in her store on Face Book all you have to do is become a fan of Mason and Madison's page on FB then when the deal is posted tag yourself in the photo......so easy! At the end of each day a winner is chosen........GENIUS! Liz never does anything unless she can do it 100% so she wanted to add a logo to her promotion which is smart because it gives the promotion an identity and establishes a presence on all her fans FB pages. I was given the color palette and told to do what I thought best........I LOVE how it came out, best of all Mason and Madison's 12 days of Christmas has been a HUGE hit on Face Book, if you want to be a part of it just click HERE.

Next up is Clean Monster Car Wash........I recently did some posters for Dennis Brearley's other business and was thrilled when he reached out to have me come up with a holiday design to promote gift certificates for his Car Wash/Detailing business. I LOVE logos especially the one for Clean Monster it's so fun and has a great color scheme........I am not sure who designed it but KUDOS to them! The goal was to come up with one design that would be used for a post card, newspaper ad and email blast. I wanted to use a sleigh but the one I have was to formal so I designed a new one that was more whimsical and fit better with the over feel I was going for. I inserted the logo into the sleigh and added my VW beetle on to pull the sleigh. I carried the initial post card design over to the email blast and to the ad that would be running in the local newspaper.