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.

Graphic Design

As you know every design I blog about has a story.......and this recent project is no different. I received an email from Dennis Brearley who was in need of some graphic design services. As always I am thrilled when a new client has found me based on a referral........so THANK YOU to Elisabeth Accardi owner of Upon A Star!
Dennis and his brother Matt own BREARLEY.COM a family business started in 1978 by their dad Dennis who was a talented photojournalist that received many awards for his work. Aside from being able to purchase their products online they also have a retail Kiosk located in the North Canopy of Quincy Market at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Dennis was in need of a poster that he would frame to put up in their retail location because he found that when customers arrived in the store they were unsure of how and where they could purchase items. I immediately went to their site www.brearley.com to see first hand what they sell and view some photos of the retail location. The challenge was the poster would be framed and hung amongst all the other photos for sale........so it needed to fit nicely but still stand out enough to educate customers on the many ways the photos can be purchased.
I asked Dennis to send me one of his favorite photos I could use in one of the designs I would be presenting. For the other design option I wanted to strictly use fonts only. I'm a huge fan of TYPE and shop for new FONTS like most girls shop for shoes. The first poster design I used the photo I had been giving at 30% opacity then mixed different fonts over it. The look was simple but would look nicely hung amongst the other works of art.

The second design I wanted to be completely different from the first one I created........TOTALLY feel like I have achieved that. I want the look to be a bit historic and vintage but still modern. I used 5 different fonts added texture to some while leaving others as is. I wanted the design to pop so that customers would naturally gravitate towards it just because it was so different from what was on the wall. I LOVE how both posters came out but I never tell a client what my favorite is because I do not want to influence their decision.

I was over the moon when Dennis replied that they loved both and would like to order one of each. The ALL TYPE design was ordered in a 20x24 poster which I know will look fabulous in the Kiosk in Boston. I feel very proud to have two of my designs hang amongst the photos of such a talented photographer.......did I mention the late Dennis Bearley won the Pulitzer Prize in 1978. I will be making a road trip to Faneuil Hall Market Place soon; yes to see my POSTER DESIGNS but to also pick up two really cool Patriots photo's that were taking during the famous SNOW
GAME. SHHHHHHH don't tell my boys I plan on giving each of them one for Christmas.

Kristen & Peter's Wedding

Fall by far is my favorite season but considering it's only November 3rd and I am already looking at SNOW on my deck I felt the need to spread some SUNSHINE and what better way then to talk about a stunningly perfect summer wedding that I recently designed invitations for. I met Kristen about a year before we even began designing her invitations, she already had her color palette and vision for her upcoming summer wedding in place. The colors: tiffany blue and a soft butter yellow, the vision: clean lines, classic elegance and just a hint of sparkle.

She wanted the design of her invite to reflect her vision so she went with a horizontal portable pocket style in a shimmery card stock called crème brûlée by using this style pocket it keeps the entire look self contained within a 7x5 space. I created a custom monogram and hand embellished the center letter with clear glitter. The accent backer was a shimmery color called caspian and all the additional card stocks used were an ecru linen. 

The table numbers were also hand embellished with glitter bringing a pop of sparkle to her tables. We continued the use of glitter on all the place cards which were attached to sand dollars. As you can see from all the photos Kristen's color palette and vision have come together seamlessly....from the bridesmaids dresses to the flowers.........all perfectly set in the Mansion at Turner Hill.

 

I was lucky enough to also design Kristen's Bridal Shower Invitations to see how the design process started, click HERE to read the blog I did about them. Working with Kristen and her mom Kerry was such a wonderful experience and I am so grateful to have such FABULOUS clients!

Congratulations to Kristen and Peter I wish you endless happiness and bliss!

The Stunning Wedding Box & Sand dollars were created by Mother of the Bride, Kerry
Photography: by Benoit & McCarthy
Flowers: by Donna of Pepperberry in Byfield

Welcome to Mo's TOWN

This is by far one of the COOLEST design projects that has ever come my way! First I have to thank Jen Hansen of Gracious Events for recommending me to Elisabeth Accardi owner of Upon A Star an event planning company that specializes in theme events for children. Ten minutes into my two hour phone consult with Elisabeth I knew we would be a perfect fit....she dreams big and her ideas are anything but generic!

Timing wise I was coming on board later, so the invitations where already done but OMG what I would have done....maybe next time:) The event was for an adorable little boy named MO who was celebrating his 2nd birthday. The party was held at RUMOR Night Club in Boston........the perfect setting for this record themed party. First order of business was to design a logo for the party that would be used throughout the event. Elisabeth came up with the idea of Mo's TOWN......SERIOUSLY  I could not wait to get started! The color palette was bright turquoise, lime green and black. Elisabeth wanted the use of the Boston Skyline in the logo which is was brilliant seeing that the party was being held in the city. I truly LOVE how the logo turned out, it sets the tone of this party perfectly. One Bite Sweet of Cambridge did a stunning job incorporating Mo's logo on the cakes and push pops. I love how she was able to display the Boston Skyline around the base of the cakes!

So about a year ago my paper company came out with some new papers one of them being BLACK VINYL........and I remember thinking "when I would ever be able to use that"! Each guest would receive a party favor that was a CD of Mo's favorite songs, in keeping with the theme I designed a custom sticker to put on all the favors. To give the feel of a how real vinyl records were once packaged I ordered portable pockets in the black vinyl card stock to insert the CD's into......so perfect!

Elisabeth wanted a way to display fun facts about Mo so guests could read at the cocktail tables.......they would act like confetti. She wanted the front of the card to read "did you know" but because she is truly talented and has vision she changed it to be "DID YOU MO"......so stinking creative! I had mini cards produced that guests could flip over to reveal a fact about MO while they stood at the tables. Custom tent cards were also made for the food which was served on REAL vinyl records.......how COOL is that!

The last item Elisabeth needed were posters, the night club had some large windows she thought it would be perfect to display them there. The first was a "welcome" poster that displayed Mo's logo and a night skyline, the next poster by far is my favorite. For the design we wanted to keep with the whole vinyl record, chart topping music theme. I designed a vinyl record and thought it would be clever to include fun information about Mo in the spots that normally would list record information. The four songs listed are actually Mo's favorite, if you click on the photo you can read all the record info that relates to the birthday boy! I had a blast working on this project and can't wait until Elisabeth calls me to be a part of another one of her FABULOUS events.

I would like to personally thank photographer Andrea of Open Shade Studios for taking such great pictures of my work and allowing me to use them in my blog!

A Venue....... fit for a designer!

A few months ago I received an email from one of my brides asking if I would design the invitations for her upcoming bridal shower. She had attached some photos of the venue........OMG I just could not believe this place, Upstairs on the Square located in Harvard Square is by far the coolest establishment I have ever seen. I recognize the name but honestly never new what a fabulous GEM this place was. Emily's shower will be held in the UpStairs Soirée Dining Room reminiscent of a glowing and colorful jewel-box-like supper club. I truly was over the moon that I would be designing the invitation....I started with a color palette of lilac, aqua, pink and gold which I used to design a custom plaid that would mimic what is used in the venue. I LOVE the design of UpStairs on the Square and whoever designed their identity is a PURE GENIUS. Emily wanted her invitation to have a similar feel but reflect that fact that is was a bridal shower. Once I created the plaid it was framed and accented by an umbrella and hand embellished with glitter. I continued the use of the plaid in EMILY'S name and the name of the venue.

We continued the use of the design for the table numbers and custom drink sign. It has become very popular at weddings and showers to offer a signature drink. Emily went with Hits of Sunshine which is an Elderflower Liqueur with Raspberry Puree and Bubbly...........YUM! We took the logo and replaced the umbrella with a champagne glass......of course glittered. Considering the seating at UpStairs on the Square was unique Emily decided a seating chart would be best. We used her logo with the glittered umbrella on two signs that would be mounted in 8x10 frames where guests would be able to find their names and what table they would be sitting at. I honestly LOVE everything about this invitation......the design, the palette and how the overall feel sets the tone for a truly exceptional and unique venue. I know when guests arrive that the design will come full circle for them as they step into this jewel boxed room.

Stay tuned..........Emily's Wedding theme is "Winter Wonderland" I can't wait to share her Save-The-Date and Wedding Invitation designs with you.............so stunning!