soul mates photography

since we are talking about invitation ideas, check this one out. i have just recently met a wonderful photographer and fantastic person, melissa tomeoni, who is the creative eye and designer of soul mates photography here in portland. and during our great cup of coffee (well, her coffee because i am prego and can't have it!!) she showed me this invite. i absolutely LOVE this idea. this couple took their engagement photos and made a colorful tri-fold invite for their guests, including the cutest postcard of themselves for a rsvp! i think this is a wonderful idea for couples to introduce themselves and show off their personalities to their family and friends--especially if you have a spouse-to-be who is not so familiar to everyone coming to your wedding.

melissa also sent me some of their engagement shots that help create their invitation look. thank you so much melissa!!! we shall see more of her and soul mates photography soon!

studio olivine

good morning and happy monday--wow, do i feel refreshed from this weekend!! i hope you all do as well :) and when we got back last night i was so excited to see some e-mails from a good friend of mine julie dutton from studio olivine about her latest invitation endeavor! i've been anxiously awaiting her newest designs and this one is just gorgeous. she's never one to disappoint!

my eye is always drawn to letterpress and handmade paper--there is nothing like it. and since i am not the letterpress expert, i wanted her to share with you her vision and process for this invite:

So these were a really fun project. Their wedding theme is Damask. So everything relates to that pattern in some way. They came to me and said they wanted Damask, but nothing that was flowery. So I hit the fabric store and got some inspiration. They really wanted something inclusive, so I decided to design this as a folder with a pocket. The large plum colored pattern was printed with one giant wood block letterpress plate. The pockets were scored and glued on the corners by Elisabeth (my helper) and I. Then on the invitation, I used a pale lilac wash version of the Damask placed behind the text so that people's eyes would get a chance to breathe a bit, but everything would still be tied together. The rsvp cards were stuffed into the pockets. Total this took 9 different letterpress plates. There were 200 invitations, so that means that it took a total of 1,800 times through the letterpress to finish the project. Two full days of work. A labor of love, indeed.

i hope we will see more of studio olivine's designs soon! thanks so much, julie!!

purple inspiration

good morning! i hope your week is going well so far...well, i am headed out of town today and i couldn't be more excited!! it's our 2 wedding anniversary & my birthday coming up in the next week so we are off to celebrate. and yes, without our little one :) it's just till sunday, but we are in definite need for relaxation and sun. so i encourage you to check out all the days you might have missed here on weddings fresh and enjoy the archives until i return.

for today, i was inspired by this purple & white room from coco + kelley. though purple is probably my least favorite of colors, i just couldn't take my eyes off of this room. stunning.

purple room--coco+kelley blog

oscar de la renta spring collection 2009

purple linen--bbj linen

cake display--brides.com

table scape--cottage living

purple room--project wedding

old fashioned delight

poppies--tim evan-cook

flower pin--jennifer behr

heirloom tomatoes--matt bites

tara keely spring 2009 collection

creamy candles--cecily ink blog

old fashioned jar--southern weddings blog

chalkboard & rustic food display--brides.com

gown friday

good morning! i want to thank all of you for your comments and e-mails about my little announcement, you are too kind. and more than just congratulating me, i really enjoy hearing from you readers! thank you for even checking this little blog out--i love wedding so much, it's great to meet all of you who do too :)

i hope your friday is wonderful and as well as your weekend. and for today i chose some gowns from the vineyard collection spring 2009--i basically love anything they design to begin with, but this season is just such simple elegance. and if you have been with me here for long, i am all about simple and elegant :)

{photo credits}

blush & bashful

perhaps a more modern approach to the classic "blush & bashful" :)

tree lighting--{sandra lane}

flowers in vase--{polly wreford}

roses & wine--{tim evan-cook}

carolina hererra spring 2009 collection

flower stamped cake--{martha stewart}

rosemary sea salt--{martha stewart}

plum party!

we all know that wedding supply sites can be slightly overwhelming and more likely than not, cheesy. it's hard to sift through all of the ruffles and tulle and pink bows to find that one item that may fit in with your day--in fact it's just plain so annoying sometimes, i don't know how you ladies can do it! but today, i have found a website called plum party. now of course you may not like everything you see, but i have to say it's my favorite one-stop-party-shop i have found! i'm even inspired to just throw a party of my own with some of their great ideas. the website is really easy to use and they even offer some of their own stylish tips to help. and how fabulous are those turquoise vases above? those are my absolute favorites! i've picked out a couple other items i thought were really great and fun to incorporate into your wedding:

succulent candle in a clay pot--so great for centerpieces!

bulb in a bag--i love this idea! something your guest can truly enjoy from season to season!

this pitcher is just classic for a vase or even just keeping iced tea & lemonade available on the tables. i love the simplicity and the charm!

these cylinder glow candles would add such a beautiful glow to a warm summer's evening.

a little announcement...

i hope your weekend was wonderful! mine was so wonderful. and isn't centerpiece wonderful? i just love the colors. i found this on blum design in flowers blog. i love it when i discover new vendors in portland!

so i guess i have a little announcement to make this morning...i've been waiting to spill the beans for a while, but i was trying to wait a little bit before i started to talk about it...well, i'm prego! yep, that's right again :) i understand that i don't really talk too much about my personal life here on weddings fresh, but i am married to a fabulous man and have a 9.5 month old son. and yes, my children will be very close in age (17 months apart to be exact), but we are excited to grow our family! the hardest part about this right now is just how sick i have been. to be honest, my sporadic posting and, as i am so sorry to admit, the quality of my posts have been so-so because it is so hard to do anything but take care of my son in the morning in between trips to the bathroom and laying down--eehhh!! :) but, i pray that it shall soon be over. anyway, i hope you stay with me through this exciting time because i have tons more to do here on weddings fresh--and of course i will be keeping you updated on my new little one.

and since i am being "personal" today, i thought i would share the most adorable picture i have of my son right now :) one of my best friends, mindy strauss, who just so happens to be one of the most talented photographers i know, was watching my little guy the other day and snapped this shot.

gown friday!

oh happy days, it's friday! this will be the first weekend in a while that we really don't have anything planned--and i like that :) i hope all of you have a wonderful time off too. so i leave you with a little oscar. oscar de la renta of course! enjoy.

{photo credits}

myjones

{photo credits}

how great is having your very own personalized jones soda bottle?! and it's real simple: just go to the website at myjones.com and to start your order --you can choose the flavor, the message on the bottle, the picture you want, and order as many as you need.

love it!!

inspiration from some good things

it's been quite a while since i have done one of these--i have had kind of a drought when it comes to inspiration lately. i guess perhaps, dare i say it, i am ready for some fall weddings?? well maybe not completely ready :) anyway...i was loving martha's good things so much yesterday i decided to put a couple together for this inspiration board. hope you enjoy!

rose petal pathway--martha stewart

melissa sweet spring 2009 collection

party favors--rebecca thuss

bridesmaid dress--herve leger

frozen beverages & glasses--martha stewart

ice cream cups--martha stewart

good things

i was searching around the web and realized i hadn't peaked in on martha in a while and found these great diy ideas--there is a reason martha calls these her "good things" :) there are so many others to choose from but here, she has biodegradable confetti, silk program covers, personalized postcard thank you's, and a great potted plant for your centerpieces. the search for the newest and most creative will always be there and i hope this inspires you to continue!!

gown friday!

i am so glad i am able to post these gowns today--i just found out that giambattista valli is now entering into the glorious world of bridal wear, and his spring 2009 collection is absolutely wonderful. i am completely drawn to everything he has created--such clean lines and gorgeous simple details. anything from the beach wedding to retro chic--including the one above which is my favorite!!! i think if i had the ability to design my own gowns, they would be very similar. though we must be honest: i have no ability whatsoever, or else i would not be here right now :)

oh, but how i wish i could just have that to wear to a black tie event!

fun coasters!

i am suffering through some technical difficulties around here--mainly because my little 9 month old has decided that mom's computer is a play toy and because of this it's not working correctly :) hopefully by next week i shall have this all figured out!! so hang with me.

i found the cutest idea: magnetic chalkboard coasters! what a great idea for place setting cards. love it. check them out at vitamin d(esign) for more details.

getaway in style

ever just want to get away?? i have been dying to so lately--i don't know why i have the itch so bad, but we hopefully i'll be able to take a little break in the middle of august. and until then i shall continue to lust upon luggage, bathing suits, and summer dresses that will make my vacation a little more stylish :) now, these pieces below will not be joining me on the trip but who doesn't want to travel with this kind of style?! honeymoon getaway is no exception!

{j crew}

{pottery barn}

gown friday!

is it just me or did this week seem to move in slow-mo??  well, i'm just thankful it's finally the weekend!  so today i wanted to show some gorgeous grecian gowns i have been lusting over the past couple of weeks.  so gorgeous. see you on monday :)

{carolina herrera}

{jenny peckham}

{monique lhuillier}

{vera wang}

{birnbaum & bullock}

{photo credits}