Love Notes: The Pacific Weddings Blog

Stylish Wedding Invitations from Wedding Paper Divas

I can get lost perusing the amazing collection of wedding invitations at the Wedding*Paper Divas site. All the bright colors and whimsical designs are a fun source of inspiration and a one-stop-shop for your wedding stationery. This collective group of talented artists and graphic designers offers several affordable lines in just about any motif you can imagine. Here are a few of my favorites for either a destination wedding or a hometown affair. (Images courtesy of Wedding Paper Divas)

 

(left) Perfect for a Wine Country wedding (right) This modern square invitation is available in several different colors.

I must be feeling like a flower girl today--loving all the colorful blooms!

 

Designer Masking Tape for Weddings

Here at PW we are always looking for ways to personalize your wedding, so when Stacey Nomura tipped us off to designer masking tape, our minds began racing with possibilities. (What is it about pretty paper that instantly sets a girl's heart aflutter?!) Here are some wonderful ideas to use the stripes, polka dots and scrumptious colors of this fun new tape made of Japanese washi paper, via Happy Tape blog.

The package below is by annebvinyl on Etsy and it's precious. She uses a single strip of tape around the clear box, then covers the seam with her label sticker. Check out her shop for other vinyl projects, too.  I also liked the idea of adding panache to favor tags using the colorful tape, or you can use it to enclose  edible favor items--this will instantly dress up clear cellophane goodie bags and it's so simple. Order your favorite tape colors and see more ideas at http://www.happytape.bigcartel.com/.

Duly Noted: New Aloha Stationery from Hawaii

If you are in search of Hawaiian inspired invitations and stationery, you should meet Stacey Nomura of Bradley & Lily. She recently released her first collection of elegant letterpress note cards and they are making a Honolulu debut at the SoHa Living store at Kahala Mall. You can also order them online at at SoHaLiving.

The freshly pressed Aloha and Mahalo note cards are printed on 100% cotton rag and include hand-lined envelopes. The red aloha cards with solid red liner and green mahalo cards with letterpressed lattice pattern liner are available in boxed sets, while the blue aloha design with a letterpress custom-illustrated aloha print liner is a limited edition, available in singles only.

One of my favorite designers, Stacey is a regular contributor to PW and we can't wait to unveil her latest couture sets in the new issue--on newsstands at the beginning of July! In the meantime, check out her blog and website for beautiful Hawaiian letterpress invitations. Stacey has an eye for fabulous papers  and creative details like this new Japanese washi paper masking tape, so her blog is definitely worth a visit! I am still entertaining ideas of how to put the pretty tape designs to use (it comes in an amazing array of colors and patterns). If you have ideas, please share with us.

Wedding Details in Unexpected Places

One of my favorite tasks as a wedding editor is getting lost in a pile of magazines or browsing endless Internet pages in search of beautiful items that translate into wedding details. And inspiration is so often found in the most unexpected places! One of my favorite stops on the Internet highway is a little shop called Three Potato Four. The brainchild of Janet Morales and Stu Eli, this little shop of curiosities was born from their mutual love of collecting. Janet says, “We're collectors and to us, all products and belongings tell a story. We live by stories and we shop for stories.” Shaunna and I think their delightful mix of modern and vintage objects will add character to the story of your wedding.

Here are a few of our latest favorites. (Clockwise from upper left) We adore almost anything with a cute bird motif, and this silkscreen print by artist Wayne Pate of Good Shape Design is a great jumping off point for quirky wedding stationery and décor. These unusual wooden letterpress trays feature Chinese labels for each slot, and we think they would make a unique presentation for seating cards. The trays are in original vintage condition and pictured with oversized printing press letters which we feature in the upcoming issue of Pacific Weddings (on newsstands in July!). For bridesmaid gifts, we fell for  this fabulous fuchsia and tangerine tote, part of the the Henry Road collection by designer Paula Smail. More botanical inspiration, these prints were made exclusively for 3P4 by artist Geninne Zlatlkis. We also like the vintage appeal of these 8 oz. glass carafes with their antique milk bottle silhouette and simple "8" typography (Hawaii girls, think 808!). Newly produced in limited quantities by 3P4, these carafes make lovely vases for a casual reception or wedding shower, and at the end of the evening you can give them to guests as a parting gift. Just a note, the entire collection at 3P4 changes often and many items are just too adorable to resist, so don’t hesitate to scoop up things you know you won’t want to live without! We enjoy hearing about your unexpected inspirations, so please share your finds… Happy Hunting!

Couture Maps

Not too long ago wedding and design bloggers shared the scoop on Stephannie Barba's Couture Maps. The illustrator's cool and whimsical creations are a clever way to guide your guests to your wedding locale with playful renderings of iconic landmarks and fancy lettering. Stephannie collaborated with Emeryville, California-based stationery designer Anne at Mira Aster to create these lovely hand-sewn fabric maps. They recently landed on our desk in the editorial department and we swooned! Couture Maps is an extension of Stephannie's eponymous wedding stationery company (her original letter art is worth a peek)! She will happily custom-make a map to chronicle the journey from home to your destination.

Wedding Stationery: Retro Polynesia

Mimi Payne is a collector of sorts. She has acquired an impressive mix of island-style vintage postcards, hotel brochures, menus, drink coasters and matchbooks from her travels, all archived here. These printed pieces from the 1950s, '60s and '70s depict romantic images of tropical flowers, alluring hula dancers, classic island tourism and kitsch sand and surf scenes. It would be fun to create a save-the-date card or invitation with Polynesian pop imagery and graphics for a modern-day celebration, don't you think?

 

From top to bottom: coffee shop menu from the Sky Room, Honolulu Airport, 1952; Mai Tai drink ad from China Trader, Toluca Lake, CA, 1960; drink coaster from Queen's Surf, Waikiki, HI, 1950; hotel amenities booklet from the Ilikai Hotel, Honolulu, HI, 1964; table card from Hilton Hawaiian Village, Waikiki, HI, 1960.

[via Real Card Studio]

A Love Letter

 
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and a sweet sentiment of love is in order! I'm considering this letterpress "lace and foxes" card from Hello Handmade. They will inscribe your own message in their beautiful calligraphy and mail it straight to your sweetie. [via oh joy!]

 

We Love Vintage!

 

The nostalgic charm of the photo contest has yet to fade over here! If anything, my fondness for vintage has been reaffirmed in every direction I turn. Have you visited Anthropologie.com recently? Their holiday site is always inventive and beautifully presented. Check out the DIY dining section under "kitchen & tabletop"-- it's a fun way to visualize your place setting whether it be for a dinner party this winter or your wedding reception. Since an unconventional celebration calls for one-of-a-kind details, scouring second-hand shops for antique dinnerware, vases and old fabrics will help to convey an original look. Don't be afraid to mix and match plates and go for vivid color and pattern.

 
Your stationery presents a perfect opportunity to set a vintage tone before the big day. I'm loving the latest collection of letterpress stationery from Linda & Harriett! The limited edition Vintage Wallpaper Stationery features a cheerful vintage print as the envelope liner along with customized letterpressed cards made of 100% cotton paper and soy-based ink. The set of 50 cards and lined envelopes retails for $490. Shop their site for the latest in fine wedding stationery.

The Organized (and Always Stylish!) Bride, Part II

 

We often comment that planning each issue of Pacific Weddings is very similar to planning the wedding of your dreams. With all the swatches, ribbons, photos and story ideas floating around our offices, we are constantly looking for ideas to be organized, so, when we recently received a handy little gadget called the DYMO® Personal Labelmaker, we put it to good use.

Dymo was also kind enough to share a few ideas from Jennifer Humes, a well-known organizational expert, to help you stay on track with all the details of your day:

First of all, go shopping for organizational supplies to plan your wedding: file folders, a  binder, albums and boxes for cards and photos, and the DYMO® Personal Labelmaker to make quick labels without lugging around a computer (the $29 price tag makes it a painless purchase!). Jennifer suggests that you create a binder (we actually use over-sized art portfolios at the magazine) with sections labeled for shopping lists, dress ideas, party schedules, thank you cards, gift lists, and bridal party schedules. Since you should never leave home without the binder, visit russell+hazel for stylish ones that you won't mind carrying, and check out their neat wedding organizer (below left).

The landslide of wedding gifts can be overwhelming (albeit fun!), especially during last-minute preparation. Jennifer suggests using a file folder or small box to store the receipts sorted by category, or consider labeling gift boxes with the giver's name. We like this Magazine Pocket memoboard from three by three seattle for storing paperwork. It's both cool and functional. 

Using a system like this will also help when writing thank you notes later. Instead of letting wedding cards and photos pile up, store them in an album or photo box so they don't get lost in the shuffle.

If you are a D.I.Y. girl, the labelmaker is great for organizing your craft supplies for favors, invitations, and note cards. We used it to label boxes for the numerous stationery samples we receive at Pacific Weddings—love the fact that you can choose from different colored labels and font styles! We also post inspiration in plain view via a magnetic system. Ours was from Ikea, but I found these cute ones at three by three, to go with their pegmighties magnets (above) which you could use to create smaller wedding inspiration boards. Just goes to show that you can be organized without being boring!

SusyJack* Contemporary Paper

If a paper product line were to jump out and catch my attention it would need to be bold, stylish and packaged oh so nicely. Enter SusyJack*, who's line of contemporary wares speaks to the "style mavens and paper lovers alike."  Her lovely notebooks and paper goods are inspired by everyday finds at the hardware store, urban life and intricate textiles, as seen in the cool graphic prints and utilitarian goods (day of the week clip set, pencil cups). The collection is independently designed, and eco-friendly, using local print shops with wind-powered press and 100% post consumer recycled paper!