Behind the Scenes – A Parisian Bridal Shower in Bridal Guide Magazine Part II

Back today with more from my best friend’s wedding shower seen in Bridal Guide Magazine!  There were so many personal touches that turned into moments I will never forget.  From the gold squirrels on each menu to the caricature artist capturing me and Amy’s favorite phrase “Ocean Now”, it was a day that I cherish…

Guests were seated at a long banquet style table lined with round balloons and White Anemone floral arrangements.  Pieces from my own collection were added to give the table a bit more personality.

To honor the many street artists we enjoyed in Paris, I hired a caricature artist to capture each guest who attended!

The signature drink bar was marked by drink menus painted onto bold shimmer papers.  To add a luxe flair, the menus were mounted to black and white toile plates!

A favorite aqua and gilded gold candelabra became a focal point while small corbels, clocks and squirrel statues were spray painted gold to set a whimsical tone.

Simple DIY arrangements using anemone blooms from FiftyFlowers.com were scattered throughout the room.  This iconic bloom with its feathery petals and bold black centers created loads of drama wherever they were seen.

Small menus were set at each place adorned with my original sketch of Amy’s favorite critter, the squirrel.  Painted in gold, these little critters became a charming accent.  As with most of the shower decor, rich pattern was key so the gold damask paper mounted to each menu seemed a perfect fit.

A custom crossword puzzle filled with Amy Trivia was given a modern twist with graphite textures.  Kristy sketched the crossword board and reproduced each as a fun takeaway.

I enlisted the help of Maggpie Vintage Rentals to select the perfect mismatch of vintage china for the day.  Each place setting was a bit unique with various pieces gilded in gold and flower patterns galore.

Sweets Buffet signage was given a bit of glitz with bold glitter papers and richly painted icons.

Lovingly titled “Amy’s Favorites” this sweets buffet was filled with her most loved goodies.  From Mom’s famous white cake and cotton candy, to stovetop popcorn and chocolate brownies, we had it all covered.  The table was styled with Paris flair from head to toe with a striped linen backdrop, vintage gossip bench, mirrored tray and gold frames.  Even the venue’s reclaimed chandelier was lowered to add loads of drama to the scene.

GO team!!! XOXO

Styling, Stationery and Design – Kristy Rice, www.momentaldesigns.com  ::  Photography – Amanda Brooke Photography  ::  Venue – Canteen 900, Kingston PA  ::  Vintage Dishes – Maggpie Vintage Rentals  ::  Linens – LaTavola Linens  ::  Flowers – DIY, www.FiftyFlowers.com  ::  Planning/Production – Danielle Pasternak Events, Maggpie Vintage Rentals

Inspirations – A Preppy Garden Party Wedding

Fresh off the phone with Britney and the ideas are flowing…just picked watercolor blooms, a garden gate and sweet illustrations are the story here, all wrapped up with a twist of prep.

Behind the Scenes – A Parisian Bridal Shower in Bridal Guide Magazine Part I

I wrote this post, what seems like forever ago when knee deep in plans for my best friend’s wedding shower last year.  Here we are exactly 1 year later and I’m over the moon to share the whole party as seen in the newest issue of Bridal Guide Magazine, on newsstands today!!

Cover

This snapshot taken in front of Notre Dame de Paris inspired the entire celebration.  We were young, full of energy and had the world at our feet.    I wanted to recreate the passion and life we felt that day standing in Paris as two feisty teenagers about to take on the world.  Amy’s shower was to be a celebration of tastes and color and life…just like that trip to Paris was for us back in 1995.

So this week I will be sharing an detailed look at Amy’s Bridal Shower!!

THE VENUE
Canteen 900 in Kingston, PA set the perfect stage for this spirited event. 50′s inspired furniture, reclaimed chandeliers and loads of natural light created a elegant backdrop.

THE INVITATIONS
Creating invites for my couples is always an adventure but doing the same for my best friend was quite the emotional experience.  Amy had a difficult time choosing her favorite wedding invitation and this storybook page Sculpted Bloom invite was one of her many favorites. As an avid reader, she adored the thought that real book pages were painted with watercolors, cut into circles and crafted into sweet daisy-like blooms.  The Sculpted Bloom didn’t make the wedding invitation cut, so enter the shower invitations!

In lieu of a traditional wishing well, guests were asked to bring a favorite book to add to Amy and Stephen’s library.  Enclosure cards were stacked and fastened to the lid of each mailer box with a strip of a storybook page!

Early in planning we collected black glass buttons for wedding decor but I couldn’t resist using them as flower centers here.

THE COFFEE FAVOR BAR
A fun build your own coffee treat bar was set for guests!

First a pretty mug was chosen, then flavor-infused fresh ground coffee was poured into small mason jars.  Next guests chose their favorite flavored sugar and finally wrapped all the goodies up in a hand painted tote along with a few homemade cookies!

Each tote featured a simple flower reminiscent of the Anemone bloom painted in white; a simple way to dress up a plain brown favor bag!! The Lucy Maud Montgomery quote was from our most beloved book series “Anne of Green Gables”.

“Life is worth living as long as there’s  a laugh in it.”

More later this week on the flowers, table decor, menu and talented team who helped me bring it all together!

Styling, Stationery and Design – Kristy Rice, www.momentaldesigns.com  ::  Photography – Amanda Brooke Photography  ::  Venue – Canteen 900, Kingston PA  ::  Vintage Dishes – Maggpie Vintage Rentals  ::  Linens – LaTavola Linens  ::  Flowers – DIY, www.FiftyFlowers.com  ::  Planning/Production – Danielle Pasternak Events, Maggpie Vintage Rentals

Behind the Scenes – Very Southern Wedding Invitations

A while back the ladies at Southern Weddings got in touch with a request.  Their invitation was for me to design 4 distinctly southern stationery suites.  Well how fun, I thought!  Nothing inspires romance quite like the thought of a ride on a tree swing or sitting in a garden full of blooming pretties – all of which are moments that come to my mind when I think of the south.  So I went to work and centered my creations around four iconic concepts: Tree Swings, Overflowing Gardens and Seersucker.  Come and sit a spell to see where I landed…

None of the images would be possible without the talented Cynthia Kain, a talented North Carolina Wedding Photographer, brought in to shoot each collection.  Hard to imagine photos of paper could be so telling of emotion, but… just look.

Here I interpreted seersucker fabric in watercolor with a soft touch and light palette.

Our Tree Wedding Invitations have become a mainstay at the studio.  Finding fresh ways to interpret this classic is always fun!

Here I used Envelopments new bark textured stocks to infuse a rustic quality.  A “carved” and hand painted heart add a romantic flair.

And finally a quirky mad-lib style response card…

These images are some of my favorite as they feature the lush and textured hand painting so well…

I switched up the painting palette here for a subtle twist.

Possibly my most favorite unexpected detail?  The hand painted envelope liner.

Big hugs to the Southern Weddings team and Cynthia of course for the AH-mazing images!  Happy Monday!

Meet Kristy and “Trellis” at the National Stationery Show

Learn more about Envelopments’ newest pattern named “Trellis” created exclusively with my watercolor paintings! Meet Trellis and me Tuesday May 22nd at the National Stationery Show. We’ll be guests at Envelopments’ booth (#2462), showing off some of our latest creations with their newest pattern!  Hope to see you there!! XO