Cynthia Converse, Syracuse, NYVendor: InvitationsWebsite: Bella FiguraAbout Me: Bella Figura is a wind-powered, eco-friendly letterpress shop committed to the fine artisanship of letterpress printing and the environment. Along with our sister company, Smock, we print our wedding invitations and stationery on only the finest luxury cotton and bamboo papers to ensure the most beautiful of prints in sight and to the touch, while working tirelessly to do our little piece for the good of the earth. We are hopelessly in love with our abundant collection of cast iron presses, farmer's markets, fall in Upstate NY, creating beautiful heirlooms for our brides, businesses that do good for the world, calligraphy, spending time in nature, contributing to the greater letterpress community, our rambling studios in a converted warehouse turned artist's haven, and our two year old in residence. Turning invitations into art on paper while dedicating ourselves to the environment is not what we do, it's who we are.
Behind the scenes here, one of the things we get most excited about, in addition to fabulous letterpress, is our participation in a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. Bella Figura and Smock subsidize CSA memberships for all employees so a large percentage of us take advantage of the opportunity to have fresh, local, organic produce delivered to our door - quite literally, in fact, as the Downtown Syracuse delivery pod is here at the old warehouse turned artist’s haven that we call home. Once a week a local organic farm, Grindstone Farm, delivers incredibly fresh and delicious veggies and herbs to us, typically within just a few hours of being picked.
Flush Designs, PasadenaVendor: Invitations, Event & Floral Design, PhotographyWebsite: Flush DesignsAbout Me: Flush Designs is run and owned by me, Courtney C. Keefe de Jauregui. It is all encompassing, from the custom & handmade invitations seen at my website, to full exploration in event styling and design, to flower arranging, to playing sidekick and second shooter to my husband's wedding photography. I am working on becoming a wedding "One stop shop". :) I am a graduate in fine art painting, but a self taught graphic designer. As I still needed to get my hands dirty, I started taking letterpress classes, thus becoming my new love. When I am not busy working (usually still in my pajamas) and telling myself to remember to buy a new chair (this one hurts), I am singing to my 3 cats and enjoying a cold pint with my husband at our favorite local Irish pub. Maybe it's in the reverse order. :)
The wedding day was a crazy day, but we got it done. Whew! And were we tired. We did the flowers for a wedding at the Biltmore hotel in Los Angeles with 250 guests. We were able to take a few pics but not as many as I would have liked. Hopefully, the bride’s photographer took some more for me.
Break down of flowers totaling over 1500 stems of flowers and greens:
24 centerpieces
5 bar and cocktail tables
head table 12 multi vintage vases
250 tied ribbon napkins
250 tied photos with rosemary with a flickr account info on back
1 ceremony arch (moved from ceremony to the reception for viewing)
loads and loads of candles in mercury glass votives and vintage looking lotus votives
37 spray painted wooden numbers with glitter
3 bouquets
10 boutonnières
3 flower girls- decorated votives to carry in the candle lit ceremony (which I missed so sadly as I was finishing up the reception. Hopefully the photog capture the little votives as they were tooooo cute.)
200 yards of vintage lace
1 studio rental for prep
1 rental van +2 trips
a really small service elevator (learned my lesson there)
2 fabulous assistants for day of and 2 more on prep days (could have used 3 more the day of!!)
No food for 12 hours (CPK tasted soooo goood)
a lot of praying that the hot weather and boiler room area for the delivery didn’t kill everything (poor, poor hydrangeas were hating us)
a sneak trip into the bridal suite to decorate the bed with a heart shape made of petals… hehe )
and 1really, really happy couple!
Now, time for a good 2 month nap.
Here are a few pics during the getting ready and the day of. And for you Bee’s this is the wedding of Mrs. Glitter. Don’t want to give too much away, as she will surely share. Her dress (omg) was absolutely stunning…wow!!! She looked amazing to no end!
Hi Hive! I’m Elana, a very lucky intern at Weddingbee! Last Wednesday, I was lucky enough to attend the fashion show for “Operation Dream Dress”, hosted by Brides Magazine. Out of hundreds of entries, just five budding designers were selected to have their dresses walked down a runway in front of a fantastic panel of judges with the hopes of having their dress selected for the front cover of Bride’s Magazine! The theme for the designs was “visionary romance”. The host was Millie Martini Bratten, the Editor in Chief of BridesMagazine. I tried to contain my excitement when the panel entered the room. The panel included:
Dan Rentillo, the Fashion Director of David’s Bridal
Austin Scarlett from Season 1 of ProjectRunway
Supermodel Hilary Rhoda, also the face of Estée Lauder
Rachel Leonard, Fashion Director of BridesMagazine
Britt Aboutaleb, Associate Editor of Fashionista.com
Cynthia Converse, Syracuse, NYVendor: InvitationsWebsite: Bella FiguraAbout Me: Bella Figura is a wind-powered, eco-friendly letterpress shop committed to the fine artisanship of letterpress printing and the environment. Along with our sister company, Smock, we print our wedding invitations and stationery on only the finest luxury cotton and bamboo papers to ensure the most beautiful of prints in sight and to the touch, while working tirelessly to do our little piece for the good of the earth. We are hopelessly in love with our abundant collection of cast iron presses, farmer's markets, fall in Upstate NY, creating beautiful heirlooms for our brides, businesses that do good for the world, calligraphy, spending time in nature, contributing to the greater letterpress community, our rambling studios in a converted warehouse turned artist's haven, and our two year old in residence. Turning invitations into art on paper while dedicating ourselves to the environment is not what we do, it's who we are.
Having shared my recent bridal shower, I think it’s time I show you my wedding dress, don’t you? It has been an interesting process and in the end I absolutely love my dress. Frankly, it surpasses any expectations I could have had going into the hunt and the best part may just be the price tag…but we’ll get to that in a minute.
I think it’s important for me to note that dress shopping was not something I was particularly looking forward to and, in fact, I waited nearly five months after being engaged to start the process. The reasons for this are numerous but it basically boils down to two main issues - (1) I have recently lost a significant amount of weight, and I was worried about going to try on dresses and being disappointed. The last thing you want it go through all of that effort to be anything less than ecstatic with how you look. (2) I really really did not want to spend a lot of money on a dress. Some things were really important to me when planning our wedding (a fantastic venue, great photography and incredible invitations, of course), but a wedding dress was not high on my list of priorities…even though I am completely smitten by basically everything Jim Hjelm has ever created.
Sarah Parrott, Rhode IslandVendor: Invitation DesignerWebsite: Parrott Design StudioAbout Me: I am the designer & printer behind Parrott Design Studio, specializing in custom letterpress and screen printed wedding and event invitations, stationery, and paper goods. With a background in non-profit marketing & art history, I began the studio in 2006 in my small apartment in Providence, RI. Since then I have moved to a studio built my fiancé, acquired a Golding Jobber letterpress, & have been happily printing ever since. I grew up in Portland, Maine, and I have always had an affinity for the ocean, mountains, birds, gardening, & the simple life. When I am not printing, I can be found somewhere outside with my fiancé & playful pup.
The light was so nice in my studio this past week, especially around sunset. I am so happy summer is upon us. I love the blue light of winter, but this light suits me and my work so much better!
Princess Lasertron, OmahaVendor: Flowers made of felt, vintage buttons and other ephemeraWebsite: Princess LasertronAbout Me: I started Princess Lasertron in 2005 creating custom bouquets out of
felt, vintage buttons, and other ephemera. I give each bride an
heirloom-quality piece that will bring a personal dimension to their
wedding and everyday lives. What I love most is meeting and
collaborating with unique women whose weddings are a true
representation of them and their partners. As for me...I live
nocturnally, I'm an INTP, I play Dungeons and Dragons every other
Saturday, and I'm a perpetual student.
Q: Your college studies are mostly unrelated to your creative endeavors, and yet you seem to have so much know how about running a small business - in the past few months you’re full of buzz words and great advice. Where is all of this coming from? And where can I get a taste? (From Amanda)
A: Although I might appear to have traveled down a less conventional path to get to where I am, I look at my personality and see that this is pretty natural for me. I’m impulsive, entrepreneurial, creative, and I tend to have an alpha-type personality. From the time I was in high school, I never saw myself being happy in a corporate job or sitting behind a desk, so I never prepared for that kind of life. I applied for all of the college scholarships I could, chose the school that gave me the most money, and studied what was most fun for me–German and Intercultural Communication–because I had amazing relationships with the professors, the programs offered me outstanding leadership opportunities, and I was able to travel quite a bit. All the while, I planned to work in an artistic field and a few years before graduation, I already had a double life as a student/businesswoman.
Where did I pick it up? A few classes, the influence of my parents who also own a business, books. Experience. I absorbed a lot of information from my peers in local business. I attend as many conferences and workshops as I can. I think that as artists, at some point in our career when we get the first “big break”–a $5000 order, or a huge wholesale deal, or a big writeup in a magazine–we have to snap into Professional Mode and learn pretty quickly. It was then that I made lots of mistakes and did things “the hard way.” Then I did better next time.
Q: What’s your favorite craft related product to work with right now? (From Brittney) A: Tools are most important. I love my Crop-a-dile, pinking shears, and Gingher rotary cutter and cutting mat. I also go through a lot of Band-Aids. Some of my favorite things that I work with every day that are a little more fun include…
Jessie Blum, New JerseyVendor: OfficiantWebsite: Eclectic UnionsAbout Me: I began writing & officiating wedding ceremonies in 2008, and love every single moment of it. It all started when my best friend asked me to officiate her Jewish/Lutheran/Pagan (but completely non-religious!) wedding - since then, I've found a love and passion for creating original wedding ceremonies that truly reflect the couples being married. Wedding ceremonies should be all about the bride & groom's love, relationship, and commitment, and I do my best to make sure everything is just perfect! I live in Northern New Jersey with my fiance and our two kitties, and, when I'm not meeting with my awesome couples or writing wedding ceremonies, I love to knit, obsessively check my email, and plan my own wedding (Oct 2010!).
I decided that beginning with my 2009 weddings to donate 10% of my celebrant fee to an organization of the couple’s choice, in their name. I think it’s a great way to honor my couple’s wedding, as well as give back to these fabulous local organizations that need our support.
I’ve chosen these five organizations, though would be willing to donate to any worthy organization of the couple’s choice. I think this is a great way to give back, especially in these tough times, when organizations like these are very much needed – especially on the local level.
Do you have a favorite charity or plan on giving to an organization in honor of your wedding?
Sarah Parrott, Rhode IslandVendor: Invitation DesignerWebsite: Parrott Design StudioAbout Me: I am the designer & printer behind Parrott Design Studio, specializing in custom letterpress and screen printed wedding and event invitations, stationery, and paper goods. With a background in non-profit marketing & art history, I began the studio in 2006 in my small apartment in Providence, RI. Since then I have moved to a studio built my fiancé, acquired a Golding Jobber letterpress, & have been happily printing ever since. I grew up in Portland, Maine, and I have always had an affinity for the ocean, mountains, birds, gardening, & the simple life. When I am not printing, I can be found somewhere outside with my fiancé & playful pup.
When I begin to feel a big overwhelmed about all the should and should nots of a wedding, I stop and look at these photos and remember what really matters.
Melody Brandon, Long Beach, CAVendor: BakerWebsite: Sweet and Saucy ShopAbout Me: Sweet & Saucy Shop is a dessert studio that specializes in cakes, cookies, and cupcakes, as well as many other goodies that taste as good as they look. Our new bakery storefront will be up and running within the next two months!
Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! I want to share a bunch of photos with you all. We’ll first start off with photos of the three wedding cakes I did this weekend. Two of the three cakes were actually chosen from designs that I had already done, with a little tweaking of the colors. I will be doing a tutorial on how to do the first cake shortly!
Sarah Parrott, Rhode IslandVendor: Invitation DesignerWebsite: Parrott Design StudioAbout Me: I am the designer & printer behind Parrott Design Studio, specializing in custom letterpress and screen printed wedding and event invitations, stationery, and paper goods. With a background in non-profit marketing & art history, I began the studio in 2006 in my small apartment in Providence, RI. Since then I have moved to a studio built my fiancé, acquired a Golding Jobber letterpress, & have been happily printing ever since. I grew up in Portland, Maine, and I have always had an affinity for the ocean, mountains, birds, gardening, & the simple life. When I am not printing, I can be found somewhere outside with my fiancé & playful pup.
La Tour Eiffel. Even if you have not been to Paris it evokes some sort of emotion. For me, it was a kind of romance and glamour that only existed in dreams or days gone by, and certainly not something that could exist in my reality. But that all changed.
Last October, Rich (my then boyfriend) and I set out for the tower on our first full day in Paris, each with our own agendas {unbeknown to each other of course}. We enjoyed our daily dose of pain au chocolat and crepes au chocolat {seriously, we are in Paris, chocolate for every meal is quite okay} we walked through one of the small parks below the tower. It was early still and few people were in the park. We stopped at the pond to admire the ducks {because the Parisian mallard is so much more chic than the American, no?}.
What occurred next is still as hazy as the morning it happened. I snapped a photo of a duck, looked over at Rich to discover he was down…on…bended knee! What!?!
)
![[carlyflowers-4.jpg]](http://www.weddingbeepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/carlyfl1.jpg)
. Out of hundreds of entries, just five budding designers were selected to have their dresses walked down a runway in front of a fantastic panel of judges with the hopes of having their dress selected for the front cover of Bride’s Magazine! The theme for the designs was “visionary romance”. The host was Millie Martini Bratten, the Editor in Chief of Brides Magazine. I tried to contain my excitement when the panel entered the room. The panel included:
