Sometimes wedding inspiration comes from unexpected places. Today I stumbled upon the blog: Wear Palettes. The blogger, a Swiss graphic design student Daniel, takes color palettes from The Sartorialist clothing. This blog is a great place to find unexpected color combos. The best part? The attire selection for your wedding is already halfway completed for you.
If you already have a primary color selected and are looking for some complements, there is a side bar where the palettes are sorted by color. Daniel updates the site everyday and currently has over 1600 palettes posted.
Other great sites for color palette inspiration:
Adobe Kuler
Colour Lovers (the site Daniel uses to build his palettes)
Color Palette Generator (using your favorite photo)
Sherwin Williams
Where do you find unexpected inspiration?
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
My Other Dress is...
When I picked out my gown, it was a one stop shopping experience. I did my research ahead of time, found several possible gowns, tried them on, and bought one. I love my gown, I think it is very "bridal" and it makes me feel pretty.
Every once in awhile though I think of the dresses that weren't. What would my dress look like if I was built like a hanger (you know the kind of woman who looks good wearing anything)? What if money was no object? What if I wasn't worried about not feeling like a bride on the big day?
In my fantasies my other dress is:
Short. I love the look of a short dress, I think it is so fun and adorable. But, I didn't go short for a couple reasons: 1. my wedding is in the fall and I didn't want to be cold and 2. I was worried I wouldn't feel like a bride (whether or not I would feel this way is debatable).
{ St. Pucchi 9298 }
{ Pattis Bridal 1327 }
Every once in awhile though I think of the dresses that weren't. What would my dress look like if I was built like a hanger (you know the kind of woman who looks good wearing anything)? What if money was no object? What if I wasn't worried about not feeling like a bride on the big day?
In my fantasies my other dress is:
Short. I love the look of a short dress, I think it is so fun and adorable. But, I didn't go short for a couple reasons: 1. my wedding is in the fall and I didn't want to be cold and 2. I was worried I wouldn't feel like a bride (whether or not I would feel this way is debatable).
{ St. Pucchi 9298 }Slightly Outrageous. This dress is wonderfully unique and breathtaking. Could I pull it off? Questionable. Could I afford it? Laughable : )
{ Pattis Bridal 1327 }Mermaid. Nothing quite save va va va voom like a mermaid gown. (Seriously, check out Miss Cookie - everyone except you Mr. Cookie.) This one is particularly girly and pretty with the lace and light ruffles.
Red. Bold and passionate with a whole lot of wow. Red gowns are definitely stunning, but if were to walk down the aisle in one my family might not have been able to recover.
Country Bumpkin Chic. I adore this dress. If I were getting married outdoors or a warmer time of year this would be the dress for me. Plus, I could totally rock my cowboy boots in this gown.
What dress would you have chosen if you could have thrown all caution to the wind?
Red. Bold and passionate with a whole lot of wow. Red gowns are definitely stunning, but if were to walk down the aisle in one my family might not have been able to recover.
Country Bumpkin Chic. I adore this dress. If I were getting married outdoors or a warmer time of year this would be the dress for me. Plus, I could totally rock my cowboy boots in this gown.
What dress would you have chosen if you could have thrown all caution to the wind?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
We Just Know - When You Know, You Know
Mr. Pineapple and I dated "officially" for 8 months before he proposed. Yep, that's it - 8 months. The first time he introduced me to someone as his girlfriend was 5 months before he proposed. I never thought that I would be dating my boyfriend for less than a year before he became my husband-to-be, but once we were there it felt like perfect timing.
Since Mr. P and worked together before we started dating, we got to see each others true colors long before a first kiss. I was a stubborn manager of a residence hall desk and he was my supervisor. If one of my employees didn't show up for work and I had to sit at the desk from 4-8am, no excuse was good enough. Immediate probation. Mr. Pineapple on the other hand was the good cop who would convince me to give them another chance. I would get distracted and doodle during Mr. P's meetings and there was the one time we had to call him and remind him that he should be at work with us rather than watching the Steelers.
The desk services team out for dinner in 2005.
For us, building a working relationship first made a loving relationship that much easier. From the first date we knew the good and the grumpy about one another. He knew I was weird and I knew he was even weirder (debatable). It scared me that several months into the relationship we had yet to have an argument - everyone argues, right? Everything was just so good, so comforting.
Mr. Pineapple was the first to say the word "wedding." A few months into our relationship we were at our favorite hang out, and the location of our first date, Smokin' Joes Saloon. Mr. P popped over to the juke box and a few minutes later Howie Day's Brace Yourself started to play. Mr P. whispered in my ear "I want them to play this song when we get married." From then on there was no doubt.
Since Mr. Pineapple and I both worked at Carnegie Mellon, often in a client/designer relationship, we kept our personal relationship fairly hushed. We told the people who mattered - my boss and his, but for the most part we didn't want people making assumptions. This, of course, all flew out the window after we became engaged. We got a lot of shocked responses such as "I didn't even know you were dating!" So, convincing people we were serious, and in love, was not an easy task.
Anyone else have a fairly short stint as boyfriend and girlfriend before deciding you were ready to take the plunge? What do you tell people who doubt you could know in such a short period of time?
Since Mr. P and worked together before we started dating, we got to see each others true colors long before a first kiss. I was a stubborn manager of a residence hall desk and he was my supervisor. If one of my employees didn't show up for work and I had to sit at the desk from 4-8am, no excuse was good enough. Immediate probation. Mr. Pineapple on the other hand was the good cop who would convince me to give them another chance. I would get distracted and doodle during Mr. P's meetings and there was the one time we had to call him and remind him that he should be at work with us rather than watching the Steelers.
The desk services team out for dinner in 2005.For us, building a working relationship first made a loving relationship that much easier. From the first date we knew the good and the grumpy about one another. He knew I was weird and I knew he was even weirder (debatable). It scared me that several months into the relationship we had yet to have an argument - everyone argues, right? Everything was just so good, so comforting.
Mr. Pineapple was the first to say the word "wedding." A few months into our relationship we were at our favorite hang out, and the location of our first date, Smokin' Joes Saloon. Mr. P popped over to the juke box and a few minutes later Howie Day's Brace Yourself started to play. Mr P. whispered in my ear "I want them to play this song when we get married." From then on there was no doubt.
Since Mr. Pineapple and I both worked at Carnegie Mellon, often in a client/designer relationship, we kept our personal relationship fairly hushed. We told the people who mattered - my boss and his, but for the most part we didn't want people making assumptions. This, of course, all flew out the window after we became engaged. We got a lot of shocked responses such as "I didn't even know you were dating!" So, convincing people we were serious, and in love, was not an easy task.
Anyone else have a fairly short stint as boyfriend and girlfriend before deciding you were ready to take the plunge? What do you tell people who doubt you could know in such a short period of time?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Seeing Copper
Mr. Pineapple will be starting a new job next week and decided to have his prescription updated and worn glasses replaced before switching insurance companies. He took me along to help pick out his new frames. (I guess I will be looking at them more than even he will be.) Here is the pair we chose:
{image}
What does this have to do with wedding planning? They are copper, one of our wedding colors! Mr. Pineapple will be so coordinated, without even trying. They will even match his rose gold wedding band after the big day. We picked them out, because we both loved them , not because it was one of our wedding colors. But the fact that we have been buying and creating so many coppery things has defiantly influenced our tastes. We now love all things copper - copper cookware, copper mail boxes, copper paint, copper jewelry, copper planters, and I will certainly miss the penny if the mint stops making them.
Has anyone else become obsessed with their wedding colors outside of wedding planning?
{image}What does this have to do with wedding planning? They are copper, one of our wedding colors! Mr. Pineapple will be so coordinated, without even trying. They will even match his rose gold wedding band after the big day. We picked them out, because we both loved them , not because it was one of our wedding colors. But the fact that we have been buying and creating so many coppery things has defiantly influenced our tastes. We now love all things copper - copper cookware, copper mail boxes, copper paint, copper jewelry, copper planters, and I will certainly miss the penny if the mint stops making them.
Has anyone else become obsessed with their wedding colors outside of wedding planning?
Paper Roses Progress
Since my parents live in South Florida I don't get to see them very often. When I do get to see them it is usually because they are working on the now 14 year renovation of my father's childhood home, about an hour from Pittsburgh. They decided to come up this week to do some work, little did my mother know it wasn't the house she would be working on, it was paper roses.
My mother, bridesmaid Katie and I created an assembly line to crank out some more paper roses. I had made about 40 and the three of us got another 40 done. It was so nice to have their help. Mr. Pineapple tried to help me one night, but got very angry at his flower by petals 5-8.
My mother's roses were looking more like pine cones than flowers so she got demoted to cutting out the petals. She was a real trooper! Her hand molded to the scissors and got stuck (sorry for the fuzzy shot):
So all in all it was a great success and I have about 40 more left to make. There will be a total of 120 - 80 brown and 40 white.
What kind of assembly line projects have you roped your family and friends into?
My mother, bridesmaid Katie and I created an assembly line to crank out some more paper roses. I had made about 40 and the three of us got another 40 done. It was so nice to have their help. Mr. Pineapple tried to help me one night, but got very angry at his flower by petals 5-8.
My mother's roses were looking more like pine cones than flowers so she got demoted to cutting out the petals. She was a real trooper! Her hand molded to the scissors and got stuck (sorry for the fuzzy shot):
So all in all it was a great success and I have about 40 more left to make. There will be a total of 120 - 80 brown and 40 white.
What kind of assembly line projects have you roped your family and friends into?
Friday, May 23, 2008
Our Free J
Mr. Pineapple and I decide to join the bandwagon and have an iPod/Macbook set-up for our wedding. The main driver, like with many people, for us was cost. I feel that the DJ can make or break the reception. I have been to both a wedding with a good DJ and one with an embarrassing DJ. Often good DJs come with a hefty price tag. So, if we were going to take a risk with going cheap, we figured we would go ahead and take the plunge to DIY our music.
There are a couple things that are working in our favor. First and foremost, is my wonderfully amazing friend Mike. He and I met line dancing a few years ago at our favorite place to boot scoot, Saddle Ridge. Mike went to school for musical theater and performs here in Pittsburgh. He just finished up his role as Rif in West Side Story. Mike will be one of Mr. Pineapple's groomsman and our MC! He teaches theater and dance classes and has a huge library of music (in addition to what Mr. P and I have acquired over the years).
I am very excited that we will know our MC we are confident he will do a great job getting everyone excited. I will make sure to get my playlists very organized so all he has to do music-wise is click play.
Additionally, the Rivers Club has a sound system we can use. Originally, we thought we would have to rent or borrow the equipment, but we are lucky to have that resource already available to us. Of course there is a flip side, I'm nervous. What if no one dances? What if something goes wrong and even after our test-run, the set up doesn't work the night of the wedding?
I've read a lot of how-to articles about DIY music. So, I think I have the logistics figured out, but I have never seen it in action. Has anyone else had an "iPod wedding?" What is your advice for me?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sketchbook Guest Book
I have been stumbling along the internet trying to think of a creative guest book. There are a lot of good and popular ideas that I like, such as the photo book, photo booth, wish tree/stones but I just can't decide on one that will be simple, cheap and easy for my guests to "get."
One idea I am kicking around is to do a Sketchbook Guest Book. I have always loved sketchbooks, since my days in art school. So many little pieces of art in one place.
The plan would be to purchase a perfect bound book and cover it in copper flashing. Then along with pens next to the book I will have small pieces of paper, double stick tape and colored pencils. (I'll try to pick tidy craft supplies.) Then ask everyone to make a little drawing or doodle on the scrap along with their name and put it in the book with a glue stick.
What do you guys think? Will people be into it? Too messy, complicated, time consuming?
One idea I am kicking around is to do a Sketchbook Guest Book. I have always loved sketchbooks, since my days in art school. So many little pieces of art in one place.
The plan would be to purchase a perfect bound book and cover it in copper flashing. Then along with pens next to the book I will have small pieces of paper, double stick tape and colored pencils. (I'll try to pick tidy craft supplies.) Then ask everyone to make a little drawing or doodle on the scrap along with their name and put it in the book with a glue stick.
What do you guys think? Will people be into it? Too messy, complicated, time consuming?
Fontastic!
Way back in the day when I wrote about some early invitation concepts a few readers asked about specific typefaces. So, in addition to answering their questions I thought it may be helpful to write about a few of my favorite typefaces for wedding invitations. The type style and face you or your designer chooses is going to depend on the look and style you are going for, so these are by no means the only typefaces that are appropriate, they are just a few that I think work well.
Linoscript
Murray Hill
Wade Sans Light
Brighton Plain
Dorchester Script
Fling
Bickley Script
Here are the typefaces I am calling Traditional (and fancy):
Carpenter
Gravura
Mahogany Script Std
University
Academy Engraved
Artisan Roman
Bickhan Script - Shown with some swash capitals and alternates
Bodoni
Cancellaresca Script
The next set I am calling Offbeat, but some are more modern or retro:
Avenida
Bernhard Fashion
Huxley
Parisian
Rubino Sans - Fill
I've lumped them into three groups Sweet/Girly, Traditional and Offbeat. The names of the groups are a fairly arbitrary way to start to categorize them that I made up, so you might think a traditional one is offbeat. (You can click to enlarge the images and the names are fictional)
The typefaces that I am calling Sweet and Girly I think would be great for a spring or summer wedding that is traditional and slightly modern.
The typefaces that I am calling Sweet and Girly I think would be great for a spring or summer wedding that is traditional and slightly modern.
Linoscript
Murray Hill
Wade Sans Light
Brighton Plain
Dorchester Script
Fling
Bickley ScriptHere are the typefaces I am calling Traditional (and fancy):
Carpenter
Gravura
Mahogany Script Std
University
Academy Engraved
Artisan Roman
Bickhan Script - Shown with some swash capitals and alternates
Bodoni
Cancellaresca ScriptThe next set I am calling Offbeat, but some are more modern or retro:
Avenida
Bernhard Fashion
Huxley
Parisian
Rubino Sans - FillWhat are your favorite wedding typefaces?
Which takes the cake?
Our cake is included with the rest of the reception package from the Rivers Club, so that is one less vendor we have to choose. We have not yet met with the baker for a tasting and to discuss the design. In the meantime, I have been looking for some cake-spiration to bring along when we do meet with her.
I love the simplicity of this cake with the cute little bows around each layer. I think this would be perfect for a spring or summer outdoor wedding. (So, maybe not ours.) I colored the flowers to see what they would look like in a light copper - I guess it looks more peach though.
This cake is ultra-modern; a look that I originally thought my wedding would follow. However, it seems I have been heading toward a traditional and vintage look, so I don't think this would work for us. I love the stripes, but these are made of ribbon and I don't like having so much inedible garnish on a yummy cake.
I love the linen paper look of the butter cream on this cake. This cake could work for any wedding depending on the flowers or other adornment chosen.
I love the flowers that adorn this cake. They were pulled from a fabric that was used throughout the wedding. They are definitely vintage.
I am drawn to this two-tone cake, especially when picturing it in champagne and copper. The couple had wreaths of rosemary around the base of each tier as a symbol of eternity. Which is lovely, but would the cake then taste like rosemary?
Here is another modern cake, very elegant. I think the use of ribbon is more appropriate here because it is so minimal. Also, the use of one flower as an accent is very striking.
I think is my favorite cake so far. The lace on the sides mimics the bride's dress without going way over the top. By way over the top I mean this cake. I also like that is not white, but it doesn't scream birthday cake either. The problem is Mr. Pineapple and I prefer butter cream and this cake make be hard to replicate without the use of fondant.
Which is your favorite? Any other ideas?
I love the simplicity of this cake with the cute little bows around each layer. I think this would be perfect for a spring or summer outdoor wedding. (So, maybe not ours.) I colored the flowers to see what they would look like in a light copper - I guess it looks more peach though.
This cake is ultra-modern; a look that I originally thought my wedding would follow. However, it seems I have been heading toward a traditional and vintage look, so I don't think this would work for us. I love the stripes, but these are made of ribbon and I don't like having so much inedible garnish on a yummy cake.
I love the linen paper look of the butter cream on this cake. This cake could work for any wedding depending on the flowers or other adornment chosen.
I love the flowers that adorn this cake. They were pulled from a fabric that was used throughout the wedding. They are definitely vintage.
I am drawn to this two-tone cake, especially when picturing it in champagne and copper. The couple had wreaths of rosemary around the base of each tier as a symbol of eternity. Which is lovely, but would the cake then taste like rosemary?
Here is another modern cake, very elegant. I think the use of ribbon is more appropriate here because it is so minimal. Also, the use of one flower as an accent is very striking.
I think is my favorite cake so far. The lace on the sides mimics the bride's dress without going way over the top. By way over the top I mean this cake. I also like that is not white, but it doesn't scream birthday cake either. The problem is Mr. Pineapple and I prefer butter cream and this cake make be hard to replicate without the use of fondant.Which is your favorite? Any other ideas?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Clay Flower Samples
Yesterday, Mr. Pineapple and I had to work all day for Carnegie Mellon's Commencement. After shooting several hundred photos of happy grads I was tired and grumpy. Then, I checked my e-mail and got a wonderful treat. Diane from Dk Designs Hawaii had my clay flower samples ready! She wanted to show me the colors and types of flowers (roses - different kinds, double center rose, victorian style, tuberose, stephanotis with the pearl center, gardenia, peony, and ranunculus) she had created to get my feedback before proceeding with the actual bouquets, boutonnières and corsages.
You may remember, a few weeks back I sent her some photos of bouquets that I liked, as well as a possible color palette for inspiration and Diane totally hit the nail on the head. She gave me two different options for the large center flower, a gardenia or a peony. Which do you like better?
Here are the bridesmaid's flower samples, the colors are slightly more saturated:
That peony is just incredible, the petals are so delicate.
Here is a shot of how the two work together:
The colors are soft and romantic. The flowers are classic and a bit rustic. I love them. I know I must sound like a spokeswoman for Diane, but I cannot think of anything I would change about them and she is a doll to work with. After the wedding, I will have them forever and that makes me very happy.
What do you think?
You may remember, a few weeks back I sent her some photos of bouquets that I liked, as well as a possible color palette for inspiration and Diane totally hit the nail on the head. She gave me two different options for the large center flower, a gardenia or a peony. Which do you like better?
Here are the bridesmaid's flower samples, the colors are slightly more saturated:
That peony is just incredible, the petals are so delicate.Here is a shot of how the two work together:
The colors are soft and romantic. The flowers are classic and a bit rustic. I love them. I know I must sound like a spokeswoman for Diane, but I cannot think of anything I would change about them and she is a doll to work with. After the wedding, I will have them forever and that makes me very happy.What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
