Hey ya’ll! It’s been quite the while. Don’t fret, I’m back with some amazing invitations to share with you.

I love how these invitations turned out. They got a bit of everything I think invitations should have – personalization, signature colors, a monogram of sorts, and awesome packaging.

Christie + Seth [you may remember them from here or here] wanted to have invitations that spoke to what they’re guests would experience at their wedding. Fun, rustic, eclectic, and full of loving details. What better way to say that than screen printed wood invitations?

The color palate for the wedding was a burnt orange, olive, and yellow. The wood seemed like a perfect backdrop to put the main invite on and use the other paper pieces pop with the rest of their bright colors printed on stark white.

The thing I love most about creating wedding invitations is when the design just “clicks.” A piece of information about the bride or groom, a special thing that’s going to be incorporated at the wedding, something about the venue, or just a simple color palate can all trigger these “clicks.” After that… things just WORK. Ideas come so rapidly and before you know it… we have something that is IT. For this invite, that moment came when I was told from Rachel that the ceremony was taking place under a huge oak tree. I loved it so much, it went on the invite, the direction card, and the RSVP card.

Doesn’t this look like the perfect sneak peak to what Christie & Seth’s wedding would be like? Lucky for you, The Wedding Chicks featured some incredible photos of the big day from Mathieu Photography. They are just incredible.

One tip for all of you who are thinking about invitations – whether it be for a wedding, a birthday party, or a fun get together – make it yours. Find a special “thing” to set your event apart from the others. Something that is special and will tie everything together. Something that speaks to who you are. Something that is … you.

Congratulations to you, Seth + Christie. May your life together be blessed with love forever!

With Love,

Shannon

Steph had a vision from moment one for her wedding: simple elegance with a cream, black and chocolate scheme. Keeping in mind that their affair was a desserts only style of reception, it fit perfectly! We chose a “wordy” invitation to act as the overall design- and the simplicity of it was the perfect compliment to the evening!

Boxed and tied with lace, these were meant to be hand-delivered for their intimate guest count.

The delicate femininity of the lace and font played perfectly against the masculine color scheme and angular modern box.

All in all, one of my favorites designs to-date for invitations. I love the playfulness and romance of the suite, and how we got to carry it through to the big day with the favors, ceremony programs, guestbook, and dessert signs!

Have an inspired day with love flowing like the Seine River!

xoxo,

Total fave:

Nothing is more relatable than having a human moment with someone when admitting that life isn’t always perfect and sometimes you just gotta deal with it. But let’s not forget the good stuff, too…

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Go check out the facebook fan page for more!

Here’s to feeling real today with someone by your side!!

Note to add: Friday Lovely posts are always, 100% the opinion of myself and the In The Now team. They’re never sponsored or slanted in any way or for any reason. We keep it genuine here. Just thought you should know, fo sho.

xoxo,

The color palette was simple: design to match the space. We quickly came up with the idea to infuse kraft paper into everything. Combining our love of ivory and white playing off one another and adding in a deep wine to bring more depth, we had it! A boxed invite was a must- we knew it had to be a show stopper. But the real piece de resistance was the mini binder clip attaching the pages together. Of course we just happened to have about 100 laying around [of course... of course] and when we saw it clipped together we just ‘knew’- love at first site!

We are total paper snobs as well [self-admitted, too] and we almost exclusively use the same texture of paper for our projects. It’s my favorite and feels like velvet!

Seriously- just wait until you see the rest of the event Rachel pulled together! It is filled to the brim with custom projects and wit and class all rolled into one!

Until then- find something understated in your life today and recognize it for the simple beauty it adds and creates!

xoxo,

A chic simple design where we utilized screen printing onto wood and packaged it into a box with rustic wood filler:

An elegant, formal invitation that just screams “fancy” for this July all-black-requested affair:

A modern take on the Mexican fiesta-style wedding invitation featuring loads of papel picado and hand-drawn graphics:

And lastly, a super clean, modern invitation suite for a recent industry event [that went from nothing to packaged in literally 3 days- that is what I call efficiency!]:

Stay tuned for posts on each as they get their moment in the sun from the designers!

xoxo,

I think these would make totally delightful save-the-date cards for two book lovers. Plus, it’s a good reminder for all of us who have been in a long-term committed [or marital- ME] relationship that sometimes we need to remember to check one another out still. Playful, whimsical, light-hearted fun. Divulge in some today and play tag or something!!

xoxo,

Radiant bride…. check!

Handsome groom…. check!

Killer cohesive bridal party…. check!

Ridiculously pretty church… check! And then, there’s love.

Lots and lots of love.

And a great reception locale like The Ebell Club, Long Beach doesn’t hurt either!

The decadent arrangements from Flower Allie add the perfect POP to this fun color scheme of navy and orange. And here’s a designer’s inside tip: when working in a candle-lit, romantic environment, go a shade lighter with your linen. In the light of day, you may not understand- but in the deep, dark colors of your reception, that extra “lift” of color will make all the difference. Keeping with Spanish feel, we used La Tavola’s dupionique in royal [a cobalt blue tone, much like the Spanish tiles we used as escort cards] to ensure the colors didn’t get lost in the evening light. It was the perfect impact!

Isn’t it always the “little” things that get you?? Elena chose for us to do a “detail wrap up and decor budget” for her. It’s one of our most popular additions these days and can be added to any of our services. For Elena and Nathan, we took the liberty of implementing several tiny decor elements to really impact her day. We upgraded linens and napkins, added a lace knot napkin wrap, detailed the bride and groom chairs [with lace tails and signage], created menu cards for their buffet, concepted and created their escort card tiles with alternating blue/orange colors, wrapped candles in custom lace, created wedding programs, and designed/assembled 20 welcome baskets [complete with custom timeline, logo/artwork, and packaging for her guests]. WHEW. All in 2 weeks time. If THAT’s not bang-for-your-buck, I don’t know what is!

Just a suggestion, but if you skip on over to Dave’s site, there’s more where this came from. He’s a great blogger [in example: timely, generous with images that are generously sized, and credits all of his vendors]. I love this in a photographer. I love this in ANY vendor. I’m on his side.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this wedding come together! I got to work with Elena and Nathan from the get-go, so here’s a shout out to our all-star cast of characters:

Ceremony: Wayfarer’s Chapel
Reception: Ebell Club Long Beach
Photographer: Dave Richards
Event Design and Planning: In The Now
Florist: Flower Allie
DJ: John Suarez, After Dark Entertainment
Napkin Rentals: Signature Party
Linens: La Tavola Fine Linen
Catering: Jay’s Catering
Custom Graphics: Kristen [Graphical Intern], In The Now
Vinyl Escort Card Logos: Creative Media Print
Hair/Makeup: Artistry By Briana

Holla! Look at that list. It’s what I love to see. :) So sad it’s over… so happy they’re married. It’s the bittersweet small moments in life that keep me pushing forward. Hoping you find some JOY in today, tomorrow, and your ‘forever’.

xoxo,

Their colors? Classic gold and ivory, paired with the richest shade of fuchsia-based purple!

The lovely Kristen, intern extraordinaire [and total graphical diva], was on-hand to create whimsy and personality combining the look of their invites, from Foglio Press on Etsy [in a purple and grey scheme]:

And their Save-The-Date cards:

And here is a couple items from their graphic suite that Kristen created – the graphic element is JUST the beginning. I cannot wait to reveal details from their actual wedding, but alas, pro pics are always worth the wait!!

A perfect combination for the love birds! Fun and fantastic all rolled into one!

What details, you might ask, are we creating? Everything from welcome baskets for their out of town guests [complete with custom monogrammed munchies], wedding programs, table numbers, signature drink accessories [flags and signs], menu cards, escort cards [the cutest you've ever seen- I'll betcha!], and more, more MORE! We are totally thrilled with the deets for their day!

Until next time my dears!

xoxo,

A.

I just 100% adore how their photographer, Zenia Photography, captured their love story!

Plus- well- it doesn’t hurt if the couple is completely gorgeous, too… right?

And now- some of the details you’ve really been DYING for…

Thanks to Zenia for the photos and for the remarkable pleasure of working together once again! Go give her a hoot and holler over on her blog!!

And, one for the road:

The lineup:

Sweet Tunes [and lighting] provided by Mike @ Carcano DJs
Rentals by Classic Party Rentals [to the rescue, I may add- thanks Gretel!!]
Design and Coordinating by [the ever-fabulous] In The Now Weddings
Photography by Zenia Photography
Cake and Flowers provided by the bride and family!

Have a dig-your-toes-in-the-mud kinda day. And don’t be afraid to get some dirt under those fingernails, either!

xoxo,

A.

With all the inspiration of rustic and western vibes, my mind went straight to wood backing. How more rustic could you get? With the perfect feminine color palate [all shades of purple, navy and mint green accented with cream and fruitwood tones], the wood backing ads just enough rustic to make it work! Believe it or not, the first one I whipped up is what we went with! We then used the same design ideas for the RSVP postcard and information card on a nice ivory base.

We used a heavy-weight, deliciously textured ivory stock for the paper goods and ivory vellum for the main invite. The shape was custom cut for us [a must with this design and really what sent us over the edge in love with it]. We then tied it all together with a lace ribbon inside of a precious box! The lace was the perfect pop against the wood and paper products- and we went with a modern, more “geometric” lace to compliment the feminine colors. I would LOVE to get one of these in the mail!

What I loved most about this project were the quirky colors paired with the rustic country chic look Lesa was looking for.  It just worked, and turned out so great, if I do say so myself!

Hope you all enjoyed hearing about it as much as I did making it! And just in case you weren’t excited enough after these for Lesa and Eric’s wedding photos… the super cute background fabric is actually what we’re custom making their napkins from for the event! Yippee!

love,

Shannon

1. For Valentine’s Day my husband got my a stuffed lion [with a sunflower petal collar] that sings the song “Sunflower” by Neil Diamond in 3-part children’s choir unison. It’s disturbing at best. If you have absolutely NO idea why he’d do this, go here. The trouble is, I make the bed every morning and put it right in between our pillows as a joke… but now it’s kinda become a habit. Yikers.

2. I’m almost ready to reveal the new site. Like, in the next 48 hours, keep your eyes peeled. It’s gonna be epic sauce. And with the new site, I’ll likely be taking on a new intern for the office. I just feel they coincide. I’m super extremely overly ridiculously excited about that!

3. I’ve been doing a lot of designing lately. In fact, you’ll notice once the new site is up that design services are included in every In The Now package. For this, I am thrilled. But it also means that I have trouble sleeping at night with my head exploding and ideas pouring out onto [in the morning] illegibly-scribbled notepads. I’m kinda obsessed with it. I’m eclectic and random and scattered and all the signs of a great designer. But, I have the skill to reign myself back in. I literally separate my week into design days and organizing days. It’s become very efficient! A few of my iPhone pics that are inspiring me lately:

This specific orange-yellow tone of wood:

Mini champagne splits [dying]- BOTH being used in upcoming projects:

Lorina Lemonade with it’s feminine bottle shape:

Wallpaper at the Barnes & Noble. Hello, they’re mini ampersands!

VIBE! Dinnerware [plates, chargers, bowls] a la Town + Country Rentals:

And one last picture that always keeps me going:

Husband’s special note to me whilst cooking dinner. Love him, too!

4. Two Auer Photo. Okay I said we’d talk about it so here’s the talk. NO I’m not “becoming a photographer”. NO I don’t shoot weddings. TAP was essentially created because we have great light in our studio space, a nice camera, and I’m a control freak that wants to ensure I get the images I need from each table setting. Really, it’s much more simple for me to commit to designing one table a month when I know I don’t have to orchestrate a photographer to come lend their time shooting it for me. It’s worked out fabulous thus far. and The TAP blog is just to post images of our shoots on a place that isn’t associated as much with In The Now. I don’t want people coming here, seeing that Josh and I have taken the photos, and being confused. Simple as that! We don’t shoot people. We shoot things. Things that can’t move. Where the variables are considerably less and where [and when] we can control our settings, lighting, etc. That’s the way I like it! SO- now you know! A quick peek into “getting the shot”:

And here is the shot itself:

Kinda totally worth all the MacGuyver moves we had to make [at one point, Josh had his iPhone under the spoon- which was sideways still- holding up the camera! Ridiculous]!

5. I’ve been cooking at home a lot. It makes me feel like a lady. But it also gives me dishpan hands. Big sigh.

6. I don’t consider myself a DIY craft oriented type of person. But right now I’ve become increasingly distracted with paper products like this:

And this:

SHOOT me dead, I just love it so much! It makes me motivated to create and recreate!

7. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that we hear a lot of familiar songs while watching Cougar Town. That’s because this is one of the FIRST shows that Josh has been placed on [with his music] that we can actually stomach watching. It’s quippy, smart, and fast-paced. Stuff that I love. The only problem is that when we do know he’s getting placed, I’ve already been distracted by the plot and I’m not paying attention! If you watch it, just know that if they’re in the bar, there’s a great chance my husband’s song is playing in the background as ambiance music. He’s been placed 7 times so far [and they've only had 15 episodes]! It’s pretty fun.

8. Something that made me smile today when opening a random folder:

Sometimes I miss my clients after their weddings. But it makes me bubble with pride, hope, and joy that they’re off creating families and lives and sharing last names! Thanks to Jonilyn for this one. And Christine + Tim of course!!

9. Do you notice that I release my blogs each day at 10:30am? I typically try to write in the evening, in advance, and then release at 10:30am for consistency. It’s currently 10:31am and I’m so anxious I’m biting my nails over it!

10. Since we’re changing the site and blog, we’ll have a lot more flexibility with writers and content and etc. So, I’d love feedback on what you’d like to see more of, what keeps you coming back, what you look for in a blog you love, and what will enhance our impact in your wedding world! Please, don’t hesitate to leave comments. We’d love it! I want to introduce you to our world in an intimate way, but I don’t want our features to be sloppy or incomplete. Tell me what you’ve liked, tell me what you haven’t so much cared for! I’ll give you all a dollar. Just kidding. I probably won’t.

And now for a soapbox moment: The deliciously adorable Shannon and her husband Scott entered the Green Wedding Shoes contest for a photo shoot and styling! They’re finalists!! Give your vote for them here!! SO proud of her styleboard! :)

Hope your day is filled with random JOY and bursts of laughter- the best kind!!

xoxo,

A.

These amazing 3″ notecards feature modern typeface [to match my new, pending website] and are a nod to my studio artwork [as you can see, featured in the studio opening video and also the picture collage from the party!!]. I love them like a lot lot lot!

And tell me that the little mini logo on the back of the card isn’t the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!! Wait… you can’t. Because it IS!

Hope that this weekend makes a deep impression in your heart, the way that these quotes are deeply impressed on the softest of cotton papers…

xoxo,

A.