Celebration Time

Celebrations!
Image via Real Simple

Celebration time!

I'm having a lot of fun inspiring & celebrating our wedding this week! On Monday, my Mom & I met with our wonderful florist, Liz, of Elizabeth Koleto Designs & discussed wedding flowers. I loved the opportunity to dig into the creative side of our wedding! On Tuesday, my Mom & I visited our reception venue, Hyatt Regency Jersey City. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Vu Restaurant overlooking the Hudson River, then we took a short tour of the Manhattan Ballroom Foyer & Manhattan Ballroom. It was the first time my Mom was able to see our venue. On Wednesday, we went to the amazing Lovely Bride & found my wedding gown!!! Yipee! Oh, what a day!! Sounds like a fabulous week, right?

The awesome thing is we still have good times ahead. Friday is my birthday. Saturday is our engagement party. Sunday is the Fourth of July. Fun, fun & more fun!

Of course, I have tons to share with you! But right now, it's really important for me to live in the moment & savor the celebrations as they happen. I'm filing away the memories & taking tons of photos so this blog will be chock full of my wedding stories next week. Until then, take care~

The First Dress

I tried on this dress . . .

and this dress in a different color . . .

and this dress too! Plus about 13 more!
All images from Macy's

I bought the first dress I tried on!

No, not my wedding gown.

My Mom is visiting from California for our engagement party next weekend & we have tons of fun, wedding-related activities planned. The first item on the agenda was finding a dress for our engagement party. I needed a party dress that was cool for the summer heat & comfortable for a backyard party.

We started the day at the Olive Garden for their lunch special of soup, salad & breadsticks- yum! We needed the fuel for the big shopping day ahead. The hunt began at Macy's; the store was chock-full of beautiful, summer dresses. My Mom & I grabbed anything & everything that caught our eye. I ended up in the dressing room with at least 15 lovely dresses. I grabbed the one I liked the most & tried it on. I adored it- the fit was perfect & the style was unique. My Mom agreed. But I went on to try & model the others.

Much like Brides who buy the first wedding gown they try on, I bought the first engagement party dress I tried on. I couldn't top the look or feeling from that dress. As if I wasn't bursting with excitement for our engagement party before, I am positively brimming with anticipation now. I can't wait to celebrate with our family & friends!

Golden Splendor

A new twist on the pocket invitation
The invitation & enclosures are tucked away in the pocket

The invitation features an embossed pattern & a printed flourish

A close-up of the flourish decoration

The invitation & its matching enclosures

The Golden Splendor invitation is modern & old-fashioned at once. The shimmer, champagne pocket is an updated version of the popular pocket invitation. The square shape, shimmer paper, almond ink & combination fonts are marks of a modern invitation. Yet the graceful filigree pattern gives the invitation a classic, elegant feel.

As you've gathered from previous invitation posts, many Brides see the sample shown in the stationery book or sample displayed at Koru Wedding Shoppe & customize it to make it their own. The Bride & Groom who chose this invitation took it exactly as is- font style, font color, layout, etc. The only thing they changed is the wording. They thought it was ideal for their vintage-theme wedding. Sometimes things are perfect as is!

Proud to be a Bride

Bride in a script font
Graceful & fun!

The special touch of light pink & turquoise flower pins!

I couldn't love this look more!

I am the first to admit that I'm resistant to change. If it's not broken, why change it? If it's broken, why not fix it? Family & friends still tease me mercilessly about my beloved camera that I used for years even though it required duct tape to work. But I digress.

The Bride tank tops have been the most popular item at Koru Wedding Shoppe since it opened five years ago. Brides have snatched them up for bachelorette parties, wedding days, honeymoons & just because. Originally, Bride was spelled out in a block font made of clear crystals. My vendor contacted me about a year ago to let me know Bride tank tops were available in a script font & Brides were loving them. I was nervous to change a good thing so I kept stocking the original version.

A Bride forced me out of my comfort zone. She asked if the tank tops were available in script & I agreed to order her the new version. I ordered an extra to test out at Koru. Well, the Bride adored her script tank top & I was pretty smitten too. The additional tank top only lasted a day or two before a Bride snatched up. The writing was on the wall: it was time to switch to the script Bride tank top!!

The new order arrived on Tuesday & there has been nothing but LOVE for the script Bride tank top! Plus, who can resist an adorable light pink or turquoise flower to add a little jazz? It's a winning combination if you ask me. Maybe change isn't so bad.

I must have the new tank top!!!

Orange: Have You Noticed?

Sunset Orange pocket invitation
Originally featured here

Enchanting invitation in Pumpkin Orange
Originally featured here

A modern invitation with a Monarch Orange accent
Originally featured here

Distinctive invitation in Pumpkin Orange
Originally featured here

Did you notice the streak of wedding invitations in orange?

I redid the stationery display at Koru Wedding Shoppe last week & as I stood back to look at the results, there was a lot of orange staring back at me. I scrolled through the blog &, sure enough, lots of orange. I have been selling wedding invitations for 10 years (wow!) & it's the first time there has been a rash of orange invitations. I welcome this bright, happy color with welcome arms!

When I dug a little deeper into the meaning of orange, it's a wonder it hasn't been more popular before. Orange combines the happiness of yellow & the energy of red, according to Color Wheel Pro. Who doesn't love happiness & energy for a wedding? Color Wheel Pro goes on to say that orange is associated with joy, sunshine & the tropics. Again, joy, sunshine & the tropics are perfect for weddings!

Clearly, these Brides knew what they were doing when they chose orange for their wedding. Smart cookies.

Our Greetings from Hoboken, Part One

Our save-the-dates lined up like colorful soldiers
They're ready to be mailed!

And away they go!

Remember that I told you our save-the-date invitations had been seen on this blog before? Here's the full story!

When it came to inspiration for our save-the-date invitations, it turned out I had to look no further than our guest bedroom. Over the daybed, we have a framed "Greetings from Hoboken" poster because we love our hometown so much. The poster proudly features the Hoboken waterfront & each letter showcases a local historical building. We decided to have our marriage ceremony in Hoboken & the save-the-date decision was easily made. What was the best way to give our wedding guests the wedding information & a sense of place? Greetings from Hoboken postcards!

My original idea was to print & stick save-the-date labels on the back of the postcard. RZ hated the idea! He insisted our save-the-date information be printed directly on the postcard. Wondering if I had possibly lost my mind, I emailed the Greetings from Hoboken artist, Raymond Smith, & asked him if he would print our save-the-date information. Thankfully, Raymond didn't think I was crazy & he happily accepted to print the postcards. He was a delight to work with from start to finish. I had written the copy with the basic information of our names, our wedding date & our wedding web site. He helped with picking fonts, making the layout, etc. He patiently showed me previous examples, made mock-ups for us to choose from & delivered us the best save-the-date postcards!!

For any Hobokenite couples, I highly recommend working with Raymond for save-the-dates, out-of-town gift basket tags &/or thank you cards. We're getting rave reviews from our wedding guests &, most importantly, we love our save-the dates!

Coming Soon: Part Two will reveal the other side of our save-the-date postcard!!

Pretty in Yellow & Grey

A pocket invitation done in Mercury, Daffodil & Ivory
Notice the modern monogram!

The invitation features one of the most popular designs at Koru

For a pop of color, the outer envelope & response envelope are Daffodil

I love that the Bride & Groom ask their guests for music suggestions

The Pretty in Pink invitation showcased here spends its days garnering much attention in the front window of Koru Wedding Shoppe. Before Pretty in Pink was moved to that illustrious spot, it was displayed in Koru's stationery nook. Pretty in Pink inspired many Brides & Grooms, including the lovely couple's invitation showcased today.

The Bride & Groom liked the basic look of Pretty in Pink but they felt it was too traditional & soft for their wedding. Well, well, of course we can help! First, we picked colors that fit with the couple's wedding- Mercury grey, Daffodil yellow & Ivory. Then, we flipped the invitation to a horizontal layout. Followed up with clean, block fonts, the look was complete. The final touch was a cool monogram chosen for the pocket seal. Love, love!

Much like the Orange You Happy's pocket, the bright yellow outer envelope for this invitation puts an instant smile on your face. It's so bright & happy!

All in all, the Pretty in Yellow & Grey invitation is formal yet modern & edgy.

I love when a Bride & Groom are inspired by another couple's wedding invitation & they manage to make it their own. Can you believe Pretty in Yellow & Grey has already inspired another couple? That invitation will be featured soon :-)