Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a joyful, peaceful holiday! I'll see you next week with my annual series of Favorites posts...

Sponsor Openings

Snippet & Ink is now accepting new sponsors for 2010 - I have wonderful readers who love weddings and design, and I have new rates, with several options priced for small businesses and Etsy vendors.

Email me for rates! kathryn [at] snippetandink [dot] com

Sunday Edition #65

by Ben Chrisman

And the winner is (plus a discount!)...

Congratulations to Sammy who said:

I have just seen the new collection and LOVE it! I have an unhealthy obsession with headwear so I would probably have to let number 11, number 12 and number 104 fight it out for my affection. But 104 would probably win x

You are the winner of the beautiful crystal headband from Ban.do!!! Sammy, email me with your mailing information so that we can get that to you right away.



And for everyone else, the ladies at Ban.do have extended an offer for Snippet & Ink readers to get $20 off your purchase from the Ban.do bridal collection from now until Christmas day! Just enter coupon code snippetandink at checkout.

Thank you so much to the nearly 300 people who entered and shared your fun ideas for how you'll wear your Ban.do, and thank you to Jen and Jamie for sponsoring this fabulous giveaway!

Happy Weekend!

Today is a big day... my trip to the post office to mail out all of my Christmas goodies. It's right around this time that I realize I should have started this whole process six weeks earlier, just to avoid the goat rodeo that is the post office the week before Christmas. So wish me luck with that. Also, don't forget to check back later today when I'll announce the winner of the Ban.do holiday giveaway! But until then, here are some delightful links from around the web this week...


{from Ryan Schude's flickr via It's Mary Ruffle}

A very talented woman's beautiful winter wedding.

For Christmas, I'd like this home. Or this one. Thank you.

Winter citrus. Pretty and delicious.

Amazing Brooklyn Bridge engagement pics, via Brooklyn Bride.

Gingerbread houses galore, via Delphine Ephemera.

Itsy bitsy little chapel.

Itsy bitsy little puppies!

Sure do love a sassy groom.

Burnt caramel sauce is my favorite. Ice cream optional.

Darling wedding with a travel theme.

Cross-stitch badges, via {frolic!}.

Optimistic maps.

Looking for some last minute gifts? Check out some of my suggestions over at So Chic.

Happy happy weekend!

Discounts, Giveaways, Etc.

Discounts

If you're looking for bridesmaid gifts, or last-minute gifts for any of the lovely ladies in your life (or for me), Albeit Jewelry is offering 20% off all orders. Coupon code: FAMILY&FRIENDS

Raquel Reis (the photographer behind yesterday's beautiful real wedding) is offering 15-20% off for all couples who book their wedding photography with her before 12/31.

Laura Hooper Calligraphy* is having a big sale from now until 12/31: get 25% off standard large tote orders, 20% off all bifold and trifold invitations, and 20% off custom compasses.

If you're in NYC, get 50-75% off retail prices at the Chloe & Reese sample sale, TODAY, 10am to 7pm at 313 W 37th Street #601A.

Estilo Weddings is having a year-end clearance sale. See all of the sale items here.

Get free shipping on all orders over $99 from Beau-Coup until 12/31.

Giveaways

Rachel Garcia is giving away free wedding photography to one couple. See details here.

Custom Printables is giving each person who signs up to follow them on Twitter a free monogram. See details here.

Brenda's Wedding Blog is giving away a pair of "Bride" or "Love" leather sandals. See details here.

Project Wedding* is giving away $210 worth of Gingi Skincare products, as well as the chance to win $1500 in prizes when you submit wedding blooper videos before 12/31.

Etc.

If you'd like to help a good cause, register to be a "Fresh Air Fund-Racer" in the NYC half-marathon on 3/21. See details here. The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the opportunity to spend time outdoors and in the country during the summer, and relies on donations to keep doing this good work. Check it out!

*Snippet & Ink sponsors

Real Wedding: Clelia & Blake

Today, a gorgeous wedding sent to me by photographer Raquel Reis. One of the things I love to hear from a bride is what inspired them while thinking about their wedding. Clelia and Blake pulled from a number of sources for inspiration, from A Midsummer Night's Dream, to early 20th-century Orientalist paintings, to Blake's love of nature and botany. But above all of that, says Clelia:

"We wanted our wedding to be a celebration with the many people who we love and who have loved and cared for us. It was really important to us that every one of our guests felt
comfortable and appreciated and that they had an amazing time. We tried in all of our decisions to be honest - to make decisions that reflected who we are, what our values are and how we live. We wanted to avoid a wedding that felt canned in favor of something that was personal and real."

In addition to several incredibly talented vendors, friends and family helped to pull this event together by helping to set everything up the day before the wedding. And what an amazing job they did!




Clelia's bridesmaids wore the same Butter by Nadia dresses, just wrapped in a different way, and each chose her own whimsical headpiece to wear, like this one by Which Goose.




Clelia wore this amazing heirloom veil, made in Belgium for her great-great grandmother's wedding. Her great-grandmother, grandmother, and many cousins have also worn it.


I love this idea - Wilma curtains from IKEA hung on the sides of the tent.


Each table was set with vintage lace tablecloths, as well as a number of old candelabras, coffee sets, and other decorative silver plate items purchased on eBay, for $10 (or less) apiece.


Oh that bouquet! Ariella Chezar gets me every time!


With over 30 guests under the age of 10, it was important to Clelia and Blake that they provide lots of fun for the kids. A petting zoo and bubbles station kept the littlest guests entertained, and several baby-sitters supervised dinner, sleeping and movie-watching so that parents could enjoy the wedding, too.


Some guests, aware of the "enchanted" inspiration behind the wedding, wore wonderfully whimsical ensembles. A few of Clelia's parents' friends even dressed as frogs and princesses (with suits and dresses to change into later) - if the couple and their parents have a sense of humor, what a hilarious surprise this would be!


With 300 guests, Clelia and Blake were worried that the wedding would feel impersonal. In order to counter this, the couple wrote a personal note to each guest, which doubled as seating cards. Blake and Clelia "switched" families, so she wrote to each member of his family, and he wrote to hers. Says Clelia, "Even though this was a massive undertaking and took a lot of time in the days leading up to the wedding, I feel it was well worth it. I think it really did achieve its goal of making every guest feel welcomed and cherished."




Clelia's father is, as she puts it, "baking-obsessed." So it was only fitting that he make the wedding cake: chocolate with caramel frosting and raspberry filling, a favorite of the bride. He also decorated it himself with sugared flowers.


How amazing is this cookie spread?! I think the word I'm looking for is smörgåsbord.







Venue: bride's parents' home, Connecticut

Bride's dress: Carolina Herrera from Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier

Bridesmaid dresses: Butter by Nadia

Groom's suit: J.Crew

Petting zoo / pony rides: Pied Piper Pony Rides

Flowers (bouquets, boutonnieres, floral crowns, head table): Ariella Chezar

Flowers (guest table centerpieces): Kamilla's Floral Boutique

Catering: family friend, Joan Embree

Cake: bride's father

Best wishes and happiest regards to Clelia and Blake! Thank you so much for letting me share your beautiful wedding here on Snippet & Ink. And thank you to Raquel Reis for sending over these lovely photos - such a treat for our last real wedding feature of 2009!

A Winter Holiday Soiree

I've posted a number of winter wedding inspiration boards this week and last, so when my sweet friend Janie at The Bride's Cafe asked if I'd like to share this winter holiday shoot with you here on Snippet & Ink, I jumped at the chance. And that was before I'd even seen the photos! Created by some wonderfully talented ladies, including Janie, Courtney from Merriment Events, and Katie from Open Air Photography, this lovely shoot is exactly what I love - beautiful and thoughtful without being overdone. Whether you're looking for inspiration for your winter wedding or for next week's holiday party, you'll definitely find some great ideas here...




The tree was decorated with pine cones and mercury glass ornaments hung with jute twine.


Courtney created this garland by stamping the letters on vintage tags, then stringing them on jute twine.


Vintage sheet music can be found throughout the shoot, from accordion "garlands" on the mantle, to paper pinwheels, to gift wrap. (Can you see the name on that gift tag? It's Kathryn! How much did that make my day!)


Gifts were also wrapped with kraft paper and tied with gold ric rac, upholstery ribbon, or green satin. This one was embellished with vintage skeleton keys.




The mantle was decorated with various flowers in mercury glass vases and a vintage box filled with jute twine and silver ornaments. Silver serving trays were hung on the wall above the mantle - what a simple and effective way to fill up wall space!




Janie decorated the table with white amaryllis, French anemones, Victoria white ranunculus, supergreen parrot tulips, and white peonies all in mercury glass vases. Using only one type of flower in each vase allows each flower to stand out, and is simple solution for centerpieces. The amaryllis arrangements are rather tall, so they can be removed once guests are seated to allow for conversation across the table.


The menus were lettered in the shape of a star, and embellished with little stars made of sheet music.


Menus and place cards were calligraphed by Jen at Pretty Pen Jen, using gold ink on ivory paper.




Croquembouche is a perfectly dramatic and appropriate dessert choice for a winter wedding or party. This one, created by Jenny at Sweetest Thing Bakery, is drizzled in white chocolate.


For the winter brides out there, a bouquet of white peonies, gray dusty miller, nearly black privet berries, and tied with beautiful striped French wire ribbon.





Thank you so so much to all of these talented ladies for sharing this beautiful winter shoot with us - now I can't wait to throw a holiday dinner party! I hope we'll be able to have all of you back on Snippet & Ink again very soon.

Photography: Katie Stoops at Open Air Photography

Styling: Courtney Spencer at Merriment Events / Little White Book)

Flowers: Janie Medley at JM Flora / The Bride's Cafe)

Calligraphy: Pretty Pen Jen

Cake: Sweetest Thing Bakery

Hair and makeup: Sarah Valentine at Mango Hair Salon

Board #450: Gingerbread and Lavender

This is sort of a mini-inspiration board - it just worked better this way than with any of the other images I tried to fit into it. Sometimes less is more...

If you're a winter bride who loves lavender, how about a bouquet of dried lavender, wrapped in soft velvet ribbon? After the ceremony, treat your guests to dessert and champagne (I'm dead set on bringing this type of reception back, can you tell?). Gingerbread linzertorte is a perfectly appropriate, yet totally unexpected, winter wedding "cake." Each dessert certainly doesn't need to be color coordinated, but the table also doesn't have to look like a middle school bake sale. Arrange things thoughtfully, maybe with a small vase of flowers, and let this table of sweets be the focal point in the room. Unless you're lucky enough to hold your reception in a room with a working fireplace - that would be the perfect focal point for a winter wedding. You'll have one less thing to worry about if you skip the party favors, though you might make small glassine bags available for guests to take some chocolate truffles home with them.

So what do you think? Can you still get a sense of this wedding with only 6 images?

Mood: sweet and simple
Palette: gingerbread, faded lavender, rosé

{click image to enlarge}

Top row from left: winter bride and groom from Brides, champagne coupes filled with rosé and chocolate truffles both from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 2: gingerbread linzertorte from Martha Stewart, dried lavender bouquet with velvet ribbon photo by Elizabeth Messina, snow-topped church

Things are winding down here at Snippet & Ink - this is the last inspiration board of 2009! I've still got a few beautiful posts lined up for you, though, before heading out for the holiday. Later this morning, I'll be posting a beautiful shoot that Janie Medley, Courtney Spencer, Katie Stoops, and some other talented folks put together just for us! It's full of winter and holiday inspiration for a wedding or dinner party, so don't miss out on that. Also, don't forget to enter in the Ban.do giveaway before Thursday at midnight!

Happy Holidays Giveaway from Ban.do!

To celebrate the season, and to celebrate the launch of their new bridal collection, the ladies at Ban.do are giving away this fabulously glamorous crystal headband to one Snippet & Ink reader.



This is just one of the awesome new styles over at Ban.do, so to enter, head over to the site, pick out another favorite (unless of course this is the only one for you), then come back here and leave a comment letting us know which one you love, where you'd wear it (to your wedding? someone else's wedding? a holiday party?), and/or what you'd wear it with (knee-length wedding dress? silver stilettos? velvet cigarette pants?). You have until Thursday at midnight to enter, and I will announce the randomly selected winner Friday morning. Good luck!

Update! This contest is now closed. The winner was announced here.

Board #449: Modern Vintage Circus

Once again I've repeated a few favorites here, namely the large balloons with number tags from Randi Brookman Harris' wedding, and the black and white bouquet by Artfool (now Matthew Robbins Design). What can I say, they're favorites! I actually started with the intention of creating an all-white winter wedding inspiration board based around this gorgeous dress by Elizabeth Dye, but I think what I ended up with here is much more fun. Inspired by vintage circus ephemera and details, from the balloons to the souvenir card to the popcorn, this is a modern take on that look. Mostly white, with just a few well-edited dabs of black for contrast, it's both whimsical and chic.

Mood: chic modern whimsy, with a touch of vintage circus inspiration
Palette: glassine white, ink black

{click image to enlarge}

Top row from left: white dress with ruffled waist by Elizabeth Dye, balloons with number tags from Martha Stewart Weddings, Papermade stationery with black and white twine photo by Max Wanger via Style Me Pretty
Row 2: coconut chocolate cupcake photo by Victoria Pearson, white lemonade with straw flags from Amy Atlas
Row 3: black and white bouquet with sweet peas and privet berries by Artfool, vintage souvenir postcard, balloon ceremony photo by W. Scott Chester
Row 4: popcorn in glassine bags styled by Erin Quon, white piano from Janny Panns' flickr, milk glass cake stands from Martha Stewart via Classic Bride, vintage alphabet garland from Chronicle Books

This inspiration board is, I hope, further evidence that having a simple, and even budget-friendly,* wedding doesn't have to mean sacrificing style. The decor is mostly large white balloons (which can be found for under $3 each), some touches of black and white twine ($15 for 240 yards), and milk glass cake stands (check eBay and flea markets for these). The only flowers are in the bride's bouquet (and possibly the groom's boutonniere). Even the darling alphabet garland is only $13, and which could be used for any number of things (and used again and again after the wedding!).

A reception with cupcakes, lemonade or punch, and popcorn will cost far less than just about any other option. There is no rule that says you have to serve your guests a full meal (though if you don't, make sure to hold your wedding in between meal times); in fact, for the longest time, a cake and punch reception immediately following the ceremony was standard. I think it's tough these days when, so often, many or most wedding guests are coming from out of town to attend, and it seems as though you ought to serve them a full meal at the reception - this is certainly something my honey and I have struggled with. But if that's not your style, or if it's just not in your budget, cake and punch, or dessert and champagne, is perfectly acceptable, especially if it means you can afford to have all of the people you love there with you to celebrate.

(*In fact, "simple" and "budget-friendly" are not the same thing. It can cost an awful lot of money to have a simply elegant wedding, and it can cost no money at all to lose sight of simplicity.)

I'm Late! I'm Late!

Since I spent all day yesterday running around trying to get things ready to mail off so they'll arrive before Christmas, I didn't spend much of my day working on posts. I have an inspiration board that wants to be finished, but it's still missing a few pieces, so that will hopefully be up later today. Also, we've got an awesome giveaway from the fabulous ladies at Ban.do, so you definitely won't want to miss that. See you in a bit!

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Board #448: Poinsettias in Pink

Today's winter wedding board draws its inspiration from a classic harbinger of the holidays, the poinsettia. But instead of the traditional red, I've used poinsettias in various shades of pink and cream. With a mostly white palette and lots of candles, the pink isn't cloying - though it would certainly make for a sweet bridal shower as well as a wedding or holiday party. Invitations are all white, except for calligraphy lettered in pink ink, and they're finished off with white twine and sealing wax (if you want to send envelopes wrapped in twine, you'll need to put them inside glassine envelopes for mailing). I imagined this as a simple tea reception, with cake and candies, and of course champagne and tea - a budget-friendly option that's charming and sophisticated.

Mood: warm, charming
Palette: poinsettia pink, candlelight white

{click image to enlarge}

Top row from left: poinsettia wreath from Matthew Mead Style, white Christmas crackers from Rebecca Thuss, red calligraphy from Mr Boddington's Studio, red-lipped bride with pale pink dress from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 2: various white candies via The Bride's Guide, blusher veil photo by Corbin Gurkin, tea cake from Crown & Crumpet, ceremony site with candles from Wonderful Graffiti
Row 3: bouquet with cattleya orchids from Martha Stewart Weddings, envelope with twine and wax seal from Linea Carta, vintage gloves photo by Anna Kuperberg, pink poinsettia from Matthew Mead Style