Real Wedding: Izzy and Harry (continued)

We're still swooning over all the beautiful details of Izzy and Harry's UK wedding last December. Their save the date cards and invitations were only a fraction of the fun paper products displayed throughout their big day, so when Izzy sent us these beautiful photos by Sven Arnstein we had to share.

Custom wedding signage was created for almost every table along with matchbox favors, wild-flower seed packets, a wishing tree and a delightful 'thumb-print tree', and they all matched perfectly with the Hot Air Balloon save the date.

The couple really went above and beyond to create a whimsical space. We always love a winter wedding...

To view more photos, visit Hello! Magazine! Thanks Izzy for sharing the beautiful photos.

New! Wedding Invitation Suites

Brides, get ready for more wedding beauty! Our team has been hard at work preparing for the launch of our newest wedding invitation suites and we're thrilled to announce some are now available for order! There's something for every type here - from classic and traditional to flowery and romantic. Each suite is customizable on our website and come with lots of extra options like paper color choices, printed envelopes, calligraphy, and guest address labels. You can be one of the first to personalize these paper pretties, so shop now! (Above, La Vie en Rose)

Love and Marriage

Lemonade Stand

Morris

Classic Rose

To shop all wedding invitations, click here. We'll be rolling out many more new designs in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more soon!

Real Wedding: Maria and Craig

If you're wedding is inspired by old Hollywood glamor, it's a sure sign it should take place in Palm Springs. Maria and Craig's wedding at the Parker Palm Springs showcases the couple's luxurious taste and fashionable lifestyle. Maria, CEO of SimplyShe wanted her guests to feel comfortable throughout the weekend celebration while still embracing the stylish accents of a grand event. The bold color palette of black, white, pool blue and fuchsia caught our eye when she came to our studio with plans of a custom wedding suite. We're loving the striped table linens and decor.

The Los Angeles Skyline save the dates were letterpress printed in fuchsia ink, and paired with a custom black and white striped liner and pool envelope.

For a more custom invitation, we transformed our horizontal Chandelier wedding invitation into a vertical, double-sided modern glamor piece. The invitations were also paired with a black and white striped liner and customized guest labels.

It doesn't really get much more glamorous than this. The reception room filled with fluorescent pink lighting is just dying for a dance party.

What a beautiful weekend for a beautiful couple. Congratulations Maria and Craig! For more photos head over to Style Me Pretty here!

Photos by Jesse Leake Photography

Save Your Date + Sneak Peek!

It's true the holidays are the most popular times of year for new engagements, earning the title "engagement season." We're all for the one-knee wonder, and thus are unofficially declaring February as "Save the Date Season." Our busy brides-to-be are booking venues, putting final touches on their guest lists, and coordinating their colors with the bridesmaids. The save the date is the first piece of information guests will receive so it's a great way to make a lasting impression. Our save the date cards range from formal to funky, classic to casual and lots of in-betweens.

Year after year we see a rise and fall of our most popular designs, but here are a few that top the charts most frequently.

What would a new year be without new designs?? Our brand new wedding suites are coming soon, but here's a sneak peek of the save the date cards to get you ready!

To see all of our save the dates, visit our website here! And stay tuned on the blog for the big launch of our new designs coming very soon!

Real Wedding: Harry and Izzy

It's not every day that celebrity couples come to us for help designing their wedding stationery. We're always sure to respect a future bride and groom's privacy before their big day, but this wedding was top secret. UK superstars Izzy Johnston and Harry Judd said their "I do's" last month on what was said to be a "the best day ever." It was covered by Hello! Magazine with exclusive photos and information about the event. We don't need exclusive photos to know this beautiful couple must have had a ball.

We recreated Eunice and Daniels's save the date for their own - including wedding bells, pet cats, and musical instruments (Harry is in the British pop band McFly and Izzy is a former member of Escala - an electronic string quartet). You may have recognized this design from our Cut Paper photo save the date, but you can order your own version of this hand-drawn beauty soon. In the mean time, feel free to contact our UK offices at ukinfo@hellolucky.com for more ordering info!

Congratulations to Izzy and Harry. We wish you a lifetime of health and happiness!

New! Save the Date Magnets!

Announcing! A brand new addition to the Hello!Lucky family. Now you can get all your favorite save the date cards (and some new designs!) printed on a magnet! We've had lots of people request magnet save the dates in the past, and it's been a work in progress, but we're delighted to finally have them available on our website. Our latest photo save the dates come with a yearly calendar to serve as a reminder for the event to come. (Shown above, Banner year 2013)

Just visit hellolucky.com, and under the wedding invitations tab click "save the dates." Scroll all the way to the bottom and there you will find all our most popular cards in magnet form!

Shop all our save the dates here!

Real Wedding: Caitlin and Timothy

Caitlin and Timothy's sunny Palo Alto wedding has us dreaming of summer time all over again. With lots of golden yellow details and an elegant outdoor reception, it's warm and inviting and oh so romantic. Caitlin and Timm started out by sending guests these Heartland save the date cards. And who says you have to keep with the same card? They switched things up with a custom icon in our Big Day invitation suite.

We customized the invitation with a mason jar holding two yellow California poppies. The theme carries out throughout their wedding day, even into their homemade favors!

The gorgeous florals were done by Amy Burke Designs, and we love the darker orange pops of color.

It was love at first sight with this ceremony venue. The Stanford Memorial Church just glowed among the guests.

And how darling are these homemade favors? The California poppies made another appearance on the labels of each jar. We're dying for a taste!

Congratulations Caitlin and Timm! For more lovely photos, head over to Lori Paladino Photography!

Photos by Lori Paladino Photography

Wedding Design & Planning - Elisheva Basseri of A Bride's Best Friend www.a-brides-best-friend.com Venue - Villa Montalvo http://www.montalvoarts.org/rentals/weddings/ & Stanford Memorial Church Music - Ron Grandia www.rongrandia.com Hair & Makeup - Joey Chueng of JBeautique http://www.jbeautique.com/ Flowers - Amy Burke of Amy Burke Designs http://amyburkedesigns.com/ Rentals - Classic Party Rentals http://sanfrancisco.classicpartyrentals.com/ and La Tavola Linen www.latavolalinen.com Transportation - Lone Star Limousine http://www.lnstarlimo.com Caterer:  Melons Catering Dress Store:  Priscilla of Boston Shoes:  Valentino

Real Wedding: Sarah and Mike

Sarah and Mike came prepared when planning their wedding. It's clear the lovely venue in Petaluma struck a chord for their decor, and especially their stationery. Designed with natural color palette and hints of purples and blues, their big day tied together seamlessly. Plus, they were a dream to work with.

The couple chose our Tuscany save the date card to set the tone for the outdoor event, and Sparrows for their wedding invitations. On the back of the particulars card we printed a gorgeous image of the venue, the Chileno Valley Ranch, painted by the bride's aunt.

For their day-of stationery, our Sparrows menu card accompanied each table setting. We love how they incorporated live flowers and plants into almost every detail.

Congratulations Sarah and Mike!

Photos by Zoom Photography

P's and Q's: Wedding Etiquette

It's a real pleasure to introduce a new blog series titled P's and Q's. We ask that you - or anyone you know - write us with any questions or thoughts that relate to weddings, be it making a guest list, how to say no, and much more. Be sure to follow us on Facebook/Twitter for real Q&A from our brides and grooms and we'll have our expert team tackle the responses.

We know one of the hot topics when it comes to wedding etiquette is wedding invitation wording. There are endless variables involved with wording your invites just right. Whether you're addressing both families in the invitation or hosting a casual event yourselves, the wording can always get tricky. Our consultant team at Hello!Lucky has seen just about everything, and is offering their top notch advice for all those sticky situations. Today we're focusing on simple wording techniques for save the dates. As the first piece of information your guests receive, the save the date sets the tone for the rest of your wedding. Before you send your save the dates, be sure you have the following checked off your list:

Guest List / Venue or Location / Date / Style or Formality / Color Palette

It's true planning a wedding can get exhausting. Gather your friends and family to help get organized from start to end, and follow our Wedding Planning Timeline for support. This timeline recommends sending your save the dates 6-8 months in advance, depending on the location and if you have guests that will need to make travel arrangements. When it comes to wording your save the dates, you want to be certain you list basic important information including the date (of course!), location, and your names. The rest is up to you! Be sure to check out our save the date wording samples for tips when hosting a formal, informal, or casual wedding.

Formal:

We asked our wedding wording expert and design consultant Lia what she thought about wording your save the dates:

Since save the dates set the tone for the wedding, a formal affair requires a traditional approach.  The design would coordinate with the wedding invitation so that the entire suite has a cohesive feel.  Full names should be included and dates should be spelled out.  Information regarding children or attire is best included with the invitation on a separate details card.

Casual

Lia's tips for wording a casual save the date card:

Have fun with it!  Wording can be playful and should match the personality of the couple getting married.  Save the dates that include photos are a great way to let that personality shine while showing off gorgeous engagement shots!

Destination:

 

For destination weddings, Lia suggests:

Chances are most weddings will be a destination for at least some of the guests, so save the dates should be mailed six months in advance to assist with planning.  Listing a wedding website gives guests access to travel and accommodation information, but for very formal weddings a separate card should be included.  If the wedding is being held in a popular travel destination or at peak season, its a good idea to reserve a block of hotel rooms as early and for as long as possible.

Do you have any questions about wedding wording? Have a sticky situation and need help from the experts? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Plurabelle Calligraphy

Is this possibly the most beautiful envelope you've ever seen? The bold cobalt paper, the warm persimmon ink, these complementary colors work magic. It comes from one exceptional Los Angeles artist, Plurabelle Calligraphy. Molly (the owner and creative mastermind) has a collection of work that is simply to die for, so we are delighted to feature her on our blog. Molly has made quite an impact on today's calligraphy customs by giving a modern spin on the traditional art form, or dare we say, a calligraphy facelift!

You'll find on her website that there are various lettering styles to choose from, but we're really liking the combination of vintage and modern in one.

This graphic East London wedding back in 2010 caught our attention when we saw that Plurabelle Calligraphy hand wrote each guest name on the Visit London invitations, along with the adorable "Socks for bowling" signs.

To view more photos of this fabulous East London wedding head over to OMG I'm Getting Married (love that title!)

And don't forget to visit Plurabelle Calligraphy!

 Wedding photography by Caro Hutchings Photography

Summer Special! 20% Off Wedding Stationery!

Because we love you all and appreciate your business we're rolling out a little summer special for our US customers! From now until July 15th  July 31st! we're offering 20% off all wedding stationery. This includes wedding invites, save the dates, programs, personalized notecards, and any other wedding paper products available on our site. Just enter SummerSpecial at checkout!

Enjoy!

(This promotion is for our US website only, sorry UK friends! We'll have some special promos for you later on this Summer!)

Real Wedding: Caroline and Blair

This real wedding is definitely one of our favorites. Once Caroline and Blair decided to tie the knot in wine country, they turned their beautiful Calistoga wedding into a wine lovers paradise. Set with deep red florals and classic decor, the event was truly one to remember. For their save the dates, each guest received a bottle of wine fit with a custom label and a vintage prescription inspired card.

The wedding invitation suite included prohibition-inspired letterpress invites, custom designed match books and place cards, and even a dictionary of wines to prepare all the guests for what Northern California has to offer. So many fabulous keepsakes!

Of course the natural beauty of Calistoga, CA (even in December!) created the perfect backdrop for such an event. Alison Events had their finest ladies work to create the ultimate romantic environment. The photos of their wine cave ceremony completely blew us away!

Caroline and Blair's dream day carried on into the night with a stunning reception, full of fine spirits and dancing. Oh how we love cozy winter weddings!

Check out the entire post and more photos on Style Me Pretty!

Photos by Jesse Leake Photography 

 

New Wedding Invitations!

This week we released three new wedding suites on our site. We're so excited to add two more beautiful Joel Dewberry designs to our collection. Secret Garden and English Rose are both delicate and romantic, perfect for a Spring or Summer wedding.

In addition to these elegant invites we've also released a brand new design from yours truly named Darling Bud. The layered lines and textures in Darling Bud are just begging to be letterpressed but it looks just as pretty printed flat.

Some photos of the invites in different color ways.

 Welcome to the family sweet new suites!

New Jacqui Lee Wedding Invitations

Hold on to your hats! The brand new Jacqui Lee collection has completely blown us away. The four invitation suites each have their own magical theme, but all have one thing in common - they were hand illustrated by the insanely talented Jacqui Lee. It's easy to see how much time and consideration was given to these mini artworks, all suitable for their own frame. These designs are now available just in time for spring, and just in time for your wedding stationery needs. Flora and Fauna (above and below) includes all the tiny elements of spring that we adore. And with Jacqui's charming critters and characters making appearances, they are perfect for an outdoor celebration.

Classic Parisian delight inspired this French Bicycle suite. With dreams of strolling the cobblestone streets and picking up a fresh bunch of flowers at the local market, this design is c'est magnifique.

It's time to channel your inner princess! Happily Ever After is exactly how you'll be living after a wedding inspired by this fairytale suite.

And Adventure sets the tone for a lifetime of romance and thrill. We love the evening enchantment of this suite, which would suit a celebration under the stars just magically.

Meet Jacqui Lee. Currently living and working in Vancouver, BC, her painterly style shines among a growing world of graphic design. Her holiday cards last year were such a hit, we honestly couldn't wait to collaborate for a wedding collection. Jacqui give us some insider information about her process:

1. What was your inspiration for this collection?

A lot of my inspiration came from imagery I associate with spring. I was working on this in the middle of a rainy and gloomy winter, so it seemed natural that all the ideas I was sketching down were bright and fun.

2. Did you like designing for a wedding collection?

Yes! I think there is so much opportunity to get really creative when designing for weddings. I've been seeing a lot of really great wedding work lately, so it was a ton of fun to try my hand at it. I was really trying to get into different niche personalities for each suite, and I hope that people can really connect with them.

3. What usually inspires your illustrations?

I'm always very inspired by the work of mid-century designers and illustrators.

4. If you had to pick one which suite would you chose?

Honestly, it's a tough choice. I worked on all of the suites simultaneously so they sort of grew off one another, yet there are separate elements in each that I really like. However, my initial starting point for the whole collection was the Foliage design, so I would have to say it's closest to me.

5. You illustrate so many adorable animals, is there anything behind that? Which is your favorite to illustrate?

That's funny because I never considered myself an illustrator who especially enjoyed drawing animals until they started showing up everywhere in my work. I decided to just embrace it, and then it became very natural for me to start using animals as different personalities. As of yet, I don't think I have a favourite...but bears have been popping up a lot in my work lately.

Check out the entire Jacqui Lee collection right here!

Real Wedding: Katie & Justin

Think pink! We were thrilled to be part of Katie & Justin's wedding, featured today on Green Wedding Shoes. We had so much fun designing this custom suite, which included a few of our current obsessions - neon and edging. We worked with the couple's navy and fuchsia palate to create a modern yet elegant design (calligraphy by Michele Papineau).

The couple selected the Majestic Halls, located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Built in 1921 as the former Los Angeles Bank of America, the building retains many of its original historic and ornate details. Katie and Justin fell in love with these architectural elements that made the space feel unique to downtown Los Angeles.

Aren't the flowers stunning? Katie and Justin wanted a pink ombre effect and The Little Branch executed their vision perfectly. Each table had various distressed bronze buckets filled with fuchsia, pink or blush flowers. The bride’s bouquet was comprised of a variety of deep pink flowers, including roses, and tied with a navy ribbon.

Katie's dress was Halston Heritage, her shoes were RED Valentino and her stole was vintage, purchased from a local flea market. Justin's suit was from Hugo Boss.

The ring pillow was made by Katie's mom using our how to guide! We love the addition of the pom pom border.

In addition to the invitation suite, we also created matching day of materials: menus, place cards, table numbers and programs.

Congratulations Katie and Justin! To see more of this gorgeous wedding, please click here.

All photos by Erin Hearts Court. Wedding coordination by Kristeen LeBrot.

Martha Stewart Weddings

By now you most likely know about Eunice and Daniel's wedding featured in Martha Stewart Weddings back in 2010. The excitement was radiating around our studio, and we still relish in the memory of such an honor of appearing on the cover. Martha Stewart is one of the most inspiring bridal information destinations [along with endless craft and recipe ideas] so we feel blessed to be a small part of it every now and then. It's such a thrill to see weddings we have worked on appear in the Bride's Guide or even inside the shiny pages of the magazine, and because we love the Martha Stewart collection so much, we wanted to revisit all those moments of pleasure by bringing the real weddings to you.

Eunice and Daniel started the trend by customizing our Woodland Damask wedding invitations (designed by Joel Dewberry).

 Recently, Megan and Alex's wedding was featured including one of our newest destination invitations Visit Martha's Vineyard (designed by Lab Partners).

We also created these program fans incorporating an illustrated version of their reception spot The Beach Plum Inn. You can really see the resemblance!

 

And of course, a New England wedding isn't quite complete without fresh oysters. We love the display atop this rustic mini fishing boat.

 Jenny and Ben's fairytale Sonoma wedding was a favorite last year, especially their custom created wedding invitations and programs. Their feature in MSW really highlighted their charming characteristics and artistic creations for the ceremony. We love that they weren't afraid to incorporate bright colors!

We can't forget about Jean and Devin's whimsical wedding. The true inspiration for our Big Day invitation suite, this couple's witty wording set the tone for one lovely [big!] day.

With the help of our friends at Alison Events, lots of crafty details made this intimate barn yard setting pop with color.

 

New Wedding Designs: Visit Series

We know you've all been anxiously awaiting new destination wedding invitations by Lab Partners exclusively for Hello!Lucky, well wait no longer! We're proudly introducing four new American destinations to the collection: Martha's Vineyard, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.! Each design delicately captures the characteristics of its location, and the iconic features they have to offer. The nautical charm of Martha's Vineyard shines through in this suite. We're especially loving the map-like layout of the double-sided save the date. Having so many boutique towns in that area, this design fits all types.

Our west coast brides will be at ease with the new Visit Seattle invitation. Mount Rainier looks down upon the pacific oceanfront and among all the shoppers of Pike Place Market. Seattle's rainy reputation doesn't hold us back, cause we are loving the wooded wonderland of the Pacific Northwest.

Bells will be ringing in Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell that is! Our Visit Philadelphia suite is packed with iconic landmarks and monuments. Placed among the beautiful Delaware River, this invitation has all the perfect elements.

And finally, our nations capital Washington D.C. looking sharp among the classic cherry blossoms and historical architecture. This invitation has local love birds sitting pretty.

Many many thanks to Lab Partners for these fantastic new collections!

Photos by Edyta Szyszlo

Photo booth Save the Dates

You may have seen these photo save the dates before but wonder where they've gone. Well, don't fret! These playful designs are still available for your wedding stationery needs. We're currently working on getting them on our website, so please hang tight. If you are interested in any of them, just give us a call and our friendly design consultants will help place your order!

The photos, taken by San Francisco based Magnolia Photo Booth, add a whimsical touch to your photo save the dates, and the postcard backing is available in three different designs.

Feel free to call us with questions! (415) 355-0008

Top to bottom: Notebook Doodle, Vintage Photo Booth, and Special Delivery.

Top photo by Edyta Szyszlo Photography