San Francisco Wedding Fair

Last week we had the pleasure participating in the annual San Francisco Wedding Fair. It was a fabulous event, with delicious food catered by the Four Seasons and a wonderful group of wedding vendors. Above, some of our favorite people: Stacy McCain of Stacy McCain Event Planning, Lisa Neighbors of Blonde Tulip Photography, and Stephanie Watanabe of Atelier Joya.

Good friend and fellow designer Stacy Pancake and her assistant Nicole debuted Stacy's beautiful new, minimalist and gorgeous letterpress wedding invitation collection.

The effervescent Mary Jo Bowling, Editor-in-Chief of the new San Francisco Bride's magazine was there celebrating their inaugural issue!

Floramor Studios  create a series of over-the-top floral displays representing different decades in history (this one is from the 1900's). Love the ostrich feathers!

Event planner Kathy Goodman of Well Rehearsed created a sunny display featuring a yellow parasol and edible cupcake pops!

Showcasing their ultra-modern style was Hartmann Studios furniture rental.

Friend and collaborator Michele Papineau displayed had her impeccable handwriting on display!

And of course, we were there showcasing our wedding invitations, including new designs by Joel Dewberry and EIEIO (stay tuned for more details!).  It was a fun day, and a great resource for Bay Area brides! See everyone again next year!

ISES Top Design

We were thrilled to work with the talented Morgan Doan to create this uber-chic table design for the ISES Top Design competition yesterday. Morgan worked with Blueprint Studio Collection to create the custom-upholstered chairs and table cloth in slate grey.

Hunt Littlefield ceated the gorgeous architectural floral displays, including a stunning orchid chandelier!

We created coordinating letterpress menus in a citrus green and slate grey (using one of our new designs created in collaboration with pattern designer Joel Dewberry), displayed in Japanese book cloth photo frames created by bookbinder Stephanie Haney.

And (drum roll, please!), we won the award for Top Design! Congratulations, Morgan and everyone on the design team!

Real Wedding: Danielle Spinetta & Greg Piché

We recently did fabulous invitations and day-of paper for our friend and fellow card maker, Danielle Spinetta of Tallulah.  She and her husband, Greg Piché, were married at Foreign Cinema in San Francisco, and had a fun vintage movie theme - Foreign Cinema has a giant wall for projecting movies (so cool!) - they showed Grease and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid during the reception. Love it!

Photography by Beth Hurley and Deb Mindel of Greg Piché Photography.

Danielle had her save-the-dates printed at the amazing Hatch Show Print and asked us to do the rest of the pieces in a similar show poster style (an aesthetic we happen to love, so needless to say it was a great pleasure to work on). Here's the menu (above)...

The place cards were inspired by vintage movie ticket stubs...

We designed these great custom cocktail napkins from For Your Party - such an adorable detail - served alongside these delicious looking glasses of huckleberry lemonade.

Love these Hooray! flags made by So Inviting (she also made the flag for the cake)...

The truffle cake was made by  I Dream of Cake

Love the earthy modern look of Foreign Cinema.  The giant letters in the background were made by Madeline Edwards. Congratulations, Danielle & Greg!

The Wedding University

Lately we've been chatting with a lot of Bay Area brides who are in the throes of wedding planning, and understandably feeling a little overwhelmed!  So, we were thrilled to hear about our friend and event planner extraordinaire Jubilee Lau's upcoming Wedding University. What a great idea!

This day-long event is an educational seminar to school brides- and grooms-to-be in the myriad aspects of wedding planning, including how to stretch that wedding budget as far as it'll go! Check out the A-list vendors who'll be sharing their expertise here. Check out the U's blog here.

The Wedding University Sunday, February 8, 2009 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Four Seasons Silicon Valley Tickets are $25 for one guest, $40 for two guests

Destination wedding invitations

We're thrilled to release our new Destination series wedding invitations designed by local artists (and friends!) from Lab Partners. Inspired by vintage travel posters, their adorable illustrations couldn't be more perfect for a fun San Francisco affair, a glamorous London soirée, a tropical event in Hawaii or an elegant wedding in New York!

Don't see your destination? Contact us to learn more about our custom design services.

Real Wedding: Nicole and Colin

We had a fabulous time working with Nicole and Colin on the stationery for their Bay Area wedding this past summer.   Nicole is passionate about letterpress, a design fanatic and has to be one of the most detail oriented, organized and thoughtful brides we have ever had the pleasure of  working with.   As you will see from these photos courtesy of Alisha & Brook Photographers, the results of her thoughtful planning are stunning!

Nicole writes:

 We were married in June at the Grand Island Mansion in Walnut Grove, one of the gems of the Sacramento Delta.  We wanted to create a lush, magical atmosphere for the event with a profusion of hot pink peonies, while also keeping it fresh and modern with shades of purple and fuchsia.  My primary sources of inspiration were our gorgeous Hello!Lucky invitation suite, the ethereal Anthropologie bridesmaid dresses by Saja, and my own Kenneth Pool gown.

Love this sweet photo of Colin before he sees his bride!

The floral design from the invitations was carried through to other details like table cards, reserved seating signage and letterpress programs. Can we hire him?

Floral arrangements came from Flowers by Anne  and  Got Light? provided the lighting in the ballroom including projecting a pattern from the stationery on to the dance floor.

Such a gorgeous celebration.  Congratulations Nicole and Colin!

bridal makeup:  Maria Chang of Professional Makeup Artistry

bridal jewelry:  Haute Bride

BAWN Event at Flood Mansion

We were thrilled to co-sponsor a cocktail party and networking event hosted by the Bay Area Wedding Network (BAWN) last week at the glorious Flood Mansion in San Francisco. This is one of the city's iconic wedding venues, perched on a hill top in elegant Pacific Heights, with sweeping views over the bay.

Co-sponsor McCall Associates designed this lovely table setting featuring orchids and bamboo, and a gorgeous citrus colored linens from Wildflower Linens.

Here's a detail of the decorative touches they added to the backs of the chairs - lovely!

Everyone had a grand time, including the effervescent Kathy Goodman of Well Rehearsed!

Gorgeous modern cake by True Confections.

Lovely chocolates by Coco Délice - their chocolates can be customized with a monogram or design and come in a range of adorable favor boxes!

Finally, Curtis & Johan of Perfect Circle Photography did a beautiful job documenting the event.

Blueprint Studios event rental furniture

Looking to create a sleek, glamorous and modern vibe for your wedding or party? Blueprint Studios just may be the answer.  Co-founded by a team with roots in architecture and interior design, this San Francisco-based firm designs and rents ultra-modern furniture lines for special events.

We especially love this vignette from their Fresco Collection, which can make your party feel like it's happening at Kelly Wearstler's Viceroy Hotel (add some DIY spray painted plates as wall decoration and voila!).

A couple more fun and uber-glam pieces to create that hip lounge atmosphere. This is not your grandma's furniture rental company!

Well Rehearsed

Sometimes you meet someone and you can just tell they have equal doses of impeccable style and flawless organizational skills...not to mention a gracious, spot-on formula for creating a memorable, personal celebration...

That's how we felt when we met Kathy Goodman of Well Rehearsed, a San Francisco-based event-planning company that specializes in rehearsal dinners. So you should meet her, too!

Kathy specializes in designing rehearsal dinners. Brilliant idea, right?

Above, a charming Yosemite rehearsal dinner...

..and a fun football-inspired rehearsal dinner for two devoted fans (to USC, and, of course, to each other!).

Keep an eye out for Kathy's work featured in the inaugural issue of San Francisco Brides magazine, coming out in December.

PS. Kathy does all kinds of other parties as well, including bridal showers and baby showers!

Sharla Flock Designs

We first encountered Sharla Flock's exquisite floral arrangements at our friend Serena's San Francisco wedding (and later learned that she's been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings and other leading magazines, natch!).

This natural table-top arrangement goes perfectly with the vintage-inspired vase and votives!

We just love her subtle, creative use of color and texture...

Check out Sharla's beautiful portfolio and website here.

Real Wedding: Aleishall & Matthew

Thanks to Ritzy Bee for bringing our attention to these gorgeous photos of Aleishall & Matthew's wedding by photographer Mel Barrow. When we met Aleishall, she was running Olive & Peach, a delicious food site she had co-founded with long-time friend Katie Lee Joel, so it was natural that food should feature in their wedding invitation design. We created this pen-and-ink illustration of two pears, complemented by Aleishall's own gorgeous hand lettering, and letterpress printed it on coaster board.

Mel captured these gorgeous photos of their nuptials in Golden Gate Park.

Love these romantic peony flower arrangements, and the sweet little hand-made ring box below!

The intimate ceremony was followed by dinner at Greens Restaurant, a mecca for organic, eco-conscious cuisine in San Francisco. See more photos here

Anna Kuperberg

How beautiful is the work of San Francisco photographer Anna Kuperberg? We've been huge fans of Anna's for awhile now and are consistently impressed with the quality of her work. Her ethereal portraits are simply stunning.

Anna also keeps a fantastic blog of her ongoing projects!

Real Wedding: Cristy and Charles

Thanks to Geoff White Photographers and Morgan Doan of Events by Morgan for sharing these gorgeous photos of Cristy and Charles' wedding in Half Moon Bay, California. Above, the bride's gorgeous Oscar De La Renta wedding gown.

Hello!Lucky designed programs (and wedding day stationery) with a seashell motif, which Morgan anchored elegantly with starfish. The ceremony aisle and trellis were beautifully decorated with white roses and petals by Edward Bellingeri Design (Note: his website is under construction). The wedding took place at the Ritz Carleton Half Moon Bay.

The bride and groom looked stunning and happy!

Morgan created a glamorous reception, with dramatic lighting design by Got Light? and a delicious chocolate cake with raspberry filling by Susan of Elegant Cheesecakes.

It was a weekend-long affair (the couple hails from New York City), and the ocean theme was carried throughout, including the weekend rehearsal dinner.

See more photographs here. Congratulations, Cristy and Charles!

Photographs courtesy of Geoff White Photographers.

One Love Campaign

We're thrilled to be participating in The One Love Campaign, a new initiative to promote same sex marriage which launched this week. Originating from the recent California same sex marriage ruling and San Francisco's status as a leading destination for same sex weddings, the Campaign's mission is create a national movement to raise awareness and support for all couples of decide to tie the knot.

The Campaign will showcase select high profile Bay Area businesses, of which Hello!Lucky is one, who offer a full range of luxury services for relationships, weddings, events and honeymoons for all couples tying the knot.

The One Love Campaign includes a select list of high profile local businesses representing the first group of vendors openly promoting their services to all gay & straight couples getting married. The One Love Campaign Preferred Businesses offering Wedding Services include:

Hello!Lucky: Hello!Lucky is a specialty design firm, creating vintage-inspired, artisan-printed custom letterpress, social stationary, and wedding invitations. www.hellolucky.com. In honor of The One Love Campaign, Hello!Lucky will donate 5% of each One Love client package to SF Pride, sfpride.org.

One Life, LLC: One Life, LLC established by renowned relationship expert Ali Berlin (the aforementioned co-founder of The One Love Campaign), is a San Francisco based company dedicated to visionary relationships, innovative global service and the active expression of conscious love. As One Life’s passionate leader, Berlin offers both private custom coaching and exclusive wedding officiating services for progressive couples and individuals. www.aliberlin.com In honor of the One Love Campaign, One Life will donate 10% of all One Love affiliated client services to the client’s choice of SF Pride, sfpride.org or SF LGBT Center, sfcenter.org.

Paula LeDuc Fine Catering: For twenty-eight years, Paula LeDuc Fine Catering has pushed the boundaries of what is possible, by creating unique and unforgettable events for each client and their guests. Create, celebrate, experience ~ the extraordinary. www.paulaleduc.com. In honor of the One Love Campaign, Paula LeDuc Fine Catering will donate 5% of your total event catering to the client’s choice of SF Pride, sfpride.org or SF LGBT Center, sfcenter.org.

Alison Events: With a fresh take on weddings, Alison Events doesn't just lead couples down the aisle, but helps them create unique, authentic and inspiring wedding experiences. With a down-to-earth planning process and a sophisticated take on style, we will help you create the wedding of your dreams and enjoy the process along the way. www.alisonevents.com. In honor of the One Love Campaign, Alison Events will donate 2% of each package purchased to SF Pride sfpride.org.

Lisa Lefkowitz Photography: Lisa Lefkowitz has been documenting unions since 1999 and has earned a national reputation for her luminous images and sensitive style. Her approach to weddings is photojournalistic in spirit; she unobtrusively captures each moment as it unfolds. Lisa’s work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Elegant Bride and Bride’s magazines, as well as many other publications. www.lisalefkowitz.com. In honor of the One Love Campaign, Lisa Lefkowitz Photography will donate 2% of each package purchased to SF Pride sfpride.org.

The Claremont Resort & Spa: Perched majestically on a pristine mountainside in the Berkeley Hills, standing watch over the glistening Golden Gates of The San Francisco Bay, The Claremont Resort & Spa is a San Francisco Bay Area landmark focused on preserving its tradition while conserving the future. From Signature Journeys at Spa Claremont and fitness classes at the newly renovated Club at the Claremont to exquisite Four-Diamond restaurants and the famous Bay Area views, The Claremont is a tradition, an entitlement of generations and America's quintessential grand resort. Please contact The Claremont for special packages. www.claremontresort.com

Mulberry Photography: Mulberry Photography specializes in fashion inspired weddings and portrait photography. Led by husband and wife team Albert and Tari Lewis, these two accomplished professional photographers have made Mulberry Photography an innovative and highly recognized company, with a style that is unmatched in the industry. Mulberry Photography has studio offices in Lake Tahoe & Palm Springs, but travel globally to shoot. www.mulberryphoto.com. In honor of the One Love Campaign, Mulberry Photography will donate 2% of each One Love package during 2008 to SF Pride, sfpride.org or SF LGBT Center, sfcenter.org.

TRuEStyle: TRuEStyle offers expert personal styling for fashionable weddings and everyday elegance. Founded by Teresa Kuhl, TRuEStyle translates each couple’s unique taste into a sophisticated and polished look with a flare all their own. www.truestylesf.com. In honor of The One Love Campaign, TRuEStyle will donate 5% of One Love client services to SF Pride, sfpride.org.

Sillapere: Sillapere is a San Francisco-based style lab, inventing parties and celebrations with irresistible sassiness and enduring sophistication. While providing the highest quality of service and design to clients, Sillapere also uses creativity to instill cutting-edge style with a strong commitment to sustainability for our planet. We believe in celebrating love and designing weddings that allow people to connect at a deeper level. www.sillapere.com. In honor of The One Love Campaign, Sillapere will donate 2% of all One Love packages to the client’s choice of SF Pride, sfpride.org or SF LGBT Center, sfcenter.org.

Save the date: June 17, 2008

We're very pleased to be living in San Francisco these days. Not only does the recent California Supreme Court ruling allow same-sex marriages (which begins on June 17), but The California Field Poll shows that the majority of voters support it (52%) - so a ballot measure to revoke the ruling, slated for November, is unlikely to pass.

Over the years, we've created wedding and commitment ceremony invitations for many same-sex couples, and these experiences have been among our most rewarding. In these weddings, the exchange of vows is much more than the usual (though still remarkable) declaration of the couple's lifelong commitment; in many cases, it is the first formal, public recognition of the couple by friends, family, and society at large -- a "coming out" celebration, if you will! -- as well as the affirmation of a basic civil and human right (marriage, and love, respectively).

So thanks, Gavin, Arnold, the Supreme Court, and fellow Californians! We look forward to celebrating with you on June 17!

P.S. Our London office is happy for us, but non-plussed. Civil partnerships have been legal there since 2005 and were supported by many Conservatives as a matter of individual civil liberties! Shown above: one of our civil partnership invitation designs.

Photo courtesy of Sara Remington.

Shauna's Vintage Wedding Dress

Many thanks to Kathryn at Snippet & Ink for posting these beautiful pictures of Hello!Lucky designer Shauna Leytus in her gorgeous vintage wedding dress (along with all kinds of other fabulous wedding details) for her Real Wedding Saturday this weekend! Shauna's dress is the one her grandmother originally wore in 1953. She looked stunning!

Photos courtesy of Marla Aufmuth.

Fall Wedding by Jubilee Lau Events

Many thanks to Jubilee Lau of Jubilee Lau Events for sharing these gorgeous photos of a Fall-themed wedding she designed last year at Thomas Fogarty Winery, a stunning Bay Area venue in the Santa Cruz mountains with views extending in every direction. Jubilee collaborated with floral designer Nancy Liu Chin to create stunning floral arrangements featuring pumpkins and squashes with flowers spilling out of them. They used oranges, golds, and reds in the color palette, which coordinated with the green winery surroundings. The couple, Julie and Jay, looked stunning, too, and the entire event was filled with joy (as a wedding should be)! Congratulations to the couple, and the Jubilee and Nancy for creating an unforgettable event!

 Photographs courtesy of Gene Higa.

Western Wedding Invitations

We originally created these Old West-inspired wedding invitations for a couple getting married on a ranch in Sun River, Oregon. Since then, we've adapted the design to a number of stationery items, including save the date cards, thank you notes and even coasters, and added personalized details such as an icon of the state of Texas, above. The invitation design features cowboy boot stitch, and a pattern of vintage stars inspired by riding spurs, and old-fashioned type faces. Perfect for riding off into the sunset! The invitation is available here and can be customized by our designers.

For more western wedding style inspiration, check out Snippet & Ink's Ranch Romance inspiration board here.

Photography by Sara Remington.

Real Wedding: Kelly & Erich

Kelly & Erich's Art Deco-inspired wedding at Gaia Arts Center, Berkeley, was nothing short of glamorous. Kelly, a manager at Hello!Lucky, has a sophisticated 1940's and 50's-inspired style and dry, quick wit (think Tina Fey). Both were incorporated in her letterpress wedding invitations and save the dates, which featured custom-illustrated silhouettes of a toaster, the couple, and their faithful dog, Montana.

Kelly looked stunning in a beautiful tea-length dress with her hair tied in a fabulous side bun. The crisp palette of black, white, and yellow was carried through all the details, from calla lily bouquets by family friend Irene Birch to Uncle Billy's home-made cupcakes. Silhouettes of Kelly and Erich graced custom-printed cocktail napkins by For Your Party, as well as signage for the men's (Erich) and ladies' (Kelly) rooms by Hello!Lucky.

Congratulations, Kelly & Erich!

Photographs courtesy of Akiko Photography.

Real Wedding: Sabrina & Julian

As the co-founder of a company that is involved in the wedding invitation business, people often ask me what my own wedding was like. They're always surprised to learn that I eloped; what's more, I didn't even send out wedding invitations!

I share this potentially incriminating piece of information, as well as the visual evidence (no pictures of gorgeous letterpress wedding invitations!) because it underscores a fundamental belief I hold about weddings: at its core, a wedding is a deeply personal experience, and there is no right way to celebrate it.

Weddings present an inherent tension for the bride and groom, who are faced with the daunting task of deciding how to orchestrate the affair. On the one hand, they are an incredibly intimate, deeply personal exchange of vows (elope!). On the other, they are a celebration of the joining of families, friends and community (fabulous party!). Everyone has to find their own place on the spectrum; I've personally begun to believe that the English may have it all figured out (as usual!) with their tradition of a small, intimate ceremony followed by a larger reception (with fabulous hats!). That said, the most important thing is to do what is right for you.

Julian and I tied the knot at the lovely Ventana Inn & Spa in Big Sur, a magical spot on the California coast that had also been the site of the first weekend trip we ever took together. Because he from England and I grew up all over the world, our friends and family are far-flung and organizing a traditional wedding felt logistically daunting. So, we settled for a small ceremony with just our immediate family and a few close friends, including photographer Belynda Webb. In lieu of a traditional wedding gown, I wore a Marc Jacobs cocktail dress and a short netted veil. We stayed at the romantic Post Ranch Inn and the entire family made a weekend of it, taking in the serenity of the Big Sur coast. The experience was truly magical.

Whether big or small, simple or decadent, the experience is what it's all about!

Photographs courtesy of Belynda Webb.