Featured: Brides.com

We're delighted to start off this week with a spotlight on table stationery! Recently Hello!Lucky was featured on Brides.com in their Ultimate Guide to Table Stationery, and we're super impressed with their collection! They also share some useful information about etiquette and placement options, and some great alternatives for table numbers! Check it out here!

If you're hosting a fall dinner party, don't forget to include personalized seating cards! Adding stationery to your table setting makes the gathering extra special. We're certain these Autumn Leaves and Tuscany cards will wow your guests and bring an extra hint of fall to your table.

Lucky Friday # 34, Lab Partners' Trick or Treat!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 34th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Mary, Renee G and Mary E!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Skeleton Fiesta card!

Now for this week’s spooky selection:

Design: Trick or Treat Artist: Lab Partners Inspiration:  A tiny town teeming with teeny trick-or-treaters was just too tempting not to attempt. Who to send it to: a petite pirate, a diminutive Dracula, a wee werewolf, a smallish skeleton or an itty-bitty kitty. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We thought the college version, with kids dressed as showers, laundry baskets and zombie sorority girls was a little too hard to communicate at that scale. Favorite Detail: Who could name just one? But we delight in saying that there really is a devil in the details.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Say Cheese! The Best of Photobooths

(via Ruffled)

Photobooths are so popular right now, and with good reason - who doesn't love hamming it up for the camera with costumes, props and a bunch of very close friends?  They're especially great at weddings to capture your guests at their finest.  Our favorites make creative use of festive props, brilliant backdrops and a whole lot of sassy attitude.

The gorgeous paper decorations in these Smilebooth photos make us absolutely swoon!

Fabulous props are definite must-haves (we all love a good wooden mustache) and the sillier the better as with this great snap from Studiobooth.

This snazzy photobooth set up found on Oh Happy Day, is a Francophile's dream come true.  Je t'aime!

And last but not least, H!L gets into the action at the TILT wedding fair in September.  Leslie and Lia took a little break to jump into the Magnolia Photo Booth and test drive some natty costumes.  To the Batmobile ladies!

DIY Paper Quilt!

We can't believe this beautiful paper quilt was crafted entirely out of misprints and unsellable papers from Linda & Harriett's deliciously patterned calendars.  Gorgeous and green!

We're always looking for new ways to use scraps of paper and old letterpress samples (too pretty to toss away!) and this just might be in the mix for our next craft night.

Office closed Monday Oct. 10th

Happy Autumn everyone! We're signing off this lovely evening and looking forward to a long weekend ahead. Hopefully full of warm apple cider and fresh pumpkin treats.

The Hello!Lucky office will be closed Monday, October 10th for Columbus day but will return on Tuesday the 11th! Have a great weekend!

Lucky Friday # 33, Halloween Card Giveaway!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 33rd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Ruth, Sara and Wolfie!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Going Places card!

Now for this week's spooky selection:

Design: Skeleton Fiesta Artist: Eunice Moyle Inspiration: Cleaning a closet full of vintage souvenirs we found some spooky sugar skulls and thought we ought not just let our calaveras out of the closet, but give them maracas and let them party! Who to send it to: Any guy, ghoul or witch with whom you have a funny bone to pick. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: An archaeology-themed romantic Halloween card reading "I Dig Your Bones" gave us the shudders, and our "Happy Howl- a-Ween" card with an "Owl-len Ginsberg" cartoon reading from HOWL— never mind— forget we ever said that. Favorite detail: The fact that the itsy-bitsy spider is depicted with all 28375764 of its eyes makes us cringe with ghoulish glee. Why letterpress? Nothing else could quite capture all the crisply creepy detail.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Well-Groomed Guide

We must admit, we're aware of the feminine nature of wedding and stationery blogs, but figure today is the perfect day to shine a little light on the men's style. The perfect web destination for the wedded guy? The Well-Groomed blog.

It's not only a site for endless style inspiration (and adorable eye candy) but there are gift guides for every kind of dude. What a perfect way to get inspired for grooms gifts or groomsman favors. The founder and author Darren has delivered everything we look for in a wedding blog:  sophisticated, stylish, and somewhat romantic inspiration for all its readers, man or woman.

Check out the Well-Groomed blog "The Guide to Tying the (Windsor) Knot"  here!

Embroidered Wedding Portraits

Happy Monday everyone! It's hard to believe September is over, and with exciting changes coming soon to Hello!Lucky, we're taking deep breaths as we welcome October in anticipation for the holiday season. Although our minds are wrapped around holiday festivities and winter cheer, wedding bells are still ringing and we had to share the perfect wedding gift for any time of year. These hand-embroidered canvas portraits by Michelle Rigg are completely customizable and turn any standard wedding portrait into a work of art.

We love all the meticulous details that go into each design. From the seams in the wedding dress, to the perfect outlines of the figures, it's easy to tell this artist takes extra special care.

Any why not make it personal? Love can be found in all forms, and for a couple with a shared interest, adding a little humor never hurts.

Check out more from Michelle Rigg here!

Lucky Friday #32, Rothman's Going Places

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 32nd edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Bethany, Merany and Robin!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Robots!

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Going Places

Artist: Julia Rothman

Inspiration: Lugging vintage luggage is a sport in our field, inspiring awe in good design—particularly with regards to such brilliant notions as the invention of the wheel.

Who to send it to: A jet-setter, a globe-trotter, a glad new grad, a Fulbright scholar...

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: A little dog packing a too small satchel with a too big bone reading "Bone Voyage." A two toed sloth climbing a tree, reading "Movin' on Up!"

Favorite detail: Love the color choices and the meticulous metalwork.

Why Letterpress? Vintage leather luggage can only be adequately rendered with vintage leatherpress printing.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Polkadot Photography

We're thrilled to share the gorgeous new website of our dear friend, Hayley Durack. Welcome to the world, Polkadot Photography! Hayley is a genius at capturing those natural, authentic moments that happen when you think no one is watching. We especially love these shots of a bride and groom before their big moment... each getting ready in their own way!

Let's face it, we don't all feel like supermodels in front of the lens, but Hayley is a genius at making people feel comfortable and beautiful - exactly what you want on your wedding day. Her portfolio is also just popping with engagement and wedding photos as well as kids, families and our personal favorite, four-legged friends!

Is September too early to start planning for holiday photo cards? We think not!

Featured: No Cal Brides!

If you haven't had a chance to pick up Northern California's Brides fall/winter 2011 magazine, now would be a good time! This issue's Style Review features four favorite design movements and the noteworthy pieces that make them stand out.

One of the segments highlights the romantic and intricate characteristics of Art Nouveau, which fits quite perfectly with our Nouveau Peonies wedding invitation.

We love working with our local Northern California brides! You can pick up a copy online here!

Featured: Visit Hawaii on Hapa Hale!

Ahh, to be soaking in the sweet Hawaiian sun! We wouldn't mind sipping mai tai's, or tasting crunchy macadamia nuts, surfing in warm water or hiking ancient volcanoes. But, that giant blue ocean has come between us, and we must find other ways to treasure all the glory that Hawaii has to offer. One of those ways is to visit our Visit Hawaii invitation suite. Recently Hapa|Hele, a blog devoted to island life, featured our tropical invitation, and left us dreaming about all things aloha.

Things we love about Hapa|Hele? Island hopping. From these Na Pali coast prints (above) to the Big Island's magical getaways, we're gushing with island envy!

Lucky Friday # 31! Julia Rothman's Robots!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 31st edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

Back from our brief hiatus, here is this week's card:

Design: Robots Artist: Julia Rothman Inspiration: Witnessing a short circuit crash our batteries-not-included Roomba into our computer desk gave us a deep thought. Who to send it to: Any humanoid named Rosie, Wally or particularly Marvin; or a hot bot with a birthday in the distant future— the year 2000. Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: We let the paranoid android jokes go the way of the difference engine, and the strangely risqué robot card reading "Byte Me" obsolesced faster than the Tandy. Favorite Detail: Love the little K-9. And the Bohr model balloon fills us with nuclear age nostalgia. Why Letterpress? Such futuristic subject matter requires equally futuristic print technology.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

TILT Wedding Fair this Sunday!

Calling all brides, grooms, wedding fanatics, and friends! We are delighted to be a part of the TILT Wedding Fair taking place this Sunday, and we want you to join! TILT is hosting this years not-your-average wedding fair at Swarm Gallery in Oakland, and it will be bustling with local designers, vendors, and event extraordinaires. If you're dreaming of a unique wedding and looking for a place to start, you definitely shouldn't miss this event! We will be there mingling with the guests and offering first hand information about our invitations (and maybe even a take-home souvenir??!). Check out the list of fellow exhibitors here!

Tickets are available here or you can get them at the door.

The event, Sunday September 25th, is 12:00pm - 4:00pm at the Swarm Gallery, 560 Second Street, Oakland, CA

See you there!

Circus Fever

It's no secret that we love everything circus. We find timeless inspiration from the peppy colorways and the wild patterns, especially when we find one of a kind vintage circus themed items, like this fabric (above via Cherry Tomato).

The images inside Circus Alphabet from Whitman Tell-A-Tale-Books are packed with hilarious illustrations of the circus days of the 1950s. We can only imagine the excitement of such a fantastic event!

And we can't forget precious Jude's first birthday party invitations and circus party decor!

It doesn't end there! We have our beloved Circus Photo Birth Announcement!

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! So many wonderful ideas!

Lucky Friday postponed this week... winners announced!

Hello!Lucky has been hard at work on our BIGGEST project ever, our new website, coming soon!

With such a monumental task at hand, we're taking a little Lucky Friday break this week.

The winners of last week's edition are:

(drumroll, please..)

Kelly, Liz and Kelli!

Congrats!

We'll contact you early week to arrange sending your Epic Birthday card.

Stay tuned for more stellar stationery giveaways!

Chicago Skyline is here!

Drum roll please......Introducing, the newest member of the Skyline collection, Chicago! We know all you mid-westerners have been waiting patiently for the Chicago Skyline invitation suite to arrive, and the time has finally come! The invitation, reply card, and details card have carefully selected images of Chicago's finest monuments, buildings, and railways. We are so proud to welcome the windy city to the H!L family!

We're still working on getting the invitation up on our site, so if you're interested in Chicago Skyline just give us a call and we'll tell you how to order!

UK Shout Outs!

For all of our overseas readers, we have some delightful news! Our very own UK General Manager Iain Bartlett has been busy in the magazine world! He was recently quoted in Your London Wedding giving some helpful advice should rain fall on your wedding day. He's always had great ideas for quick fixes! And when you live in an area where the weather does not always cooperate, you must be ready for a plan B!

Iain also wrote a wonderful and creative spread for Cosmopolitan Bride about how to add a crafty detail to any invitation set. We love the idea of including a handmade touch to your invitations, even if it's simply a ribbon or button!

If you're in the UK don't forget to pick up your own copies! Cheers Iain!

Lucky Friday # 30! An Epic Birthday Card!

Hello all you lucky folks out there! This is the 29th edition of our Lucky Friday Giveaway! Each Friday we feature one of our letterpress cards. We’ll choose THREE LUCKY WINNERS to get a free card.  Post a comment by 12 p.m. PST the following Thursday, and we’ll announce the winners on the following Friday!

The three winners from last week are (drum roll, please):

Rachael, Lauren and Brian C!

We’ll contact you next week to arrange sending your Cup of Tea!

Now for this week’s edition:

Design: Epic Birthday

Artist: Eunice Moyle

Inspiration: After consulting the oracle we were thunderstruck with visions of divine design & pierced through the heart with love for letterpress!

Who to send it to: a buddy having a big birthday bacchanal, a femme fatale with a face to sink a thousand ships, or an Adonis with an Achilles heel for fine print.

Ideas we scrapped in favor of this one: Our "Stoic Stationery" jokes couldn't even crack a smile & we didn't dare even look at using Medusa.

Favorite detail: We're still a little giggly about how Zeus and the Minotaur have the same labyrinthine chest hair.

Why letterpress? Must avoid cause for clash of our Titans of Typesetting.

Don’t forget to post your comment, and tune in next week, same time, different stationery, to see if you’ve won!

Real Wedding: Jamie and Justin in Mexico!

Although we've had a streak of decent summer weather in San Francisco this week, we wouldn't say that our city is a warm destination, by any means. You might find an ocean breeze and sandy beaches, but nothing like this Mexican gem. Jamie and Justin decided that they would travel far and wide to find their perfect wedding destination spot. And boy, from the looks of these photos they hit the bulls eye!

The couple chose Le Reve Hotel and Spa in Playa del Carmen (just south of Cancun) to hold the special event. Equipped with a perfect beach, delightful cabanas and a relaxing hammock, what else do you need? Well, a few of their closest friends and family and a deluxe reception wouldn't hurt :-)

Hello!Lucky designed and printed these Mexi-style details cards and place cards to match the green theme of the setting. The place cards were wrapped around individually sized bottles of hot sauce as a favor, as if the summer sun wasn't hot enough!

Our dear friends over at Alison Events helped make this dream wedding come alive. They sure know how to put the perfect touches on such a fun event!

There is no doubt we will be visiting Le Reve for some R&R some day in the future. Congratulations to Jamie and Justin!

All photos by Paco and Betty