Stamp of Approval

I am crazy about personalizing gifts for my friends, brides, bridesmaids, my family…the list could go on. ☺ I am a firm believer that a gift is treasured for years to come when it is made for a specific person. As I was going through our inspiration book (a book full of article clippings, pictures and anything inspiring to our team) I ran across a fun gift that I am crazy about but had lost in the shuffle of other wonderful, inspiring things. The article had been pulled from a Martha Steward Wedding magazine about a year or so ago….but it is still just as fabulous as the day I found it.

Here is what the editors of Martha Stewart Weddings had to say about the great stamps:

“Custom rubber stamps, each bearing a bridesmaid’s name in elegant script, let you- and your attendants- make a good impression. Ask a calligrapher to pen the women’s names, then have a specialty vendor or office-supply store turn them into rubber stamps. Use the stamps to imprint names on pretty box tops; place stamps inside with ink pads nestled in tissue paper. Calligraphy by Elizabeth White-Pultz.”

Of course, we have been researching ways to get this done. We spoke with our favorite invitation designer, Alyssa Reeves – founder of Paradise Design Co.- who said she would be able to help us create a stamp. There are many great calligraphers and script writers in Dallas that can come up with the signatures. Once you have that…you are off to create your stamp. Martha Stewart Weddings had their stamps made at Stampworx 2000. You can also google office- supply stores in your area and I’m sure they would be able to help you, as well.

Happy Stamping!!!

Puerto Rican Influenced Rehearsal Dinner

Our team loves creating fun, different events….especially when we get to use cultural influences. Recently we had the opportunity to design a fun Puerto Rican themed rehearsal dinner in San Diego, California. The location was the Loews Coronado Bay Resort on Coronado Island. Our backdrop was the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the Coronado Bridge. The groom’s mother is originally from Puerto Rico and she wanted to have a Latin flare for her son’s rehearsal dinner to bring in their heritage. The setting could not have been more perfect and all the touches we added made it special and unique. Kathy Wright and Co. transformed the area into a tropical oasis.

We wanted to bring in special touches that would stand out and make the event extra special for the bride, groom and family. Instead of a normal guest book, guests took pictures with a Polaroid camera, filled in information about where they had traveled from to be with the couple, cute stories they had about the bride or groom and advice for the couple. One touch that was special to the groom was using his late grandmother’s Puerto Rican recipes for some of the items on the menu. She would spoil her grandchildren with her cooking and as a surprise we were able to give the chef at the Loews the grandmother’s recipes. The groom said, “it was like she was here with us, and the food tasted just like hers…made with love”. We also incorporated a specialty drink to fit the theme of the event and they were styled with cute stir sticks. The stir sticks were imprinted with the name of the specialty drink. One of our favorite sites to get stir sticks, napkins, coasters and other items to personalize your event is www.foryourparty.com. For the favor at the end of the evening, we created a ‘garden of love’ with tropical cookie flowers. Within the wheatgrass we tucked hibiscus, orchid and plumeria shaped cookies. Bags and stickers were provided that said ‘Buenas Noches’, which means Good Night in Spanish.

When planning your wedding, rehearsal dinner or any event, make sure you have little surprises throughout the night. Also, incorporate anything that is special to you, like fun recipes that are family secrets, or traditions that are from your culture.

Happy Planning!!

The "Something's"...

Something Old. 

Something New. 

Something Borrowed.

Something Blue.

(referred to as the “Something’s”)

As a bride prepares for her wedding day, she has the thought of what her “Something’s” will consist of. However, do brides really know the history and wonderful tradition of the saying? The “Something’s” has been around for many years, and for many brides the meaning and tradition behind these items has been unknown. We thought we would offer all of the brides a quick history lesson!

HISTORY: Dating back to the Victorian times, the old English rhyme has made it customary for brides to follow it’s advice for hundreds of years. Each item is meant to bring the bride good luck in their new “Mrs.” life.

Something Old: Represents a tie between the bride’s family and their past.

Something New: Represents good luck and success in the future for the bride’s new life.

Something Borrowed: represents a reminder of her friends and family who will always be there for help when she is in need.

Something Blue: symbolizes loyalty and faithfulness.

Style Finds: fabulous shoes are J.Crew via Brooklyn Bride.

Happy Somethings!!!

A handbag for every personality...

Handbags are a girl’s best friend, oh wait….I think it is diamonds but handbags don’t fall too far behind. When I see a great handbag or clutch I immediately think of my friend Angie, the co-founder of AK Event Design. She has more handbags then anyone else I know and they are all fabulous!! She also is the main contributor to my handbag collection. So, of course, when I found these darling little handbags I immediately thought of my handbag guru… I won’t even get into her fabulous shoe collection but I’m sure it will come up at a later date. ☺

Talk about finding inspiration…. I want to plan an entire event around these little jewels. They are modern but have a feminine edge that almost takes my breath away. I wish I was the brilliant one that created these adorable clutches but I’m not. The creator and founder, Aki Takada is based in Manhattan (what girl doesn’t love THE CITY) and all the products are made of 100% cotton fabric. Some of the fabrics are rare vintage textiles from the 60’s and 70’s. I think these would be a perfect and unique gift for your bridesmaids. I envision them being monogrammed on the inside to make them uber personalized and filled with a piece of jewelry for your special ladies to wear on your special day. Handbags and Jewelry….I think I’ve come full circle. www.oktak.com

Happy Shopping!!!

A little taste of goodness with a sugared rim of southern style....

We are always looking for fun, inexpensive, creative ideas for parties we throw or to give to one of our brides. We found this idea as we were “blog chasing” today and had to share it!!

Here is what the creators of the fabulous labels and drink recipe on “Wedding Style Guide” had to say…..

“Even grown men melt at the idea of rustic life with its home baked kindness, garden grown generosity, hand sewn simplicity and pure charm, so turn those warm feelings into a theme.”

As a Texas based wedding design company, we are always bringing southern tradition and feel into an event. This simple label is a fun way to incorporate the southern, gracious hospitality and to keep your guests cool in the 100 degree summer heat.

Southern Lemon Cordial 
Recipe

Make a simple sugar syrup by bringing equal quantities of water and white sugar to a gentle simmer until all sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool. Mix 750ml of sugar syrup with 250ml of fresh lemon juice and pour into clean, dry bottles and seal. When ready to serve, fill each chilled glass with 1/3 cordial and 2/3 mineral water, together with plenty of ice and a hint of fresh mint.
Recipe courtesy of Wedding Style Guide

There are three summer colors to choose from. You can visit the site above and print off the labels on your computer, choose the containers you want to use and mix the drink. It will make all your girlfriends go crazy over how creative you are!!!

Happy Drinking!!

Sex and the City: The Movie

“We now pronounce you husband and wife” are words that are somewhat of a surprise to fans of the HBO series Sex and the City that ended after the sixth season with the engagement of Carrie and her on and off love interest known as “Big”. When the announcement was made that a film followed the highly popular and some what controversial show it made since to assume that a wedding would be in included for the newly engaged couple. If you are familiar with the show Carrie as well as her three best friends all struggle to figure out the twists and turns of love as a single and unmarried women but at no point in time unable to keep up with the highest fashions and styles in which New York City throws their way. We thought it would be appropriate to predict what the wedding will turn out to be like by taking from what is usually an outrageous array of wardrobe for the four characters and adding white to the mix to make it the perfect wedding for Sex and the City.

The Bride: Carrie
With her upscale style Carrie has worn some of the top and latest runway fashions. Her closet, being one of her most pride possessions as well as one of the biggest rooms in her small downtown apartment is filled with a collection of countless stiletto shoes from designers such as Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo and Fendi, as well as accessories such as her many Chanel Couture caps and head ornaments. We expect her to accessorize for her big day in nothing less than in these top designers but of course adding her own little twist.

The Bridesmaids: Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda
The three of her best friends and bridesmaids are all one of a kind. From Charlotte who is the American housewife, to Miranda who is a successful mother and businesswoman, to Samantha who is rather promiscuous and untamed makes it a rather difficult job and some what impossible process to find a single look or color to assign the bridesmaids to wear for Carrie’s wedding. We are interested to see how they are going to dress each woman to her own personality and at the same time still keep the traditional bridesmaids look.

The film is predicted to be one of the biggest hits of the summer. The wedding of Carrie and “Big” is with a doubt going to be over the top. We are excited to see their interpretation of their wedding in the city, and are curious to see what changes and inspirations the movie will bring to future brides on their own wedding day. Who knows, maybe Carrie’s feathery head ornaments and Manolo Blahnik stiletto heals will become this years must haves because like Carrie always says “When in doubt, Accessorize”.

ak event design...we're back!

Over the past few months many new and exciting things have been happening in our office and with our clients. We are happy to announce that our Director of Weddings and Special Events, Sarah R. Herman has now become a partner of AK Event Design. We are very excited to have Sarah added to our profile picture (see above), which will be featured in the Fall 2008 edition of "D Weddings" and will be on stands beginning in July. In addition, Farron Carmichael, a student from Texas A&M University, will be interning with us for the summer. We plan to bring some of the summers new trends and fashions in weddings to our blog! So be looking for our new series coming soon.
AK is also being featured on two new fabulous websites and are very excited to be a part of them. Strictly Weddings is a fun site that contains the top 3 vendors in each category in our city. The website, www.strictlyweddings.com, is a great place to look around and learn new things! Style Me Pretty (www.stylemepretty.com), a blog based out of New York, also contacted us to be a featured vendor in their Little Black Book section. Style Me Pretty began as a blog but has grown into being a place for brides to go to search out vendors in specific cities, while gathering new ideas for their weddings. Both websites are eye candy for any wedding obsessed blog addict. So until then... Happy Planning!