Wait! There is more!

 Instead of numbering the tables at the reception dinner, we created books, each titled with a special landmark that played a part in Jamie and Benny's relationship.  Jamie creatively wrote 18 different stories about her and Benny that go along with each location.  The books also had the dinner menu and blank pages for the guests to write something special to the bride and groom.

For the escort cards we created polaroids from photos Jamie and Benny had taken over the years to capture their relationship.  Each guest was able to find their name written on a photo that corresponded with the table they were assigned to.  No two photos were the same! 

Jamie found some sari ribbon on Etsy (she wanted some Indian details) which we used to tie around the napkins (the color of the ribbon matched the color of the books, of course).

Above photos taken at the event were photographed by the couple's friend MJ.

J & B wedding details continued...

 

 Jolted up on coffee and stuck on a plane for 6 hours, Jamie and I added more handmade projects to our lives. With only 2 and a half weeks until the wedding, the only sensible thing to do was to add more to the mile long list.  Jamie came up with the idea to have the ceremony programs be little books written to read like a story.

The idea of making the guests' signatures a piece of art to hang on the walls of Jamie and Benny's home also came out of the think tank session on the plane ride back from New York.  Jamie had seen something similar done by the brilliant Rifle Paper Co.

Again, using watercolor to create the matching thank you cards.  Like the invitations, the original design was scanned and then printed on Benny's inkjet printer using paper purchased at Paper Source.

Instead of the ring bearers walking down the aisle carrying traditional ring pillows, J and B wanted their rings to be carried down inside books.  Jamie and I found these two used books in this charming little bookstore in San Anselmo (the red book is a collection of love poems by Shakespeare).  To create the box, I cut out a square, several pages at a time, using an x-axto knife then glued each page together.  And I discovered in the process that glue sticks no matter if they are the "extra strength" kind are completely useless.  Sari ribbon was then adhered to the book cover.

Each overnight guest received a tote bag filled with goodies.  To create this reusable bag, I first carved the design out of a linoleum wood block.  I was not able to successfully ink block the print directly onto the canvas tote bags so instead I stamped the design onto a piece of cardstock, scanned the print and printed it onto iron transfer paper and then ironed it onto the bags.   It was so rewarding to see guests using the bags during their weekend stay in Marin County!

Stay tuned for more...

Jamie & Benny's wedding invitations!

 I feel so honored to have been given the opportunity to be one of the creators for Jamie and Benny's wedding.  I enjoyed all the labor that was poured into each project, including the invitations.  The two of them requested an invitation that would be unique, colorful, have hints of indian inspired patterns, and presented in the form of a book.  And this was the end product!

We chose to do all the printing on Benny's Canon inkjet printer.  I was amazed with the quality of the printing, as were many of the guests who thought I had hand painted each invitation! After all the pages had been printed and trimmed I  ran the paper through the sewing machine to bind the book together.  Each invitation was then stuffed in a vellum envelope and tied with bakers twine.

More handmade details to come!