Sara & Jed's Fabulous Wedding Day!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! With wedding season beginning, it's been a CRAZY couple of months getting invites and save-the-dates designed and sent to all of my wonderful brides-to-be!

Just before my last post, my closest friend, Sara, celebrated her AMAZING wedding day with the love of her life, Jed. I had the pleasure of designing all of the paper goodies for their special day - starting with their save-the-date (which is shown in a previous blog post), to their invitations, programs, menus and more. With each detail of the wedding that Sara planned, I became more and more excited to design items to coordinate with those details. It truly was a stunning wedding and a wonderful day for my favorite couple. :)

Below are photos of some of the different stationery items I designed (courtesy of the wonderful Erin Jean Photography of course).

I had to include a picture of the newlyweds :)

Invitations to Reflect Your Style

The search for wedding invitations can be a long and frustrating process. But it doesn't have to be! Here are a few tips for choosing your wedding invitation style.

1. Determine your personal style (it usually matches your personality). Are you silly and whimsical? Maybe you're very reserved and traditional, or even artsy and vintage, modern and bold, or soft and romantic? Most often, brides (and grooms) decide upon their wedding day style based upon their personal styles, so figure yours out!

2. Coordinate your wedding details. Maybe you've picked your flowers, or your reception venue, or that fabulous little birdcage veil. If you've already chosen some of those MUST HAVE items, let those be your starting point for your wedding day pallet. You've chosen your "must haves" because there is something about them that called to you. Something you absolutely loved and even needed. If you can determine what force was pulling you so strongly to those items, you can let it play throughout the rest of your planning.

3. Give your guests a sneak preview. By the time you send out your invitations, you pretty much have all your other plans nailed down, or at least in motion. Keeping your theme throughout your day BEGINS with your invitations. If you have a soft, sexy, romantic evening wedding planned, make sure your invitations give off that vibe. You want your guests to open up your invitation and start picturing your fabulous day in their minds. They will be waiting for your wedding with anticipation and will be all the more excited to see how your perfect details come together.

4. Have fun! Don't let the invitations, or any other part of the wedding planning process stress you out. If you start feeling overwhelmed, step back for a bit and remember why you are planning this wedding in the first place - because you are in love!

Here are a few samples of some brides' styles reflected through their invitations.

Photos courtesy of Erin Jean Photography.

Save The Date!

Save-the-Dates are becoming quite a popular trend in the wonderful world of weddings! There is no true and steadfast wedding etiquette rule that says when save-the-dates should or shouldn't be sent. If you want to give your guests a little heads up that your big day is coming, by all means, send one out!

For those of you who just can't decide if a save-the-date is necessary, here are few samples, and below that some common scenarios when save-the-dates can be especially helpful:

Photos courtesy of Erin Jean Photography.

1. Send save-the-dates if you are having a destination wedding. Your guests may need to make travel arrangements well in advance of your big day, so some advance notice would be appreciated.

2. Send save-the-dates if you are getting married on or near a holiday. Guests may have to alter their holiday plans, so give them plenty of time to do so.

3. Send save-the-dates if you are having a Friday wedding. Although Friday weddings are becoming more and more popular, many of your guests will have to take Friday off of work, so give enough time to schedule this extra vacation.

4. Send save-the-dates if half or more of your guests are traveling from out of town or state. This, like Friday weddings, may require time taken off of work.

5. Send save-the-dates if you are having a theme wedding or a black tie affair. When it comes down to shopping for the perfect cocktail gown or trying to determine who to dress like for an "Old Hollywood" themed wedding, your guests will need time to shop around and make their decisions.

Even if you don't fit into any of the categories above, sending save-the-dates may still be something you have your heart set on. Go for it! Just remember, the purpose of sending them out is to give your guests an early announcement of your day to come. Send them out between 4 and 8 months prior to your wedding date - your guests will welcome the extra time you've given them to plan.

2010 Wedding Show!!

I'd like to thank all of you who stopped by the iCandy booth at The Wedding Show this past Friday and Saturday! It was a ton of fun, and a HUGE success! Wedding vendors from all over the Northeastern Wisconsin area were there showcasing their fabulous products and services. Brides and grooms in this area are truly lucky they have so many options to choose from!

Here are a few pictures of the iCandy booth, taken by my wonderful sidekick, Sara (who, by the way, owns the fabulous Wagg Inn Pet Hotel, just in case you need a place to bring your pet during the wedding and/or honeymoon).

Please keep checking the website and blog for many more samples of invitation designs. The extremely talented Erin of Erin Jean Photography took numerous photos of my designs, and I will be publishing those photos very soon!

WELCOME!!!

Thank you for checking out the iCandy blog! I am so excited to share this new adventure with all of you! Whether you are looking for that perfect, custom invitation, a save-the-date that is truly unique, or you just want to find out more about wedding industry trends, you've come to the right place.

This blog will feature pictures of new designs, features from amazingly talented wedding professionals, and news and updates on trends that are sure to make their mark on the wedding industry. Please check back often!

For those of you in the Green Bay, WI area this weekend, be sure to check out The Wedding Show at Shopko Hall. Stop by the iCandy booth, #622, and see all the goodies we have!