Blushing Bride

My gorgeous bride Jasmine really needed something to wow her guests for the bridal shower.  We worked together to come up with this design that matched her color scheme for her shower.  

The dress is printed, die cut and then placed in a shimmery cream colored pocket with a ribbon wrap. We placed a beautiful digital peonies on the front of the pocket and added a crystal.

So what do you think?

Couture Baby Shower

One of my favorite event planners asked me to meet one of her clients to help with the stationery products for her upcoming baby shower.  I met with Alina and we discussed what she was looking for, got some ideas of what she likes and was hoping for her shower. This is Alina's first baby and she told me that prior to this moment she has never really been one for organizing parties or ever really wanted anything big for any of her previous occasions.  She even said that her wedding was smaller than what she was planning for the shower.  She was so excited about her new addition to her family, she got me all excited too.

Alina is a very stylish and beautiful person, so sweet and just my kind of client.

I started with her invitations, although she loved silver, the venue had a lot of gold so we decided to stick with the gold for the invitations.

ci

A gold envelope style invitation is what was called for here, the invitation was printed on white shimmer card stock and encrusted with crystals.  And since Alina only likes Chanel, couldn't help but make the pregnant mommy carry a Chanel handbag as well. 

On the outside of the card, we created a beautiful tag with a gold umbrella charm and a saying and the date of the shower. 

We moved on to the accessories for the event, first came the Gift Tags

And yes, I had to add the cute little umbrella charm, with a really pretty pink ribbon.  

We then created these gorgeous table numbers, each tent card measures 8 inches high and is layered with pink card stock that has the table number on it.  I added this gorgeous crystal buckle to the card to add the elegance to simple sign.

The escort Cards were created using the same font style that we used through out the ensemble, we also carried the double layer to the cards as we did on the table numbers.  

And as always, a whole bunch of swarovski crystals were used, I just love those beauties, I have to use them every chance I get. 

And here is the whole set up of for the event. 

What do you think?

Simple Yet Elegant

Elaine called me frantic three weeks ago on the verge of tears, apparently she placed an order with another invitation designer a couple of months ago, but they called her a few days prior to when her invitations were due to arrive to inform her that her invite selection was discontinued and they wouldn't be able to provide her with invitations. The wedding is scheduled for February 8th and she was stuck without invitations, and was running out of time.

I went to work immediately and designed a simple yet elegant invitation for her using her colors and design style.  Both Elaine and George were absolutely wonderful to deal with, they are such a nice couple and I am so glad I was able to come up with something that they both loved.

I'm happy to announce that the invitations were completed within a week and were sent out before Christmas, giving her guests a little time to prep for the wedding.  Although it is not ideal timing to send out wedding invitations so close to the happy day, due to the unfortunate events that took place, I think we made good time and still gave guests a month and a half to prep for the big day.

Elaine was so happy when she saw the invitations, that it made the rushing around and all the late nights worth while. I love when my brides are happy, it makes everything absolutely perfect!

1920's Inspired Invitation Design

The other day I was contacted by a new client who is in charge of her company's holiday party, the theme was Roaring 20's.  She wanted me to come up with a few ideas using the opulence of the Great Gatsby.  

Since her budget was still up in the air, I created a few different samples for her to discuss with her committee.  We decided on a color palate of Gold and Black. 

I started my first design using an antique gold metallic card stock and embossed it to give it that tufted pillow appeal.  I proceeded to add crystals to the front of the card, on the inside I added a pocket for the additional information for each guest.  I placed the actual invitation on the inside of the invitation.  

Since my client really liked the antique gold look, I kept it going to my next design.   I grabbed a beautiful presentation box, and added my signature pillow covered in beautiful white satin. Then I started working on the invitation, I created a double layered flat panel invitation, then added a beautiful gold and crystal ribbon slider and a beautiful white feather. I mean really, what is a Roaring 20's invitation without feathers.

And finally, and just to be on the safe side, I created another invitation for the budget friendly event. This one was featured a beautiful 1920's flapper silhouette with a glitter covered feather.  In this case we opted to  not layer the invitation, making it really affordable for any budget.  I really enjoyed how this one came out. 

Edith loved these invitation and had a really tough time choosing one, can you guess which one they went with?  I will tell you when I get pictures from the event. 

Tata for now my friends.

Royal Blue Wedding

Deedra is getting married in Bermuda, and when we spoke she told me that she wanted something that would wow her guests.  Her colors are royal blue and silver, and her dress is covered in lace.  Her mom wanted the invitation to sit inside the lace.  I thought about making an envelope using the lace but since she loved our Kimono invitation I thought making a few adjustments to it would work. Of course we still had to customize it to match her colors and theme.  

I started by creating the pad, added the beautiful royal blue taffeta and the ribbon with the brooch.  I then created the pillow for the box, and to tie in her lace, I added the lace underneath the pillow and brought it around the front to use as a cover for the invitation.  

I really like the way this came out, what do you think?

Feathers and Crystals Wedding

Feather and Crystals Wedding Invitation.

Great Gatsby inspired wedding invitation for Anne Marie's wedding. 

Green Goddess

Its been a while I know, things have been crazy since I came back from vacation, with getting caught up on everything and a slew of new clients, I haven't had time to share anything with you.

A few weeks ago I was approached by a client who was having a Greek Themed wedding and her main color was gold Gold, she didn't have any other color for her wedding design but she liked green. She wanted something different that would stand out from the rest. We put our heads together and decided on Green and Gold for the colors, she picked out her embellishments and I went to work.  This is the design that she chose, what do you think?

Exclusive Design

Hello All, I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend.

I am so excited to finally be able to share this with you. Our new design is finally here and is so versatile and can be used for any event. I have been working with a great designer to create this template exclusively for my customers.

What do you think of this?  These pockets can be used for any special occasion that requires a bit more class and elegance.  You want your event to stand out, this is the way to go, can you imagine your guests receiving this invitation in the mail.

If you are interested in purchasing this please contact me at 800-698-6403, or you can email me here.  I will also be adding these to my etsy shop soon.

So let me know what you think. Tata for now

Marlene

Simple Luxury

These invitations are the essence of elegance.  Our newest design is ready for purchase on Etsy, for a real affordable price.  And don't forget you can get them I almost any color to match your theme.

What a great way to let your guests know about the event of the season.

I love the way these came out, and I can't wait for my client to see these.

If your interested in ordering or if you need more information, please visit our site, our Etsy store or you can email me.  Thanks for stopping by

Custom Invitations

What does Custom Invitations mean and why are they so costly?

I have been asked this question a lot lately and thought this was a great way to inform and introduce our readers to the world of custom invitations.

There are quite a few designers that offer custom invitations, varying in degrees of prices and quality of service.  What you need to do is find the one that fits in your budget as well as your style.   Each designer has a distinct style, and more often than not will infuse their style with yours to provide you a spectacular invitation. 

Custom Designed Invitations are unique invitations that are designed just for you.  Each design is created based on your consultation with the designer.  Your designer will gather all the information about your wedding wishes and your background, and will create an invitation that should meet your design ideas.   So when meeting with your designer for the first time, you really need to provide as much information as possible about your dreams and wishes for the big day as well as some information about you and your fiancé.

The cost aspect of a custom design invitation is quite shocking to a lot of people.  Most brides begin their shopping experience by searching online or gathering catalogues so that they can get a feel for the available products and price ranges for their invitations.  The biggest mistake that is made is confusing the prices online/catalogues with the prices for custom design.  When you order your invitations online or from a catalogue you are selecting a design that is regularly available with the only option available of changing the ink color on the design, but very little else can change on your selected item.  This keeps cost to a minimum for the producer of the invitation therefore they can in turn offer you lower prices.

The biggest factor in cost for custom designed invitations is TIME.  So much time is spent on the design aspect of your invitation, once all the information from your consultation is gathered the designer will begin to get a picture of what it is you are looking for and what message you are trying to convey to your guest.  There is so much time spent on the design process, it could literally take 3-4 weeks to come up with a suitable design for you.  Some designers will charge a design fee either on a flat fee base or an hourly base.

Production of your invitation also takes time.  Once the design is set up and all the supplies are ordered to complete your invitations.  The production of the invitation will begin.  As I mentioned, custom designed invitation are created uniquely for you, they are not mass-produced on large machines in large warehouses.  At Amira Design your invitations are created in a small studio by hand.  Which insures that you are provided truly a one of a kind invitation. The production time can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on the intricacies of your design. 

You must remember when choosing a designer, that not all designers are the same and that their price ranges are going to vary.  What you need to do is research first, check reviews, check styles, talk to the designers so that you can get a feel for them, talk to friends or family that have used them before.  If you are unable to speak to a designer directly, or if you don’t know anyone who has used them before,  check their websites for previous designs that they have created. You can get a sense for their style to see if this is something you are interested in before you contact them.   At Amira Design we have a full gallery of designs both past and present, check out the gallery here.

Once you have done your review, contact the one that best suits your style and budget needs, this way you can avoid feeling frustrated, or overwhelmed.  Give yourself enough time to work on your invitations so that you can avoid feeling rushed or feeling like you have to settle for something that you don’t want.  You should consider beginning your invitation shopping 8-9 months prior to the date of your wedding.  Remember that having the design you envision, takes time to create and produce.