We are really excited to be part of this great new adventure with a team of truly talented and super-fun people.    On October 8th, we’re going to be helping to create a “progressive cocktail party” here in our neck of the woods.   Take a look at this invitation (thank you Alyssa!) to find out the particulars.  I PROMISE you that if you come to this amazing thing, you will be so glad you did!

RSVP quickly –this event is wildly popular!

When we moved into our new home here on the Walk, we asked Two Paper Dolls to create our new business cards with the idea that they should reflect what was going on in our world.  The result was absolutely perfect.  We love them so much, we just had to share them with you!

Our die-cut business card has a silk finish which adds richness to the feel and look of the card.  The logo is foil-stamped in gold, which makes it leap off the card, as you can see.   One of my favorite elements of our old cards was that there were two rounded corners and two squared corners imitating the curves and points of our logo design (also created by the Dolls).   So I had to keep that for our new cards.

GOTTA LOVE THOSE DOLLS!!!

Welcome to Laura & Zach’s wedding.  

Laura & Zach are a sweet, kind-hearted couple whose wedding reflected the natural tenderness of this great couple’s relationship. The deep affection these two have for one another was the true centerpiece of this wedding.  It couldn’t help but bring us all back to what this whole wedding thing is really all about!  The ceremony took place at the Arch Street Meeting House (where Quakers have been meeting since 1696), followed by a celebratory reception at the F.U.E.L. House.   

Enjoy these photographs taken by Laura Eaton Photography.  There are so many really great photographs that I thought we should do this wedding in two posts. Laura and Paul are not only a great team of photographers, they’re also a pure joy to work with.   Which makes sense, because this loving, low-key bride and groom totally enjoyed every minute they could of the planning process and the wedding. What a delight it was to work with them!

After getting ready at the Omni (gotta LOVE Laura’s purple shoes and Zach’s Grateful Dead cufflinks!) and a romantic rendezvous in front of Carpenter’s Hall, Laura and Zach made their way to the Arch Street Meeting House for their lovely, heart-warming ceremony.   

Beautiful Blooms created a gorgeous chuppah which made beautiful use of the topper made by Laura & Zach’s friend.    Oh and see the great use of succulents in the boutonniere and bouquets!   LOVE THEM!  

It’s time to stop writing and let all the great photos do all the talking!

Laura & Zach Part 2 will be all about the great party at the F.U.E.L. House!

I know it goes without saying that we truly love doing what we do.   But honestly, I’m not sure I could explain it any better than by showing you this wonderful thank you gift from a wonderful client.    There’s a story behind it, of course, but suffice to say, it’s very touching!

K for Kendall

Leila got a box of monogrammed toilet paper, too.   But she took it home!

With a name like “Eclatante,” its no wonder we love Italian designers.  

Our dear comrade, Claudia Seyler (of Claudia Seyler Hair and Makeup) shared an amazing little book of incredible photographs of the designs of Atelier Aimee (over a couple glasses of wine).   I really just love the color and texture play that goes on with truly innovative designers.   We often get asked about colors in wedding gowns and interesting flourishes that separate one gown from all the others.   While white, ivory, champagne and cream dominate the world of wedding gowns, an increasing number of brides are taking a look at some very interesting options and creative touches as way to express their own unique personalities and style.

You don’t need to book a flight to Rome to find these couture wedding fashions. These gorgeous creations can be found in the Philadelphia area and New York. Here are some brick & mortar locations you can get to this weekend.

Don’t get me started on Italian shoe designers.

Our warm and luxurious August Color Story embodies the end of summer and transitions beautifully into the feeling of autumn with its warm, inviting colors created out of hues of orange, red and yellow.  You can just the feel the magic in the air with this fantasy celebration! 

The venue for this month’s fantasy party was the elegant Elkins Estate, an amazing grand mansion just a few minutes outside of Philadelphia sitting on 42 acres of graceful rolling hills among beautiful ponds and a tranquil retreat center.  Our friend and photographer Marie Labbancz worked her magic once again behind the camera to bring you these amazing and stunning shots!

One of the most unusual things about Elkins is the fact that you can actually host hundreds of people for a sit-down dinner within the estate itself – a true rarity among the stunning Pennsylvania estates that serve as venues for the areas most beautiful celebrations!

The foundation for this elaborate table design is a wrought iron structure with soft colorful fabric creating soft puddling and hanging birdcages. We’ve been thinking lately that creating a smaller romantic setting for two within the wedding reception would be perfect for a couple’s first dinner together on the evening of their wedding.  And the Elkins Estate was, as you can see, the perfect place to implement this vision!

Rian of Eventions was the master behind the lighting and draping that brought out the magic of the entire design! 

We absolutely love the floral arrangement by Beautiful Blooms created out of a birdcage with a beaded dragon fly accent (from the personal collection of Donna from Beautiful Blooms) and filled with lush Alaskan pink peonies, early season virburnum berry, yellow roses and butterfly asclepius.  

Our couple’s table was decorated with a painted martini glass from Anthropologie,  Michael Weems’ green etched wine glasses, vintage plates and Anthropologie bowls. 

Notice the charming monogrammed votive candle from Eclatante’s Boutique placed at the couple’s placesettings.

And how absolutely fabulous is the bridal gown by designer Kenneth Pool, thanks to Jennifer’s Bridal in Wilmington, Delaware!  Our gorgeous model, Paula, was styled beautifully by Claudia Seyler of Claudia Seyler Hair and Makeup.   Claudia also provided the exquisite jewelry including this perfectly suited dangling drop bracelet and headband.   

As you can see, Claudia is a pure genius at what she does!   She also did a beautiful job of creating the perfect soft, flowing hairstyle and subtle makeup as the perfect look for this month’s story creation.

Our bride carried a beautiful hand tied bouquet of Alaskan pink peonies and early season virburnum berry expertly created by, of course, Beautiful Blooms!

Next up:  our breathtaking September color story of rich deep purple and yellow!

Heather at Brides.com wrote a really nice piece about our little boutique and our new home here on Liberties Walk.

Thank you Heather!!

As promised, here is the story of Ashlee & Jon’s reception at the spectacular Winterthur Museum and Country Estate.   Again, Mike Kehr’s photography was nothing less than amazing!

Ashlee and Jon always wanted an outdoor wedding.  They fell madly in love with Winterthur (who doesn’t?), but wanted to have their reception out by the extremely picturesque “Clenny Run” section of the grounds rather than in the Visitors’ Center that usually serves as the venue for wedding receptions.

So, we brought in the experts — EventQuip — to create the perfect tent.   And perfect it was.  Ashlee wanted the ceiling of the tent to be something spectacular, so we designed a ceiling of beautiful drapery and lights (expertly executed by VU-Events).  Here are the drawings we came up with to serve as the plan for the draping and lighting of the ceiling and the floorplan for the tables and food stations.   One of my favorite things about doing what we do is the part where what we put down on paper becomes a reality. 

Here is how the evening turned out.   Stunning, eh?

Restaurant Associates created wonderful food stations that totally delighted Ashlee & Jon’s guests.

As always. Beautiful Blooms‘ florals were gorgeous!

Congratulations, Ashlee & Jon!!   Yours was truly a beautiful wedding!

There is only one Style Me Pretty, always full of amazing and inspiration eye-candy.   So we are always flattered when they choose to feature our work.   Given their sense of style, It is no surprise that they loved Barbara & Steven’s extremely romantic wedding.  Check out this wonderful post on Style Me Pretty.

I keep thinking that we’ll get caught up on our real weddings blog posts as soon as things mellow out a little around our studio.   Obviously, that’s not happening anytime soon, so I’m just going to have to steal some time to share these amazing photos by Mike Kehr of Ashlee & Jon’s incredible wedding at with you.  

As usual, Mike did one INCREDIBLE job of capturing all the beautiful elements of this wedding at Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Winterthur, Delaware.   As you’ll see later on, Winterthur is truly magnificent.  Working there was a pleasure, especially with Nicole Bailey of Restaurant Associates at the helm of of all things Winterthur.   We made new life-long friends with this wedding!

After their trip to the Sherif Zaki Salon and a day of getting ready at the Hotel Dupont, the wedding party and family headed out for Winterthur to take some incredible photographs.   As always, Mike and his team were great to work with and the results were perfection!  There are so many gorgeous photos and amazing elements to share with you that I couldn’t possibly get it all in one post, so I’ll post this great wedding in installments.  

First up the pre-ceremony, ceremony and cocktail photos.

Beautiful Blooms‘ florals were gorgeous.   Ashlee told us straight-up that her number one priority was flowers, so naturally, we walked her right over to Donna at Beautiful Blooms to make sure that her flowers were all that she wanted them to be. Take a look at this stunning bouquet!

I don’t really need to say much about this wedding.   The photos say it all!

On the grounds, Winterthur has an amazing classic car collection.   The photo op’s were once in a lifetime!

The Papery created the perfect printed pieces for every part of this wedding, from the invitations to the cocktail napkins!

The weather was, literally, perfect!   And the romantic ceremony at Winterthur’s reflecting pool was, too.

The ceremony music was expertly accomplished by the Rittenhouse String Quartet.

The guests were treated to yummy cocktails and scrumptious hors d’oeuvres by Restaurant Associates a few steps away from the reflecting pool in one of the estate’s gorgeous gardens!

Stay tuned for the next installment.   The reception was drop-dead amazing!