I had the pleasure of working with a wonderful couple Samiat & Eugine since January of this year and they had an amazing wedding this past weekend at the Bolger Center in Potomac, MD. 

The creative and artistic Duton Ayodeji shot their engagement, traditional wedding, and their white wedding.  Take a look at some of their engagement pictures! 

Photographer: Duton Ayodeji - Dutons Blog

Check out more of his work: www.dutonsblog.com 

They started off shooting some classy looking shots at the Smithsonian and finished off at Linganore Winecellars in Mt.Airy.

Wait until you see their wedding pictures!

Off to Linganore Winecellars

Oh Baby! Baby Boy Co-Ed Shower

So we are really excited to design a baby shower for a very dear friend of mine. She is having a boy and her husband is super happy that they are having a baby. This will be a co-ed shower for both women and men to enjoy. So now we have to think about the games, décor, food, and all the other elements of the shower.


As we prepare all the details of the shower we will share with you our planning journey. The colors are going to be fun and not your typical baby shower, yellow, blue, pastel green….etc.

We are planning on sprucing it up and creating fun colors for the shower in August. The colors are a secret for a little while longer, just in case ‘mom’ is reading our blogs 

Let’s talk about the games!

Most of you know the unscramble game; well we are not playing that game it’s been around for a long time!

Since it is a co-ed shower we have to include games for the guys:

Who can drink that baby bottle the fastest? – Pour apple juice, cranberry, or white grape juice in a baby bottle and see who can drink the bottle the fastest. If you would like to be tricky you can have a small hole in the nipple to slow down the process. The first one finished is the winner.

Who can tie their shoe without popping the balloon? - Blow up a balloon and give it to as at least 3 guys to place under their shirts. Untie their shoe laces and place chairs behind them (the chair is optional – no chairs create more laughter). The object of this game is the first guy to tie their laces without popping the balloon is the winner.

Blindfolds and Diaper! Use a diaper cloth and blindfold the guys that will be changing baby’s diaper. Use a baby doll or a teddy bear as a baby and provide a diaper and wipes for each dad to change. The first dad to change the baby’s diaper correctly is the winner.

We will be sure to share more tips on the shower with you very soon.



Happy Planning!

Candle Centerpieces

When designing your centerpieces there are endless options!

Flowers can become very pricey if you get very elaborate. However for those brides that does not like flowers may be allergic to them, or for any other reason….here are a few candle light options. Consider the centerpieces below.

If you are trying to save on expense of flowers, you can DIY. However make sure to do a complete mock centerpiece on a table with linen to have an overview idea of how the table will look.

Simple yet creative designs can be achieved by using candles and decorating the surface around the base. Using candles a variety of heights add texture to the tables and creative a great romantic ambiance.

Enjoy the pictures below and I hope you find some inspiration here.

Selecting your Wedding Cake

With the many options and factors of selecting a cake which includes the shapes, sizes, style, flavor, icing selection and more it can be a little overwhelming to make a decision. Here are a few tips before you go out to the bakery. As you see above you can use your favorite blouse to create your cake!

A. Create a cake inspiration document electronically or in print from magazines, pictures online and other resources.

B. Include great pictures from other bakeries even if they are many states away, a bakery can duplicate most cakes if there is a cake that you must have.

C. Know the flavors that your bakery offers, review their flavors online and decide what your top three flavors will be that you would like to taste first then move on from there.

D. When you taste cake know what beverage will work best for you to cleanse your palette and get an accurate taste of the cakes.

E. How many guests are you planning on feeding cake to? Not everyone eats wedding cake and also keep in mind that you don’t want to run out of cake.

F. If you are planning on having assorted desserts you can have a little less cake and have the cake sliced thinner.

These are just a few tips that can help you with your decision on your wedding cake. Use the pictures enclosed to start your inspiration folder.

Your wedding cake should be a conversation piece and also function as your reception decor.

Twobirds Bridesmaid Dresses- 1 Dress 15 Styles!

Did a little birdie tell you about Twobirds?

Twobirds Bridesmaids is a company that offers a wonderful alternative to a stylish bridesmaid dress that you can wear on many occasions after the wedding!

Versatility is here!

Bridesmaids no longer have to worry about spending $100-$350 on their dresses for the bridal boutique and then consider the alterations. The stylish dresses you see posted here will allow the dress to be converted and worn 15 different ways!

The sizes offered are easily flattering for sizes between 0-24 and over 18 different colors.

Photos Courtesy of TwoBirds Bridesmaids
Website: www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com

Unique Escort Cards

This is a really cute, however a very time consuming project for a decorated escort card board for the reception. If you are a very organized and crafty bride I say go for it!

Below are excerpts from a post from a bride Mrs. Eggplant with minor edits from the original post.

The one project I unfortunately didn’t get many photos of on W-Day, was our ribbon board with our decorated escort cards. I say unfortunately, because this baby took hours upon hours of grueling labor. We finished the project the night before our wedding rehearsal!

To make the board and cards, I needed the following materials:
Martha Stewart border punch and EK Success flower punch
Many spools of pink, green, white, and brown ribbon
Six foam boards (to make three ribbon boards)
Sewing pins
Place cards from Paper Source
Metal brads

First, the ribbon boards. My cousin came up with the idea to take a piece of foam board, layer the colored ribbon across it, and use pins on the backside to keep the strands in place. It worked out well. I also think a staple gun would’ve done the trick.

Once we covered the entire board with ribbon, we took a second piece of foam board and pinned it to the back to cover up the unsightly ribbon ends. When pinning the board in place, we shoved the pins in place at varying angles. This kept the second board from slipping off.

If you’re interested in creating a ribbon board for your wedding, I recently found this link with simple instructions on making one.

Next, the escort cards; these were very easy, but very time consuming. To make the cards, I typed out our guests’ names in a template I created in Adobe InDesign, and hand fed the cards one-by-one through my printer. Unfortunately, the printer kept eating our cards when I tried to let the unit feed automatically, so I had no other option than to hand feed.

After printing, I used my Martha Stewart border punch on the bottom edges of the card stock. Then, I applied an adhesive & a small strip of ribbon and a colored flower with a brad. The flower colors were based on the guest’s meal choice.

Green = vegetarian, Dark Pink = beef, Light Pink = chicken.

And here are the finished boards with the escort cards.


Photos by Apertura Photography

Original Blog Post by Mrs. Eggplant Click Here

Happy Planning!

~Kay

Birdcage Veils

With birdcages veils becoming a popular trend for brides, we wanted to share a few stylish veils with you. This veils gives you a simple yet elegant feel to complement your dress and style.

Photo Credit: Birdcageveils.com, theknot.com

Calligraphy at its Finest

When you think about a calligrapher over a decade ago, one would think about someone to address your wedding envelopes and RSVP cards.

Welcome to the new world of calligraphy!

I would like to introduce Laura Condouris a calligrapher based in Baltimore, Maryland. Laura loves all of the things girls are supposed to love. She is an artist, calligrapher, designer, collector of vintage clothing, and occasional comedienne. Although Laura is based in the Baltimore area, she works with brides all over the world and offers to ship packages securely and insured.

Laura offers additional services other than your basic envelopes, escort and RSVP cards. Have you thought about incorporating calligraphy in a keepsake map, table numbers/titles or for your readers? Think about framing that special poem, letter or whatever you choose for your reader to read. How great would it be to frame a piece of your wedding day other than a picture in your home as a memento of your wedding day!

Here are a few tips when working with a calligrapher:

Remember to order additional envelopes for the increasing last minute invitations and/or mistakes that may occur.

If you are using Excel to maintain the guest list, it is easier for a calligrapher to address envelopes in the exact format that the envelope will be addressed. Because they must look at each guest’s name and address, it is easier to keep everything straight in a format, here is an example below.

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

123 Fake Street

Gotham City, IL 12345

Excel spreadsheets may also be exported to labels; this will avoid the addresses to be retyped. It is preferred that our clients provide the exported document in Microsoft Word or any other word processing format.

Think about the color of ink that you would like to use on your documents and how you would like to personalize them. What style do you prefer in alignment?

I spoke with Laura recently and would like to share an excerpt of our discussion below.

How long have you been practicing calligraphy?

I've been practicing calligraphy since I was a child, but I've been doing it professionally part-time for about five or six years and recently transitioned to doing calligraphy and illustration full-time!

How long before sending out the invitations would you require brides to contact you?

For envelope addressing services, I typically recommend booking at least three months in advance.

What is the turnaround time for invitations?

Orders of up to 200 envelopes usually take about two weeks to complete- the turnaround time is a bit higher for orders of more than 200 pieces.

How much of a notice do you need for place cards orders locally?

Since place cards don't take quite as long as invitation outer envelopes to complete, I can sometimes squeeze these into my schedule, but I still recommend booking as early as possible.

Do you offer writing/copying a poem or reading material for the ceremony?

Yes! I've worked on a few poems and recently finished a very pretty marriage certificate for the bride, groom, and all of their guests signed at the reception as a sign of solidarity with the couple.
What do couples do with the maps? How are the used?

Couples have used maps in their invitation, in out of town gift bags, as a keepsake and any other form they choose. A black-and-white map takes about 8 to 10 hours to complete, or a watercolor map, which takes even more time. The price includes the design fee, original, and a high-resolution digital file for you to print yourself at home, or take to your stationer or local printer. I offer small quantities for an additional fee.

Do you create monograms for couples?

Yes! I love doing this- it's like a logo for the union that a couple creates!

To find out more about Laura and Trial by Cupcakes visit: http://www.trialbycupcakes.com/

Photo and Art credit: Trial by Cupcakes

Inspiration Boards

It’s a new year and lot’s to do…….

Have you created an inspiration board for your event? Regardless of the occasion you should look at pictures and ideas to inspire you for your big day. I started looking at green trends for an upcoming 20th anniversary party and here are a few things I came across.

What would your board look like?