"Map" the Date

Today, we shipped out Kate and Brady's awesome save the dates! This is a new design that was based on the Kate's idea of using a map of the area where they are getting married on the save the date. The actual card is a white pearl square with their names, save the date and date on the front -- accommodations information are provided on the back. The fun part is the vellum band that wraps around the save the date. In order to create the map, I got a crash course in the roads in and around Millbrook, NY, using Kate's guidance, along with google! In addition to the roads, I included some of the key venues for the wedding weekend. And, when the vellum band goes around the card, SAVE THE DATE shows through the map...too cute! Enjoy!

Congrats to Crissy and Joe

Crissy and Joe just got married this past weekend and I thought it was a perfect time to share their folder style program. With it's blush and white pearl colors, with chocolate accents, this program had a light and bright feel for an outdoor wedding on the water in the Spring. This program also coordinated with Crissy and Joe's starfish pocketfold invitation. Can't wait to see pictures from the wedding of the Mr. & Mrs. signs we did for their sweetheart table! Congrats! Enjoy!

From the invite to the day of...

Ebony and Otis have been working with me for over six months...maybe more. I remember when they came in for the first time to talk about save the dates and Ebony fell in love with the ribbon corners! Well, time has flown and Ebony and Otis are getting married this coming weekend in Richmond, Virginia. Amazing! We've had a great time working with them and hope their wedding is truly special. Below are some pictures of their pocket invite, layered style program and reception program card. Enjoy!

Pretty Palm Pocket

I met with Cathy and Joe a few weeks ago to design the invitation for their destination wedding in the Dominican Republic. Cathy wanted something that incorporated the color green and that shared the tropical feel of their wedding. She also knew that she wanted to include a palm tree in the design...but it couldn't be too "cartoon-y". I had to share that, because I think that the more information a client can provide to me, gives me the best opportunity to design the perfect invitation for them.

The end result of the design is by far the "fan" favorite in our studio. I think the colors and the overall look are just so pretty. And, perfect for a destination wedding...or a beach wedding close to home! Enjoy!

Cocktails for a Cause

So, normally, I'm giving you a look into the studio and what we are doing, but I thought, given it was a Saturday, I'd depart from the norm and tell you about a great event coming up on May 14th...Cocktails for a Cause. If you are in the Annapolis area, please stop by this cocktail hour and enjoy drinks, food and a great raffle...all to sponsor finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

I went to the last happy hour for CF, at Fado in Annapolis, and had a blast! This event is taking place at Lures Bar and Grille in Crownsville from 5-8pm. Just a quick ride up Generals Highway from the Annapolis Mall...or hop off of 97 on Crownsville Road on the way home from work!

Below is a flyer for the event. Hope you can make it!

Places Everyone

So, you've invited the guests, they have responded and now you have to figure out where they should sit. Eek! I think every bride dreads this task and worries that they will sit two people next to each other who might end up creating major drama on the big day! Well, we can't really help you with that....but we can make the way guests find out where they are sitting unique! So, onto some pictures of escort cards. Thanks to Jen Lowe (http://www.jlowephotos.com/) and D. Bryant (http://www.dbryantphoto.com/) for some pro pics included here!

Just a quick FYI, escort cards have the table number on them and are usually placed at a large table outside the entrance of the reception. Place cards have no table number and are placed at each seat on the actual tables in the ballroom.

New Designs!!

So, it's been a busy month...we're trying lots of new techniques and coming up with some new designs to offer to brides. I'm rolling out two of them with this blog post. And, at the end, I'm going to give you a teaser of something really cool that we'll be offering soon!

I'm calling the first new design, "Clearly Couture". These invitations are made using a clear backing that is screen printed with some awesome designs -- brocade, victorian and vintage. The screenprinting comes in a few classic colors that would really coordinate with most color schemes...think gold, silver, brown, cream. These designs as square, but you could do a rectangle style too. We can also use these clear screenprinted sheets as overlays, on top of your invite design. Very cool!

The second new design, "Ribbon Wrap", is a cool twist on a traditional layered style invitation. It has a wide cardstock backing, thin middle layer and top layer with invite invite text...wrapped in the middle is a wide satin ribbon band that goes all the way around the back. This ribbon band can hold your response set and insert cards. Pretty and functional!

Finally, I promised a teaser for something new...think vintage, hand carved wood block stamps with floral and vine designs...hmmm...sounds cool, right! Keep an eye out for it!

Pretty Pictures!

As some of you know, we are going to be expanding our new website in the near future. We'll be adding lots of new pictures to the galleries...which is why I called on the fabulous Jen Lowe (http://www.jlowephotos.com/), to take some glam shots of my work. As I have said many times and will continue to say, I find it absolutely amazing that photographers, like Jen, can make my designs look like "works of art". It is just wonderful to have someone you can call on and know they will always make you look good! Thanks Jen! Below are just a few of the many awesome shots. Enjoy!

Borrowed and Blue

Anyone who is a regular follower of our blog knows that the swirl design on Emily and Jason's invitation is very popular. What I love about the design (and even noted by the mother of the bride, Ellen) is that each invitation that uses this "borrowed" design looks unique. Here, the use of a pearl pocket with light blue accents and grey text gives this invitation a very formal and elegant feel. And, a little side note, this blog post is especially for Jason, the fiance, who is away on a business trip for three months and hasn't even seen the invites yet! Enjoy!

Sail Away

So, I blogged yesterday about Maya and Devlin's invitation, and today, Kaitlin was doing the assembly on the response sets with a ribbon belly band and tag. I caught a quick snapshot of her response sets in process and thought it was a cute follow up photo to share today. Enjoy!

You Ought to be in Pictures

This week has been all about pictures! Allie and I ran outside in the beautiful weather to take shots of our invites. Kaitlin took invites home to her beach to take pics. Monisha and Calvin sent us more pro pics of their passport invite. And, our fav photog, Jen Lowe, emailed me on Friday to say that she is done taking pictures of all of the invites that I gave her a few weeks ago. Ahh!

So, in honor of all of the above, I'm attaching lots of pictures to this email. The only pics that are not in this post are the ones from JLowe...she is supposed to blog about them and get me a CD this week. You know I can't wait...and will share!!!

Allie and I took this picture of Maya and Devlin's invitation. Devlin drew a beautiful picture of two boats floating on the water and Maya wanted to incorporate that into their classic wedding stationery. I designed the custom boat image at top to invite as a nod to Devlin's original art. Perfect for a summer wedding in Massachusetts!

Kaitlin took this awesome shot of a new Passport to Paradise invitation. Felicia and Paul are getting married at sunset in Ochos Rios...so jealous! Can I pack my bags?

Kaitlin also took picture...on the beach, complete with a starfish...of an "at home reception" invitation. Tiffany and Josh should be on their way to their wedding in Mexico, as we speak! Congrats!

Monisha and Calvin sent me 7 more pics of their Passport to Paradise invitation. Can you believe this shot...in the sand, in front of a cactus! Wow! Love when our artwork turns into a real work of art!

It's a Brave New World!

Wow, such excitement in the studio today!!! First of all, it is such a beautiful today...we ran outside and took tons of pictures of invites...in a pine tree, on the grass and even tucked into rocks. I think we're just giddy over the warm weather. Be on the lookout for those pics in upcoming blog posts.

Second, my right hand gal, Allie has a new obsession...Etsy...and now, Allison Barnhill Designs is on Etsy!!! Visit our storefront at http://www.allisonbdesigns.etsy.com/. We'll be adding new designs to it over time, but take a look and let us know what you think!

Third, we are now offering custom embroidered hoodies for bride's to be! Thanks to Kaitlin for modeling for us. This hoodie is available in white (any size) with the custom embroidery -- married name and wedding date -- in the color of your choice. The cost is $40 per hoodie with embroidery included. Drop us an email at info@allisonbarnhilldesigns.com if you have any questions or want to place an order.

Adorable Dots

We started working with Kasey and Matt months ago and featured their awesome save the date magnet (...you might remember their pic in front of a cool ivy covered wall ...) and folder style invitation on the blog, which showcased an adorable mod-dot theme.

So, it only stands to reason that we would carry that same idea onto their day of wedding accessories. Below are some shots of their menu, program and place card. We went with simple white cardstock which really let the mod-dot design shine.

Although it is not shown, I thought their table number idea was very unique, so I just have to share. Kasey and Matt compiled "numbers" that were important to them...for example, "26.2" - the number of miles Kasey ran in the Baltimore marathon, "1220" - the number of days Matt and Kasey have know each other and there is even a number with a surprise that will be revealed later! It just takes the traditional table number and puts a personal touch on it. Wonderful idea! Enjoy!

Carribbean Colors

We met Shawna at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel's Bridal Show earlier this year and were glad to have the opportunity to create her invitations. Shawna and Pete are having a carribbean themed wedding and wanted to incorporate that feel on their invitations. We used a tiffany metallic pocket, papaya backing layer, and a shell design on their invitation and insert cards. Hope the carribbean feel of this invitation carries into their wedding day, enjoy!

Swirls on the Side

I met with Joanna a few months ago to design her wedding invitations. Joanna and Jacob are having an early summer (well, technically, late spring) wedding and incorporating rasberry pink, mango and champagne colors. We designed a folder style invitation that incorporated those colors, along with a really fun champagne swirl detail that ran to the edge of the top and bottom of the invite panel. We fiinished that off with a cute monogram tag and champagne satin ribbon band. This invite reminds me a bright summer day...hopefully Joanna and Jacob get the same weather on their big day! Enjoy!

We are big fans...

...of these programs for Takara and Wayne! We have taken a natural woven fan and dressed it up with program cards in tiffany pearl, ivory and papaya. The program cards are tied onto the fan with an ivory satin ribbon bow. Too cute and too perfect for a destination wedding in Jamaica!

We also had the opportunity to design Takara and Wayne's starfish inspired pocketfold invitation, which included the same tiffany pearl cardstock pocket, handmade "sand" paper and natural raffia closure. What a wonderful way to introduce a wedding in paradise to your guests. Enjoy!

Two for the Price of One

So, today, I have two "things" to share with you. First, to follow up with my post from last week, "Mo-Cal's Cabo Wedding", Monisha (aka, the bride) sent me a link to the "Style Me Pretty" blog featuring their wedding. Check out the awesome picture of our Passport to Paradise invite!
http://www.stylemepretty.com/little-black-book-blog/

Onto my second "thing", we just finished these pocket invites for Darice and Jim. Darice came to me with a quilt that her grandmother made as inspiration for her wedding --she is using the quilts as linens on the tables! And, get this...it's all a surprise to the family! The beautiful quilt is made using all of these small pieces of fabric that are hexagonal shaped -- in greens, coral, strawberry, peach and yellow. Perfect for a Spring, garden wedding!

Of course, we had to use those hexagons in her invitation too. Darice went back and forth on the colors of the invite -- from a more colorful bright look -- to our final decision of the classic white and greens with a touch of color. I just love how fresh and bright this invitation turned out! This is a great example of how a "theme" can be showcased to give the guests a taste of what to expect on the big day! Enjoy!

Big Day in Big Sky

Stephanie and Jay came to me looking for a save the date for their destination wedding in Big Sky, Montana (they live in San Francisco -- hence the picture on the save the date!). The theme of their wedding is "rustic elegance" and they really wanted something that would introduce that feel to their guests. We used a pocketfold style save the date, along with handmade "leather" paper and natural raffia, to create a truly unique and rustic look. The "live, laugh, love" titles on the insert cards are being carried through to custom stamps on the front of the envelopes -- too cute! This is one of those weddings, that you just want to go to! :) Enjoy!