I HEART ALE PAUL!!

Photos of some of Ale Paul's Fonts

Yesterday I was with a colleague and we got to talking about fonts. So today I want to pay homage to the master of all fonts, Alejandro Paul. I thought it would be fun to introduce y'all to the man behind most of those fonts you ladies (and gents) are using for your wedding paper.

Ale Paul is a true artist...I can't even begin to tell you how obsessed I am with all of his fonts and type. He taught graphic design and typography at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Ale is also the co-founder of the Studtipos Project, which is a type collective. I love his work so much because he really seems to capture the essence of time periods by translating them into type.

You can purchase his fonts here and here. Okay...not quite sure how much I taught you about the genius, but I feel good knowing that I put his name out there. If you ask your stationer who developed your font, don't be surprised if they say Ale Paul!

VINTAGE HEADDRESSES

Photos: Vintage Headdresses

I'm crazy in love with UK bridal fashion. There are so many designers that I wish we had in the states. I love UK bridal so much that it actually inspired the name of my company, Bespoke Affairs!

UK gals totally know how to accessorize, and Vintage Headdresses is at the top of my list. They have a wonderful selection of vintage headdresses, hair accessories, jewelry, and bags...the list goes on and on. They even offer made to order pieces (bespoke).

STYLE ME PRETTY FEATURE

Photos: Aga Images

It's basically impossible to pick a few of my favorite images from Kim and Tim's day after session shot by Aga Images...So click here to see the entire feature on Style Me Pretty! This shoot is near and dear to my heart because I am an alumni of MU and it is where I met my hubby! I'm over the moon to be featured on Style Me Pretty today, one of my favorite wedding blogs.

VERA WANG UNDER $1,500??

Photo found here

It's NOT sample sale time! Vera Wang announced today that she will be partnering with David's Bridal to launch a new bridal collection. Okay I'll be frank- I'm not sure how I feel about this?! As a Vera Wang bride myself, part of the allure of her gowns have always been (to me) the high quality couture feel and materials used on the gowns....I'll be curious to see how she can pull this off with price points of $500-1,500. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every bride should have to pay crazy prices for designer duds.

What do you think? Love it or hate it? Personally, I love that her gowns will be accessible to brides everywhere, but I'm weary to think the fabrics and materials might be compromised.

PRETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY!

Photos: Carol Hannah

I am a huge Project Runway fan. One of my all time favorite designers on the show (ever) would have to be Carol Hannah. One day while endlessly browsing Etsy, I came across her ready to wear Etsy shop and her wedding collection on Etsy...I nearly died of excitement! I've been reading her blog and checking her website for updates on her collections ever since. Yesterday while looking on her site I noticed that it is completely updated with the most gorgeous wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses. Best part...she's located here in NYC and a complete sweetheart!! Be sure to check out Carol Hannah's site today.

RAD PHOTOGRAPHER

Photo Credit: Brian DeMello

Brian DeMello is a crazy talented photographer. Although his website doesn't feature his wedding work I think from the above two images you can get a sense of his killer skills. Photographer friends (bride & grooms too) please take a moment to vote for one of Brian's images so that he can win 10k in lighting equipment. Click here to vote (green paint set and kitchen set).

MY NIECES & NEPHEW

Photos: Aga Images

Okay so this post is not exactly "event" or "wedding" related, but it does feature a couple of my favorite things...my nieces and nephew and the awesome photography duo at Aga Images. Click here to see the pictures in all of their glory on Aga's blog.

Brides out there, not only is Aga crazy talented (how will I ever choose which of these pictures to hang on my wall!!??) but she is also so sweet to be around.

$439 LETTERPRESS DEAL IS BACK!!

Photos: Invitations by Ajalon

UPDATE...MENTION THIS POST AND RECEIVE A FREE SAMPLE SET!!

I am really in love with Invitations by Ajalon. They have a huge selection of letterpress on dreamy paper with a deep impression and their customer service is outstanding. Well, they are running their famous $439 Letterpress deal again. You can even provide your own print ready pdf files by using one of their many templates.

Click here for all the details...but trust me you won't find a better deal for 100 letterpress invites, 100 letterpress RSVP postcards, and 100 envelopes!

UPTOWN MEETS DOWNTOWN

Photos: Danny Weiss

I'm so lucky to be surrounded by the greatest talent the NYC area has to offer! This shoot was the brainchild and made possible by Photographer Danny Weiss, I helped with the logistics, the gathering of vendors (aka talent), etc. I could sing Danny's praise endlessly for the beautiful images that he captures on wedding days...but ladies (and gents) if you're getting married you should totally meet with Danny and I can almost guarantee you'll hire him on the spot! Danny is a super fun guy to be around...exactly what you want on your wedding day!!

The rest of the crew was stellar as well...Annlum Red / Anna Zhu is the sweetest person and also specializes in made to order Bridesmaid dresses, I still can't get over that she made this wedding dress from scratch in a matter of a couple weeks! Imagine what she can do with your wedding dress. I have been a huge fan of Denise Fasanello Floral Design for some time now and I was so excited to get her on board. I find her work to be so organic, inspiring and original. Our "bride" looked smashing thanks to Sally Duvall (makeup) and Stacy Pitt (hair). These two ladies are NYC favorites in the wedding world and for good reason. You'd be hard pressed to find a more laid back & talented duo. Another favorite of mine, Holly of Artikal, made the cage veil and (bow) horse hair cocktail piece. I'm obsessed with calligraphy and Anna Beckman's tangled script was exactly what this shoot needed...something fun! Last but certainly not least, Red Carpet Boutique in downtown Millburn, NJ for accessories. Ray from Timeless Films is putting together a video from the shoot, so I'll be sharing that soon.

Alrighty that's about it. I hope that you will enjoy the images!

ROCK 'N ROLL BRIDE FEATURE!

Photo: Rock 'n Roll Bride

Click HERE to check out our feature on Rock 'n Roll bride today!! Last month I teamed up with Photographer Danny Weiss to help him coordinate a photo shoot on a rare Sunday that we all found ourselves free. The idea behind the shoot was simple...Uptown girl meets downtown guy, falls in love and gets married on a whim. The POV of the camera is the groom, and his new bride is flirting with him in front of the camera. This shoot would not have been possible without all the amazing vendors involved:

Danny Weiss for photography

Annlum Red / Anna Zhu for the couture wedding gown

Denise Fasanello Floral Design for the bouquet

Sally Duvall for makeup

Stacy Pitt for hair

Artikal for bridal hats & veils

Red Carpet Boutique in downtown Millburn, NJ for accessories

Anna Beckman for calligraphy

Timeless Films for video (which we will be sharing at a later date)

ALSO a huge thank you is in store to my friend Christian for lending us his motorcycle jacket for the shoot...AND...my real bride Tracy who jumped in as our "bride" for the shoot when our model bride had a modeling conflict and a busted hip. Tracy you are a treasure and I can't wait to see you in your real bridal gorgeousness in July!!

Will be blogging more pictures this week but head over to Rock 'n Roll bride to check out the feature today!

ONLINE DESIGN TOOL

Photo: BBJ Linen

Such a great tool ladies. BBJ Linen has developed an online tool to design your wedding day table...try it out. It's really fun and I love using it myself to propose linen ideas to my brides. ENJOY!

DISCOUNT!! PERFECT BRIDESMAID GIFT

Photo Credit: Max & Chloe

One of my past brides is the owner of the super stylish Max & Chloe jewelry website. I can literally spend hours on the site...and I have. I was even lucky enough to receive these gifts from her (thanks again)!! Recently Max & Chloe blogged about the perfect bridesmaid gift, personalized/monogrammed necklaces and I couldn't agree more. See the entire personalized collection here. They also have the most beautiful bridal jewelry and tons of choices for bridesmaid gifts.

This week they are offering a 25% off discount site wide

Use promo code DAILYCANDY25 at checkout

DIY ENVELOPE

Photo Credit: Map Envelope

I love DIY...so when I came across Map Envelope I fell in love fast...especially since they are free!! These would be really cute for save the dates or RSVP cards. Leave it to Etsy to have an AMAZING option (just type in map envelope for so many more)! These are also pretty rad. The hubby and I are house hunting and I totally plan on using these printable envelopes for our moving announcements...well this week anyway.

CAST YOUR VOTE!

Photo Credit: Unusually Fine Photography

September 2010 is shaping up to be a very special month for me...2 outstanding weddings on the Brooklyn waterfront AND the wedding of a cousin! September will end with a bang with the wedding of Regina and Nikolai. Regina and Nikolai are totally sweet and have the hippest ideas, which I can't wait to share with you after the wedding. The wedding will be chock full of DIY, which you all know I love. The ceremony will be held in the Library Room at the Brooklyn Historic Society and the reception is at Bubby's in Dumbo.

ANYWAY...Regina and Nikolai are finalist in a free wedding photography contest held by the fabulous photographers at Unusually Fine. Regina and Nikolai (click here to learn a little about them) are so deserving of this, so if you have time, click here to cast your vote!

Thanks Y'all!!

FABRIC LOVE

Photos: Bird and Banner

I'm on an invitation kick so naturally I want to showcase a favorite designer of mine, Bird and Banner. I'm totally obsessed with the invitations above. I love the unexpected touches they add to all their pieces. My heart skipped a beat when I saw these business cards of a favorite blog of mine...and I just about died the first time I saw these.

I can totally see you DIY brides out there whipping something like this up!!

LETTERPRESS(ISH) FOR LESS

Photo Credit: Click on Pics

I've always had a serious love affair with letterpress, but let's face it, it's not in everyones budget...and that's OK! I'm actually a huge believer that when choosing your paper products, the actual paper is first and foremost...printing method second. If you choose a nice heavy/luxe paper your golden.

Lately I've been coveting custom embossers. Embossers are an inexpensive way to personalize all of your wedding day paper. The best part is that you will have the embosser forever!! You can emboss everything from your save the dates, invites, napkins, the list goes on. Neiman Marcus has the sweetest butterfly embosser that would make for a lovely shower gift or springtime wedding.

Check out WG Press and all their samples and you too will want a custom embosser stat!! Other great sites are Paper Source, Ballard, Horchow and even Williams and Sonoma (why not put it on your registry).