Plaid + Leather Inspiration Shoot :: Sneak Peek!

I got to be part of 3 amazing inspiration shoots this past week.  They were all made up of incredible Portland wedding professionals and I learned so much from each of them.  I've gotten to see a few sneak peeks of them all, and all I can say is...  HOLY SH*T.  I figured these things would turn out awesome.  But WOW!  I am just blown away.  I'll leave you with images and a link to the sneak peek from Bryan Rupp Photography.

Floral + Coordination + Scene Styling: Stephanie Major of petalos
Clothing Stylist: Amy Allen
Hair + Make up: Terri Reece
Paper Goods: Paper Bloom
Models: Anna + Max (my sister and her boyfriend– so proud!)

www.bryanruppphotography.com

www.bryanruppphotography.com

www.bryanruppphotography.com

A Baby Shower!

A few weeks ago, I hosted a baby shower for my childhood best friend.  Katie and I went to school together from Kindergarten through 8th grade, and remained great friends over the years to come.  She has always been a constant friend in my life.  You know that friend you can go weeks without talking to, and you just pick up where you left off?  The friend that doesn't question why you haven't called or where you have been?  The friend that hangs on during those weeks, months, years, when you are trying to find a new normal after having a baby and understands that you aren't trying to be a horrible friend, but you are anyway, and still loves you?  That's Katie.

That's me on the left (with the "wedge" haircut), and Katie on the right

When I heard the news that she was pregnant, I immediately offered to throw her a shower.  I have had ideas brewing for some time and was excited to get to work.  I quickly settled on a theme inspired by the goods around K's home: vintage, rustic and reclaimed goodness.

I knew I would need rentals from Something Borrowed, an amazing company in Portland started by Lane' after her own wedding last summer.  She has some incredible inventory that would be perfect for any event.  Vintage and retro mismatched plates, wire baskets, vintage sewing boxes, tissue paper garland, milk glass, and mason jars galore.  How perfect for my friend?

Next, I enlisted the help of floral friend Liz of Fleur:ology. Liz has great style and so fun to work with and I knew she'd create some amazing arrangements for the shower.  And I had the perfect stationery already designed for the new line of invitations for Champagne Paper.

Next up, games.  Instead of typical shower games, I thought activities would better suit this crowd.  But I HAD to play the clothespin game.  You know, when someone hears you say the word "baby" they take your clothespin and whoever ends up with the most gets a prize?  Well, I put my spin on it and used pretty copper bangles instead.

Instead of a traditional guestbook, I set up a "Palanca Station", where guests could write Katie letters of encouragement that she can open on days when she needs some love and uplifting.

While searching Pinterest, I saw this amazing DIY string heart artwork on Green Wedding Shoes blog. It's such a fun and unique piece, and thanks to their instructions I saw how easy it would be to put together.  Knowing Katie, I thought this might be a fun addition to the baby's nursery.  I left instructions for this piece of "heartwork" (mehehe) for guests to help put together, that way everyone had a hand in it.

And last but not least, food!  Amy, owner of tart, came up with the perfect brunch menu. Everything tasted, and looked, amazing.

  

I am so happy for my dear friend and can't wait to meet her little one in just a few weeks!!

Oregon Bride Magazine's Best Of 2011

Last night was Oregon Bride's "Best of" event at the Oregon Historical Society.  Each year the magazine throws a fabulous party to announce the results of the "best of" votes, as well as show off the latest issue of the magazine.  I was so excited to attend this year, as I've spent the last year or so meeting other fabulous vendors and experts in the industry.  I've made some close friends and gotten to work on several inspiration shoots with several different people, so it was fun seeing many familiar faces.  I brought my darling husband, who is my ultimate number one fan, and he was really excited to meet these people that I always talk about!  When it came time to announce winners, we were quickly approaching the "best invites" category.  John asked me if I was nominated, and I said to him, "Doubtful."  In my mind, I still felt like I wasn't that well known but was just beginning to make a lot of connections and get my name out there.  It would've been awesome to be nominated but I just didn't want to get my hopes up.  So we both look up on screen and see the list of finalists for Best Invites: Uncommon Invites, Ecru Modern Stationer, and... Paper Bloom.  John nudged me and said, "Um..?"  I was completely surprised.  First to be in a category with two amazing invitation vendors, and second just to see Paper Bloom on the big screen.  Then Liz Hummer, editor of Oregon Bride, announced that Paper Bloom was the winner.  John SCREAMED with excitement (several people later told me how awesome his reaction was), and I was totally shocked!  I accepted my award and just couldn't stop smiling– I still can't!  It is such an honor, and really reassuring to know that other people know and appreciate my business and my hard work.  I absolutely love what I do and this gave me a big boost of confidence.  So thank you to everyone who voted for me, and who believes in me!!

Click here to see the other amazing nominees and winners, including a few I'd like to specifically call out: Fleur:ology (finalist for Best New Vendor), The Candy Buffet (finalist for Best New Vendor and Most Creative Favors), The Groomslist (editor's pick!) Crave Design (winner of Most Creative Favors), Uncommon Invites (finalist for Best Invites), Champagne (finalist for Best Wedding Planner), Abernethy Center (Best All-Inclusive Venue) and Focal Point Digital Media (Best Videographer). These are people I've met, worked with, and just love!!

Featured Vendor on Elizabeth Anne Designs

I'm happy to announce that you can now find Paper Bloom as a featured vendor under the stationery section of Elizabeth Anne Design's new Vendor Guide!  Check me out: http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/vendor-guide/stationery/paper-bloom/

Inspiration Shoot with Kim + Phil and Punch

A couple months ago, I was invited by Kim and Bonnie of Punch to take part in my first inspiration photoshoot.  It was a vintage honeycomb theme to be photographed by Kim + Phil Photography at the World Forestry Center.  I got to attend the shoot and loved seeing everything come together so beautifully.  This was a great team to work with and I hope to collaborate with them again sometime!  Here are a few photos taken from this and this blog post over at Kim + Phil's blog:

Photography: Kim + Phil

Floral/Event Design: Punch
Invitations: Paper Bloom
Model: Heather Rieder
Clothing/Styling: Holly Stalder
Hair: Rebekah Emerson
MUA: Christine Marie
Venue: World Forestry Center

Vote for Plum & Bronze Glamour!

Friends!  If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably seen my millions of posts about the Inspired Creations Contest held by Elizabeth Anne Designs and The Sweetest Occasion.

I was asked by the lovely Liz of Fleur:ology to be part of her team, and of course I jumped at the chance.  I just adore Liz, and was excited to work with her on such a great project.  She put together an incredible team and came up this ridiculously amazing inspiration shoot.  Here are a few of my faves:

So if you haven't already, please go here and leave a comment telling them how much you LOVE Plum & Bronze Glamour!  There are some amazing entries and I feel very honored to be part of this.

Floral, decor, and styling – Fleur:ology \ Photography – Diana Marie Photography \ Stationery – Paper Bloom \ Cake – Le Cookie Monkey \ Rentals – West Coast Event Productions \ Venue – Bella Via \ Hair – Face Body Beauty– Jennifer Walker \ Gown – AniA Collection \ Accessories – FeathersandFrills \ Makeup – Rachel Aron \ Macarons – Rachel Aron \ Models – Simona + Dani

First thermography job!

In the 6 years I've been designing invitations, I have never had a client request thermography (raised printing).  It's a very traditional element to wedding invitations, so I'm a little surprised no one has ever wanted it.  But I think a large part of the reason my clients hire me is because I design less traditional invitations, and raised printing doesn't always go with the design.  And, flat printing is usually less expensive, but still looks great, so there's also that.  A couple months ago I got an email from Michelle in Chicago who needed an invitation designed, and she really liked thermography.  The image she wanted to use is a very pretty peony (purchased from istockphoto.com) with lots of thin lines and details.  I had to admit off the bat that I didn't have any thermography samples in my portfolio, but knew of a printer in town that specialized in it (NW Printed Solutions– love them!)  We got to work, placed the order, and I picked up the finals today.  Wow!  I had no idea how great it would look, and how much it adds to the design.  Here's just a snippet of the final product (taken with my cell phone under bad lighting, so it looks a little sparkly shiny):