Jena & Nick: save the dates

At last, a look at Jena & Nick's GORGEOUS save the dates!

Our bride, Jena, a former classmate from high school, was a JOY to work with!  And, we might add, one of the most organized clients we've ever had.  We're swooning over the classic black & white accented by the fashionable deep plum - a chic update to a Fall color palette!  Jena was looking for something simple and sophisticated, with just a hint of playfulness, which we delivered by adding "he asked, she said yes!", to otherwise formal wording. 

The chic "J&N" monogram established a design element that can be incorporated into other wedding details such as wedding programs, cocktail napkins and their return address (which we used on the back of their save the date envelopes in place of the couple's names).  What we love best about this design, which we are calling the "Jena", is how the elegant script and simple design highlights the bride & groom's names - exactly where the focus of a save the date should be. 

Your save the date (just like your Facebook profile pic) is your wedding's first impression, so it should look like you.  Right?  A really, really good version of you.  Your wedding asthetic, with the stationery in particular, should be a reflection of your personal style and the style of the wedding. 

We can tell you first hand that Jena's save the date is just as sophisticated as she is!   Can't wait to show you the rest of this couple's gorgeous wedding stationery in the fall.

Sneak Peek

We've been BEYOND excited to share one of our latest projects with you and impatiently waiting for the mail system to do its thing so you wouldn't get a sneak peek before our couple's guests did.  As much as we adore sending and receiving mail, the process certainly has tested our patience this week. 

And since we just can't contain ourselves any longer, we thought we'd give you a sneak preview, sort of.  We don't want to give away too much, so we're sharing an inspiration board of ours that was featured on Style Me Pretty and just so happens to remind us of our current project.  Below is Little Black Press' winning entry to Style Me Pretty's Little Black Dress competition (it was meant to be, we know!).  The challenge was to pick our favorite LBD and create a color scheme and inspiration board around it.  We LOVE this so much because although every bride says it, and we believe they really do mean it, most bridesmaid dresses can't be worn again.  The LBD, on the other hand, can. 




Dress:  Vera Wang; Shoes:  Zappos; Ring Pillow:  The Knot; Macaroons:  Laduree Paris; Invitations:  Ceci New York; Flowers:  Winston's Boston.


To see the full posts, visit:   LBD Inspiration Board and LBD Competition Winners.

Check back early next week to see our latest project!  The suspense is killing you, we know.

The latte (bene)factor

Chances are, you've probably already bought your morning coffee.  Perhaps you're sipping it right now.  But if you haven't, LBP is asking you to skip it (just for today) and put the $5 to better use by donating it to Children's Hospital Boston, a place that is near and dear to our hearts.

Donations can be made by calling 1-800-457-KIDS (5437). 

Already bought today's latte and are feeling guilty?  Don't worry, the radiothon is going on tomorrow too!

Love and thanks from LBP and all of the kids at Children's.

Green with envy

March is here and that means all things green... St. Patrick's Day, the first blades of grass unearthed by the melting snow and at long last, SPRING!  LBP cannot wait to trade our winter coats for lightweight spring jackets and trenches and dare we say, our boots for an open toe shoe? 

In honor of the highly anticipated arrival of Spring (especially for those of us who have been buried by snow in the Northeast), we would like to introduce the newest color in the LBP closet...

We like to call it a "kate spade" shade of green, which makes us love it even more!  Perfect for St. Patrick's Day cards, invitations for spring soirees, gender-neutral baby showers and more.  Oh so versatile, it's a chic accent to black & white, a preppy pop with hot pink, and a complementary color to purple (for all of you color theorists out there). 

Expect to see this popping color up in future projects (and, if Puxatony Phil's prediction is right, your lawn) soon! 

Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours.

No matter what stage of the event planning process you're in, two things are for certain:  time is precious and that to do list of yours isn't getting much shorter.  Unfortunately, we can't go dress shopping for you (although we'd be glad to offer our fashion advice), but we can take the collating, stuffing, sealing, stamping and mailing off your hands with our "signed. sealed. delivered." service. 

Yes that's right, we will personally stuff and seal each and every one of your envelopes ourselves and spare you that horrible taste of adhesive (ick!).  And since we want to make sure that each and every one of your invitations, announcements or save the dates arrives at its most chic, we even pull strings at the post office so LBP can personally hand cancel the postage on each envelope (saving them from being tattered and torn by the machine).  We'll select a stamp that best compliments your envelope design or custom design one to coordinate your stationery (extra postage fees apply). 

signed. sealed. delivered. is $50/mailing (excluding the cost of postage) unless you have a guest list the size of William & Kate's (rumored to be a staggering 1,800 invitations), in which case we'll talk. 



LBP Party: Winter "One"derland Paper Goods

Once the winter "one"derland theme had been established, the next step was to incorporate snowflakes AND pink into the party.  Since there aren't a lot of pink snowflakes to be had out there, LBP knew that even more custom party goods were in order. 

The party invitation and playful wording set the tone for the party (and we love that the birthday girl's picture outfit matched too!). 

Front of invitation: 
"Oh what fun!  Our little snowflake is turning one!"

Back of invitation: 
"Snowflakes, cake and wonderland treats.  Please join us as we celebrate someone sweet."



Coordinating tags were created for the snowflake cookie favors and were tied around cellophane bags with striped baker's twine in pink & white to match. 

Favor tags $20 per set of 25. 

Polka dot napkins in the party's oh so pink palette were accented by custom beverage cups, which featured the number "1" in the center, surrounded by "oh what fun!  caroline is one!".  A coordinating design was also used for the milk bottle labels so guests could choose from "whole", "2%" or "chocolate" milk at the milk & cookie bar. 

Otherwise plain cupcakes got dressed up for the party with custom double-sided cupcake toppers.  Designs featured cut-out snowflakes in blossom and fuchsia and reversible circle toppers featuring a snowman on one side, the number "1" on the other and finished with a bow. 

Circle labels for beverage cups $8 per dozen.  Custom double-sided cupcake toppers $12 per dozen, can be customized with any message, motif and color combination.  Favor tags $20 per set of 25. 

Greeting guests at the door were clusters of pink balloons, a framed photo of the birthday girl decorated with dainty bows, and a welcome sign using wording from the invitation to remind them what was in store:  "snowflakes, cake and wonderland treats.  today we celebrate someone sweet".  Dr. Seuss' Happy Birthday to You! doubled as a guest book (propped up with a cookbook stand) with a sign inviting guests to leave a message:

To highlight the wonderland treats, LBP designed a mobile with pink and silver glitter snowflake ornaments, felt snowmen and cut-out snowflakes.  The mobile was the perfect centerpiece to hang over the dessert table and large vinyl snowflakes cascaded down the wall on either side.  Pennant flag banners that spelt out "Happy 1st Birthday Caroline" served as a focal point in the room and was a perfect backdrop for taking pictures with the guest of honor. 

Mobiles start at $30 and can be customized to match party theme/color scheme. 

Garland availabe in pennant shape or circles and can be customized with any message or color combination.  Garlands start at $20 and pricing depends on length of message.  

The birthday girl posing with her parents. 

Our favorite detail from the party is the "my first year" photo garland, which featured a picture of the birthday girl from each of the past 12 months labeled with captions of "1 month", etc. printed on snowflakes to coordinate with the rest of the paper goods.  Photos hung vertically on either side of the entrance to the party on fuchsia satin ribbon (the perfect pop of pink!).  Guests loved seeing the picture progression of the past year!

Snowflake mobile, pennant flag banners, photo garland, welcome sign and frame and guest book sign:  Little Black Press.  Birthday crown:  Mud Pie.  Guest book:  Dr. Seuss. 

Finishing touches included a sprinkling of snowflakes:

 

Happy 1st Birthday to Caroline!  We hope this little snowflake loved her Winter "One"derland party as much as we did!

LBP Party: Caroline's Winter "One"derland

A sprinkling of snowflakes, pops of pink, a first birthday in January and Caroline's girly winter "one"derland theme was born.  In keeping with this little sweetie's signature color, LBP chose an oh so pink palette of blossom and soft whites with accents of fuchsia.  Polka dots were infused throughout the party stationery to add a touch of whimsy and resemble falling snow.  And of course, there were plenty of snowflakes to carry out the winter "one"derland theme! 



Pennant flag banners, party cups, snowflake mobile, snowflake sugar cookies, chocolate covered marshmallow sticks, snowflake cupcake toppers:  Little Black Press.  Large vinyl hanging snowflake:  The Land of Nod.  Balloons:  Party Needs.  Cupcakes and smash cake:  Party Favors, Brookline.



Since no two snowflakes are alike, LBP came up with a "blizzard" of frosty ideas for decorations and treats:


Decorations:

• custom birthday pennant flag banners with snowflake accents
• snowflakes in various sizes hanging from ceiling to create a "snowfall" effect
• custom snow mobile to hang as centerpiece over dessert table
• clusters of pink balloons
• glitter and shimmer paper to create the effect of glistening snow
• snowmen, snowflake and "one" cupcake toppers
• custom stickers for hot beverage cups

Wonderland Treats:

• "dirty snow" pops:  chocolate covered marshmallows on sticks, dipped in colored sprinkles
• ice cream sundae bar
• milk & cookie bar:  chocolate chip "dunkers",  ice caps (vanilla meringues), macaroons, chocolate covered s'more bites, snow themed fondant cookie toppers on sugar cookies, variety of milk including chocolate milk
• hot chocolate bar:  flavored hot chocolates, homemade marshmallows for melting, candy cane stirrers, whipped cream and frrrrozen hot chocolate from Serendipity 3
• candy:  snow caps (non pareils), snow covered pretzels (yogurt pretzels), pink and white m&ms (valentine's day mix)
• tea & coffee to warm up with!
• snow flake cupcakes and smash cake
• pink and white candy cane stripe gift wrap for the birthday girl's gifts

Party Favors:

• custom snowflake sugar cookies with "thank you snow much" imprint and pink royal icing embellishment
• snowmen plush for younger guests

More of this little snowflake's party to follow!