DIY THURSDAY: Calligraphy Chargers

A charger is an easy way to glam up a place setting or signify a special setting for the bride and groom, bridal party or family members. For those of you with pretty cursive this is an inexpensive and easy DIY as well as a way to customize and put a personal touch on the little details. How about writing the lyrics out to your love song? Favorite poem? Wedding vows? Love letter? A $1 decorative plate from the Dollar Tree plus spray paint in your colors plus a calligraphy pen in a metallic color and some time and you have a pretty charger. 

{Photo Credits} Calligraphy Chargers via Horses + Calligraphy, photography by Allison Kuhn {Shopping Guide} Plate via Dollar Tree // Calligraphy Pens via Wedding Things // Spray Paint via Blick

{STYLED SHOOT} Calligraphy, Horses + a Barn

Today we are sharing our styled shoot at Savannah's newest barn venue, Red Gate Farm, part of The Mackey House!! This venue is so perfect for a Southern wedding. Both the outside surrounding areas are beautiful as well as the barn itself. When we did our shoot they were still working on renovations and upgrades to the interior but we still loved it and cannot wait to see how it looks now! For the shoot, we were inspired by calligraphy and literature and wanted a deep color palette filled with romantic shades of scarlet, deep purples, and gold.

Allison Kuhn photographed every little detail of the shoot. We used one of our newest bridal gowns from Lena Medoyeff paired with a Hushed Commotion sash for our bride, Adrienna's boyfriend's sister Tara, who was made over by Marie Bramlett. For the ceremony we used vintage doors and pews from Savannah's newest vintage rental company, Rentiquity. Our lounge area was setup with vintage furniture from In Any Event accompanied with decor pieces from both Ultra Pom and Simply Southern Weddings and flowers designed by A to Zinnas. The reception and dessert table linens are also from Ultra Pom and are quite possibly our favorite linens in existence. Kaitlin Slattery of Forever September hand wrote the calligraphy chargers and escort cards as well as designed the adorable invitation suite filled with calligraphy and a cat illustration... our favorite of course. The other china adorning the table is from Lillian's China. Desserts from Rum Runners Bakery and Gigi's Cupcakes. Last, but most certainly not least since she is our favorite ever singer in Savannah and our good friend... Sarah Tollerson, our bridesmaid, rocking a dress from Copper Penny paired with an Elaya Vaughn sash. We hope you enjoy!!

{Photo Credits} Photography: Allison Kuhn // Styling: Ivory and Beau // Bridal dress: Lena Medoyeff, Sash: Hushed Commotion, both available at Ivory and Beau // Venue: Red Gate Farm at The Mackey House // Hair + Makeup: Marie Bramlett // Bridesmaid Dress: Copper Penny // Bridesmaid's Sash: Elaya Vaughn // Flowers: A to Zinnas // Pews + Doors: Rentiquity // Stationary + Calligraphy: Forever September // Vintage Furniture: In Any Event // Sequin Linens, Books + Silverware: Ultra Pom // Cake stand + Decor Pieces: Simply Southern Weddings // Vintage China: Lillian's China // Cake: Rum Runners Bakery // Cupcakes: Gigi's Cupcakes 

SIMPLY PUBLISHED: {Every Last Detail} Sophisticated Burgundy + Plum Southern Wedding

So excited that today our styled shoot with Alison Kuhn photography is up on Every Last Detail!!! I love reading Lauren's blog so it is so fun that we get to be on there.. plus she's one of the few bloggers I actually have had the pleasure of meeting!! We will be sharing more from this shoot on our blog this Thursday so stay posted to read more and in the meantime, head on over to Every Last Detail for the entire shoot!! Thank you to all the vendors who helped out and to Lauren for featuring us on her site!!! 

{Photo Credits} Photography: Allison Kuhn // Styling: Ivory and Beau // Bridal dress: Lena Medoyeff, Sash: Hushed Commotion, both available at Ivory and Beau // Venue: Red Gate Farm at The Mackey House // Hair + Makeup: Marie Bramlett // Bridesmaid Dress: Copper Penny // Bridesmaid's Sash: Elaya Vaughn // Flowers: A to Zinnas // Pews + Doors: Rentiquity // Stationary + Calligraphy: Forever September // Vintage Furniture: In Any Event // Sequin Linens, Books + Silverware: Ultra Pom // Cake stand + Decor Pieces: Simply Southern Weddings // Vintage China: Lillian's China // Cake: Rum Runners Bakery // Cupcakes: Gigi's Cupcakes 

SIMPLY INSPIRATION: Unique + Custom Save the Dates

Since it is exactly 1 year minus 1 day until the day Chris and I get hitched... I figured it was perfect timing for a post on Save the Dates!!!! So what is a "Save the Date" you ask? Well, I will tell you. And I also will show you lots of pretty inspiration between sharing all my incredibly smart and amazing expertise on Save the Dates.

Save the Dates to me are the perfect way to set the tone and the theme of your wedding, whether it's a formal affair in an elegant ballroom, a magical fete in a whimsical forest, a casual beach wedding in a tropical location, or (like us) a desert wedding that is gonna be only the coolest wedding ever... I think it's best to make sure your Save the Date fits what the wedding is going to be like. This will get guests excited for what's to come! And it will create your wedding theme or personality. See below for example... my guess is you can tell that the bohemian vintage postcard save the date is probably not going to be in a ballroom or even a stuffy hotel... but rather somewhere unique and funky with lots of unique details? Or the gold calligraphy save the date for example is probably going to be a very preppy and very girly affair. See where I'm going with this? Your Save the Date can become part of your wedding and not just a piece of paper you send out in advance to tell guests about your date... so have a little fun with it!  

Save the Dates don't always have to be stationary either. I mean... how about a vintage tea towel? Or a viewfinder? Or a scratch off!?! There are so many fun ideas + things you can do for your Save the Dates. So get creative... I would highly suggest out checking out Oh So Beautiful Paper for the best inspiration you will ever find! Just make sure you visit their site when you have some time to spare... so much pretty is so distracting I could get stuck on that site for days. Anyway, here are some of my favorite unique styles... 

For a fun and super pretty DIY Save the Date... I would highly suggest ordering a custom stamp. This will probably be the easiest and most elegant DIY Save the Date you can do. Plus you can mix up the colors you use so that not all the Save the Dates are the same. I am in love with this one that Kathryn Murray has on her site... it's modern and funky yet still very glamorous. Antiquaria also has some awesome stamps on their site as seen below. Can you believe all the Save the Dates below were made with stamps!? I'm in love. Like I said.. probably the easiest way to make a DIY project look professional and elegant. All you need is some pretty paper + lots of ink and patience.. oh and a steady hand would probably be good too. 

  

So now... here is my advice for Save the Dates!

1. If you are having a destination wedding send them out the sooner the better! I know for us we wanted to get out our Save the Dates sooner rather than later since all of our guests will have to travel to our wedding destination. We wanted to make sure we gave guests plenty of heads up so that they can save accordingly or plan their summer vacations accordingly! 

2. Find a venue comes before Save the Dates. Do I even need to say this out loud? So many venues will have dates booked and how much would it suck if you sent out your Save the Dates than had to change the date because you find your venue afterwards and they are booked on the date you thought you were going to have the wedding? I mean... or you could send them first but then you might have to be flexible with what venue you choose. 

3. Wedding themes are fun! And they don't have to be expensive! Get creative, find a wedding personality for you and your fiance and make sure your Save the Dates are in line with that vision or theme. Think... wedding experience! 

4. You don't have to spend a ton to get some awesome designs! Fun stamps are the perfect way to get super elegant, super glamorous, super easy DIY Save the Dates. 

So that's all I got for now... as soon as I have ordered our Save the Dates and put them all together I will share them with you all!!! I am pretty excited about them!!! They're by no means fancier than anything you will see above, but they are simple, clean, modern, funky, fun! 

xoxo, Nicole Rene

{Photo Credits} World Map Invites via Style Me Pretty, stationary by Lilah Paper, photography by Carla Ten Eyck // Woodsy Save the Date via Oh So Beautiful Paper, stationary by Ruby & Willow // Vintage Postcards via Green Wedding Shoes, photography by June Lion // Pop Art Save the Date via Swiss Cottage Design // Gold Embossed Save the Dates via Oh So Beautiful Paper, stationary by Antiquaria // Sticker Save the Dates via Oh So Beautiful Paper, stationary by Lemon Tree Paper Co.  [Unique Save the Dates] Tea Towel via Green Wedding Shoes, photography by He and She Photography // Scratch Off Save the Date via Oh So Beautiful Paper, stationary by Swiss Cottage Designs // Tag Save the Date via Ruffled, photography by Angela Renee // Viewmaster Invitations via Melangerie NYC // Coasters via Ice Cream Social, photography by Henry Chan [Stamp Save the Dates] Calligraphy Stamp via Kathryn Murray // Nautical Save the Date via Antiquaria // Southwestern Save the Date via Antiquaria // Fern Forest Save the Date via Antiquaria // Art Deco Hand Lettered Stamp via Antiquaria // Airmail Save the Date via Antiquaria