Blessings.

This year, I have had so many blessings and so many reasons to be thankful. Because of you Lucky Luxe lovers and supporters, we're expanding with the new year. I am leaving my day job in marketing and advertising so that I'll be even more available to all you precious people who have given me so much joy since I opened shop a little over a year ago. I hope to start producing some really unique new items in 2010 (for all you save-the-date shoppers) since the hankies have been such a hit. I'll be going out of town for a few days for the holiday, but until next time... Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank goodness for Francophile brides...

I just completed two new postcard save-the-date designs for Ali and Greg who are looking for something vintage French inspired for their wine country wedding. I loved them so much, I added them to the Lucky Luxe catalog this evening.

Inspired Bride

It's been an exciting week here at Lucky! Since we have made our new home on the web, The Inspired Bride featured a sweet entry on some of the customizable collection. If you've not yet stumbled upon Abby's beautiful blog, check it out. She has such an amazing eye for style.

Here we go!

Exciting news! The brand new Lucky Luxe website is set to launch today or tomorrow, so if you hit your bookmark and it doesn't bring you here, not to worry - just click 'blog' on the home page. Thanks for all your support and sweet words over the last year!

Website coming soon...

I think if I write it down in public so I count be held accountable, I am really going to finish designing the brand new website for Lucky-Luxe.com. The blog will still exist, but it won't be the real deal website (good news for me since I am a pitiful excuse for a blogger). In the mean time, I would love any suggestions for features you'd like to see on my website. Until next time...

Lucky Luxe featured in Well Wed, Weddings Unveiled

I was super excited today when one of my newest New York brides-to-be sent me articles from Well Wed in New York, Well Wed in the Hamptons and Weddings Unveiled featuring little blurbs about Lucky Luxe! This was a very pleasant surprise on a somewhat crummy Tuesday, so thanks Beth! :)

The Orchard Collection

Today's post is in honor of the upcoming season, the best season of all, autumn! I am so ready for the day I get to pull my favorite old cowboy boots and purple coat out of hibernation... One of my fabulous brides is getting married this November (it will be my own 1-year anniversary. I can't believe it!) and because she and her groom have a special affinity for all things outdoorsy and organic, I created the Orchard Collection as an option. Is there anything more autumnal than an apple? Candied apples, apple pies, apple cider, caramel apples... I could go on and on. The inks on these invites are a deep Macintosh red with metallic gold. I'd like to see the invites wrapped in twine and sealed with a red wax stamp and tucked into a kraft paper envelope. What are your thoughts?

Jim & Mallorie, part 3

Here is the final piece I'll be posting from my cousin Jim and college roommate Mallorie's wedding paper suite, a vintage postcard rehearsal invitation. The amazing photo is by Gulfportraits Photography based in Gulfport, Mississippi. I just loved the expansive sky and movie-quality kiss.. I'm so excited their wedding day is so soon!

Oh how I love silhouettes..

Although this one was customized for my sweet bride, Margaret and her fiance, Charles, I love this new vintage postcard design so much it will become a standard offering when I FINALLY establish a package catalog. It's in the same family as Gill & Nate's ski postcard, as you can see... There's just something so romantic about a silhouette.



What do you think?

Gillian & Nate's wedding!

No invitation suite has made me long for cold weather quite like this one. In Mississippi today, the high is 104 degrees with 90% humidity. You have no idea how oppressive the air outside my insulated office is. Designing these pieces made me imagine how crisp the Boston air will be for Gill and Nate's wedding this fall... I CAN'T WAIT for autumn! Because this pair met on their college snow skiing team, the sport is a sweet reminder of their relationship. Her wedding coordinator, Sarah of True Event, sent me this fabulous inspiration board to work from with a color palette designed by 100 Layer Cake.

Gill loves texture, so we incorporated a very subtle snowflake damask blind emboss in the paper with a simple, formal navy ink for the text. I found the crossed ski pole graphic on the back of a vintage postcard for a resort in Vermont and we all decided it was the very thing for an accent on the liners and other paper pieces. Printing begins on this suite in the next few weeks, so I am SUPER excited to see how the blind emboss turns out.

Weathered, worn... and FESTIVE.

The first thing Mallorie said when she saw their engagement party invites was: "I like it. It's FESTIVE!" Hopefully, guests will be excited to attend this little fiesta my brother and his wife are hosting too when this postcard arrives in the mail. I'm crazy about worn, weathered and painted textures but it's not an area I get to dabble in much with my stationery endeavours. This was just a fun afternoon project so I thought I would let it reflect the style of the city signs I also create:



Stay tuned for a formal/New England/ski themed wedding!

You can find us on the Martha blog!

Ben and I were really excited to find an entry about our wedding on the Martha Stewart Weddings blog this morning. Take a look-see if you'd like to read all about the creative process and details of our own wedding that took place in November of last year.

Print-at-home packages now available!

I'm excited to introduce my readers to Lucky Luxe's newest service - print-at-home packages and pricing. Our penny-pinchers deserve beautiful design too! By going this route, you can purchase a high-resolution, custom designed invitation for printing at home. In the coming weeks and months, I'll be establishing a ready-made collection with new pricing and a new catalog. For now, here's the pricing guide for print-at-home designs. Keep checking in!

Mallorie & Jim — sneak peak!

This bride and groom are near and dear to my heart for sure, so I would love to give my readers a little background about this precious couple. The groom, Jim, is my first cousin (a financial advisor and restauranteur), and the bride, Mallorie, my college roommate (an accountant with amazing interior design and fashion sense).



They met at my senior BFA thesis in my last week of college (an advertising campaign for Jim's restaurant, The Reserve), and were engaged one year later on the night of my wedding:



I couldn't wait to get started designing their suite (it's the first thing I thought of after "OHMYGOSH LOOK AT THAT RING!"). Because of their very cultured tastes and financial background (not only their careers, but Jim's restaurant is housed in the historical former First National Bank in our town), I was inclined to give the invitation a vintage stock certificate look, complete with gilded gold ink for the flourishes and olive for the text. The ceremony will take place in a garden beside an old plantation style home in our hometown, and in a nod to the couple's love for the Big Easy, a New Orleans jazz trio will be performing. For that reason, Mallorie asked if it would be possible to subtly incorporate a fleur de lis in the design (look closely!)



Check back later for more images of their final suite!

Nate & Gill

Here is another fun save-the-date postcard, this time for a couple who met on their college snow skiing team. Gillian, the bride, and Sarah of True Event are planning a subtly vintage-ski themed wedding to take place in Boston this coming fall. I can't wait to see what we will come up with for their invitation suite. Stay tuned!

Bienvenue!

I'm sorry for the delinquent posting! It's been crazy in the Lucky Luxe world lately, and I somehow always manage to neglect the one thing that brings in traffic.I'm going to start doing better (I hope!) Incidentally, I am working on a brand new website with all of the ready-made stationery suite options as well as custom offerings, so hopefully you'll have a new place to visit for Lucky loot.

Today's post is the Eilleen postcard, a save-the-date for a destination wedding in Louisiana. Eilleen and Trey met in the Cayman Islands, moved to Texas, and are celebrating their nuptials with fabulous Marie Antionette-ish French flair. There is a reason people love this theme — was there ever a better color combo than pink and aqua? I think not.

Business hankies!

When the extremely talented Dallas-based wedding photographer, Stacy Reeves, contacted me about purchasing business "card" hankies, I was thrilled by the possibility... I mean, can you imagine being a prospective client and taking home one of these precious momentos? You can feel the past lives of each little piece of cloth, imagine the tears they've dried, and feel connected to others' histories of love and joy. Thank you so much Stacy, for the wonderful photo. And I certainly won't take credit for the fantastic branding - that design belongs to Ashley Jankowski of For the Love of Creating and the new design boutique Luxecetera.

The Gatsby postcard

Today's post features the vintage postcard designed for Katie and Ben's upcoming wedding at a mansion on the shore in Connecticut. Since it will be an outdoor affair under a tent, Katie asked me to evoke a glamorous Gatsby-esqu fete. Her color palette of washed out turquoise, ink, and sunny yellow is perfectly refreshing together.

Kelsey/Roberts wedding

Today's post is the invitation suite for Shelley and Philip, a very cool couple from Ontario who were looking for a design that echoes their venue - vintage mariner, nautical (but not kitschy). Their color palette is fabulous - cool greyish blue, pomegranate, mustard and brown. I am especially excited about the airmail pattern around the mailing label, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it prints. I wish I could see this wedding in person because these two have oodles of style. What a fun couple!

The Kate postcard

I am in love with the colors from Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (and apparently everyone in the blog world is too) and I was thrilled to bits to get to use the color scheme in the reply card for Kate, my precious new client. Enjoy!

Lucky Luxe cards... Finally!

So I finally took some time for myself and made some Lucky Luxe business cards and envelopes. I'm so happy I splurged on the expensive paper because it makes all the difference in the world. Let me know if you'd like a sample because I've got an arsenal ready to mail!

Robinson stationery

You've seen the Robinson girls' personal stationery, and now their parents have their very own set too. I love the impressions the cotton paper took. Definitely one of the favorite stationery sets I've ever designed.

Baby Papelbon Birth Announcement

A while back I posted an image of Parker Papelbon's christening invitation, and now I'm finally able to post the main course - her birth announcement. Parker's sweet parents, Jonathan and Ashley, asked for something gold & pink, something angelic and sugary sweet. We inserted a photo of Parker that their family and friends can remove and keep.

Clark/Walker Save the Date

Today's piece came off the press yesterday! I designed this piece for Alisha Clark and Luke Walker, a couple of SUPER talented wedding photographers who are getting married in New York this coming June. She wanted to try mix and matching vintage handkerchiefs instead of using new hankies, so every guest will receive something unique in the mail! I think the imperfections, tears, and little stains make these heirloom pieces just... perfect! Thanks for the great photos, Alisha! :)

Gholson/McKelroy Save the Date

You'll be seeing more of this couple whose wedding is coming up in May! Today I'm posting an idea I had for their save-the-date. The gorgeous photo is by Wiljax Photographic Design

Rice/Patrick Booklets and Place cards

I just completed a little pocket guide book that will go in all of the out-of-town guests' welcome baskets. Inside are recommendations for the bride and groom's favorite restaurants, shops, and attractions in their home town. Also, I just finished up the place cards for the train depot rehearsal dinner!

Baby Papelbon

Newborn Parker's parents contacted me about a christening invitation and birth announcement (coming soon!) and I could only think of pink, purple and gold. You might recognize little miss Papelbon's name — her proud papa is the closer for the Boston Red Sox. Just imagine how fun a baseball themed baby boy announcement would have been!

The Robinson Girls

I just finished a letterpress stationery suite for the Robinson sisters, Lindsey and Kelsey. I only wish you could see the lovely nuances of the printing!

Rice/Patrick Rehearsal Dinner

Because this dinner is being held in the historic Laurel Train Depot, the bride wanted something train themed for the invitation. I designed a train boarding pass for all guests that would incorporate the nostalgia of the building into the invitation. The month and day will be hole punched, and the PM beside 7:00 circled with a red pen to give it authenticity. I also added a scan of the finished envelope (after mailing).

Gholson/McKelroy Wedding

I'm excited about the possibilities for type for this letterpress suite. The bride is looking for something formal and eccentric.

Napier Rehearsal Dinner

The invitation to our ultra-casual rehearsal dinner at Taylor Grocery. I used a fantastic new filter from Mr. Retro to give them a hand-printed look.

Myrick/Hembree Wedding

Letterpress wedding announcement for a Charleston, SC couple

Rice/Patrick Wedding

One of my favorite jobs ever, this is the custom letterpressed suite for the upcoming Rice/Patrick wedding. This suite uses a champagne metallic stock with a black belly band wrapping the invitation. Also shown is the hand printed handkerchief save-the-date design.

James/Daniels Wedding

This is a prospective client's concept invite. Modern and old, together.

Isaac Vance's 1st Birthday

Rasberry/Napier Wedding

Obviously I knew exactly what this client wanted. Something unusual, semi-formal, hinting at the elegance of a bygone era.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Lucky Luxe blog!

I will be adding images of stationery designs reasonably soon, so keep checking back.