ALESIA ZORN CALLIGRAPHY & ENGRAVING

I miss this bride!

I'm so excited!  I got a disk of photos from Stewart Harvey & Associates loaded up in the computer.  They're beautiful photos from the wedding of a delightful bride I had the pleasure of working with from her save the dates in November through the wedding this spring.  The photos are of the work I did for the wedding and reception...

   I designed a monogram to be used for the elements needed the day of the wedding.  These are the programs for the church.  The monogram was printed on a sheet of vellum, the program on text weight paper and the two tied together with the ribbon.  I provided the camera-ready artwork, the bride took care of the rest.

The monogram made it onto the menu as well.  If you've read past posts, this is the menu that featured my newest obsession, lavendar-pear cake.  The lettering for the menu is the flourished formal script I've been working on this year, in the monoline option.  I used it for the names of the menu items, but did not use the flourishes in the item description to help keep things more legible.

I also did the table numbers and escort cards, seen below.

I really enjoyed working with this bride and after working together so many months, I miss her!  The last time I saw her she gave me a big hug and said she's see me again, someday she'll need baby announcements.  I'm ready for her!

Menus for "Pimp My Warehouse"

I was asked to produce buffet card menus for the monthly ISES (International Special Events Society) meeting.  It was held in a car warehouse, the theme being "Pimp My Warehouse."  It was the coolest thing possibly ever.  There was an area of the warehouse separated by pipe & drape - the drape being chocolate brown velour.  I walked into the grooviest lounge space, with couches, cocktail tables, big plushy chairs - all in brown, red and white.  Very urban and very groovy!

It was my tortuous pleasure to do the menus that sat on the buffet tables.  The caterers were Premiere Catering, who I've raved about before - and I'll rave about them again.  The food was fantastic, as I commented on my facebook page, I wouldn't want to live in a world without Premiere Catering.

The meeting's theme was also very fun, I had a great time with the menus...

Here's a scan for a close up.

I lettered the menu on white watercolor paper.  I did the little red squares with red Inktense watercolor pencil, the lettering is done with a pointed pen in walnut ink and is based on Frank Lloyd Wright's Exhibition type.  The menu was mounted on the dark red squiggly 8.5x11 inch backer card with foam tape so there was some dimension.  The four red squares in the corners are also the red watercolor pencil, with free-form calligraphic marks made with the same pointed pen and walnut ink and mounted with foam tape as well. 

There were 2 different menus.  I'm going to be a bud and only tempt you with one.  Trust me, it was goooood.

I certainly enjoyed creating little works of art and do my small part to pimp the warehouse!

Earth's Best Friend

Once upon a time I worked at a radio station in South Carolina and "The Earth's Best Friend" was one of the positioning statements.  It was in the early '90s and we really tried to walk the talk.  It's a message that hit a nerve, and never more so than when I moved to environmentally-friendly Oregon.

I'm always investigating ways to bring being The Earth's Best Friend into the wedding and event world.  What can we do to reduce waste?  The Fates sent Molli of Soiree to me - she was approached by a local TV station to do a segment on green weddings and our phone conversation started with "Can you write on an apple?"  (I love phone conversations with Molli because the question "Can you write on ____?" is usually in there.  If you've read anything in my blog you know that blank is filled in with cool stuff.)

Well, I'd never written on an apple, but I knew it could be done - surely.  Voila!  An ecofriendly table number.  Also featured in the segment were a candle table number and a tabletop chalkboard menu... what unusual items would you like to see as part of your wedding or table decor?  Ask Molli, I love the unusual!

     Photos courtesy of my friend David at davidbarssphotographer.com

Bravo Wedding Affair - Feb 22, 2009

This coming Sunday is the next Bravo Wedding Affair.  It's a fantastic bridal show held at the Embassy Suites Downtown Portland.  Each ballroom and meeting room is assigned to a consultant who decorates their room with the assistance of the vendors in their room.  It's always so much fun to watch them create their visions!

At last November's show I did some work for Molli at Soiree Special Event Planning.  Her room's theme was "Hidden Garden".  I love Molli, some of my most exciting and creative projects have come from her and this was no exception - using birch bark as a place card/napkin ring and as a table number.  It's always a thrill to see how Molli incorporates my work into her overall design.  

These fantastic photos come from the generous and talented David of davidbarssphotographer.com  Make sure when you visit his website you see more of his wonderful work on his blog!      

   

Eco-friendly Table Decoration

  I'm always up for a challenge.  You know, the good, creative kind, not the crazy-making bad kind.  One of those challenges I love is elegant table decoration in an eco-friendly way.

 

This monogram is removable!  It's painted on with an ink that will clean off with a vinegar-based glass cleaner.

The vase is 2-1/2 feet tall and comes from Barclay Event Rentals.  At that great height I can easily see this being a table number as well.  The removable ink comes in a myriad of colors, it's so easy to match your decor!

Photo from Powers Studios.

Table Numbers

If you want a good time, go to a party hosted by event planners for event planners.  That's how I spent Tuesday night, at the annual gala for the Oregon Chapter of the Association of Bridal Consultants .  The party was planned by Soiree and held at The Nines, a gorgeous new venue in Portland, Oregon.  I was very happy to address the invitations in October and provide the table numbers for the big night.   

 

The theme was starry night and the venue has a very retro/mod feel, altogether fun elements to work with and a chance for me to break out!   The tented card is metallic silver, the blue strips a luscious metallic blue paper.  Inside the number is a watercolor wash with sparkly silver paint dropped in, best seen by candlelight!

Table Markers and Escort Cards

Here are some photos from a reception from another one of my lovely couples from this summer, Julie and Alex.  Big thanks to Paul from Paul Rich Studio for the great photos!

Monoline Italic escort cards:

Watercolor table numbers: 

 

Such A Delightful Family

I've been incredibly lucky to have worked with a great family all the way from Save-The-Dates in March through the wedding this past Saturday.  I loved working with the bride and mother-of-the-bride and the groom was great and patient during the first consultation (most grooms squirm like a 4-year old in church.)

My part of the wedding was providing calligraphed escort cards, table markers and not-your-usual guest "book."  Lauren, the bride, was such a joy to work with all along the way - and she was studying for the bar during the save-the-date and invitation stages.  Once we came to the final part she was downright fun.

The fun started with her choice of lettering, my Contemporary Celtic.  These are the escort cards.  For those unfamiliar with the term, escort cards tell guests at which table they're seated.  For these cards, the table assignment was written inside the card.

The table markers were sooo much fun to do.  I did a watercolor background in Aztec Gold and lettered table names over it, then mounted everything to metallic card stock.  The tables were named after whiskeys...

  Last, but not least, my favorite part of the project - the "guest book."  When Lauren and I discussed guest books, she told me she wanted something different.  She didn't want her guest to just sign their names on a line, she wanted them to leave a message.  After discussion about different types of books with different types of pages, I suggested a keepsake box with message cards.  She lit up.  More discussion, this time about boxes.  I'm so happy with the final result.

We commissioned a box from a local woodworker and while he worked on the box I worked on lettering the couple's names and wedding date.  Once both were done, off to the laser engraver! 

 

The cards and pens were on the table with the box, guests were asked to leave a message.  I did the first one to get people started.

I'm so happy to have met these wonderful people and to have had a small part in their gorgeous day, but sad to say good bye to them. Although I also do birth announcements... :-)

Big thanks to Cindy Rosen of Encore Events who took photos for me because I was far too impatient to wait to share!

Lovely Jamaica Couple

I'm just catching my breath after what I'm happy to say was a very busy summer.  One of my lovely couples were Candice & Cameron, they were delightful to work with.  Indeed, I did in fact work with both bride and groom, that's pretty rare.  Early in the summer I addressed their wedding invitations, later I did their table markers.

They happen to live down the street from me in Portland but their wedding was in Jamaica.  Believe you me, I tried to talk them into taking along a calligrapher to their destination wedding but it didn't work.  Since I couldn't be there, I asked for pictures. 

The table markers are from Lark Press. Jean at Lark Press does the most gorgeous work, as this card clearly proves. As with most letter press, you really need to touch it to appreciate it! I'm thrilled Jean refers client to me so I get to see her custom work. She's so talented! (The bird, btw, is The Doctor Bird, a species of hummingbird and the national bird of Jamaica. There, you learned something today!)

If you're in the Portland area you can't go wrong by heading to Lark Press at 3901 N. Williams. You'll find lovely notecards, papers, books, darling children's attire, scented soaps... can you tell it's one of my favorite stops? As if that weren't enough, there's a Pix Patisserie next door.

The photos come from Saab Weddings, a photography studio in Montego Bay. All of the photos Candice sent me were stunning but I had to pick just one to share with you, it literally took my breath away!