BellaBliss Design

Whitney + Sean's Invitation

2008-04-26T19:11:00.007-04:00

I have to say, this is the busiest spring! It's been totally nuts but weddings are getting more creative then ever.

I've been working with Whitney for the last couple of months on her invitations. She wanted the invites to creatively connect to their save the dates, but stay true to traditional wedding invitations. The result? A beautiful and elegant invitation keeping with the art nouveau theme. The invitation, response and direction card is wrapped with a gorgeous silk green ribbon (I am so loving this green!). And Whitney ordered these great custom stamps I highly recommend to all my brides. It's a great way to tie your theme together while also keeping up with the raising postal prices!

Whitney also wanted a smoother paper compared with my house sheet, Crane Lettra, that has a cotton texture and I found this great fine art paper that's ultrasmooth and prints brilliant color. I will definitely use this premium sheet in the future, especially for portrait invitations.

Chris + Courteney

2008-04-01T21:00:00.004-04:00

Chris and Courteney really wanted to use their engagement photo for their save the dates. We had a great idea to take the picture on a boat and superimposed the date over the actual name of the boat! But with their schedules and the end of summer nearing last year, they weren't able to get the picture taken in time.

Never give up hope though! Chris and Courteney went through photos they had of themselves and found a great photo. I retouched and turned black and white for a classic look. We incorporated their wedding theme and color of navy and scallop shells. A very simple, classic look for a classy couple!

Jessica + Scott

2008-02-03T16:35:00.000-05:00

Last post for today (got to watch the Pats play!). I thought I would share something I'm actually working on today. I met Jessica a week ago. She fell in love with the Hydrangea Collection and needed a save the date ASAP. But she needed to add hotel and reception dinner information. Unfortunately, the A2 card currently in the collection was too small. So I designed a tea length card, in the same style, to fit all the information. Worked perfectly!

Whitney + Sean

2008-02-03T16:16:00.000-05:00

Whitney wrote to me wanting a custom save the date in the art nouveau style for their summer wedding. It's been awhile since I've worked in that style but I was excited to get started. I designed three options, using elements from some samples Whitney sent me through e-mail (she lives in PA). I designed a poster, which could be rolled, tied with ribbon and sent to guests in a tube, a bookmark (I'll post later) and a simple card. She loved the poster idea and design, but decided it was easier to send the card. So above is the final result! They both loved it. She just sent me an e-mail saying it's getting rave reviews!

Aldrich Mansion

2008-02-03T15:35:00.000-05:00

I just finished Whitney + Sean's save the dates (see earlier post) and now I'm in the process of designing their invitations. Sometimes, for custom designs, I like to visit the ceremony/reception site for inspiration. So I stopped by Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, RI. I met with Delia (extremely helpful!) and she gave me a tour. What a site! I know it's in the middle of winter but even so, it was still incredible (I'll have to stop by this summer). The images above are just a glimpse inside. And what I really loved about this site, besides the incredible mansion and the gorgeous water views, was the chapel right next to the mansion. Speaking from a guest's point-of-view, this is soooo convenient.

Christmas Party Invitations

2008-02-03T15:24:00.000-05:00

So, I've got some catching up to do! Let's see, this past Christmas, Schryver Publications, who publishes Southern New England Wedding Guide, asked me to create their Christmas party invitation. I was totally honored and excited! As with all custom jobs, I created three designs from scratch (as shown above). The invitation in the middle is the one they chose (which was my fav too! I love mixing up typestyles). And 350 invitations later (WHEW!), off they went.

It's already 2008?

2008-01-29T22:05:00.000-05:00

Since my last post was at the end of last summer, I'd say it's been awhile! But our new web site is up and running with lots of new projects to share. And of course, we've had our hands full with the new addition to the family, Brinn Delilah. She is extremely sweet and fitting right in with our other greyhound Lillian.

Block Island invitation

2007-08-25T18:23:00.000-04:00

So on our trip to Block Island, my husband takes a snapshot of a fudge sign painted on a building in the middle of town. I didn't think anything of it but when we got home and looked at all the photos, we had an idea. Pictued above is the invitation suite inspired by that photo. A 7" sqaure invitation with an outline of the island, a heart where the wedding would take place and a mixture of fonts evoking the "fudge" sign and the laid back feeling of the island. The woven fabric backing adds to the seaside rustic feel.

This invitation will soon be posted on the new site, but if you have any comments or questions, feel free to post!

Vacation

2007-08-24T17:34:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Went on a much needed vacation, almost finished my fall collection, worked on a few more jobs and then designed a whole new web site. Now I really need a vacation again!

One of many day trips we took was to Block Island (off the coast of Rhode Island). A great place to relax and enjoy. And then I thought, "What a great place to have a wedding!" I know many do and I always manage to catch one when I visit on the weekend. Pictured above is one of many places to have a wedding, the Spring House Hotel. With a victorian feel and a great water view. I've been inside a few times but never for a wedding, just the martinis!

I was so inspired by this island, I decided to create a wedding invitation suite (coming soon). And it got me thinking, I know there are tons of places in the New England area to have a beautful wedding but I would love to hear from you about the ones that aren't necessarily known and truly inspiring, because if so, I might be inspired again and again! So please post your idea of a truly inspiring wedding site (under comments) and we'll have to go on some more day trips!

Vintage bike for two

2007-08-01T20:12:00.000-04:00

Another new invitation just added to the growing fall collection. This invitation set is inspired by a drawing I found of a vintage bike for two. These are for couples who love vintage and the idea of saying "as we travel through life together".

New fall collection

2007-07-30T07:40:00.000-04:00

Fall will soon be here! A great time to launch our new collections. We'll start off with the Kathy and Katrina Collections.

Both collections were inspired by a font I recently found that has an old world, handwritten quality. I combined the old world look with natural elements using small icons and deep colors. These invitations would be a wonderful compliment to any outdoor wedding. The invitations measure 5" x 5" and are accompanied by a 4Bar response card.

Vintage Collection

2007-07-29T18:59:00.000-04:00

If you've checked out my website, you'll notice some preview buttons with "coming soon". I expected to update relatively quick but since I uploaded the web site back in April, I haven't had a chance to updated it since! Hence the birth of my blog because it's so unbelievable easy to post here. So, if you ever have any questions, please feel free to email or comment here.

So this goes out to Lauren who is curious about my Vintage Collection. Above are the three invitations that are original to the collection (see an upcoming post about the new fall collection which includes more vintage-like themes). These three invitations are actually inspired by vintage wallpaper (one of my favorite things) and is accompanied by corresponding response card with matching borders.

Twin baby announcement

2007-07-25T19:50:00.000-04:00

My friend Kim just gave birth to the most adorable little twins. I couldn't resist designing an announcement for little Myles and Madelyn (and Mom loved it!). The announcement arrives tied with a sheer white ribbon and a cover card announcing their birth. When you untie, cards appear for each twin creating a card chain attached by ribbon which then can be hung as a momento.

Michelle's save the date

2007-07-23T21:49:00.001-04:00

Tonight I've been working on Michelle's save the date sample. She loved Allison and Michael's save the dates and wanted the "tie the knot" theme for her Cape Cod wedding. She added her own touch, using navy blue as her primary color for a true nautical look and feel.

Dawn's baby shower

2007-07-21T20:24:00.001-04:00

Well, tomorrow is one of my best friend's first baby shower. It's a surprise but nothing passes her by. But I hope at least she's surpised by the shower invitation. I created three designs and her mom and sister-in-law picked this one since Dawn's favorite color is purple and it is as fun and bright as she is. She has no idea what the sex is so the colors reflect more of her then the baby right now. We will soon see though! She's due towards the end of August.

If you check out my web site, you'll realize my baby collection is still not up and running. I'm still buried under all the weddings! But since the baby bug is definitely going around, I should have plenty of ideas to inspire me. Check back soon for more or you can always email me if you're interested in a custom design.

Alicia's wedding stationery

2007-07-21T20:04:00.000-04:00

And they're off! Alicia's invitations are packed up and ready to go, for arrival on Monday.

Also for Alicia, are the new designs for the table cards, escort cards and simple programs for the ceremony. Instead of a full booklet, which can run into a bit of an expense not to mention loads of paper, you can use a simple card. Here, the program mimics the square of the invitation listing all the information for the ceremony. The only time you do want to have a full booklet for your program is if you would like to include full readings, poems, dedications to loved ones and pictures. For more saving tips, only order one program per couple/single (with a few extra). I create a program for each person at our wedding and I ended up taking half of them home.

Alicia's invitation

2007-07-19T20:34:00.000-04:00

I'm currently printing Alicia's custom invitation inspired by the Dandy Collection. She saw the collection on the web and loved the motif but wanted a few changes to make it her own. We customized the green color to match her save the dates, changed the 5" x 7" size to a square, and added chestnut brown for the text. Before inserting into the inner and outer envelopes, each invitation will be wrapped with a chesnut ribbon belly band for that punch of color.

Wedding Invitation

2007-07-17T18:10:00.000-04:00

Just received Sara's invitation. They are beautiful! I love the pattern and the small Swarovski crystals.

Sara is a designer and friend who needed some help with her invitations. We bounced ideas and color choices back and forth almost every day. She finally created this elegant design in tea length and I printed on Crane Lettra paper in Flouresant white. She was also the lucky one who had the task of cutting, gluing and stuffing! But the outcome was well worth it. I love the punch of green the ribbon adds, as well as keeping the direction and response card all together when her guests pull out of the envelope.

Great job Sara! Can't wait to see the wedding.

New letterpress

2007-07-16T19:19:00.000-04:00

Finally!! After searching for a year and a half, we have finally purchased a C&P Pilot. Thanks, Tony! We drove to Paxton, MA to pick this baby up in my little VW Golf. We then looked high and low for a strong enough table to hold the 200 pound letterpress and actually found this old table that was left in the basement of our home by the original owners. Some of the wood they used is from old fruit crates (with the graphics still on it). Works for us.

It's been awhile since our college printing days, but as soon as we purchase the supplies, we'll be up and running. Of course, we won't be using the press for stationery until we learn the ins and outs of this particular press, but we hope to have some fun with this little guy while still using EM Press for all our letterpress stationery.

Jennifer + Gavin's Wedding

2007-07-14T13:48:00.000-04:00

This weekend we delivered Jennifer and Gavin's wedding stationery to the Lighthouse Inn in West Dennis on Cape Cod, MA. Even though we delivered their package at night, the place was quite beautiful and so quaint – right on the water!

They wanted to model their wedding stationery after Allison and Michael's "tie the knot" theme but with their own special twist. We designed seven different nautical knots for their seven different tables and each guest was directed to their seat by their knot. Above is the single-card program (a great money saver) and the place setting menu.

Congrats to Jennifer and Gavin!