Invitations for a Château Wedding

Do people really get married in Châteaus in France? Or, is it just one of those fairy tales that girls dream about? Well, I know of at least one couple who is doing just that, and when I saw their venue, it was like it was painted from a dream.

photo from Corbin Gurkin Photography

Claire and Adam contacted me recently to design the invitations for their 2010 wedding at the gorgeous Château de Challain in France. They decided to go with a classic hand-deckled monogram invitation, with ivory cardstock, a scarlet ribbon knot, and a metallic bronze backing. Their guests are just starting to receive the invitations this week, so below is just a little preview.

Since the couple is based out of Asia, the domestic invitations were stamped, addressed, and sent out by Pink Orchid Designs, and the international invitations were packaged with pink ribbon and shipped out together.

I just can't get over how beautiful the venue is. If only there were places like this in Boston!

~Emilie

Pink Carnival Birthday Invitations!

Last month, I blogged about the fun carnival theme birthday invitations that I created for Hudson here. Since then, I've gotten requests for similar invitations, and for one particular client, she loved everything about it, but just requested that I add a bit more pink for her daughter, who LOVES pink!

Even though I know you have seen this invitation before, I thought it would be a nice way to show how color can transform the look of an invitation. I changed the original blue and orange color combination to a hot pink and light pink color combination. The lights on the ferris wheel along with the cotton candy were hand-glittered, and the invitation was made of a pearlescent white metallic cardstock. Paired with a pink envelope, this invitation is ready for any little girl's birthday party!

Any invitation from Pink Orchid Designs can be completely customized to the colors that you like, or changed around to suit the needs for your particular event. Email me at info@pinkorchiddesigns.com for more information!

~Emilie

Photos of Chelsey and David's Wedding from Erica Lyn Photography!

Earlier this year in August, Fiona and I were the day-of coordinators for Chelsey and David's spectacular wedding on Moosehead Lake in Maine. All of the incredible details were covered an earlier blog entry here. Now, this post is to finally show the professional photos, and I absolutely love them! Erica Lyn of Erica Lyn Photography is truly a hidden gem, and she's one of my favorite wedding photographers. The second shooter for this wedding was Meredith Perdue of & Unlimited Photography. All of the photos from this nautical themed wedding were stunning, and it was so hard to pick favorites!

photos from Erica Lyn Photography

As you can see, I squeezed in three times the number of photos through collages! I highly recommend clicking on each photo to get an enlarged view. If you can't get enough of this wedding, you can read Chelsey's wedding recap posts as a blogger on WeddingBee. There are so many more photos to see!

Just being part of weddings like these is such an honor, and so much fun! If you're interested in day-of coordination from Pink Orchid Weddings, just fill out our contact form here!

~Emilie

Personalized Bridesmaid Gifts

One of the best things about a wedding is that you get to share the special day with your friends and family. Not only that, but you get to pick the people who you want standing next to you as you make your vows to the love of your life. My bridesmaids included my two sisters, and three close friends, and I wanted to make their gifts as personalized as possible.

First, was some personalized stationery. Each bridesmaid got two sets of stationery with matching colored envelopes, and a white Sakura gelly roll pen for the darker envelopes. It was personalized with their name and address, and with a design just for them. The cards fit in A2 sized envelopes, and had rounded corners.

Second, was a handkerchief with their first name initial embroidered in pink. Just in case tears flowed during the ceremony (and they did!), I wanted to give them a nice way to dab their tears. I also got one for myself in blue (as my something blue), which I had my husband hold for me during the ceremony in his tux pocket. One thing that I didn't account for was how they were supposed to hold the handkerchiefs down the aisle. They ended up saving the gift for another day, and just stuffed kleenex tissues in their bouquets for the ceremony!

Third, was a photo album filled with printed photos of each bridesmaid with me throughout the years. It was a boxed frame, where the top could be pulled out to store at least 40 photos inside. These three things along with a card to each of my bridesmaids, were wrapped up in large pink and white tote bags, which were labeled with name tags attached with fuschia satin ribbon.

The last four photos were taken by BKB Photography

I gave them their gifts in our hotel room right after all of our makeup and hair were done, and dresses were on. I really wanted to go through and give a small speech about what they all mean to me, but I barely got two words out and had to stop, because my makeup would have been gone! I think my expression said it all, and they knew how I felt without me having to say anything. So, if I were to give advice to any brides, do the gift giving before your makeup is done if you're the type to get emotional. That way, you can say what you really want to say, and cry away on a clean face!

~Emilie

Noah's Red Egg and Ginger Party!

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Grace to plan and coordinate a Red Egg and Ginger party for her new baby. Her son, Noah, turned one month old this past Saturday, and around 50 guests came over to her home to celebrate!

In Chinese culture, red egg and ginger parties are held on the baby's first month birthday. Parents introduce their baby to friends and family and also the baby's name is usually announced. Traditionally, red-dyed eggs are given out to guests, symbolizing happiness and the renewal of life. Also, a broth is usually offered to guests made of ginger, pig's feet, eggs, and vinegar. The "one month" mark has its origin in ancient Chinese culture. Infant mortality rates were quite high in China prior to the advances of medicine, so babies who reached their one month birthday were likely to survive, and the event was celebrated. (Source)

This party had all of the traditional elements, plus more! Lunch was catered by China Pearl, with all the food set up in buffet stations with warming trays so the food stayed hot for the entire party. The menu included the following: Dim Sum Sampler, Jumbo Shrimp Combination (Spicy Garlic Salt and Walnut Flavored), Silverback Fish with Chinese Mixed Vegetables, Stir Fried Noodles, Sticky Rice with Pork and Vegetables, and Red Bean Soup. In addition to the catered food, three whole chickens were served, along with red-dyed eggs and ginger soup.

Red linens covered all of the tables, and a huge fruit display from Edible Arrangements brightened up the room, with daisy cut pineapples, chocolate covered strawberries, canteloupe, honeydew, and grapes. Red and gold balloons adorned the front of the house as well as the guestbook table. Grace's friend created a painting of an ox, symbolizing the 2009 "year of the ox", which was placed on the fireplace mantle. I wrote Noah's Chinese name on both sides of large pieces of metallic gold and red paper, which were strung on fishing line in the doorway along with two red lanterns. Mini bottles of Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. were given out to guests as favors, and they also enjoyed a lion dance performance at the beginning of the party. Here are photos of some of the details!

The party was a lot of fun, and guests were stuffed from all of the food! Thank you, Grace, for allowing me to be part of this special celebration!

~Emilie

Photos of Kristin and Anand's Wedding from Eric Limón Photography

Fiona and I were the day-of coordinators for Kristin and Anand's wedding back in September, and we blogged about the details in a previous post here. Now, we finally have the professional photos back from Eric Limón Photography, and we are so excited to show them to you!

This gorgeous outdoor wedding was held at the bride's family home. The ceremony was in the beautifully landscaped garden, and the reception was in a Sperry tent just around the other side of the house.

We were so happy to be part of this wedding. I love how the tent is so illuminated at night! If you're looking for a day-of coordinator for your wedding, contact us at info@pinkorchidweddings.com!

~Emilie

A guest blogger for Big Fat Cake!

photo from Big Fat Cake

Today, I was a guest blogger for Big Fat Cake, a site dedicated to educating and helping brides and grooms plan their wedding with less time and worry. In my post, I distinguish the differences between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator. If you're interested, check out my post here!

~Emilie

Bilingual Thank You Cards

After designing their wedding invitations, Nicole and Gary asked that I create "thank you" cards in a similar theme and style. I created a few samples for them to see, and they ended up choosing two different styles. One was a bilingual thank you card, in both Chinese and English, with their names in the lower right hand corner. The other had a branch of flower blossoms that matched their wedding invitation, with the words "thank you".

I love the bilingual thank you card, because with the Chinese characters on it, it's modern, simple, and a nice way to embrace the Chinese culture. The two sets of cards were made of a pearlescent white metallic cardstock, and were paired with silver metallic envelopes.

If you're interested in these thank you cards, or a custom design, feel free to email me at info@pinkorchiddesigns.com.

~Emilie