Ikat patterns–what’s not to love?!

If you don’t already know … Ikat is a technique–a way of tie-dying yarn to make a pattern before the fabric is woven and one of the oldest techniques for beautifying fabrics. No wonder this “trend” is so long-lasting! This gorgeous patterning style is here to stay! And lucky for us–modern processes make it possible to enjoy these gorgeous patterns–on everything from textiles to dinnerware to–wedding stationery!

That said, curating Behind the Design today is Lisa–our graphic designer behind “Bohemian Ikat” our featured Save the Date design. Here she is to share her wedding inspiration from this timeless and unique patterning style.

“Ikat is such a versatile pattern. It has the same zig and zag as classic Chevron, but adds oomph with its jagged edges and syncopated shapes woven throughout. Use it on your reception tables, a clutch carried by your bridesmaids, borders for your signage, and of course on your stationery to add character to your wedding day.

You can choose the level of attention drawn by this pattern. Want to make an emphatic statement? Use bright, bold hues in contrasting colors. Want to keep is subtle? Use the trick employed on this Save the Date design: using complementary colors such as orange and blue, make the primary color a pastel and let the other add punch in its true form.”

What are your thoughts on Ikat? How would you use it in your wedding?

Images: plate, pillow, tile, bouquet, poppy in glass

Remember Danielle and Eric’s real wedding and the hurricane that took them by storm? Well, we simply could not pass up sharing their engagement session too … this time taking New York City by storm. This mega metropolis impromptu location couldn’t have played out more perfectly for documenting Danielle and Eric’s love story. Lights, camera, action–so much excitement and  loads of visual interest. Here’s Danielle to tell us about their session in the city that never sleeps, their fearless photographer and the rest of their unforgettable weekend.

Locations: Times Square, New York City … Morgan Park in Glen Cove, NY … Long Island, NY.
Photographer: Zac Thomas

“Our engagement shoot was so amazing!! After almost two years of going back and forth with Zac Thomas {who I initially found via a Facebook ad} about how amazing his photographs were and how different his work was from traditional engagement shoots, Eric finally popped the question. Zac was one of the first people I contacted upon being proposed to. I knew, even years prior, that I wanted him to capture our day. The engagement shoot was included as part of his package, as he uses it as a way to get to know the couple prior to the big day and get a feel for the kind of photos they are looking for at their actual wedding. He flew into New York and decided to stay in the city for the weekend–this was his first time.

The original plan was just to find a park or a beach that we could go to and get some shots that Saturday for our engagement shoot, but Zac emailed me as he landed in NY, “What are you guys up to after work? Why don’t you come meet me in the city and we’ll get some city shots tonight and do the park stuff tomorrow?” Well, we raced out of our 9-5’s and met him by 7PM, casually dressed, no frills, just out to take some pics in the city and get a feel for Zac’s photography. Needless to say, we all became fast friends.

Zac was literally laying down in the middle of Times Square, stopping traffic, just to get the shots he wanted. There wasn’t a cab driver in the city that was a fan of Zac that night!

We expected to have traditional city shots in front of notable buildings, since Zac was a tourist of New York–but we wound up in random staircases of restaurants, outside parking garages, and in front of random candy trucks.  Zac made it a point to go past a few barriers in Rockefeller Center to get a couple shots he wanted to! I have a theater background, so we stopped to take a few pics in front of one of the theaters I had worked in and used the parking garage attached to it as a “theater space” for photos–which wound up coming out amazing- so amazing. I actually used a few of them as head shots, eventually.

We also took a few shots in a random subway hallway, which to this day, I recognize every time we pass it in the city- it was a little grimy and disgusting, but the shots came out gorgeous!

We went back to the parking garage and he decided to take a bunch of shots of Eric and I in the elevator, as it was closing and got an amazing stream of shots of the doors closing.

As we drove Zac back to his hotel, he decided to take a shot of my ring in the back of Eric’s car … going full speed down the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and it managed to come out like he did it in a perfectly still room!

The next day, we did our shoot as planned, going to Morgan Park in Glen Cove, NY–which was always a special place for me to take photos as it has so much variety–as far as backgrounds go.

We finished up in Long Beach, New York and Zac even managed to get us to “go a little crazy” getting soaking wet in the ocean for some amazing shots!! We finished up by taking a picture on the very bench that we shared our first date, and that Eric eventually proposed to me on …

It really was an amazing experience and I really can’t say enough about Zac Thomas’ work!

Amazing indeed! Courageous, audacious … we love every urban and beach-y detail of this weekend-long engagement session! Congratulations to you all three of you on your fun, adventurous session! Interested in learning more about Zac Thomas? Well by all means, learn more about his fearless photography style here…

Congratulations Danielle & Eric!

xo

Welcome to Color Monday!

Today we’re going to lighten up our color palettes! We’re celebrating the ability to completely transform wedding invitations with color by flipping them all around. We’re going to take dark and serious designs and only switch the color to make them light and airy…

Here is Wall of Love, a beautiful wedding invitation with a cute little monogram and awesome swirls. (You should check out the folded invites! so pretty!) But instead of black we’re going to use Dusty Rose. Instantaneously the whole feeling of the design changes. The swirls become lacy and delicate. Instead of a serious and formal black and white wedding I have visions of pretty pink flowers perhaps even at a garden wedding.

Next we’ll play with Stemming Flowers, a great wedding invitation with a strong fall color combination. Just tweaking the colors to be more muted with lavender and gray this design would work wonderfully for a relaxed, springtime wedding. I can almost smell the lilacs and lavender.

And of course we’ve saved the best for last. We’ve taken the design, Abstract Flowers, and transformed the wedding invitation with brand-new colors. Flipping the black to white and swapping “coral” for the deep purple we have completely changed the look of this invitation. Using one of your favorite colors really makes a difference.

You can use ANY color you love and you can use it on ANY of our wedding invitations. Feel free to try your colors inside Design Studio, our online personalization tool. It is easy to see exactly what your invitation would look like in the color of your dreams! No need to order up front, just go play with color.

What favorite color would you love to use?

For those of you who really pay attention, we’ve done this before and just might do it again. Any suggestions on color or designs to try out?