Wedding Project: Seating Chart

I know that I promised to update you on the bathroom shower project today, but I went to take a final "after" picture and the uncleanliness of the shower made me scream hold off.  I will try to clean it tonight and get some good photos for a post tomorrow though.  So, I apologize to any of you who were really looking forward to hearing about how we patched the hole.  That sounds weird, but I guess if it happened to us, then there might be some other people out there going through the same thing and looking for some quick fix ideas.  I promise to fill you in tomorrow though, so stay tuned!!
Now, instead of our regularly scheduled programming, I thought I would take this opportunity to share a recent wedding project that I did for a friend.  Betsy is a fun, outgoing, creative, witty, passionate person, so it was an absolute pleasure to be a part of her special day (I doubled as a "wedding coordinator" as well as a guest at the wedding....YAY).  Her dream was to have a simple, elegant, vintage-inspired wedding at a winery in NH (which she accomplished beautifully, by the way), but she just needed a little help to pull everything together on the day of.  Everything was pretty much organized when I arrived at the venue to set things up, so it went REALLY smoothly considering it was my first "coordinating" job.  I haven't had a chance to talk to her very much about her thoughts on the whole event (she is currently on her honeymoon) but based on comments from my fellow guests, everything was perfect.  It was a beautiful day and I had an awesome time....EVEN at 30 weeks pregnant!  Now that's saying something, right?

But, not only did I help her out with some last minute details on the day-of, she also commissioned me to do a seating chart for the event.  This is definitely not a new concept in the bridal world, but it has become more popular in recent years.  Her brother and sister-in-law had one done for their wedding a few years ago and it stuck with her, so she knew that she wanted something that would function as a seating chart for the reception, but would also be a great memento to hang on the wall of her dining room for years to come.  So that is where I came in.  And although it is fairly common these days, it was MY first seating chart. 
Here it is:

What do you think?  Did you have something like this done at your wedding?  Or would you like to have it done for an upcoming wedding or event?  Just email me at simplebeautifulhome@gmail.com with some details of your event (number of guests, time frame, etc.) for a custom quote.  I will probably take some time off when the baby is born (early August or so), but I will be back in action in mid-September for all of your calligraphy-related needs.  I have noticed that there are a lot of vendors out there offering a similar product on Etsy, but for the most part they are just providing you with an electronic file to go print at your local Kinko's or Staples.  If time is an issue, then I would recommend going that route (and I would happily create that for you as well), but I think that hand-drawn calligraphy is a lot more personal and unique.  And this seating chart only took me about a week to turn around, so the time difference really isn't an issue.  It's really just up to you and the look that you are going for.  If you have a more modern style, then maybe calligraphy isn't the right way to go.  Although I've seen some where you just do block printing instead of calligraphy and it looks really clean and simple.  So, that's an option too!

And of course, I also do escort cards and place cards, if that is more up your alley.  Here are the ones I did for my own wedding a few years ago.....

But enough business talk....here are some photos of the reception (what you've been waiting for all along, I'm sure).  We really did have an AWESOME time.....so thank you Betsy and Rory for sharing your special day with us!!!


Me and the hubby.....yes, he's wearing seersucker.  Haha.  He's so handsome!!



My wonderful brother (also the DJ) and I. 
Check out his website for more info.... http://www.mikekoutrobis.com/

 

Best buds from work.  And as you can see, I've already changed into my sandals!!
 I think we were about 10 minutes into dancing at that point.




All of us with the beautiful bride!



I'm not sure which song this was, but according to the photos we have, it's certainly not the
only one that we are singing like this in.  And I'm the sober one of the bunch......


There were a lot more photos on our camera that night, but I think I'll just leave you with this batch since it's the most tame.  Haha.  Don't you just love weddings though??  They are so much fun and it is so wonderful to see two people that are truly in love!!  We have two more left to go to this year.....September and October, so I'm really looking forward to those as well.  In fact, the September one might be the first night that we are away from the little one....PARTAY!!!  Haha...I say that now, but I'm sure it's going to be really hard to leave him.  Any advice on how to make the transition easier???  I'm all ears!!

Wedding Menu

Hi everyone!  Hope you all had a nice long holiday weekend!  We just got back home last night after a little jaunt to Bar Harbor/Winter Harbor for a few days.  It is always so great to get away from everything, but I feel like the work week hits me that much harder when I've been resting all weekend long.  Ugh!  But when the alarm clock went off this morning it was back to reality!  A reality filled with a busy work week and a very special client wedding project. 

I am really excited about this one!  I love doing all sorts of wedding projects, big and small.  Even addressing envelopes is kind of fun for me (I know...this is where you start to understand my craziness).  But, back to my new project.  This bride is a friend of mine and she is having her wedding at the Boston Public Library (gorgeous!!!) this coming weekend.  I am only working on one piece of the puzzle, but it sounds like it is going to be an absolutely amazing event!!  Her theme, if you can call it that, seems to be italian-influenced romance.  There will be old poetry books on the tables with lots of flowers and candlelight.  The library is a beautiful spot as is, but with all of this ambiance,  it is sure to wow the guests!  And I hope that my added touch will help her vision all come together. 

I'm working on a handwritten scroll-looking menu the size of a poster.  It will be placed at the entrance to the dining area so the guests can stroll by it whilst finding their seats for dinner.  I believe it will be showcased on an easel.  I have sketched it all out, so all I need to do is work on the coloring and detail.  The paper is a very fine parchment paper that looks beautiful and worn, but is often difficult to do calligraphy on.  I tested out a piece last night and it took well to it, I just might need to go very.....very slowly!  Pain is beauty my friends.  I am also adding in some vine work with grapes to give the piece a little pop of color.  Her palette includes brown, gold, purple and green, so the vines will hopefully tie into the flowers and other decor! 

I will take some photos tonight when I'm finished and share them tomorrow!!