it’s incredible to think how quickly time flies by! one of our 2011 couples, hyun and joseph celebrated their 1st anniversary this week. ONE YEAR!! and what an eventful year it’s been ! in honor of this milestone, we thought we’d share some of the amazing imagery from their beautiful day in old poway park, courtesy of their uuber talented photographer, evan bishop of evan bishop photography.

absolutely STUNNING! love the rustic touches throughout the park.. from the old railroad cars, wrought iron details, & wood facades to the wildflowers & beautiful stonework, and ESPECIALLY how they all contrast so elegantly against hyun in her gorgeous dress and feather fascinator, and joseph looking dapper in his black suit. here are a couple of my favs..

i suppose i should also briefly touch on the their fabulous ideas and details that we also put into their paperie! (promise, this will be quick, so we can get back to all the amazing imagery ). as is the beauty with custom projects, both hyun and joseph were excited to incorporate unique personal touches. and after some discussion we came up with a number of lovely ways to do just that. red lanterns were going to be playing a large part in the decor throughout the day, so to bring things together we used stylized lanterns on both the front and back of their invitation, with the largest highlighted with the chinese double happiness character. and as a fun nod to their korean and chinese heritage, not only did we include their names in their languages (korean for hyun and chinese for joseph), we also designed chibi-style caricatures of the lovely couple wearing their respective traditional wedding outfits.

ultimately, our little chibi couple made appearances throughout their day-of stationery as well as on the favors which were given to guests — custom M&Ms. not just tags attached to the little boxes.. but ON the M&Ms themselves. how awesome is that??

ok, back to lusciously beautiful photography..

hyun and joseph, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your wedding day, from start to finish. it was an even greater honor to have the opportunity to be there on your big day on top of it all! happy happy 1st anniversary, and here’s to many many more amazing ones to come.

]]> http://www.bamboostarstudios.com/inviteblog/?feed=rss2&p=1105 0 http://www.bamboostarstudios.com/inviteblog/?p=1063 http://www.bamboostarstudios.com/inviteblog/?p=1063#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:18:26 +0000 admin http://www.bamboostarstudios.com/inviteblog/?p=1063

yesterday morning i received news that at long last, a good friend – an officer in the marine corps officer, is on his way home after a yearlong deployment in afghanistan. it goes without saying that i was ecstatic. for him, to finally be coming home safe and sound. for his wife and family, to no longer have to worry. and for all the rest of the men and women and their families who will also be ending this long journey.. until the next time anyway.

and after basking in relief and a long moment of thanks, i was inspired to share a little project we did last november for the us marine corps ball here at home in san diego. if anyone deserves a party, it’s our men and women in uniform.. and they should have one thrown every day. or at least once a month. anyone with me on that? at least for the marine corps, every november, it is officially decreed that everyone celebrate with a birthday ball — in this case, celebrating 236 years.

i’m sure you’ll all remember, last year’s marine corps ball(s) all over the country were big in the news due to the attendance of celebrities like justin timberlake and mila kunis. even san diego’s celebration had a brush with fame with the oc’s kristin cavallari accepting a local marine’s invitation!

coordinating the whole affair was none other than the ever-extraordinary brenda swann of swann soirees, and her incredible team. and when she called me up for a little help, i jumped at the chance. i was excited for the opportunity to give back, even in such a small way.

the plan was to name each table for all of the corps’ respective commandants starting with major samuel nicholas (11/28/1775-8/27/1783) who was the first, to general james amos, who currently holds the position. and as such, we created gold backed table signs to honor them all.

i’m forever grateful for all the men and women bravely and selflessly serving our country. and as i said, i know this was a small contribution.. but it was one i was honored to provide. thanks to brenda for allowing me to be a part of an amazing evening, and to nathaniel kam of nathaniel kam photography for sharing all of this stunning imagery.

and to the corps — happy happy (belated) birthday! you make us all proud. OORAH!

it’s VALENTINES DAY! and in honor of this fabulous holiday celebrating all things lovely in love, we wanted to bring you a vday proposal inspiration shoot which we were honored to be a part of! who doesn’t enjoy a good love story after all? and not to mention some sweet sweet inspiration to boot? of the estimated 2 million+ couples who get married every year, roughly 10% were swept off their feet and got engaged ON  february 14! so who knows, this could be happening somewhere in the world as we speak!

anyhow, setting the stage: a romantic valentines day picnic in the park.. with an extra special valentine waiting in the wings to make this particular vday one vanessa will never forget!

this production was brought to you by the letters L for LOVE and M for MARRIAGE. many many thanks to our amazing couple, who truly had their own valentines day engagement a few years ago! bobby and vanessa, thank you for sharing your love with all of us ,  and not to mention your own “anniversary” of sorts. AND of course, huge thanks and credit to the following incredibly talented folks involved with this beautiful shoot:

Coordination and Styling: Affairs by Amy

Photography: Iliana Morton Photography

Hair Styling: San Diego Wedding Hair by Jillian Rae

Stationery: Bamboo Star Studios

Sweets: Calculated Whisk

Flowers: Petal Punch

Location: Presidio Park- San Diego, CA

♥ WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! ♥

one such couple, was rich and grace, who yesterday celebrated their FIRST anniversary! to honor their first full year (and a day) together in wedded bliss, i thought i’d share some fabulous shots from their wedding, courtesy of stan and jeannette, the photo-whizzes behind trailbrook photography, as well as their ever-amazing coordinator, brenda of swann soirees.

their color scheme of rustic browns & oranges with an accent of  lime green worked in beautifully for their fall wedding at the crosby club, in rancho santa fe. from top to bottom not only did we incorporate a touch of traditional elegance with a faint filigree (as a nod to the beautiful scrolling ironwork at the club itself), but also a hint of playfulness that truly personified rich and grace completely.  just look at all the details from the rest of their day! how could you NOT love them ?

another aspect that was very important to them, was that everything be as green and eco-friendly as possible. as such, we kept the number of pages in their invitation booklet to a minimum, with any additional information placed on their wedding website. each stock we sourced was FSC certified and recycled. and the binding we used to tie everything together was also made from 100% recycled paper and colored with natural vegetable dyes, which lent a lovely organic feel as well. and from there, we carried the same ideas in and throughout their day-of stationery as well. have a look!

rich and grace, here’s wishing you both a happy, happy 1st anniversary! the first of many, many more amazing ones to come. may you always be blessed with all the rainbows and butterflies, that good times undoubtedly bring. you guys are incredibly awesome in so many ways. thank you for brightening my year with all our meetings and conversations, for opening my eyes to quality peruvian cuisine, for sharing your lives with me throughout your planning process, and for your friendship, love and faith. as i mentioned before, you are exactly why i love doing what i do .  here’s to that argentinian steak dinner we’ve been talking about for ages! can’t wait .

]]> http://www.bamboostarstudios.com/inviteblog/?feed=rss2&p=994 1 http://www.bamboostarstudios.com/inviteblog/?p=981 http://www.bamboostarstudios.com/inviteblog/?p=981#comments Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:59:22 +0000 admin http://www.bamboostarstudios.com/inviteblog/?p=981 …as in, letting the GOOD TIMES ROLL!! which is exactly what we’ve been doing, getting everything ready for karen and trent!

just about done with their beautiful pocketfolder invitation suite, and wanted to share a couple pictures as we wrap things up .

k+t are an amazing swann soirees couple, that we’ve had the pleasure of working with throughout the last couple months. through our discussions, not only were we going for a classic, elegant look bringing in the rich purples and shades of gold, but we also wanted a little nod towards trent’s background having grown up in louisiana…..  AND not to mention their plans of relocating to new orleans once all this wedding business is taken care of!

i don’t know about you, but i’m completely thrilled with how all of the details have come together — from the exquisite filigree details, the gold fleur de lis, and the beautiful glow from the metallic stocks! such a perfect set all together, and so much fun to design!

hope they absolutely love them as well!

and here’s a little closeup too, in case you missed it the first time around…

PIRATE maps for a PIRATE wedding! all the way down to the dress and details!! can you say PERFECTION?? i mean really… look at this bouquet!!

so, in honor of their first anniversary, i wanted to share some of the exquisite photography from jarma and justin’s incredible wedding day on the water, courtesy of the amazing ariel zambelich of amoraduro weddings.

here’s raising a glass to you both!! happy anniversary, and here’s to many many MANY piratically awesome years to come !

destination weddings are always so incredibly intimate. it’s an escape to some form of your own personal paradise, whether that be a snowy mountain top or a tropical beach, with your nearest and dearest close at hand. ruth and jon’s cabo wedding was no exception by any means, and we had the distinct honor of putting together the coolest invitations to bring it all together.

when we originally met up to discuss ideas for their project, ruth mentioned a passport and i jumped right in. LOVED the idea, and while i had seen it done before, i knew we could make this into something particularly awesome.

what we came up with was a true passport-size booklet with a perforated rsvp postcard that tore out of the middle. while we DID aim to make this LOOK like a real passport, it still needed to be different enough that it wouldn’t be mistaken as a counterfeit. easy enough . working in the turquoise and blues of their wedding day color palette, we put together a beautiful booklet with all the information their guests would ever need not only for their destination wedding in cabo san lucas in early june, but also their dinner reception back at home later on in the month (for everyone who wouldn’t be able to join them to celebrate down south).

it all came together so elegantly, and it was the perfect touch for their destination wedding.. giving their guests a true sense of what was to come.

the wedding itself was absolutely perfect, right on the beach with the crystal blue water behind them, surrounded by their family and friends. here are a few more shots they shared with us, which we now have for your viewing enjoyment!

ruth and jon, congratulations again and again and again! thank you for bringing us along to paradise and letting us be a part of your wedding day(s)… both away and at home! we love you guys!

working on their invitations, they came to us with a myriad of incredibly awesome ideas. and as we fine tuned things, we came up with this gorgeous one-of-a-kind pocketfolder suite. a perfect 6″ square, the set opens up to three panels, with the main invitation information printed on a delicate vellum overlay, mounted to a beautiful blue textured stock. working in their families’ culture was very important to both — christina coming from a large italian family, and steve – japanese. on the vellum we placed hints of cherry blossoms, and beneath that on the blue, peeking out from below is the word love in the families’ two respective languages. on the reverse side is mounted a pocket containing inserts for additional information and directions, and an rsvp card and envelope for guests.

truly elegant. truly unique. and utterly steve and christina.

thank you both for thinking outside of the box with us. we were so honored to be a part of it all, from start to finish! we love you guys, and happy, happy anniversary!

(stationery photos courtesy of: la vida creations photography)

regardless, i can promise you that things HAVE been rocking, creative juices are flowing, and making things happen for our clients has remained the number one priority time and time again.

and that being said, we’ve had the honor of being included on a couple features and photo shoots showcasing some of the incredible things we’ve been working on, in collaboration with some absolutely top notch vendors.

one recent “real wedding”, featuring our amazing couple jennifer and steve, was actually posted on style me pretty back in early october. STYLE ME PRETTY. if you are familiar at all with the concept of a wedding blog.. you’ve heard of this site. and if you haven’t, let me put it this way… it wouldn’t be an exaggeration for me to say that style me pretty was one of the (if not THE) pioneers leading the way. nationally, the site is recognized for being at the forefront of bringing all things wedding, all things beautiful, all things trendy to the engaged and wedded masses. and we had the uuber honor of  making the cut!! wow. when i got wind of the post, i think i almost fell out of my chair.. come to think of it.. i’m pretty sure i did. wedding planning superstars and dynamic duo aleah and nick valley of valley & co. (formerly the good life events specialists) were the masterminds behind the entire event, and the oh so talented jenny and joseph llanes of llanes weddings captured every exquisite moment of the day (including the beautiful shot above, and this one down below). for the complete gallery of photos click here.

and THEN, earlier this year we were asked to be a part of an upcoming tablescape photoshoot for san diego style weddings magazine, an incredible local resource for brides all over the san diego county. a MAGAZINE!!! seriously?? oh, and for anyone not planning a wedding, or have yet to plan one — these kinds of tablescapes are staged to provide all sorts of awesome inspiration. they help showcase the talents of industry professionals and put all sorts of incredible finery on display to show you and everyone else out there.. what IS possible, what CAN be done, and how YOU might take those ideas and truly make them yours.

our friends jaime and diane at whimsey florals were teamed with wynn austin of le chic wedding consulting to create a romantic parisian garden-esque table with vintage touches under the theme “key to my heart.” i was asked to provide the paperie for the shoot, and was super excited to put together a few featured items including menus, place cards, and signage. the shoot itself took place over the summer, and we had to be mum about the details until things were published. but now that the magazine itself has hit newsstands (still so surreal to say that…), we’re free to release images (courtesy of the studios of joseph guidi). click here for wynn’s more complete take on the shoot, and all of the details that went into putting it together.

suffice to say, we’re over the moon with all of these amazing opportunities and are so incredibly thankful for each and every one. there are even more fabulous things to come soon, i promise! from real weddings, baby showers, and other projects in progress, to more superfantastic photoshoot fun, there is a LOT going on in our little corner of the world and we hope you’re there to enjoy the wild ride with us!

bummer that they didn’t allow me to keep “bamboo star studios” on the credit for the beautiful suite shown in the photo… but i guess that’s the way things go. at the same time, seeing as though we’re also posting here at home.. it’s pretty much a given that all that work shown off in the awesome photos from jeff & betsy of la vida creations, is in fact ours. so… just for kicks, i added another shot too .
enjoy the read! **

Most everyone is on some sort of budget these days, and when it comes to wedding planning that is less the exception and more the rule. If you’ve got the time and conviction, doing it yourself works wonders for a lot of this. And with regards to your invitations, programs, menus etc., here are three simple tips and tricks to help you stretch your dollar, while still making an impact on paper. The name of the game: size really does matter!

1. Know Your Paper… and Optimize

Whether you’re printing everything yourself, or taking it down to your local print shop, do your research and find out what the standard sizes of available paper are. How does your creation fit on that sheet?  How about your printer – what’s the optimal size sheet that will fit? If your inkjet can only accommodate a standard letter-size (8.5″x11″) sheet, and your card is 6″x6″ square, your pretty much doomed to yielding a single card per sheet of paper (and wasting a ton in the process). On the other hand, if you trimmed things down slightly to 5.5″x5.5″ square, suddenly you’re printing twice as many cards on half the number of sheets! And the simple math adds up for you: less paper = lower cost.

2. Smaller Never Hurt

We are all familiar with the standard A7 card size (5″x7″) for invitations and announcements. The dimensions work perfectly for the tidbit we went over in #1, but what if you’re still over budget?  Bigger may be better for some things, but in this case going the opposite direction could work in your favor. By using something slightly smaller, you can finagle a few more $$ out of the process. The same theory applies in optimizing each sheet of paper — smaller dimensions allow you to yield more items per sheet. But in addition to that, smaller envelopes cost less too. Again, let’s look at the math: smaller envelopes = less paper (for the manufacturer anyway) = lower cost for you.

3. Speaking of Envelopes…

Unique shapes and sizes are always fun, and they definitely make an impact on your guests. But being aware of available envelope sizes will also help you save money and time in the long run.. that and your local postal workers won’t have a fit when they see you coming. The consequence of NOT designing your custom creation to fit one of these standard sizes is creating your own instead. And amidst the rest of your wedding planning, the last thing you want to do is fold your own envelopes. Additionally, when it comes time to MAIL everything, the post office has their own set of guidelines governing what is and isn’t acceptable. If what your sending can’t zip through their normal process, it will require an extra step, which usually also means extra postage, OR even worse – it may get rejected all together!

(photo credit: la vida creations photography, stationery by bamboo star studios)