...then comes baby in the baby carriage
"First comes love.
Then comes marriage.
Then comes baby in the baby carriage!"
With wedding season in the Pacific Northwest starting to wind down, I thought it would be fun to share my and Erica's baby announcements for inspiration!
You know you've entered a new phase in your life when you start going to more baby showers than bridal showers. But it's been such a fun time watching so many of my friends become moms and seeing little E conquer new skills - like walking, which is around the corner! Eeeek!
While being a working mom definitely has it's challenges, one of the perks of having my own business is that I get to bring my baby to work with me every day. Once a week, Erica and her little babe come over for a working session and it's so awesome to see the boys interact!
Although, let's be real: 30% of our time is spent working and the other 70% usually involves feeding, changing, chasing or trying to put one of them down for a nap!
In addition to all the pretty wedding projects we do here at Songbird, keep us in mind for any other custom paper projects as new milestones in your life approach!
xoxo,
Rosie
I can't believe this was over one year ago!
Pro Tip: Take advantage of the professional photographers while you're at the hospital! It was so nice to have these images captured not only to use for the announcements, but for our memories. The first fews days after welcoming a little one are such a blur!
I loved the idea that Erica came up with (based on some Pinterest inspiration)! She showed me an example of what she wanted to do and I made the paper props for the photo and went over to her house once she was home from the hospital to snap a few pics!
So fun!
10 Fun Ideas for Unique Wedding Invitations
Wedding invitations - the meat and bread of Songbird Paperie! Wedding stationery is the first glimpse of your special day, so make it count! Here are 10 fun ideas to make your invites unique and get guests pumped for the best day ever!
Airplane Boarding Pass
Having a destination wedding? Play off of the travel theme and get your guests excited for the trip! Go retro and include your "boarding pass" invitation, info card-turned-travel-itinerary and RSVP "receipt" in a sleeve that has your wedding logo as the "airline" logo! Fun, right?
Concert Ticket
This one is near and dear to my heart - a couple of years ago, I was introduced to a lovely gal named Beth who wanted a creative custom-designed wedding invitation that would reflect her and her fiance's passion for concerts. I created this concert-ticket-inspired wedding invitation for them. Beth and her now-husband Isaac became good friends, and this fall they're celebrating their second wedding anniversary!
Camp Bride & Groom
The camp theme is not new, but I like to get inspiration from in-style ideas like these and take it the extra mile. Everyone loves a tree or a snowy mountain, but how about inviting your guests to an actual summer camp? Check out these invitations and matching welcome guides for your campers -- it's like they're going to a real summer camp!
Minimal Copy
Maximize the white space and take a modern approach to your invites. This clean, minimal layout will bring a refined look to your wedding stationery and leave your guests looking forward to a very classy affair.
Online RSVP? Tuck in a Business Card!
This one might be my favorite! What do you do when you have an online RSVP and don't necessarily need the card-and-envelope combo, but still want to highlight how guests should reply without cluttering your invitation much like this sentence is cluttered? (Haha!) Stick in a little business card-sized RSVP card with your wedding website.
Vintage Map Liners – Without Ruining Your Map!
Who doesn't love a good envelope liner? This can work for a destination wedding, wedding in your hometown or highlight where you're honeymooning. Find a vintage black and white map, scan it and print it on a creamy paper -- map stays intact and you've created a very unique envelope liner!
Separate Yes/No RSVP Cards
It's like choose your own adventure, RSVP-style! Instead of checking a box, guests choose which card to send in.
Big Art, Teeny Text
Another take on the modern and minimal invitation design -- let the art speak loudly and keep the text simple. Big, bold, and punchy!
Printable Vellum
Break free from traditional paper and use printable vellum for a strong, yet delicate touch. A monochromatic color scheme with darker colors look best on this semi-translucent paper.
Printable Linen
Another creative medium for your invites! Printable LINEN! You could take this a super elegant direction, with swoopy-swirly calligraphy, or a more relaxed vibe with handwritten-style font!
See something you like and would like to recreate it with us? Mosey on over to our contact page or send an email to erica@songbirdpaperie.com and we'll set up a coffee date to chat wedding invitation design!
xoxo,
Rosie
New Songbirdie: Erica Thesenvitz
I'm so excited to announce that my dear friend Erica has officially joined the Songbird Family! Fellow new mom to the adorable Baby Jack will help me run the business side so I can focus on the fun, creative part and take on more fabulous clients!
Erica and I went to only the best school ever together, USC (Fight On!), but didn't meet until post-graduation while we were both doing the dreaded long distance thing with our college sweethearts and now-hubbies, who rowed together on the Trojan Crew team. She is a very successful PR and Communications Pro and will be using her stellar business skills to help make Songbird even more awesome and make sure everyone we work with has a great experience!
As a way of introduction, I thought it would be fun to share photos from her special wedding day almost 2 years ago! I worked super closely with her to design everything for her wedding from the save the dates and invitation suite to custom guestbook and signs!
Enjoy!
xoxo,
Rosie
We collaborated on fun special touches for her save the dates and invites like custom stickers, map and sparkly envelope liners!
Such a cute set up that her maid of honor put together! Champagne is a key part of the day-of morning pampering! Erica and I got these beautiful sparkly boxes from Paper Source for her bridesmaid gifts and I custom made the gift tags.
How gorgeous are these robes from Plum Pretty Sugar?! LOVE!
Custom programs and welcome sign made by yours truly :)
The lovely bride and groom!
Super fun cocktail hour menus for the bar!
Loved how the custom, hand lettered wood sign turned out! And as you can see, Mr. Architect was having a lot of fun!
All the pretty little details! Menu, card box, escort cards and calligraphy by moi! We used this beautiful print from RIFLE PAPER Co. as an accent across her invites and decor.
Who can resist cupcakes and a candy bar?! That's me helping set up! I also made all of the signs and labels for the table along with the favor bags.
Creative, and fun, guestbook! They had polaroid cameras out for guests to take a picture and leave a note in the custom book that I made for them!
Dancing the night away!
And they lived happily ever after <3
Perfectly Styled: Intimate Garden Shoot
Happy Wedding Wednesday! Today I'm so excited to show you this amazing video put together by Jennavieve Films. It captures a beautifully inspired intimate garden wedding styled shoot that I was so lucky to be a part of! This team of wedding vendors... so much talent!! Go ahead and watch... over and over and over and over!
Vendors:
Planner Extraordinnaire: Megan Holman
Photographer: Rachel Birkhofer Photography
rachelbirkhofer.co
Florals: Anna Gallup // Grace & Blooms
graceandblooms.com
Dress: Calla Bridal
callabridal.com
HMUA: Hannah Bush // Urbanista Weddings
urbanistaweddings.com
Cake/desserts: Elizabeth Rayborn // Stone Layne
stonelayne.com
Jewelery: Susie Saltzman
susiesaltzman.com
Invitation suite/calligraphy: Rosie Powell // Songbird Paperie
songbirdpaperie.com
Models: Sanya Nijjar & Austin Weige
Rentals: Vintage Ambiance
vintageambiance.com
Film: Jenna Tormamen // Jennavieve Films
jennavievefilms.com
xoxo,
Rosie
Mirror, Mirror, in the Reception Hall!
Signs can be so helpful and so much FUN for a wedding! I've done all sorts of signs written on all sorts of mediums (hello, 5-foot by 4-foot stained wooden board!), and today I'm sharing with you a set of signs done on mirrors sourced by the bride herself!
I've been doing these more and more, and seating charts are my jam! At first they seemed a little intimidating (read: giant piece of wood mentioned earlier), but as I've been on my fourth year of the Seattle wedding industry, I've learned a few tricks that has made this a breeze! First of all, despite rumors, I am not a robot with insanely perfect handwriting -- okay, I'm a human with insanely perfect handwriting MOST of the time. I can write pretty straight, but to err is human, so I like to use washi tape and baker's twine to give me a reference point as I write out 100-200 names!
Finished!
Finished product! It's always hard taking pictures of mirrors -- I tried to get as little as possible in the shot, but you can still see a light fixture and some lovely architecture prints!
In addition to the seating chart, the bride also had three smaller signs that she placed on the bar and at her favor table! Other than being useful, signs can be SO much fun and help your guests out by letting them know your #hashtag or that it's okay to dance because alcohol. ;o)
Happy wedding season, everyone! Look for more signage on my Instagram feed!
xoxo,
Rosie