This coming Friday, the 9th, I (courtney) will be participating in one last holiday boutique. If you are in San Diego, come check it out! It is from 9-12 and 5-9 at a home in Poway.

It is called Ubuntu and it is particularly special to me. My bible study girls and I started it last year in an effort to do something bigger than our everyday working and mommy-ing. Every seller participating will be donating a portion of their sales to a charity of their choice. It is so fun to see what different causes are represented.

I will be donating to Blood Water Mission- an organization our family is passionate about that builds wells in areas of the world that do not have access to clean water.

Here is a flyer and some more info about Ubuntu, courtesy of my friend Mollie over at  YellowMeDaisy:

Today, I am excited to announce part 2 of our Cricut Cartridge Giveaway! This set has cartridges that are primarily focused on weddings and love. Here they are:

*Storybook:

This is actually the font I used for the numbers on my projects. It is a really pretty font and the cartridge also has some fun shapes and phrases.

*Tie the Knot:

This one has fun wedding phrases and shapes and also has some great project items such as favor boxes, a scalloped pennant and cones. I used this quite a bit on the other project ideas I showed in the video.

*Sweethearts:

Lots of great shapes for any occasion, as well as some cute ones for showers, anniversaries, weddings, valentines day and engagement parties. There are tag, card and envelope features, so there are tons of projects you could use this one for.

*Formal Occasion:

This cartridge has shapes for any dressy event. It has phrases and cute frames too.

Just like last week, you can enter up to 3 times by taking the following steps:

1. Comment on this post, telling me what your favorite wedding detail is/was. Or- you can tell me what your favorite cricut cartridge is.

2. Tweet or post on Facebook about this giveaway. Once you have, comment with a link back here.

3. Blog about the DIY class and the giveaway. Once you have, post again here with a link to your blog post.

You can enter each way only once. You can enter until midnight on Friday, July 15th. I will announce the winner on Monday the 18th.

**Thank you to Provo Craft for supplying the cartridges for these giveaways. Other than the company supplying the items, I am not receiving any sponsorship/payments from Provo Craft for this post**

My class is now up on Cricut’s website! In it, I talk about trends and give project ideas including vase wraps, labels, snack cones, a cute card box idea, drink stirrers and many more. Then I give step by step instructions on how to many adorable scalloped escort cards and table number signs.

Ignore the bad quality of the photos above. They are screen shots of the video. I want to give a big thank you to Amanda Phelps for the beautiful calligraphy on the escort cards.

The video is totally free and you can watch it here any time!

**To make things even more exciting for me, the wonderful team at Provocraft gave me some cricut cartridges to give away!!*** I will be splitting them into two giveaways.

The first will be a set of 3 fun cartridges that are great for everyday crafting and weddings as well:

Paper Lace (my favorite new cartridge!)

Damask Decor

and Carousel

Next week, I will be giving away a set of four wedding related cartridges too!

You can enter to win these three cartridges in 3 ways:

1. Comment on this post, telling me how you would use the cricut for a wedding. Or- if you did use the cricut for your wedding decor- I’d love to hear how!  Also, if you watch the DIY class, let me know what you think!

2. Tweet or post on Facebook about this giveaway. Once you have, comment with a link back here.

3. Blog about the DIY class and the giveaway. Once you have, post again here with a link to your blog post.

You can enter each way only once. You can enter until midnight on Thursday, July 7th. I will announce the winner on Friday the 8th.

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend everyone!

Jeanette is absolutely stunning and the bouquet that Carissa of JL Designs made her was simply gorgeous. Carissa wrapped Jeanette’s grandmother’s rosary around the bouquet- such a sentimental touch.

Instead of a bouquet, we ordered fans for each of Jeanette’s bridesmaids and Carissa attached a gorgeous bloom to each.

Staring with the invitation, papel picado became a recurring element of the decor scheme. For the ceremony, we draped banners of it from chair to chair to designate the aisle and it turned out super fun and festive.

This ring bearer was THE funniest ring bearer I have ever seen! At the rehearsal he came up and introduced himself to me as the ring bearer and told me his job was to greet everyone. And that he did. As he was walking down the aisle he was waving at the guests the entire way down, shouting “hello! hello!”. It was hilarious!

Jeanette is a book editor, so she wanted to tie old books she had collected into the wedding as well. Instead of a pillow, our little character of a ring bearer carried a book that Carissa jazzed up with ribbon.

Jeanette had her heart set on incorporating bougainvillea into the decor, specifically on the arch framing where they would say their vows. After many told us it was not possible, Carissa of JL Designs took on the challenge. The result was gorgeous! The bougainvillea looked like it was made to be on that arch.

As a surprise to the guests, a mariachi band was hidden during the ceremony and began to play just as the couple was pronounced husband and wife. They lead the guests in a procession up to the cocktail hour. It was such a joyous moment!

Jeanette made the escort cards by attaching lace seam binding to simple escort cards. A cheap and easy way to dress up DIY cards.

We set up a photo booth backdrop incorporating colorful papel picado banners and the couple provided fun props for their guests to get silly.

I made Jeanette & JJ a thank you banner, which they used in photos that became their thank you notes for their guests.

From the minute Jeanette, Carissa and I started dreaming up their reception tables, I was in love. When guests returned to the site of the ceremony, it had been completely changed into a gorgeous, alfresco dining area. Long wooden tables alternated with round tables dressed in beautiful champagne colored shantung silk linens. To incorporate papel picado in a unique way, we took the banners and created runners on the wood tables.

Centerpieces included books, cut crystal succulents and fruit. Carissa used a variety of purple, orange, fuschia and dark burgundy florals – dahlias, peonies, tulips, sweet peas, scabiosa, chocolate cosmos, amaranthus – with purple basil and fresh mint to add a fresh, garden feel. It made the tables smell incredible too!

We brought in purple wine glasses to give the tables a pop of color in a unique way.

In lieu of favors, the bride and groom chose to donation to a few different donations. Guests were given a card at their place settings and they were able to chose which organization they wanted their donation to go to by placing their card in a designated box.

The bride created the cute Salud! drink stirrers and we couldn’t have a Sangria inspired wedding without serving Sangria! 24 Carrots served a delicious sangria in carafes at each table, adorned with tags that Jeanette made.

I suggested incorporating in Spanish style tiles to replicate tiles used throughout the venue and Jeanette created these cute tile table numbers.

For the cake, Jeanette envisioned numerous cakes set up bake sale style. Sweet and Saucy Shop created six rustic style cakes in different flavors and one larger cake with papel picado details and the most gorgeous sugar peony. I made mini banners to serve as labels for the different styles of cake.

The mini banners were quite time consuming (I made them with my cricut), but so worth it- I adored how they looked on the cake stands. I also made cute stained wood plaques with these mini banners hanging on top for the bride and groom’s chairs. I do not have any professional photos of them, but one of Jeanette’s friends captured these images:

A little dia de los muertos touch:

This moment below warms my heart. I love sneaking the bride and groom into the reception area before guests are invited in so that they can soak it all it. It is so sweet to see them beam as they realize their vision has come to life.

Jeanette and JJ were adorable as they performed their first dance- a salsa number they had been practicing throughout their engagement. As the sun set, the reception was aglow with candles and market lights and guests danced the night away to music provided by the incredible DJ Smiles from the Flashdance, while be served late night snacks of pulled pork sliders, curly fries and mini milk shakes.

So much love, warmth and tasty eats and drinks! Definitely one of my favorite weddings I have been blessed to be a part of.

The amazing vendor team:

*Venue: Rancho Las Lomas

*Planning & Design: Us

*Floral & Event Design: JL Designs

*Photography: Tara Leigh

*Caterer: 24 Carrots

*DJ: The Flashdance, DJ Smiles

*Video: LuvBug

*Cakes:  Sweet and Saucy Shop

*Hair & Makeup: Nicole DeAnne

*Mariachis: Mariachi Espuelas de Mexico

*Invitations & Stationery: Kavamore Press & Tigerette

*Thank You Banner:  Joyful Joyful on Etsy

*Rentals:  Signature Party Rentals

*Purple Goblets:  Classic Party Rentals

*Linens:  Fusion Linen

]]> http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2011/06/24/jeannette-jjs-sangria-inspired-rancho-las-lomas-wedding/feed/ 7 http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2011/02/16/matt-ashleys-rustic-wedding-at-the-bernardo-winery-part-1/ http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2011/02/16/matt-ashleys-rustic-wedding-at-the-bernardo-winery-part-1/#comments Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:42:19 +0000 Courtney http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/?p=2702 Matt & Ashley’s wedding holds a special place in my heart. Not only because we became friends throughout the planning process and I just love them, but also because I found out that I was pregnant the morning of their wedding! I had extra joy that day and seeing these two join their lives together made it a day that I will never forgot.

Their wedding took place at the Bernardo Winery- a cute little hidden winery in a residential area of Rancho Bernardo. Matt and Ashley envisioned a sweet, rustic wedding with vintage touches. The venue was the perfect location to match what they were looking for: a beautiful outdoor setting, rustic covered patio and countless vintage knick knacks placed throughout the grounds. With a color scheme of light pink, navy blue and grey, their wedding day was brought to life with countless handmade touches- both made by the couple themselves and purchased from an array of etsy crafters. I am so excited to give you a peak into their wedding day, with photos by the super fun Lyndzee and Rog of EP Love.

Flowers were done by my good friend Holly Horn.

Aren’t they a beautiful couple?

Ashley got these cute little clutches for her girls on etsy:

They had the cutest littles in their wedding. The flower girl outfits were some of my favorite- they are so cute!

Ashley and I wanted to fill in unused space in a wooden structure just to the side of the ceremony. During the reception, the sweetheart table was placed right in front of it, so I made a gigantic “Just Married” sign to hang above them and accented with large mason jars filled with babies breath and candles.

I hand embroidered most of the signage for the wedding day, including the card sign, placed in a vintage train case, and the reserved signs on the ceremony chairs saved for family.

One of the super cute ring bearers carried a custom Paloma’s Nest ring bowl:

For the other little guy, I made a ring bearer flag, incorporating in doilies. I made it double sided, so one side read our usual “yay!” and the other had the couple’s initials. I loved how it turned out!

For the ceremony, the couple wanted to keep decor natural and simple and were married under an arch made completely out of eucalyptus.

I was so thrilled that the ladies of Be Inspired PR featured Matt & Ashley’s wedding yesterday. You can see more of the wedding on their blog. I will be back tomorrow with all of the darling reception details and a full vendor list.

]]> http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2011/02/16/matt-ashleys-rustic-wedding-at-the-bernardo-winery-part-1/feed/ 5 http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2011/02/09/a-bow-tie-baby-shower/ http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2011/02/09/a-bow-tie-baby-shower/#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:02:23 +0000 Courtney http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/?p=2656 Back in the fall, I was honored to plan a baby shower along with Carissa of JL Designs and Melody of Sweet and Saucy Shop for our dear friend Jesi Haack. We decided to celebrate her new little man by having a bow-tie themed party. Posh Paperie’s invitations set the tone for the clean, cheery decor.

Guests were greeted with a little ribbon bow-tie clip I made, which everyone wore throughout the shower. Instead of a guestbook, Carissa of JL Designs wrote a mad lib to fill in about the baby, which was a lot of fun.

For the decor we incorporated in pops of mustard yellow, kelly green and baby blue. Carissa used a variety of white ceramic vases to keep it light and modern and filled them with an array of monobotanical arrangements using our theme colors – white pom pom dahlias (jesi’s favorite), white hydrangea and yellow ranunculas. Wrapped around each vase was a striped or polka dot “bow tie”, which I created using striped and polka dot ribbons in coordinating colors. To deviate from the standard diaper cake, I crated a bow-tie garland using diapers and ribbon.

For lunch, Carissa, Melody and I made light options including bow-tie pasta salad, chicken salad sandwiches with coordinating ribbon picks and tiny sized tomato basil soups. Melody of Sweet and Saucy Shop created an adorable spread of desserts, including Bowtie Sugar Cookies, a Pumpkin Cake w/cinnamon cream cheese frosting & salted caramel w/ruffle buttercream & fondant bowtie, Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes w/cinnamon cream cheese frosting & salted caramel, Red Velvet Cake Lollipops and Lemon French Macaroons.  Drinks were served in mason jars with ribbon bow-ties and striped paper straws.

The shower was recently featured on Hostess With the Mostess- thanks Jenn! And a big thanks to Jesi for having sweet Maverick early so that we could hang out with him at the shower!

Vendors:

*Photos: Gabriel Ryan Photographers
*Floral and Event Design: JL Designs
*Event Design and Planning: Joyful Weddings & Events
*Dessert and Hostess: Sweet & Saucy Shop (adorable cake stands from Sweet & Saucy Supply)
*Invitations: Posh Paperie
*Cute “Baby Haack” bag & Logo Onesie: Wedding Chicks
*Sandwich picks: Joyful Joyful

Photos by Melissa Kelsey

I get emails all the time asking for instructions on how to make it. It actually is super involved and time consuming- it consists of weaving (basically sewing) together 56 11″ circles and hanging it on a stand made out of painted wood. We do take custom orders for the backdrops (can be shipped anywhere in the US) and rent the stand locally in Southern CA.

However, there is an easy way to recreate this look with much less time and expense. For Miranda and Dave’s wedding, which we featured earlier this week, we simply taped the circles to an existing wall at the event venue.

Photo by Joy Moody

If you have got a blank space to work with, you can easily get a similar feel to the backdrop above by taping circles in a pattern. I use either double sided Scotch tape or loops of duct tape, depending on the material of the wall. **Important note: if you are having your event at a venue, please be sure to check on their rules for attaching things to the wall. Some will not let you tape anything to the ceiling or walls**

You can use these for a variety of things: dessert backdrop, photobooth backdrop, guestbook wall or- as we also did for Miranda & Dave’s wedding- make a photo wall. We attached smaller circles to a different wall and then mounted photos of the couple in each circle. It was a fun alternative to a slideshow or photo album guestbook.

Last week I met up with the amazing Drew B to shoot my products, a holiday table scape and our family photos all at one time (talk about multi-tasking!) and I am in love with the photos she captured. Here is a look at what we’ve got cooking for Thanksgiving and Christmas:

All photos by Drew B Photography

More of the photo shoot to come and be sure to check out my etsy shop over the next week. I will be adding holiday items starting today!

This year, I got much of my inspiration while shopping during our trip to New York. I fell in love with a super soft tan and white striped yarn at Purl Soho and knew that it had to be incorporated into the party. I also found a great fabric there with a neutral leaf print and brought some home with me. I went with a more neutral feel, bringing in burlap fabric and ribbon along with my New York finds and accenting with color from fall produce. My goal was to use things that I already had for decor- no buying flowers this year. Only items already in my supply as well as produce from the market that I could reuse. Here is the result:

Guests were welcomed with white pumpkins from Trader Joes, stacked on vintage crates. I also made a garland out of the yarn and paper circles and hung it on our front porch.

I lined our window sill with large mason jar candles accented with yarn:

I created centerpieces out of pieces of tree trunks borrowed from a friend, as well as some flowers I already had, squash, pomegranates, pods and candles.

I am in love with the little felted acorns I bought from etsy seller greenbaboondesigns. They are just so cute!

On the third table, I put a fairy tale style pumpkin (also from Trader Joes) on a vintage pepsi crate and set jars filled with fall items on the sides.

I used burlap strips, yarn and fabric as trim on the vases:

White and brown base linens were provided by Fusion linens and I made the runners out of burlap.

For drinks, I used mason jars and cut strips of brown paper shopping bags to wrap around them. I added a little yarn and then had guests write their names on the paper to claim their glasses. Essentially free and way cuter than sharpee on a red plastic cup!

I also wrapped glass water jugs from Ikea to match. The green striped paper straws were left over from an event earlier in the week. I purchased them from etsy seller HeyYoYo.

I scored this oversized mason jar at Target on clearance and love it:

Our seasonal parties are always potlucks, so it is fun to see what seasonal inspired creations our friends bring. I only got a couple of photos of the food, but here is a peak:

Since we have little ones at the party, I always try to think of decor that is safe for them on the coffee table. This year, I put on some burlap with cut paper circles they could play with and not break.

At the last minute, I decided to throw together a quick wreath. I wrapped a cardboard wreath form with strips of burlap and then added a yarn bow and hung it with the same yarn. Super quick.

At each party, we give out a mix of songs that fit with that season. In addition, we gave out little sachets of mulling spices as well. This is such an easy and cheap favor! I bought mulling spices from Trader Joes, wrapped a small amount in cheesecloth and then wrapped that in a piece of burlap and tied with yarn.

We set up a photobooth for our guests to take photos, which was a fun addition to the night. I hung burlap and then made fabric letters to hang.

Our seasonal parties are so much fun and we love sharing this special tradition with our friends. I already cannot wait for Winter!

]]> http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2010/11/02/our-seasonal-season-parties-fall-party-2010/feed/ 5 http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2010/10/20/halloween-banners-available-for-a-limited-time/ http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2010/10/20/halloween-banners-available-for-a-limited-time/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:42:37 +0000 Courtney http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/?p=2193 For the next week, we have a hand full of one of a kind Halloween banners available in our etsy shop. They are a great way to decorate for a Halloween party, or just to spice up your home.

I was waiting all weekend for the sun to come out so I could get some good photos of them, but it has been all rain and gloom here in Southern California (which I LOVE, just not for pictures!). I finally gave up the wait and just took photos in my dark house yesterday, so please ignore the poor quality

The trick or treat banners would be so cute hanging on your front porch- in fact, one may find its way to the front of my house!

To ensure delivery before Halloween, orders need to be placed by next Monday, the 25th. There are only one of each design available, so if you want one, be sure to grab it fast!

Be on the look out, because Thanksgiving and Christmas items are coming soon!