TUESDAY SHOESDAY

I don't know what it is, but photographer Amy Karp gets me every time with her sneak peeks! (Check out this other photo of hers that I'm in love with) This is a perfect sneak peek pic for Tuesday Shoesday - gotta love a bride & groom with style! Get her Vivienne Westwood shoes here. Disclaimer: they're plastic :)

TUESDAY SHOESDAY

Oh my friends, won't you indulge me & my feather obsession just a little more??

These are fantastic! Feather trim sandals by Valentino, $695

Don't forget to visit Simply & Forever for super cute sandals, Gwyneth Paige for modern mary janes, Life in the Super Burbs for fun flats, Landlocked Bride for some awesome purple suede pumps and Meant to be Sent for some nautical heels!

Happy Furniture

So here's a little background to explain this non-wedding-related post:

I interned my senior year of college (Go Drake!) at Meredith Corporation, which publishes Better Homes & Gardens magazine. I worked for the Special Interest Publications division, mainly for Kitchen & Bath Ideas and it. was. awesome. I had so much fun working there! I got to help style photoshoots with the art director & choose products to feature every month – it was just a really cool place to work and for a creative person like myself, it was pretty perfect. They’d even have stock sales every few months were you could buy products used in photoshoots (that the vendor didn’t want returned) at a fraction of the cost!! Glorious.

But alas, the publications are based out of Des Moines, IA and if there was any chance of me getting out of that city, I had to do it right after I graduated. So, I came to Phoenix but still kept a catalog of vendors in my head of all the cool places I would buy things to outfit my home when I got settled. And with the fantastic Spring weather we’ve been having here, it made me think of these pieces from Archie’s Island. How fantastic is this outdoor furniture!? So cheery it makes me want to relax in the sun all day at my (imaginary) beach house, then snuggle up with a blanket & watch the sun set. I mean, their tagline is "Happy Furniture" - Agree?






I want it all!!

Feather Accent

I spotted another one of those feather accents this morning! This bride featured on the Southern Weddings blog looks beautiful with it tucked into her hair, don't you think??
Photo by Dana Grant Photography

Fancy Feathers

I have a small obsession with feathers lately – those little black feathers that have the white polka dots and are just down right awesome. What are they called? Anyone know? I first fell in love when I saw these yellow shoes from J.Crew but then Abby over at Life in the Super Burbs posted these Diane von Furstenberg sandals and it confirmed my obsession.

In my hunt for more of these feathers, I came across Etsy seller, portobello, who has created these gorgeous hairpieces. Besides the mannequins kinda freaking me out, they are fabulous!

Eye Candy

Another stunner by Kate Harrison Photography!

It's A Big Day!

The Swatchbook Weddings blog turns ONE today! YEAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG!

It’s amazing how this blog has become such a part of my life over the past year. I went from posting one or two things a month – thinking WAY too much about what to write – to 20 posts a month where I just find something I like and post it! It’s been a great tool to help me start conversations with potential clients & fellow wedding professionals. Plus, blogging has manifested my previously unknown passion for Tuesdays! Everything about this has been pretty fantastic.

Ah well, happy birthday ‘ol blog – you’ve been good to me. Hope you’ve got many years ahead of you!

TUESDAY SHOESDAY

Nothing says a good party like the bride & bridesmaids kicking off their shoes!

Photo by Amelia Lyon

TUESDAY SHOESDAY

I love the beads & this color is perfect for a vintage wedding! Satin Sandal by MAXSTUDIO, $144

Be sure to stop by Gwyneth Paige, Landlocked Bride, Life in the Super Burbs, Simply & Forever and Meant To Be Sent for more Tuesday Shoesday goodness!

Eye Candy

ADORABLE!! This is a teaser that Dallas-based photographer Amy Karp posted this morning. I can't wait to see the rest of the photos - what a creative shot!

Yellow Shoes & Orange Groves

I am loving this e-session by James Carson Photography - first of all, look at her shoes! Remember those from Tuesday Shoesday? I think they are still my favorite pick!

After an outfit & location change, the couple ended up in an orange grove to get these sweet, casual photos. So cute!

See more photos from this shoot on Carson's blog.

Nicole + Ryan are on SMP!

I am totally down for the count right now - I've been feeling a cold coming on since Monday and it's finally arrived in full force. I wish I was playing hooky today because it's supposed to be 84 degrees here but being hot sounds so miserable!

BUT - as I was bumming it on the couch today I got an email from my friend Nicole. When I started my new job a little over a year ago, Nicole was just finishing up the final touches for her wedding on the gorgeous island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. I met her too late to do her invitations unfortunately, but I created this image for her to get printed on the tote bags she was giving as favors. We bonded over our obsession with stationery & even though we don't work together anymore, we email back and forth with any fun finds we come across. She has been so supportive of me & Swatchbook Weddings, I can't thank her enough!

Well Nicole's email today was to tell me that her wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty!! I mean seriously, I don't even know how to pick just a few images to share, but here are some gorgeous photos from her wedding. CLICK HERE to see more & read their story!

You look gorgeous, Nicole! Photos by Hurwitz Photography

Should Something Go Wrong...

I think I need to carry this water bottle around. Take a deep breath, keep calm and carry on - yeah, I think that's a good mantra. Get it here for $18.95

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm not Irish, but I can pretend, right? I actually forgot it was St. Patty's Day until I was in the car this morning - I am so disappointed I am not wearing green today! Who am I?! I always wear theme colors!! Boo Ang, boo. What I really could use is one of these:

a Guinness Cupcake filled with Jamison ganache topped with Bailey's buttercream frosting. I spotted these over at the Gwyneth Paige blog this morning, click here for the recipe!

Everyone have fun today!!

My Sole Mates!

I don’t know if you’re aware, but there is a Tuesday Shoesday revolution going on! It's so fun that there’s now a little community of fellow shoe-lovers out there - MY SOLE-MATES!

Check out their blogs to see what each of them picked for today!

Gwyneth Paige

Landlocked Bride

Life in the Super Burbs

Simply & Forever

Meant To Be Sent

Also, if you are on twitter, we have started a new hashtag in celebration of our favorite day of the week – so if you come across a cute shoe today, make sure to add #tuesdayshoesday to your tweet so we can see it! Looking forward to your picks! Lily peep toes by J.Crew, $228

TUESDAY SHOESDAY

Photo op for a beach wedding, anybody? These would look perfect with a little sand, blue skies and a gauzy white dress. I just love shoes that have unique bottoms!

Thessalia sandals by Beverly Feldman, $180

A Swatchbook Weddings Makeover

My addiction to updating my logo has led me to this new look & feel for Swatchbook Weddings. I finally feel like this could be it! Here it is on my twitter page:

and here's a little more info about my journey to this look...

Logo #1:

Before I realized my hatred for Scriptina, I really loved this. But the sweeping script font made it very difficult to resize & was often hard to read. I was trying to pay homage to my favorite mustard yellow color but found it can be a hit or miss on the web.

Logo #2:

I still love both of these fonts & I think they suit my brand very well, but when designing the other pieces of my collateral (business cards, website, etc...) where the logo would not be standing alone, the mixed fonts were just becoming too busy. It was hard to create hierarchy in the text without adding ANOTHER font and it was just too much.

Logo #3:

Structured & simple, this logo allows me to use the handwritten font as the secondary level of information. This is so important when organizing text and creating a system in your design, and this organization makes me happy :) It's like keeping the peace in your design - nothing is fighting for attention, everyone has their role. Now that I've seen this grey out on the interwebs, I realize I may need to darken it, but so far I am liking the look!