We must be on a roll here because we have another couple with a graphic designer in the mix. This time Mitch is the one to thank for the design of those delicious wedding invitations.

Sometimes it’s the simplest DIY project that stands out the most. Like their escort cards. Colleen bought all the cards from Paper Source, hand wrote every name, and painted a quick and simple brush stroke (like the ones on their invites) of acrylic paint across the bottom.

Sweet touch, and another of Colleen’s favorite projects – the napkin favors. She ordered four different Amy Butler fabrics that were different, but blended together well – two florals, a polka dot, and a stripe fabric. Tied to the napkin was a circle that told the guests to take the napkin home with them as a thank you for sharing their first meal with Colleen + Mitch as husband and wife.

Coffee enthusiasts, how about some whole beans as favors, with a custom label?

Sweet sweet table with the added touch of Confetti System tassels.

Mitch is in a band called Branches, and a huge music lover so here are a few highlights from their list of tunes: Gungor “Vous Etes Couer (You Are My Heart) for when the groomsmen walked in, Sleeping at Last “Atlantic”, for when Colleen was walking in, Beyonce’s “Love On Top” as their reception entrance, and The Paper Kites “Bloom” for their first dance.

We wanted the wedding to speak for itself and compliment what we were doing. I wanted to choose things that I thought I would always be happy I chose, not say “What was I thinking wearing that?” or “Why did I try to be trendy instead of just choosing what I loved?”. Trends will always change, and I wanted to just be true to myself”.

Congratulations Colleen + Mitch!

Photography: Troy Grover Photographers / Venue: Bernardo Winery / Catering: The Abbey Catering / Videography: Josh Harney Productions / DJ: Bryan Thrane and Pacific Disc Jockey / Florist + decor: The Floral Department / Day-Of-Coordinator: The Floral Department / Hair: Robin Dunn / Make up: Stacey Craven / Bride’s dress: Jenny Yoo / Sweater: Anthropolgie / Bridesmaid dresses: Anthropologie (the light champagne dress with silver matted sequins on top), Shopbop (the maxi and the rouched dresses), Urban Outfitters (the cotton laced dress), The Lauren Conrad line at Kohl’s (the ruffled darker pink dresses) / Groom’s suit: H & M, tie from J. Crew

Being graphic designers, the paper goods were one of our major priorities– partially because we wanted to impress our other design friends, but mostly it was an excuse to design something for ourselves and pull out all the stops! The Save the Dates, invitations, programs and website (+ menus, table numbers, photo booth signage, bar menus, escort cards, etc.) were designed by me/us, with the budget being a little over $2K for printing. In fact, pretty much all of the aesthetics of the wedding we based from my initial sketches for the wedding stationery and website.

Mis-matched bridesmaid dresses from BHLDN!

Meghan’s bouquet was a mixture of blue, fuchsia and coral zinnias, white tea roses, dark purple  carnations and blue bells, tied with colorful ribbons to tie back to their wedding colors and bridesmaids’ dresses.

Don’t think we don’t notice those fly gingham pocket squares you guys got going on! Love that touch of color!

The music: Initially, we were terrified about trying to find a good DJ in Cincinnati, Ohio all the way from here in New York, so we decided to make it fool-proof and make our own playlist. We had so much fun putting it together! For the ceremony, our processional was Mark Mothersbaugh’s “Sparkplug  Minuet” and for the recessional we played “Blinuet” by Zoot Sims. Later, when the DJ introduced our wedding party, we played “Me and Julio  Down by the School Yard” by Paul Simon, and John and I were announced to “All is Love” by Karen O and the Kids. Our first dance was “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys. Father-Daughter dance was “That’s My Daughter in the Water” by Loudon Wainwright (people went CRAZY about this), and the Mother-Son dance was “If Not For You” George Harrison. Our last song  of the night was an a capella version of  “God Only Knows.” We also put together a playlist of 60s French pop and Bossa Nova for the cocktail + dinner hours, and gave the dj a huge mix of our favorite dance music for party time!

A nice little spin on the good old bunting with gold glitter flags and colorful dots, don’t you think?

They left no detail untouched. Even the rock candy favors got the design treatment!

See all the photos of cakes above? That isn’t the same photo just taken from different angles. Oh no, they had a cake at each table, as their centerpieces. Such a fun idea.

Oh these two… so many fun details, right? More can also be seen on Brooklyn Bride. Now for their moving picture!

Congratulations Meghan + John!

Photography: Christa Kimble / Videographer: Aaron Conway / Venue: Krippendorf Lodge @ the Cincinnati Nature Center / Catering: Elegant Fare / Flowers: Expressions by Elizabeth / Cakes: Jerry’s Cheesecakes  / Photo Booth:  Signature Photo Booth / Graphic Design: Meghan Hopkins Sokorai and John Sokorai / Makeup: Eva’s Esthetica / Hair: Leslie at the Strand / DJ: River City Entertainment / Dress + Veil: Lovely Bridal / Bridesmaid dresses: BHLDN / Groom’s suit: J.Crew

What perfect interiors you have Boyd Baker House!

Melissa on her timeless look: I initially based the design of my gown on a shorter version I had seen in a magazine, but over time and thanks to the amazing bridal couturier that I worked with it evolved into something very different. I love lace and knew that I always wanted to wear it on my wedding day, so I ended up selecting a beautiful piece of French chantilly lace and went with a simple A-line gown that would show it off. Like any girl I love shoes and found the perfect pair – Jimmy Choo champagne glitter heels. AMAZING! I also opted for a simple pair of rose gold earrings with two small champagne diamonds in each earring – a birthday present from my mum.

Knowing that Melissa wanted to marry the beautiful bush setting with the delicateness of her wedding dress, Wunderplant created a bouquet of white bougainvillaeas, white sweet peas, white hydrangeas, alba wax flower, pussy willow, Queen Anne’s lace, koala fern, native Australian grasses.

Great tip for a summer wedding: Melissa had started collecting assorted glass jars to use as vases at her wedding – ending up with more than one hundred. Given that their reception was outdoors in the summer, she knew mosquitos would be a problem. With the extra jars not being used as vases, she sourced a candlemaker to make citronella candles with them. Guests left happy and without any annoying bites!

If in need of amazing food for your Australian wedding or event, go with Blakes Feast Catering. Melissa could not recommend them enough!

We’ve definitely got to plan a stay at the Boyd Baker House. These two made it look oh so perfect!

Congratulations Melissa + Guy!

Photography: Louisa Bailey / Florist: Wunderplant / Catering: Blakes Feast / Bride’s dress: Andrea Gorrie / Groom’s suit: boutique in Melbourne / Bridesmaid dresses: custom / Groomsmen: J.Crew

Fun guestbook alternative? A giant canvas painted pink, patterned washi tape, and an Instax Mini Instant Camera for guests to snap cute pics of each other and tape them up with little messages. After realizing how cool the large “LOVE” gold spray painted stencil (bought from Stencil Ease) would come out, Tara added it to the décor by mirroring the napkins with their own little “LOVE” stencils!

So many of our favorite things in this set of photos: A bouquet made of large bloomed peonies wrapped in gold sequin, sequin wands, a feisty French Bulldog ring bearer, and a sparkly Jenny Packham.

Great tip: We chose our music with fun in mind  - skipping down the aisle to Prince’s “Kiss” after we tied the knot! And, in general, we just tried to make decisions based on who we are as people and who we are as a couple. Every decision was based on instinct – and it worked!

These two took their paper goods serious. They wanted to make sure it set the tone for the wedding and gave a little wink of what was to come to all their guests. They also “wanted everything from the Save-the-Dates to the invites to the website to the day-of paper products to carry the theme and blend together seamlessly without being too matchy-matchy. Enter Andres Montano. It was a true collaboration – a mix of our ideas and Andres’ imagination. From the initial meeting, he totally understood our vision and then took it to the next level at each and every step of the way. Our color scheme was navy with whites, pinks, peaches and of course sparkle and shimmer – the colors of our Santa Monica sunset…we knew we wanted the design to be big and bold, a bit vintage with an old school beach vibe and it had to have a bit of texture and a whole lot of personality.”

Some added fringe detail for escort cards, oh yes!

Check out that sweet headband… that Tara can get away with wearing well after the wedding! It was a custom piece she created with Erin Cole made of a belt + a brooch.

On loving the Smog Shoppe: I personally knew I wanted our wedding to be at the Smog Shoppe before we even got engaged and it wasn’t hard to convince Ben once he saw the venue. It’s magical! We wanted somewhere where we could have both the ceremony and reception and a venue that instantly set the tone for our F U N wedding – the Smog Shoppe is second to none in this arena. You have no idea when standing outside on the sidewalk what kind of urban oasis lies within – industrial, eclectic, organic, vintage all mixed together in the perfect party atmosphere.

The music: for the processional, Billy Bragg & Wilco’s, California Stars, then Tara walked to Paul McCartney’s, Maybe I’m Amazed. The recessional song, Prince’s Kiss, was cued up to play the second they smooched (I mean, you can’t compete with that beat and we really wanted it to kick off the rest of the night and let our guests know – if they didn’t already – this was going to be a party!). The first dance was to, U2′s Magnificent, and the father/daughter/mother/son dance went to The Beatles, In My Life – sweet and to the point.

These two are definitely a couple we’d love to know and dance with – they’re incredibly adorable and their personalities pop!

Congratulations Tara + Ben!!!

Event planning + coordination + florals: Sitting in a Tree / Photography: EP Love / Venue: Smog Shoppe / Caterers & Cake & Desserts – Whoa Nelly Catering / Save the dates, thanks you cards, invitation design: Andres Montano / Hair & Make up:  Nyrie Aitken of Symmetry Beauty / Extra dessert: Maple Bacon Donuts from Semi Sweet Bakery / Videographer: Jeff Fletcher Videography / Rentals: B.T.B. Events / DJ: Ian Gotler of Red Shoe  /  Bride’s dress: Jenny Packham / Veil: Erin Cole / Earrings: Erin Cole / Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bridesmaids: Ann Taylor + J.Crew / Maid of Honor: Twelth St by Cynthia Vincent via Piperlime.com / Man of Honor: Brooks Brothers’ shirt, his own vest, Bonobos pants and a Forage bow tie  / Groom’s suit: Bonobos / Shoes: John Varvatos / Tie: Penguin

Laura on their gorgeous invitation suite: I designed our invitations and took them to a local printer, Corinna Beau, to have them letterpressed & digitally printed. I had the idea to use a Michelle Armas painting as a backer because I was absolutely smitten with her work (and I wanted our invitation to be something that our guests could use as a small print in their homes later on). Michelle was so sweet to allow me to use one of her paintings, and we’re planning on commissioning a piece from her soon to commemorate our special day! To save on costs, I had just the main invite letterpressed and everything else was digitally printed. I also combined our information and RSVP card into one piece of paper, which I perforated and had guests tear off and return.

Gorgeous bouquet alert!

Balloons just aren’t going out of style. Especially gold ones.

This idea of adding quotes to your centerpieces is so clever, and adds a little conversation to the table. Too cute!

Is that a white striped burlap runner? It looks gold. STUNNING! FYI, we’ll be selling gold & white stripped paper in our pop-up shop the week of May 22nd. Just incase you’re looking for a good source, wink wink! Also diggin’ those gold napkins. Don’t think we see many of those beauties around.

Laura kept costs down by opting to book their venue for a Sunday brunch instead of a Saturday evening and brought in the help of friends and family to make it a total DIY wedding. Where she did splurge was on on their photographer. “I don’t regret it for a second. Ryan Ray is immensely talented and he captured our day in a way no one else could have. I know everyone says this, but don’t skimp on your photographer!”

And because we all love to see how brides curate their wedding Pinterest boards, make sure to check out Laura’s board here, and her lifestyle blog, here.

Congratulations Laura + Eric!

Photography: Ryan Ray Photography / Venue: The Filter Building / Catering + rentals: Culinary Art Catering / Flowers: Lindy Floral / Invitations: designed by bride, printed by Corinna Beau and painting backing from Michelle Armas / Cake: Layered Bake Shop / Jazz Band: The Texas Gypsies / Bride’s dress: Ulla Maija Couture / Earrings: Kendra Scott Jewelry / Shoes: Badgley Miscka (“Kiss Kiss”) / Groom’s suit: J.Crew Ludlow, uniform: c/o the U.S. Navy