Pink flamingos are fun. Gold painted flamingos… amazing!

For my 30th birthday I knew I wanted to have a destination party to share with my closest friends, so we picked Palm Springs, rented this amazing house and went from there. I’ve always loved the whimsical sense of “Alice in Wonderland” but wanted to do a modern twist on it to fit my own personal aesthetic. My version is more “Alice in Palms Springs”… what happens when Alice meets the Rat Pack.

This theme was shown through over-sized bow headpieces, Alice and the White Rabbit Place cards, “drink me” labels on the glasses, top hats, cat mask, rabbit ears, gold painted flamingos, giant paper flowers, and the mix of fanciful patterns. Black bow ties served as napkin ties and double as party favors. As the party went on some of the guests wore them on their heads, around their neck and on their wrists as boutonnieres.

I designed and had printed all of the textiles which I then made the napkins, table cloths, and table runners from. I also made circle confetti to dot the table tops and gold geometric bunting to frame out the bar area. The centerpieces where made of candles and drinking glasses that I bought at the 99 cent store. I sprayed them all white, and then I painted the glass candles to look as though they were dipped in gold, and for the glasses that served as candle holders, I used a gold foil pen to pretty them up with a dot pattern.

Accessorizing in a photobooth is a must! For cute bow headbands and balloons like you see in these pics check out the Pop-Up Shop now! We’ve got fun and sparkly statement accessories from ban.do (like this super cute bow headband) and Geronimo Balloon Troopers (one of our fav ways to add color and fringe to your decor is with their balloon arrangements). *Sarah, you may have to throw another party just to include today’s Pop-Up Shop goodies! *

The happiest of birthdays to Sarah and a huge thank you for allowing us all to recognize that each birthday is yet another reason to get creative and throw one heck of a party!

Event Design and decor: Sarah Sherman Samuel / Invitation and Stationery Design: Sarah Sherman Samuel / Photography: Mike Carreiro of Studio Eleven / Fabrics: Sarah Sherman Samuel / Smilebooth: From the 100 Layer Cake Pop-Up Shop / Location: Casa Verona, Palm Springs, CA / Catering: Food Mechanic /  Make-up: Ximena Rolfe / DJ: Sven Barth

Email or call for more information, to set up a registry, and to order:

sales {at} bountifulhome {dot} com
(310) 450-3620

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

Their new site provides more colors choices for nearly every dress, so play around, mix & match and have fun picking out dresses in your choice of color. They’ve even added the option to add or remove a train to your dress. Great for transforming your dress from day to night! To sweeten the deal, For Her and For Him is including their Custom Fit service free of charge with any purchase of more than one bridesmaid dress. Using up to 14 measurements, FHFH will custom tailor every dress to fit your body perfectly, no matter your shape or size.

For Her and For Him is offering 15% off the purchase of two bridesmaid dresses, 25% for three to five, and 30% off of six or more. So when can you start shopping? These incredible rates apply for any dress in a bridesmaid collection, and will last from May 15 to June 31, 2012.

As a bit of icing on the wedding cake, FHFH will provide FREE express shipping for any product purchased during the promotion, including bridal gowns and accessories. That’s news that will help you sleep better at night, right?