galentine's > valentine's
 

Recently seen on Wedding Chicks and Artfully Wed.

For those of you following along on Instagram, you know that my life has been nothing short of insanity over the last few months.

It’s a long story, but TL;DR: I moved to New York to Los Angeles in September. I moved from Los Angeles to New York in December. Yes, of course I moved all my stuff each time. Like a completely sane person.

The incredible silver lining to being in moving purgatory for the last six months is that I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of my favorite teams on both coasts.

In my brief LA “stopover” (slash “permanent move” that did not stick at all), I collaborated with HoneyFitz Events on a shoot celebrating besties.

I’m fortunate to design pieces for celebrations of love, of two families becoming one, but I don’t commonly get to design pieces for celebrations of a friend family.

I personalized these cute lil candy dishes as take home mementos for each gal.

We even created a 5’ wide banner as a backdrop for photos!

Related: Are you a New Yorker who happens to be trying to plan a party at home? And the only space big enough to fit more than 2 people is in your living room? And the centerpiece of your living room happens to be a widescreen TV?

Pro-tip: a “backdrop for photos” is also a convenient way to hide it.

I mean. If you’re anything like me.

Just hit up your local fabric store (mine is Mood) and grab a few yards of fabric.

Add florals at the base and you’re all set.

And obviously invite your super talented floral artist friends, if you have ‘em. Like Pinky here, working magic and arranging blooms beneath the banner.

I capped it off by treating the gals to a keepsake hand-dyed ribbon for their bouquets. These are a perfect way to dress up your future arrangements.

hand-dyed-marsala-silk-ribbon-calligraphy-gold.jpg

Galentine’s Day over Valentine’s Day 4E.


Vendors: 
Venue: The Fairmont Miramar Hotel
Planning & Design: HoneyFitz Events
Photographer: Tyler Chase Photography
Florals: Lark Farnum Designs
Sweet Treats: Vanilla Bake Shop
Linens: La Tavola Linens
Chairs: LA Best Rentals
Tabletop Rentals: Borrowed Blu
Wardrobe & Styling: Rose & Sage
Hair & Make-Up: Glam+Go
Calligraphy: Song & Pen
Custom Jewelry: Edward Avedis


 
mixing gouache for calligraphy ink
 

One of my very favorite things: getting inky. Er, in this case: getting gouache-y. (Rhymes with “washi”.)

Just gouache me.

Just gouache me.

This week I’ll be providing live calligraphy for Etsy’s Wedding Trends 2019 Press Event at Gary’s Loft in Manhattan, and I am so stinkin’ excited.

In preparation, the Rye Workshop had sourced pressed floral escort cards for a hanging installation, and we worked together to create a versatile palette of earthy, feminine tones for the accompanying calligraphy.

After a bit of experimentation, we landed on blush, mauve, terracotta, ochre, copper and lilac.

RyeWorkshop-Blog-4.jpg

Gouache is my medium of choice when it comes to custom “ink” for escort cards, inner envelopes or signage – matte and metallic. (Pretty much anything that doesn’t have to be waterproof.)

The opacity and texture can be so rich. I used Reeves for the below, but I’m also preferential to Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache.

Mmm, texture.

Mmm, texture.

It’s sensitive enough to mix easily with water, but durable enough hold together without separating for an acceptable amount of time while I’m lettering. I can usually get at least 10 escort cards out of the ink before having to stir.

I generally premix each primary color I need with a bit of water (here I started with primary red, zinc white, and primary blue), then use a pipette to add just a bit, then a bit more, then a bit more, until I get the color I want.

Like the mauve below. (It should be surprising to no one that’s visited this website that mauve is pretty much always the color I want.)

You put the white with the mauve-y blush and stir it all up.

You put the white with the mauve-y blush and stir it all up.

For metallics, if we’re doing just a few (as we do for an event where I’m lettering live), I always love the tactile experience of Finetec.

Call me a masochist (or just a calligrapher) but I can’t get enough of manually mixing the ink with a brush onto the nib.

Manually mixing the pigment from the Finetec palette onto my nib with a brush.

Manually mixing the pigment from the Finetec palette onto my nib with a brush.

Stay tuned for the uber creative escort card installation sneak peek next week.

 
modern bridal tea at the langham
 

As seen on Ruffled Blog and Wedding Chicks.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Langham Huntington Hotel ran a Pink Afternoon Tea throughout the month of October, with a portion of proceeds benefitting City of Hope.

Photo by Caroline Tran

Photo by Caroline Tran

In preparation, HoneyFitz Events organized a beautiful promotional Tea to get the word out! I teamed up with several talented vendors to add a few unique and special touches to the tablescape, including hand-dyed ombré pink ribbon place cards. Using natural silk fabric, I ripped and dyed each ribbon separately, before brush lettering in white ink.

honeyfitz-events-langham-huntingon-pasadena-ribbon-place-card.jpg

I also watercolor painted each menu in blush with rose gold calligraphy at the top, to give each menu a personalized, textured feel.

Photo by Caroline Tran

Photo by Caroline Tran

These were paired with gorgeous china, lush blooms, and the tiniest cakes with laser cut cake toppers.

Photo by Caroline Tran

Photo by Caroline Tran

Several influencers were on hand to experience the afternoon, including Caroline Tran, who did a lovely job showcasing the essence of the event.


Vendors: 
Venue: The Langham Huntington Pasadena
Planning & Design: HoneyFitz Events
Photographer: Caroline Tran
Florist: Little Hill
Linens: La Tavola Linens
Rentals: LA Best Rentals
Tabletop Rentals: Borrowed Blu
Wardrobe: Show Me Your Mumu
Hair & Make-Up: Mobile Bridal Salon
Calligraphy: Song & Pen
Laser Cut: Simply Stated
Influencers: Jessica Radloff // Annette Vartanian // Jocelyn Wong