Coral Pheasant

Great Gatsby Inspired Editorial

admin — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:54:56 +0000

With the upcoming silver screen release of The Great Gatsby, Art Deco inspired designs from that era are taking the design world by storm. This trend can most certainly be seen in the world of weddings making it ripe for a styled shoot. Cue the talents of Carla Ten Eyck, The White Dress by the shore, Jubilee Events, Hana Floral Design, d.d.Nickel Makeup Studio, Jennie Kay, Ana Parzych Cakes, New England Country Rentals, and Jeremy White. Together the team crafted an opulent, enchanting shoot that evoked the feel of The Great Gatsby novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The scene was set at the historic Branford House Mansion with its stunning melange of ornamentation. (The story of the Branford House is quite fascinating. For you architecture + history buffs, you can read more here.) A big thank you to Style Me Pretty for featuring the editorial in all its prettiness!

The paper story was heavily influenced by the geometric shapes prevalent from the Deco era. I strive to include elements of discovery and cheeky language into all of my designs and this suite was no exception. The matchbook-style reception card was a nod to the rise in smoking during that time period and also became another piece for guests to open and discover. The favors doubled as place cards. Inside the gold boxes were acrylic diamonds filled with chocolate candies and adorned with a tag reading “You’re a gem! We treasure your presence.” For a new twist on the ever-popular flagged cocktail straws, I designed tags that spiraled around the straw – playful and sexy! The tags read “Giggle Water”, 1920’s slang for an intoxicating beverage. I adore slang BTW, and the 1920’s coined so many fun phrases. There is a great list of words here that I find to be highly entertaining. Okay, enough with beating one’s gums, let’s get a wiggle on with the eye candy:

Want more? Check out the video below by Jeremy White and Steve DePino.

Photography: Carla Ten Eyck and Anna Briggs // Event Design/Coordination: Jubilee Events // Fashion Styling: The White Dress by the shore // Floral Design: Hana Floral Design // Paper Stylist: Coral Pheasant Stationery // Cake & Confections: Ana Parzych Cakes, // Makeup: d.d.Nickel Makeup Studio // Hair: Jennie Kay // Rentals: New England Country Rentals // Video: Jeremy White

April + Matt’s French Garden Party Wedding Invitations

admin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:11:18 +0000

April and Matt were married at the Glen Manor House late last summer. The vision for their day was inspired by 1920’s French garden parties and the delightful French movie Amelie. It was also important to April that sustainable materials be used. With this inspiration in hand we developed a playful suite with free-flowing text typeset in a quirky calligraphy font. Bits of French were brought into the design on the RSVP and the quote that graces the inside of the kraft mailer. I love when I’m given the opportunity to have fun with the RSVP envelope and can integrate the stamp in a dynamic way. In this instance, the stamp was framed in flourishes the complimented the font. To ensure the envelope would travel successfully through the mail, we did a test mailing before having the envelopes printed. The cards were tucked inside the kraft mailer creating a unique package for guests to open and experience. The mailer was sealed with a strip of wash tape and addressed with the beautiful calligraphy of Brown Linen Designs.

The main invitation was letterpress printed on double-thick 220# ecru Crane’s Lettra while all the enclosures were letterpress printed on 110# Lettra. Lettra is a 100% cotton sheet is made from cotton fibers gleaned from the cotton seeds, after having been cleaned for garment production and before being processed for cotton seed oil. This made it a perfect choice to honor April’s request of using sustainable materials. The kraft mailer was made from 100% post consumer waste and all the inks were soy based. The cherry on top? My printer has a strict recycling and conservation program and uses bicycle messengers for the majority of their local deliveries. All the bases were covered!

Last Bastion Birthday Editorial

admin — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:42:18 +0000

Inspired by the moody, mystical feel of Fort Adams’ arched brick ceilings and granite walls, the team at Bliss Celebrations Magazine developed an editorial shoot around an imagined 30th birthday dinner for “Carter”. The concept was to create a refined celebration that marked this milestone birthday with a modern meets Gothic sensibility layered with luxurious touches. The warm glow of the candles bathed the brick walls in amber tones while corrugated metal containers held a variety of begonias, succulents and moss. Mixed metal place settings added sophistication to the table scape. The custom table runners by Rentals Unlimited are one of my favorite details. Their tailored construction, parted slightly to reveal a modern lace fabric is brilliant. Add antlers to the mix and this is a party I want to have for myself!

For the stationery suite, I kept the palette predominately white with bits of grey. I was really drawn to the quirky “architectural” slab serif font. The strong lines of the typeface paralleled the strong lines of the arched casemates at Fort Adams. Fun facts about the year the birthday boy was born were used to create trivia cards and coordinating coasters carried the paper story to the bourbon bar. To see the full editorial spread, check out the latest edition of Bliss Celebrations magazine.

Venue: Fort Adams // Photography: Snap! Weddings // Styling: Claudia Seyffert // Floral Design: Stoneblossom Floral and Event Design // Paper Stylist: Coral Pheasant Stationery // Cake & Confections: Confectionery Designs // Lighting and Bar: Ormonde Productions // Rentals and Custom Linens: Rentals Unlimited/

Rachel & Adam’s Rustic, Cheerful Summer Wedding

admin — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 03:06:40 +0000

The wedding of Rachel and Adam, held last June at the The Barns at Wesleyan Hills, was fun, rustic and super cheerful. Designed by Jubilee Events and photographed by Carla Ten Eyck, the event featured an abundance of different textures and pops of sunny yellow. Right out of the gate, Rachael wanted to give her quests a glimpse of what was to come. To achieve this, we created wooden Save The Dates with Rachael and Adam’s initials “carved” into the surface. When their wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty late last year, Rachel said “The Save The Dates are one of our favorite touches that really allowed us to bring the country/rustic feeling throughout the whole wedding by giving us the wood heart to play with.” And we did just that! The carved heart became a custom tag that adorned their invitation and later, at their reception, was tied to favor boxes of chocolate covered Oreos. Even the cupcakes by A Little Imagination Cakes featured piped icing initials and hearts!

Lace was another element that was woven through many aspects of their wedding with Rachel’s gorgeous lace gown serving as the inspiration. Once again, the stationery helped set the stage. The invitation suite, printed on Ecru Crane’s Lettra to pick up the warmth of the yellow in their wedding palette, had a layered belly band of Kraft paper and lace. Gold and ivory twine wrapped around the band, securing a wooden heart and a wooden website tag. At their ceremony, an antique lace cloth hung from the chuppah and strips of lace trimming adorned each napkin. Feminine, soft and textural, it was the perfect compliment to the rustic design. And the textures didn’t stop there! The wedding programs were booklets with stitched linen covers. Each one was stamped with a custom design to further personalize them. The text inside explained each of the Jewish wedding traditions so that guests understood all the elements of the ceremony. The menus, printed on unique wood grain paper, brought the stationery suite full circle.

In addition to being featured on Style Me Pretty, Rachael and Adam’s wedding graces the pages of Bliss Celebrations newest edition.

All event photography by Carla Ten Eyck. Stationery images styled and photographed by Coral Pheasant Stationery.

Wedding Bible Planner Debuts!

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:24:47 +0000

Last June I attended engage!, the wedding industry’s best luxury wedding business summit. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! It was such a great experience that I went again in December and have plans to attend my third this June. The summit is three days full of inspiration, insights, ideas and innovation. But one of the greatest takeaways outside of those 4 I’s is the people you meet and the connections you make. It’s an opportunity to be in a room with people you might not normally cross paths with because of geographic distances. Case in point is the subject of this very post. At my first engage!, I had the great fortune of meeting Sarah Haywood, Britain’s most sought-after wedding planner. We sat next to each other during an afternoon of presentations and began chatting during the breaks. Those conversations continued (via Skype!) after the conference ended and developed into one of my favorite collaborations to date. Just weeks after connecting, Sarah hired me to redesign her top-selling wedding planning book and planner. I was over the moon! In addition to being a master at her craft, Sarah is such a delight to work with. The redesign of the Planner was the first order of business and we worked for several months selecting new images, developing a fresh color palette and overhauling the entire aesthetic. I am particularly fond of the silver foil printed calligraphy headings by Paul Antonio. Gorg! Today, on the most fitting of days (it’s Valentine’s Day folks!), the newly redesigned Wedding Bible Planner debuts! To quote Amazon,

(The Wedding Bible Planner is a) Stylish, practical, all-new second edition of this critically acclaimed wedding organizer from celebrity Wedding Planner and top-selling bridal author Sarah Haywood. Based upon the files and notebooks Sarah creates for herself when planning celebrations, this beautiful, detailed and practical organizer will also become a cherished keepsake for every bride who uses it as her own wedding planning bible. Wedding tips and advice from ‘Sarah and friends’ – all top wedding names from the world of luxury celebrations including the fashion famous, luxury stylists, A-list hair and beauty professionals, celebrity florists and chefs. Royal couturier Sassi Holford, cupcake Queen Peggy Porschen and Jamie Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts are just some of the experts featured.

The images below are a peek of what’s inside.

Feminine Meets Masculine Editorial for Well Wed Magazine

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:52:44 +0000

Last Spring the members of inWHITE teamed up to style a feminine meets masculine editorial for Well Wed Magazine at the gorgeous New Haven Lawn Club – an ideal location with it’s graphic black and white floors and the incredible art deco architecture. The inspiration for the shoot was heavily influenced by the looks seen on the runways at the Sring 2012 New York Fashion Week and the Alexander McQueen 2011 Savage Beauty exhibit. When developing the paper story, I chose to take a more masculine approach to the invitation design using a striking serif font. Come on, how sexy are the numerals? And that ampersand?! The suite was printed using black and white foil to emulate patent leather. The paper itself, Plike, was plastic-like and further emphasized the slick looks used in various bits of fashion and beauty. To add a touch of softness, beautiful, languid calligraphy by Brown Linen graced the outer envelope and place cards.

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Datura: a modern garden and Tony’s work did not disappoint. Several of the bouquets that he created were, shall we say… suggestive and included blooms fashioned into a riding crop and handcuffs. Genius. For an in depth look into the fashion styling, be sure to visit the blog of The White Dress by the shore. Still not enough? Pop over to Carla Ten Eyck and Jubilee Events for their take! To see the editorial in print, visit newsstands to pick up a copy of Well Wed’s Spring issue.

Photography: Carla Ten Eyck* and Anna Briggs // Event Design/Coordination: Jubilee Events* // Fashion Styling: The White Dress by the shore* // Floral Design: Datura, a modern garden // Paper Stylist: Coral Pheasant Stationery* // Calligraphy: Brown Linen // Cake & Confections: Little Imagination Cakes // Makeup: Jennie Fresa Makeup and Skincare Boutiquerie* // Hair: Terri Coon for Timothy Pamment // Lingerie: Beneath the Gown* // Video: Vintage Cinema

*Carla Ten Eyck Photography, Jubilee Events, The White Dress by the shore , Coral Pheasant Stationery + Design, Jennie Fresa Makeup and Skincare Boutiquerie and Beneath the Gown are all members of inWHITE: a luxury wedding collective

Pink & Gold Confetti Wedding Invitations

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:07:41 +0000

As a diehard lover of Kate Spade and all things paper, Megan was a girl after my own heart. She knew right off the bat that she wanted her wedding invitations to reflect the playful and cheeky aesthetic of Kate Spade. The design I created was the epitome of all things fun and celebratory: champagne, chevron and confetti in shades of punchy pink and gold foil. The invitation combines a playful script font with a quirky serif and gold confetti. The cards are a mix of letterpress and gold foil on nice n’ thick 220# Crane’s Lettra, with the main invitation being edge tinted in a bright pink for extra pop.

In researching ideas for Megan and Mike’s invitation, I came upon a quote from Jane Austin’s Emma. I had already incorporated the arrow as a graphic element and the quote paired beautifully with the design. It reads: “It darted through her with the speed of an arrow that Mr. Knightly must marry no one but herself!” With one slight modification – Mr. Knightly was replaced with Mr. Vipond (the last name of the groom) – it was a perfect fit! When I shared this idea with Megan she was delighted – but for another reason. The song of her college sorority was “Speed Thee My Arrow” and many of her sorority sisters would be guests at their wedding. Significance on multiple levels – I loved it and more importantly, so did Megan!

The cards of the suite was stacked according to size and tied with a navy silk ribbon. The topmost item was a pink coin envelope with a gold glitter wedding website card – a simple piece that delighted everyone when they opened the envelope.

Two Years in the Making

admin — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:35:40 +0000

Two years ago today I married my love. Here’s to many more! The images below are from our engagement shoot taken by my fab friend and photographer extraordinaire Carla Ten Eyck. And yes, those are ferns growing out of the floor (!)

Meghan and Ben

admin — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:46:08 +0000

It’s always a treat when a client’s wedding gets featured on a blog – and when the blog is Style Me Pretty it’s even sweeter. Meghan and Ben were married on Long Island this summer and the wedding they put together, with the help of Diana from Jubilee Events, was a romantic and nostalgic affair. Robert and Kathleen Photographers captured all the gorgeous moments of the day.

For their paper story, it was important to Meghan and Ben to incorporate a map and a postcard feel given their many travels over the course of their relationship and the written correspondence that resulted. I found a vintage map of Long Island, altered the colors to fit their wedding palette and then designed the back of the map and the RSVP card in a manner reminiscent of old postcards.

Meghan and Ben were very thoughtful when designing their day of stationery. As a surprise for Meghan, Ben reached out to me in secret to design a coordinating card for her that revealed a special romantic weekend complete with a hot air balloon ride. A pretty fantastic surprise, right?! I love the moment captured by Robert and Kathleen Photographers when Megan opened the card.

Instead of designating the tables by number, Meghan and Ben chose places in the world that meant something to the both of them. On the back of each card, they told a short story noting the significance of each place. It was a great way for their friends and family (and me!) to learn of their cherished memories.

To read more about their love story and to see other details from the day, head over to SMP for the full scoop. Meghan and Ben, it was a pleasure to work with you and I hope that you are back together on the same continent real soon!

All event photos taken by Robert and Kathleen Photographers // Styled paper photos taken by Coral Pheasant.

Accordion Save the Date

admin — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:07:27 +0000

I know it’s been said by many a wedding professional about their clients, but no joke, Megan and Mike were THE sweetest couple through and through! Megan and I had so much fun designing all of her wedding paper from her save the dates to her rehearsal dinner invitations and of course the invites for the main event (photos to come!). Megan is a Kate Spade lover who adores her nautical stripes. This fact, combined with their seaside engagement photos, was the jumping off point for their Save the Date inspiration. To bring in an element of playfulness and discovery, I created two pockets by sewing the envelope in half. One side housed a tri-fold card of their photos and the other side contained a card with their wedding website information. A fuchsia striped envelope liner coordinated with the fuchsia stitching and quirky calligraphy by Crystal Kluge completed the look. How could you not be excited to reserve the date for this darling duo?!