day-of details: Susan + Tom

Happy first anniversary to Susan + Tom!

Susan + Tom combined elements of Chinese tradition with a bohemian feel for their summer wedding.  Pops of red for good luck were seen throughout their day - Susan's nail polish, small pom-poms and tassels crafted by the couple, and some of their signage.  

I love that they also chose to keep things very cool and boho with a really unique color palette.  The pops of red were perfectly contrasted with lots of cool blues, and a shock of chartreuse.  

(The chartreuse was a great nod to their invitations.  When I did their outer envelope calligraphy, I hand-painted each envelope with a wash of chartreuse before addressing each envelope with gray ink..  So cool to see a detail like this come full circle for escort cards on their wedding day!)

venue: POMME // photos: Emily Wren Photography // florals: Sullivan Owen // catering: Peachtree & Ward // rentals: Maggpie Rentals // signage + calligraphy: hello, bird. // invitations + menus: Minted //  officiant: Alisa Tongg // planning: confetti & co. // cake: The Cake Studio of Ocean City

 All photos in this post courtesy of Emily Wren Photography. 

 Susan and Tom's wedding was featured on Martha Stewart Weddings. 

behind the scenes: hand-dyed tea towels

Things that are tactile, soft to the touch, amazingly textured and/or beautifully colored.  These kind of things make me ooh and ahh over them.  They're my happy place.  Lots of stitches, a fine weave..  Honestly, guys, I swoon over fabric just as much as paper. 

I love being able to dye fabric - either by mixing dyes or using natural materials - because the process is it's own kind of magic.

One of my goals with hello, bird. is to make beautiful details - for special events and for the every day.  I love being a part of celebrating people's life moments, and love when those pieces are able to live after the moment- to stretch into your every day.   Being able to combine that idea with doing things that I love-- that's another special kind of magic.  So, with all that out there- it's an understatement that I was pretty thrilled when Maggie had a really fun idea for favors for her bridal shower. 

Maggie is one of the most amazing people I know.  She's incredibly creative, kind-hearted + has a great sense of humor.  She also has really great style.  When I think of Maggie, I think of warmth- and neutrals, and fringe.. (Ok, I could keep going, but.. let's not get too crazy with this compliment-fest.. haha!)  

Anyway, Maggie loves textiles + neutrals as much as I do.  She was thinking of some kind of tea towel with hand-painted names.  How to make something like that be more Maggie's style?  Neutral colored dyes.  Something soft and muted, minimal and uneven dye patterns, and a really cool weave.  Brush calligraphy in white for soft edges and a small contrast.  

I loved dying these towels in a few small batches.  The weave structure is slightly open, and the cotton is incredibly delicate- giving the tea towels an almost sheer quality.  Another fun fact?  These are HUGE- slightly over 24" square.  They're a statement piece- but a really quiet statement piece.  (We did skip a fringe trim..)  

hand-dyed fabric from hello, bird.  // hand-made flower pot by heypace ceramics // photo courtesy of Maggie Farrell

(And did I mention Maggie's great style?)  I'm obsessed with how Maggie set up place settings for her shower with those gorgeous plates + that swoon-worthy mother-of-pearl flatware.  I'm pretty sure she made the fringe chargers herself.  Each guest received their own hand-dyed tea-towel and handmade ceramic planter with a succulent.  Yes, please.  Thanks again for letting me be a tiny part of your day, Maggie! 

day-of details: philly baby shower

One of my favorite things is celebrating love and life moments, and being a part of the details for those moments is always fun (and a huge honor!) for me.  Being a part of a baby shower is even more special, because there is so much love in a baby shower!  That little one is already so loved and celebrated. 

Baby Cooper's arrival was eagerly awaited with so much love, and it was such an honor (not to mention a ton of fun) to be a part of making the day-of details for the shower! 

First, shower games got a major overhaul with a laidback "Guess the Birth Date!" calendar.  The calendar was hand-painted with a watercolor wash and some loose line work.  At their leisure, friends + family could fill in their best guess for Little Coop's birth date.  We left the due date off of the calendar to add a little more fun. 

The classic shower game overhaul continued with a beautiful folded game card that I designed, calligraphed and printed.  Taryn and her family put up childhood photos for a fun round of "Who's that baby?" - allowing guests to match relatives with their childhood photos.  My favorite family member of the game is Big Brother Fitz (the cute dog seen just to the top left behind the inside of the card, at #12!) - a perfect way to include your furry little baby. 

Guests were also able to "Take a Guess" at Mini Coop's name, birth size, and time of birth.  I love that these guesses were kept separate from the birth date calendar, giving a little more attention to estimates of Mini Coop's arrival.

For Baby Cooper's shower, I hand-painted "Welcome Little Coop!" onto a large denim fabric banner.  One of my favorite things about this banner is that it can be used to both welcome the newborn home, and later altered to just read "Little Coop!" as a nursery decor piece.  

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Thanks again, Taryn and Pat, for having me be a part of your day-of details for Mini Coop's baby shower!  

Little Cooper's baby shower vendor dream team:   venue: private residence, Philadelphia // planning + styling: confetti & co. // calligraphy, game cards + signage: hello, bird.  //   florals: kate farley design // photography: Danfredo Photos + Films 

All photos in this post are courtesy of Danfredo Photos + Films.

Little Cooper's Baby Shower has been featured on 100 Layer Cakelet and Style Me Pretty Living.