What a fabulous weekend at the 2012 Wonderful Wedding Show!

Brides (and grooms too) were so excited to talk about their wedding and their stationery for the big day.  Many past and current clients stopped by to say hello.  Thank you to everyone who came to visit, shared their support and helped us display a bright and bold booth!

Special thanks to Yoko Chapman for the booth inspiration and Laura Brownlee for the great photos!

Our stationery was also displayed in the following booths: Planned Perfectly and Dream Day Decorators.  Thank you to Planned Perfectly for the drapery/linens and Dream Day for the gorgeous fresh flowers. 

Cards by Cristina specializes in custom wedding stationery.  The inquiries are already coming in so book your consultation as soon as possible to ensure that we can accommodate your order. 

Happy Friday! 

We have 2 Inspire Me Boards to share with you today!  The first is inspired by the beautiful November colours that we experienced just a few weeks ago.  A rich palette of chocolate brown, turquoise and gold will be sure to make you feel warm and cozy.

We followed with a dark purple, silver and black combination palette to draw out the classy and elegant feel of a winter wedding.  So many colours to choose from; if only we could have a wedding every season of the year!

Fall is here! I love the transition into Fall because of the changing colours and lovely scents but also because it brings beautiful weddings into season.  October's Inspire Me Board is Pumpkin, Chocolate and Raspberry, which by the way sounds like a really tasty dessert!  This palette is so warm and cozy and brings lots of ideas for the season.  Enjoy!

Our September feature is now on the blog (although a little late because of all the busy times Fall seems to bring).  September’s Stationery Scoop is particularly helpful this time of year.  If your wedding is a year from now, now is the time to start thinking about your Save the Dates!   Save the Dates have been a popular trend in the last few years and I anticipate they will continue to be, simply because they are so practical for you and your guests.  Read our post to find out more about Save the Dates!

It’s no doubt that grey has been a popular and trendy colour in all areas this season but I just love how it pairs with yellows and browns.  Although the Inspire Me Board uses a "mellow" yellow, a bright sunny yellow would also work wonders.  Why add brown?  Brown can be a simple accent colour.  Or, nature and the outdoors can be used as your brown accent.  Think trees, branches, wood.  Although chocolate brown is a beautiful rich colour, I think the browns are becoming slightly paler for the upcoming season which is why we chose to accent a mocha brown instead.

New to Cards by Cristina is....

The Stationery Scoop!

We want to provide our current couples and future clients with information about our products and services.  Each month will be different; we will feature an invitation style, idea or stationery related topic for you to read about!

Our August feature is Pocketfold Invitations!  Happy reading!

New regular feature on the blog!

I love inspiration boards!  Not only are they an awesome tool for planning your wedding but as a designer, they get my creative juices flowing!

Check out our first *Inspire Me Board* with the colour palette tangerine, hot pink and eggplant.  Such vibrant and fun colours for a summer wedding!

Enjoy!

Kristen and Daryn were married on May 14. I met them back in the Fall of 2010 and they stuck by me ever since. :)

They were the couple that had the awesome Save the Date Cards shown HERE

Scroll down the link to see them!

For their wedding, they decided to order an entire package including save the date cards, pocketfold invitations, favour boxes that doubled as place card tags, menus, reception programs, mini seating charts and labels.

Check out more of their stationery in their stunning slideshow video from their photographer Patty Boge with Off the Page Photography.

SLIDESHOW

Congratulations you two! I loved working with you guys!

Krystelle and Kaycee are a super sweet couple that came to me after the wedding show in January. Their elegant wedding was on June 18 and had a classic colour theme of crimson red, silver and black. For their invitations, they chose the petal fold style and an elegant flourish and outer ribbon wrapped around the fold. We put together 170 of these beautiful pieces.

Congratulations again Krystelle and Kaycee!

Remember the CFL Hamilton Tiger Cats stationery I made for Ramona and Chris?  Well, their wedding is now featured as a "Real Wedding" in the Weddings in Winnipeg magazine and on the website.  Their photos look stunning! Check them out, along with a story about how they met and details about their gorgeous wedding. 

http://www.weddingsinwinnipeg.ca/realweddings.php?articleId=626

It’s always a treat when your business is featured in a blog post or on a website! We have 3 different features to share with you today!

Back in January, we had 2 different websites contact us for permission to feature our work on their blog. It seems our wood invitations have been all the buzz and have been making their mark around the world. We recently received another international inquiry, this time from Australia. Very exciting!

Here is one of the features posted on Brenda’s Wedding Blog (owner of Best Wedding Sites) located in New York City.

http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/blogs/2011/1/10/real-wood-invitations-from-cards-by-cristina.html

We were also contacted by Calligraphy by Jennifer. Our wood invitations made Jennifer’s weekly favourites list!

http://calligraphybyjennifer.net/blog/weekly-favorites-15

Later in February, Weddings in Winnipeg, a local magazine, contacted us asking if they could feature photos of our stationery on their blog. The post also includes a write-up about the variety of custom stationery we offer and how informative our website is for newly engaged couples.

Here is the link to the Weddings in Winnipeg blog!

http://www.weddingsinwinnipeg.ca/inspirationroom.php?post_id=515

Special thanks to all of you - Brenda’s Wedding Blog, Calligraphy by Jennifer and Weddings in Winnipeg! We appreciate you getting in contact with us! :)

Finally a new blog post! January - March have been absolutely nuts around here (in a good way of course!) and it really is difficult to blog as often as I'd like. I also try to wait until my couples start mailing their invitations out so I don't spoil the surprise for their guests!

Here's one of the many posts I will be doing within the next few weeks.  First up - Laura and Blair! Laura and Blair are a very sweet couple and I’m so glad to have met them. They came to me looking for boarding pass invitations for their wedding in Punta Cana next year. Laura was extremely organized and knew exactly what she wanted which was perfect. It definitely allows me to envision the couple’s design a lot better and get right to work.

Keep in mind that for a destination wedding, your flights will need to be booked about a year in advance to secure your reservations with the airlines and resort. This means your invitations need to be mailed much earlier than a local wedding.

Laura and Blair’s stationery had 2 pieces, the invitation itself and an additional insert with their wedding travel details. Having an extra insert is recommended for your guests to have on hand, especially for a destination wedding. This insert will outline important information like flight information, departure and return date, booking information and how to secure a deposit.

This particular stationery design included beautiful emerald and champagne colours with a palm tree on the invitation and a compass on the insert. The pieces were enclosed in a metallic champagne envelope. I love how they turned out!

Congratulations Laura and Blair!

When I hear the news that a celebrity of any sort is getting married, my initial thought is wondering what their wedding invitation will look like.  

Yesterday, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s invitations appeared on the internet for the big reveal.  Their wedding is going to be large, but who didn’t expect that?  They are sending out invitations to around 1900 guests so keep an eye out for yours in the mail ;)  However, the invitations revealed yesterday are simply for the ceremony.  Reception invitations are expected to be different and be sent out separately to a much smaller crowd.  

The invitations are reportedly made from a stiff cardstock and have gold lettering across the top in the initials of Queen Elizabeth (ER II).   The wedding is set for April 29th.  

Now, I am in no way turning into a celebrity blogger but I am interested in knowing what celebrities do for their wedding, being in the industry and all.  And also because I was expecting something totally over the top and extravagant only to see that William and Kate’s invitation is as simple as simple can be.  Traditional, simple and straight to the point which is there is absolutely nothing wrong with. In fact, the more I look at them, the more I realize the invitations seem quite suited to them and the wedding I think they will have - very traditional. Now remember there's apparently another set that is yet to come. Whether or not the media will get access to them, it will be interesting to see what those ones look like.

I’m interested in knowing what you think!  What are your thoughts on the royal wedding invitations?

Many people have been anticipating photos of the invitations we displayed at the Wonderful Wedding Show. We have updated our website with plenty of new invitations. Scroll down to check them out!

A big thank you to all of the brides and couples who have been contacting us to book a consultation and to inquire further about placing an order. It was a pleasure to meet all of you at the show and we look forward to seeing you again to discuss your wedding stationery! Happy Planning!!

All photos taken by Sambath with UPLift'd Photography.

THANK YOU to everyone who visited Cards by Cristina at the wedding show!

The show was a success and we met so many wonderful brides and couples. There was amazing interest in our work and the wonderful feedback is very much appreciated. We can't wait to meet many of you again and start creating your wedding stationery!

A friendly reminder to those who received a promotional card at the show – there is a 10% discount on the back of the card. Present the card at your first consultation to have the discount applied to your total order of custom designed stationery. Consultations are always free and there is no obligation.

Our website and blog are constantly being updated with new designs so check back frequently.

Cards by Cristina specializes in:

-wedding invitations
-save the date cards
-table numbers
-programs
-menus
-favour tags
-place cards
-seating charts and much more.

Don't forget about our wood invitations that were an absolute hit at the show!

We also offer unique favour boxes available in 5 different styles and over 20 colours.

Visit our website www.cardsbycristina.com or

contact us by email or phone

cardsbycristina@gmail.com
(204) 295-7332

The Wonderful Wedding Show is just 2 weeks away and we couldn’t be more thrilled. It has been very busy preparing for the show but we know it will be an absolute blast and all of this hard work will pay off!

Details!

When: January 22 and 23
Where: Winnipeg Convention Center (Booth # 511)

Come visit our booth and take a look at the wide selection of wedding stationery that we have to offer. See you there!

How quickly this year has passed! Although many of us tend to say that no matter what year we're going into. I think life itself speeds by in the blink of an eye. This will be the last blog post for 2010.

Cards by Cristina has had an amazing year with wonderful clients and vendors whom we can now call our friends. We have been privileged to be a part of some fantastic opportunities like the MMVA’s (thanks to Eric from Photo Cookie) and we couldn’t be more grateful.

We will have a busy start to 2011 preparing for our first time at the Wonderful Wedding Show on January 22-23. Be sure to check out our booth (#511) as we will be displaying our wood invitations and new stationery samples!

We will also have a Wedding Bells magazine advertisement all year long for the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter editions. And, in May 2011, we will have yet another special opportunity to feature our stationery with Wedding Bells so stay tuned for that.

Cards by Cristina offers complimentary consultations so be sure to book one with us for your wedding or special event.

Visit our website www.cardsbycristina.com to view our portfolio and contact information. Or, email us at cardsbycristina@gmail.com

We wish everyone a happy end to the current year and a safe, healthy and Happy New Year in 2011.

It's official! I've been waiting for this day for a while! My business advertisement is finally in Wedding Bells magazine (Manitoba and Saskatchewan edition) for the spring/summer issue and again in fall/winter. So if you see the magazine on a shelf, pick it up and turn to page 352. :)

Here is what it looks like!

Here's the gorgeous cover for the 2011 spring/summer issue.

And my ad on page 352! 

Kristen and Daryn approached me for a stationery package for their wedding in May 2011. Our consultation was packed with lots of great ideas but what I got the most out of our meeting was that they wanted something totally unique and something their guests would absolutely love. We played around with the idea of their guests “opening” something on their Save the Date cards.

Here are Kristen and Daryn's Save the Date sample.

A cute little envelope that will reveal something reallllly important for Kristen and Daryn's guests. =)

I love offering new products for my clients and this one just had to be on the list. Yes, they are invitations made from wood, real wood! I think they are super cool and would totally compliment a nature, cottage or country theme. The wood is lightweight and feels really smooth.

The best part is, these wood invitations can be customized, meaning you are still free to choose the design you would like to have on them. Cards by Cristina creates the design and they are engraved in the wood. This new product will be featured at my booth (#511) at the Wonderful Wedding Show in January. Super pumped for that!

Couples can also order wood table numbers, programs, menus, save the date cards etc to complete the entire look.

And guess who took the great photos? Yup, my hubby from UPLift'd Photography. Enjoy!

One of my friends and brides, Ramona, is getting married TODAY to her soon to be hubby Chris! Ramona booked me a long time ago and I think we can both say, we felt like this day would never come so soon! But it has and I know she is super thrilled and can't contain her excitement. I am so glad to be part of their wedding day.

On the agenda were ceremony programs and table numbers. The ceremony programs are super fun with a yellow gold metallic paper attached to a black cardstock and a cute polka dot ribbon. Ramona's table numbers are ultra unique because they combine her love for cats and Chris's love for the Hamilton Tiger Cats from the CFL. She thought her idea was nuts but I think the idea turned out pretty darn cute.

Congratulations Ramona and Chris. Have a blast today and soak it all in!

Pictures of their stationery below!

Today is our 2 year wedding anniversary and so this blog post is special.

I remember planning our wedding and still to this day Ioved every moment (well, almost). I still say that I would love to have another 10 weddings (with the same person of course) just to have some of the different colour themes and designs out there. And if you know me well, you know this is completely true. I guess I picked the right industry to work in so I can do this for other couples instead!

I think back and can’t believe our wedding was already 2 years ago, about 3.5 years when we started our planning.  

My husband proposed on July 7, 2007 and we were married on October 4, 2008.

I thought I would share some special pictures from our own wedding and give you a glimpse of our day.

One of our favourite wedding pictures to this day!
Photo from Kenzie Prudhomme Photography.

Another favourite.
Photo from Kenzie Prudhomme Photography. 

My engagement ring on the back of my "handmade" shoe.

My very own handmade wedding invitation!

Our reception program that included the names of our wedding party,
dinner menu and timeline of events.

A photo from our 'day after' session done over a year later in November 2009.
Photo from Sugar and Soul Photography

And now - this picture was taken in August 2010 on our very late honeymoon in Italy.

This blog post is long overdue and that is due to Fall being so busy already! It’s amazing how fast the transition between Summer and Fall happens and all of a sudden, it’s October and you have no idea where the time went! 

No complaints about the summer though.  My husband (Sambath) and I went to Italy for 3 weeks in August and had an amazing time.  And just before our flight, we attended one last wedding for the summer.  Two of our friends, Tony and Marie were married on August 1 and asked me to design their stationery and my husband to take pictures at the reception.  I love being included in a friends wedding like that.  And the wedding was beautiful. 

You may remember my post about Tony and Marie’s invitations.  Well, here is the rest of their reception stationery including table numbers, favour tags, menus and programs. 

Stay tuned right at the end for a glimpse of beautiful Italy.  :)

Table Numbers. We did a 'criss-cross' ribbon and added a love quote on the bottom.

Reception program and menus. We switched the paper colours to add more variety.
The menu is purple on white and the program is white on purple.

Favour Tags for yummy cupcakes.  Loved how these were assembled!

A glance at the beautiful tables.

So I said I'd post one picture but of course have to post more. :)
This is Venice.  Enough said.

A perfect shot.  I LOVE colour combinations so this picture sends me over the moon! This is just outside Rome.

In Italy, everywhere you turn is a sight. 
These were some homes sitting just above stores and shops where bakers made fresh strawberry tarts.  :)

Baby showers are such a special event. This one marked my sister’s second arrival, Dharma Lily. The shower took place on July 25 and a great time was had by all.

Included below are some wonderful pictures courtesy of UPLift’d Photography, our personal photographer for the day. ;)

All stationery including table numbers, notecards, game cards and signs from Cards by Cristina.

Enjoy!

“Love is like the air we breathe. Not always seen but it is felt and needed”.

This is the quote one of my brides Lindsay and her new husband Kris chose to use on their seating chart. The quote is simple and yet so true.

Lindsay and Kris were married on July 24, 2010. Their ceremony took place outside and they lucked out because it was a beautiful sunny day. Lately, the words wedding and sunny haven’t been used in the same sentence! The ceremony took place at the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and the reception in the Assiniboine Park Conservatory.

A couple months back, I posted Lindsay and Kris’s pocketfold invitations. Now I’m posting the rest of their stationery. This is the fun part where you can see everything else and how nicely all the stationery pieces fit together. I think it’s so essential to have a coordinating set of stationery. It makes all the difference and really looks amazing.

The three colours we used for this set of stationery were aqua, champagne and sapphire. Lindsay wanted simple and classy and I think we achieved that.

In the pictures below you’ll see we created table numbers, favour tags, programs and a seating chart. I just love the background/prop used in these photos. All pictures by Sambath San from UPLift’d Photography.

Lindsay and Kris, it was a pleasure to work with you guys. Congratulations!

Ceremony Program with brads on top to hold the papers together. Adds a nice little touch. We put together 150 of these programs.

THANK YOU to everyone who visited Cards by Cristina at the wedding show! The show was a success and we met so many wonderful brides and couples. There was amazing interest in our work and the wonderful feedback is very much appreciated. We can't wait to meet many of you again and start creating your wedding stationery! A friendly reminder to those who received a promotional card at the show – there is a 10% discount on the back of the card. Present the card at your first consultation to have the discount applied to your total order of custom designed stationery. Consultations are always free and there is no obligation. Our website and blog are constantly being updated with new designs so check back frequently. Cards by Cristina specializes in: -wedding invitations -save the date cards -table numbers -programs -menus -favour tags -place cards -seating charts and much more. Remember, our designs can be fully customized for your wedding. We also offer unique favour boxes available in 5 different styles and over 20 colours. Visit our website www.cardsbycristina.com or contact us by email or phone cardsbycristina@gmail.com (204) 295-7332

Some of the best weddings are the ones you can attend with family. On July 10, Sabrina and Chad were married. Their ceremony was held at the Holy Rosary Parish and their reception was at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Everything turned out beautifully and I was happy to help by putting together some stationery including a Just Married Sign, table numbers, kissing game cards and favour tags.

We kept the table numbers simple and personalized the favour tags by adding a photo of the couple. The kissing game was fun and got people up to the podium trying to get Sabrina and Chad to kiss. Each table had a card with movie love quotes on it. If you knew which movie the quote was from, you made your way up to the podium to guess. Cute way to get people involved.

Louise McAllister from Weddings by Louise did a fabulous job with the linens and set up. I included a couple of pictures below as proof. ;)

Here are some pictures from their big day courtesy of UPLift’d Photography (aka my hubby) :)

These next invitations are very special because they were made for my niece's Baby Shower.  My sister Roberta gave birth to my beauitful niece, Dharma on May 16.  Dharma is my sister's second child.  Did I mention she also has a little boy who hasn't even turned 2 yet?  Yup! Props to my sister for being able to handle both of her munchkins and run 2 businesses.  Roberta is the owner of Salon in Motion, a mobile hair salon that comes to your home.  This has been especially popular for brides.  Roberta also runs her own business with Lia Sophia, a jewelry company where you can find amazing pieces of jewelry.  You can check out both of Roberta's websites below:


http://www.saloninmotion.com/
http://www.liasophia.ca/sites/roberta

Back to baby Dharma! I must mention that Dharma's full name (Dharma Lily) set the theme for this baby shower.  I knew I needed to have some kind of floral design on this invitation.  When I asked Roberta what kind of invitations she wanted for the baby shower, she told me “anything girly!” So I ran with that idea, but of course wanted to make them different from the norm.  Most baby girl shower invitations are pink which is totally fine, but I wanted something different.  So I chose the next best colour instead, purple!  I know this is one of my sister's favourite colours and thought the purple would add more of a classy tone for the baby shower. 

I found the most amazing textured paper with matching envelopes in a vibrant eggplant purple.  We printed the invitation on a metallic champagne cardstock and used a gorgeous purple font to highlight Dharma Lily's name.  We placed a purple flourish with some floral accents on the left side of the invitation to enhance the theme from Dharma Lily's name.  And of course, I came across the perfect quote to complete the look of this invitation – “baby girls are like flowers, they fill the world with beauty”.  How true. 

And finally, to add that pop of pink in there somewhere (because you can't have a baby shower for a girl without some pink), we added a pink polka dot wrap around label to the envelope.   These labels do a 2-in-1 job since they are a mailing address and return address all in one.  Look at the photos to see what I mean!  The wrap around labels are available through Cards by Cristina. 

I had a blast designing these invitations and I'm really looking forward to the celebration where we can shower beautiful baby Dharma and her special Mom with love and blessings.  I will update my blog with pictures from the shower after July 25th!  Until then, cheers!

Earlier this year, my good friend Sumera organized a special fundraiser for the victims of the Haiti Disaster. The event was called Haircuts for Haiti. Many people including hairdressers, henna artists, estheticians and massage therapists donated their time and services for the fundraiser. The Fundraiser was a success and raised just over $7,000. The Federal Government generously matched that amount and the total doubled to over $14,000. Huge success, if you ask me!

For the fundraiser, Cards by Cristina donated a gift certificate valued at over $250. The gift certificate was included in a raffle draw at the event. Cards by Cristina believes in donating to charitable events whenever possible. As a result, we felt awesome about donating to such a worthy cause and in the end, met a really great couple.

Rachel and Tim were winners of the gift certificate and contacted me right away to set up a consultation. I loved the colours they chose for their wedding – a pink/plum/eggplant palette with an Oriental theme.

We designed the invitation with a border to include branches and a floral pattern in all shades of plum with some eggplant/purple accents here and there. In the center, the invitation is transparent to show off the beautiful design and follow through with the rest of the border.

Another beautiful element to this invitation is the character box at the top which includes the ying and yang character symbols in which Rachel and Tim really wanted to appear on their invitation. I felt the symbols would stand out if they were placed in their own box right at the top. We also gave the character box a 3 dimensional effect by raising it off the paper.

We used an Asian inspired calligraphy font throughout the entire invitation. One of my favourite parts of the invitation? The love quote at the top, chosen by the couple. I think it's just amazing. Truly a nice quote and unlike anything I'd ever read. This invitation and all of its elements are really going to set the tone for their Outdoor Wedding in September.

All the best to both of you! Congratulations!

Back in February, I got in touch with a former friend, Ashlee, from high school. Facebook is good for that kind of stuff :) I found out that Ashlee was getting married just a few months later to her long time boyfriend, Scott, who also went to the same high school as us. Strangely enough, Ashlee needed some invitations and was interested in boarding pass invitations. The strangest part is that I had actually made a couple of boarding pass invitation samples just a week before our conversation about this! Total coincidence.

We met for a consultation and discussed the details. I worked on their sample right away because I was really excited about getting to the results. Ashlee and Scott are having their wedding ceremony at the beautiful Leo Mol Sculpture Garden here in Winnipeg and heading to the Lakeview Resort Hotel in Gimli for their reception. They have a tropical wedding theme so having the boarding pass invitations makes complete sense. These types of invitations are one of my favourites to make just because they are so fun and usually a little more casual than a formal invitation. But, some couples who have boarding pass invitations also like to dress them up a little bit more and that is just as well. You can have them designed to your liking.

Along with the invitation, Ashlee and Scott needed a seperate card with information on their accommodations and directions from the ceremony to the reception. We used the same elements for that card as we did on the invitation but changed the design just slightly.

Some of the details we included on the invitation itself were the tear off reply card. Ashlee and Scott decided to have their guests reply by email but still wanted the perforated line between the section with their wedding information and reply information. It adds a nice little touch and really gives the effect of a ticket you can tear off.

We printed this invitation on a high quality metallic paper in yellow gold and attached it to a chocolate brown cardstock. I also designed the invitation with tropical flowers to coordinate with the wedding theme and highlighted key information in different coloured fonts. One of my favourite things on this invite is the barcode on the reply card section. And last but not least, we paired the invitations with beautiful chocolate brown envelopes. Nothing better than having a coloured envelope to coordinate perfectly with your invitations.

Congratulations again guys and it was a blast working with you!

There are so many reasons why I love what I do but some of them include the amazing opportunities that come my way and the wonderful people I get to work with.

On June 2, Wedding Bells Magazine held a luncheon for all of its advertisers. It was a great way to mingle with people in the same industry. One of the people sitting at the same table as me was Eric from My Photo Cookie. A few days later, Eric contacted me asking to collaborate on an AWESOME project.

I was thrilled when he told me what it was for - - the 2010 Much Music Video Awards! How exciting!

Many people have been wondering how the tags will be used so here is an explanation about that. The tags will be tied around the delicious cookies that Eric makes, just like favour tags at a wedding.  The cookies have photos on them - and those photos are of the many celebrities attending the event. The cookies and tags will be featured in all 20 celebrity "green" rooms. This year the rooms are actually blue to celebrate Smarties "Blue is Back".

Because there was a lot of content that needed to go on these tags, we decided a 4 sided fold over tag would be perfect. Designing these tags was really neat. The MMVA logo is just awesome this year with such bright colours. I just love it. The logo looks almost futuristic which inspired me to design the tags along the same lines.

And if working with the MMVAs wasn't enough, the cookies and tags will also be featured on the Much Music Show entitled "My Date With....." featuring Ke$ha. Watch it!

Actual pictures of the cookies and tags will be featured on my blog following the MMVAs. In the meantime, check out pictures of the tags below. All photos courtesy of UPLift'd Photography.

Special thanks to Eric for contacting me about this opportunity!

Remember to comment below. I love to read your thoughts!

Lindsay was referred to me by my good friend Marie. I wrote a post about Marie's invitations just the other day. Look for it below!

Lindsay came to me with her own DIY (do it yourself) materials including pocketfolds, envelopes and pre-cut paper for her invitations, programs, favour tags, directions and reply cards. Cards by Cristina is happy to provide such a service for DIY brides. If you come to us with your own materials, we can help with printing, assembling and all of those other details. We simply meet for a consultation and discuss your vision. We can set you up with any additional product should we happen to need it.

Lindsay chose two beautiful colours for her wedding, aqua and champagne. She wanted to keep the style of her invitations pretty simple so we did just that. Mind you, her invitations have an elegant flair if you ask me! :)

The champagne paper Lindsay chose was used for her main invitation, the directions card and reply card. Birds are also part of Lindsay's theme so we added a nice bird image in colour on the front of her pocketfold. A nice touch of ivory ribbon was added to tie the pocketfold and to complete the look.

Last but not least, we printed guest address labels on Lindsay's outer envelopes and return address labels on her reply envelopes.

Cards by Cristina is also providing Lindsay with coordinating programs, table numbers, favour tags and a seating chart. Stay tuned for a post on all of that stationery in the next couple of months!

I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend!

*Cards by Cristina will have a post dedicated to DIY brides in the very near future so watch for that. In the meantime, you may visit the contact page on our website or e-mail us at cardsbycristina@gmail.com should you have any questions about DIY products or anything else.

I love how this picture gives these invitations a vintage feel. :)

Look at the pretty bird image that Lindsay picked out!

LOVE these two colours together!

A close up of the elegant font and directions/reply card on the side with the inner envelope.

Shimmery envelopes to complete the look just beautifully. Coordinating envelopes add just the right touch.

Marie and Tony are good friends of ours and so I was thrilled when they asked me to help design their wedding invitations. Nothing is better than working with people you already know!

These two already had a vision of what they wanted their invites to look like. We made a few tweaks here and there to get them just perfect. First of all, I love their colours. Purple is such a popular colour this season. Marie and Tony decided to pair the purple with black and white. Awesome combination!

The invitations were printed and assembled on metallic paper that has a gorgeous shimmer! A wide black satin ribbon was diagonally wrapped across the white with a lovely narrow purple ribbon on top. Positioned on top of both ribbons are their monogram initials. To complete this look, I just had to add a rhinestone. That little rhinestone touch seems to top off the design just perfectly.

Marie and Tony are all about the details. Their theme revolves around the scallop design and their monogram initials which are both incorporated into their invitation. This theme will remain consistent in their other wedding stationery including programs, menus, table numbers and seating chart.

Because their ceremony and reception will take place at 2 different locations, they decided to go with a direction card to make it easier for guests to find the reception venue. Direction cards are always a great idea for weddings that have multiple locations and especially for out of town guests who aren't familiar with a new city.

I'm so excited for Marie and Tony's wedding! Hopefully your day will be just as beautiful and summery as today!

Stay tuned for Marie and Tony's other wedding stationery that will be featured on the blog closer to their wedding date!

All photos taken by Sambath San of Uplift'd Photography :)

Look at that beautiful paper shimmer!

Notice the love phrase at the top :)

I love all the little details that totally complete this look!

Here is a small stack of the invitations! We printed and assembled 100 of these babies!

This next invitation I just love because it incorporates one of my favourite accessories, lace!

Kim contacted me in need of a small order of invitations for her intimate wedding. I assured her that she did not require a minimum order of stationery. Kim took a look through my website and portfolio and saw many different design elements that she liked. She decided to mix and match some ideas together for her own custom invitation. Kim really liked the natural earth tones from one of my other invitation samples. She also fell in love with the lace that was on a different invitation. We decided she could have it all. I just love how simple and elegant her invitation looks. The lace adds a traditional touch but overall, the invitation is still quite modern looking. Kim got the best of both worlds!

Christine was a lucky winner at the Wedding Showcase held back in February! She won complimentary table numbers and reception programs for her big day! She decided to keep her stationery consistent and order invitations, reply postcards and escort cards as well.

I am so glad Christine opted for a whole set of stationery because her colours and theme are just gorgeous! I love the gold, orange and chocolate brown colours she chose. Christine really likes branches and so we decided to incorporate that detail as well. Christine is the type of bride who knows exactly what she wants and that's a good thing! I loved her ideas and couldn't wait to get started on her sample.

We took a slightly different route with the reply cards and decided to make them like postcards instead, eliminating the additional envelopes and printing the return address right on the reply. Easy, convenient and eco-friendly! The escort cards will be a nice touch for Christine's guests as they will be able to find their own card with their name and table number!

Enjoy the sample!

My first official post in my new blog! I am thrilled to have my very own network to talk about what I love to do everyday.

With wedding season upon us, many couples are ordering their invitations. What I love most about my job is that I can tailor wedding stationery to the couple's themes, colours and personalities making each invitation unique. Everything is so custom that couples get exactly what they want.

What I take pride in is putting together a hard copy paper sample of the custom invitation we discuss at the consultation. It is the best way for me to show brides exactly what they are getting.

Consultations are always free and super casual. I always suggest that you bring ideas, colour samples, fabric swatches to narrow our ideas down. At the consultation, you get to choose from various paper samples, styles, fonts and the specific details you'd like on your invitation. I e-mail you a photo of the hard copy invitation and we modify any changes. Ultimately, the paper sample lets you see exactly what you're getting. I love this extra touch!

Stay tuned for a ton of updates. I'm currently working on a fun Oriental themed invitation. :)

Cheers!