Invitation Consultants Blog - Wedding and Party Inspiration

It's Friday, We're in Love: A Weekly Roundup of Everything Lovely

We've buried our heads in creative thinking for our new spring wedding designs (including some new ridiculously cute destinations we cannot wait to share with you!), but we did find a few moments to sneak around some blogs + soak in the inspiration. Above, Kaity found this beyond lovely wedding photographed by Jodi Miller on Merriment. Below, hot air balloon wine Antoinette spotted on the Die Line. Up, up & away, indeed!

Amy adored these sweet DIY favor flowers found on Oh Happy Day.

Antoinette (& the rest of us) really can't get over the whimsy of Kate Spade's hula hoop shots.

Finally, I just couldn't resist, just as I can't resist this smile! Have you seen The Artist? It's caused plenty of Oscar buzz, and in my humble opinion, it's well deserved! Jean DuJardin, an adorable dog, and old Hollywood glamour- what more could you want?


Have an exquisite weekend, dearies.

Valentine's Sweets: Confetti Pretzels

As you may know, we are obsessed with Pinterest. I mean, completely obsessed. It's easy to spend hours on the site filling your boards with inspiration! With Valentine's Day coming up, we knew that it was time for some sweet treats. We turned to our boards to find a delicious - and easy - recipe to celebrate! Since we don't have a full kitchen at the office, we needed a no-bake recipe.

We found this super simple recipe for Confetti Pretzels pinned from the Pink and Blue Blog. We subbed white chocolate to make our red and pink sprinkles POP - but kept pretty true to the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• Pretzel sticks
• 12 oz. white chocolate chips (we used Ghiradelli)
• Shortening (1 tbsp)
• Sprinkles
• Aluminium foil/tray

Microwave the chocolate and shortening together. We split the chocolate in two and did 6 oz. at a time. Doing it this way, we only needed to microwave the chips and shortening for 30 seconds and then stir to thoroughly melt it. Easy peasy! Then just dip your pretzels and lay them on the tray to decorate. Let them dry for an hour or so - or as long as you can hold off on eating them - and then they're ready!

12 oz. of chocolate was more than we ended up needing for one bag of pretzels, so to increase our "chocolate to pretzel" ratio, we snapped some in pieces and made little pretzel bites! Delicious!

Then we did what all good bloggers do, and Instagramed our work. We sent it out to the whole office who promptly gobbled everything up. Job well done, we think!

Are you making sweets for Valentine's Day?

Celebrating Gasparilla

This Saturday is the annual Gasparilla celebration held every January in Tampa. Gasparilla celebrates the pirate legend, Jose Gaspar and the theme of the event is an invasion by Gaspar and his men. The event begins when Ye Mystic Krewe, an organization of Tampa residents, arrives in Tampa Bay in an authentic pirate ship, the “Jose Gasparilla” named in honor of the pirate. Once the ship is docked, the mayor of Tampa hands over the key of the city to the pirate captain and a parade starts down one of Tampa's major streets. During the parade, the different Tampa Krewe’s throw beads or coins off of their elaborate floats into the crowd.

In addition to the main parade, a family-oriented children’s parade is hosted a week before the event ending with an extensive firwork show. There is also a more adult-oriented "knight" parade held a few weeks after the main event in Ybor City, a popular nightlife spot in Tampa. Each of the three Gasparilla events are hosted by a different Krewe. The Tampa Krewes are prestigious groups and they host various philanthropic events throughout the year.

Each year thousands of Tampa residents look forward to celebating Gasparilla. Many people have “Gasparilla Parties” prior to the start of the parade. These parties range from simple laid back events to large elaborate parties decked out in pirate gear. Due to the big event, party hosts send out Gasparilla invitations weeks in advance. Our favorite invitation picks include Pirate Crossing, Patterned Fleur, and Mardi Gras Banner!

Does your city hold any memorable events?

Super Bowl XLVI

So the match-up is set. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will once again face Eli Manning and New York Giants in the biggest football game of the year: the Super Bowl. This year's big game will take place in Indianapolis in Lucas Oil Stadium. The match-up is not unfamiliar to football fans. Not only did the Giants and the Patriots play this season (with the G-Men getting the win), but these two teams met four years ago in Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots were coming off an undefeated season and were hoping to win the big game to become only the second team in history since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to lift the Lombardi Trophy without suffering a single loss all season. The Giants - especially Eli Manning and David Tyree - had a little someting to say about that though, and stunned the Pats with their one loss of the season. The game was incredibly exciting, even for the casual football fan. Personally, I am really looking forward to seeing this match-up again.

Nearly everyone in America will be tuned in to the big game next Sunday night and most will be enjoying the night with friends and family. The Super Bowl is by far the most social sporting event of the year. There are countless party recipes out there - all of which sound delicious! Make sure you pick out some good ones this year, whether you are hosting a Super Bowl party, or attending. You know where to find your Super Bowl Party Invitations, like the design above from Address to Impress!

Who are you rooting for?

2012 Baby Name Ideas (Other than Blue Ivy)

Remember our Popular Baby Names for 2011 post? Well, we are back with more creative ideas for 2012. Beyonce and Jay-Z kicked off the baby year with their bundle of joy Blue Ivy Carter, which of course sent everyone into a media frenzy wondering why they chose that name and what it meant. Regardless of how you feel about the name, flowers and foliage have always been a source of inspiration for baby names, from Marigold to Violet to Fern.

Since Babycenter.com reported their top five names for 2012 as almost identical to the year before, we looked at other predictions for inspiration. Here are some interesting choices:

Vintage names: Sadie, Hattie, and Millie.

Ancient Greek and Roman names: Daphne, Athena, Damon, and Sebastien.

Names from Literature: Atticus, Holden, Harper or Sylvia.

Bright Names: Sunny, Felix and Felicity.

Heroic Names: Arthur, Caspian, Finn, Joan or Juliet.

Natural Names: Mae, Lark, Ash, Bay or June.

And how about some IC staff picks? We've got you covered from creative to traditional.

For boys: Elliot, Caleb, Landon, Sullivan, Charlie Vedder, Dylan Ryan, Chase, Aiden, Mason, Elijah, Timothy, Von, Yentl, or Louie.

For girls: Pippa, Rylee, Hailey, Jules, Margot (Margeaux), Laurel, Michaelina (Mikey for short), Julia, Leigh, Kerri, Ethel, Annie Grace, and Camden.

So readers, we ask you: what are your favorite and least favorite name trends for 2012? Do you have a favorite celebrity-inspired name? What is the most unique name you've ever heard? We'd love to know!

...and don't forget, if you're in the market for Baby Shower Invitations or Birth Announcements, you've come to the right place! We have many stylish baby items to showcase your baby's new name! Congratulations!

Planning a colorful, modern or unique event?  Let us help you find the perfect wedding invitation! You'll also find invitations for any party or occasion!

Colorful Inspiration: Alpha Chi Omega

There are certain colors that you wear throughout your life as a symbol of pride - the Irish wear green on St. Patrick's Day, we start stocking up on our school colors the day our college acceptance letters come and we proudly wear the colors and symbols of our sororities all over campus for the four years we're there.  It seems only appropriate to highlight some sororities and share with them a colorful inspiration board!  This week brings you the scarlet and olive green of A Chi O and some fun ways to show your pride!

AXO Stationery

The Alpha Chi Omega flower is the Red Carnation

Lyre necklace by Dogeared

The perfect scarlet party dress

An A Chi O iPhone case to cover your most used accessory

A personalized Alpha Chi Omega Stamp is the perfect gift for any big or little

For all your sorority invitations, sorority gifts and sorority stationery, visit InvitationConsultants.com!

It's Friday, We're in Love: A Weekly Roundup of Everything Lovely

Everything was so pretty this week... just hard to narrow it down to our favorites! Here are a few to start off a whimsically wonderful weekend:




images:
kate spade | a beautiful mess | apartment therapy | oh joy | mary & matt

other loves:
monique lhuillier 2012 resort wear | moment junkie | green wedding shoes first look

have a delightful friday, dearies.

Red Leaf Papers at the Atlanta International Home & Gift Market!

I know we spend tons of time gushing on our blog about the new invitations and designs we are cooking up here at Invitation Consultants, but there's another little division of our team you should know about, our sister company : Red Leaf Papers. Red Leaf Papers is a wholesale stationery and gift company that services stationery retailers all over the country. Recently, our Red Leaf Team packed their bags and head to Atlanta for the International Home & Gift Market! It was a great trip, and it was so exciting to meet some of our stationery friends in person. Above is a photo of our booth from the entrance, showcasing our three lines: Red Leaf Papers, Odd Balls, and Stampster, the HIP Custom Stamp.

These are our freebie mini notepads that we shared with show-goers, surrounded by our red and silver sequins which were EVERYWHERE. Allison and I even topped our show attire off with a sequined heart from Ban.do (sparkle is always appropriate!).

Here is a shot of our spotlighted papers: personalized party invitations, holiday cards, and gifts like luggage tags and stampster!

We had a great time in Atlanta and are looking forward to more markets in the future! Tell us in a comment below: have you ever attended a market or trade show? We love the Atlanta show and The National Stationery Show in NYC!

Great Guest Designers!

Since we started our guest designer program, we've been lucky to have such amazingly talented people submit their designs for Invitation Consultants. We're super excited to introduce you to a few of our new designers, and show you their newest creative works. These new invitations range from whimsical bridal shower invitations to fun floral invitations to an invite perfect for a down home barbeque.  Make sure to visit our what's new section to stay up-to-date on these and all of our new designs!
Interested in becoming a designer for Invitation Consultants? Make sure to check out our guest designer program!

Happy Birthday to Betty White: 90 Golden Years

Today is iconic TV star Betty White's 90th Birthday!

For decades she has brought joy and laughter into all of our hearts with classic characters such as Sue Ann Nivens (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Elka Ostrovsky (Hot in Cleveland), and everyone's favorite Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls. She has made countless appearances in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the popular game show Password, and is now the oldest person ever to host Saturday Night Live.

Aside from the televised Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl special, which aired last night on CBS, we have gathered some 90th birthday inspiration to honor Betty.

• Betty next to her fabulous three-tiered Betty Crocker Cake, which is also celebrating their 90th!
• Vintage beauty Betty
• "Ninety" Birthday Invitation
• Golden Girls magnets or pins
• Classic Miami and Cleveland postcards
• Adorable golden retriever puppy. Betty's most prized posession is her retriever, Pontiac.

Tell us, what is your favorite Betty White moment?

Planning a colorful, modern or unique event?  Let us help you find the perfect wedding invitation! You'll also find invitations for any party or occasion!