omg

I stumbled across Estate Diamond Jewelry.com by accident, and found some of the most beautiful engagement ring settings I have ever seen. I absolutely love the setting with the Asscher cut diamond on the left hand side. The princess cut one, surrounded by the sapphires is also just amazing. Granted, if it were me, I might not want quite such an enormous diamond. I might even substitute the diamond in some of these settings for something else. An aquamarine? A sapphire? A citrine? I can't imagine any stone looking bad!

great gift

great gift

Posted by Mackenzie on Thursday, January 24, 2008

We've received so many nice housewarming gifts since we've moved in to the new house. One of my favorites was this collection of five white vases by Rosanna (they also have a colored collection of the same vases). If you're looking for thoughtful off-registry wedding gift, a great item to add to your own registry, or just a treat for yourself, these are awesome. I love mine so much that if I know I'm having people over and we're going to be hanging out in the kitchen, I'll move them all to the kitchen. If we're going to be playing games in the living room, I'll bring them in there. They're like a traveling side show! I sort of wish I had a few sets so I didn't keep having to take them with me.

king pod

while browsing aimlessly today, i came across the most amazing artwork. amy karol of kingpod makes playful quilts that could more accurately be described as collages made entirely of fabric. i love artwork that employs craft techniques that inherently refer to woman's role as nurturer without being in-your-face feminine or feminist. amy also has a blog adorably titled, angry chicken.

top: friendly deer (print), bottom: king bird (a small quilt)

guess wat ????

So my excuse would be that my b'day is tomorrow and I tend to just buy myself beautiful things around my b'day - yes - that works. Sub-Studio recently left a comment on one of my posts, resulting in this amazing discovery - and yes, purchase. Check out both the site and the Etsy shop for gorgeous prints and cards. {above: 'abyssal' by sub-studio}

*edited: okay, i guess i live in a box as they have been covered on the major design blogs - where in the world have i been??

bird and banner

i've been posting mainly about photography recently. or really exclusively about photography and not at all about anything wedding related. but since we are wedding photographers i think i really need to represent both aspects more fairly, and since i spend an equal amount of time looking at wedding sites as photo sites, balancing the posting between the two should work out rather well. so in an effort to even the score:

let me start by saying that in recent times i have become a stationary fanatic. i guess it started with my own endeavors into printmaking (see: blue | print), but i have developed a great deal of respect for well-designed, paper goods (i.e.: expect to see a great deal of posts about wedding invitations). i especially love handmade stationary and anything letterpressed. bird and banner, a team of two women graphic designers, is by far my personal favorite. they offer less traditional invitations that often incorporate such handmade craft elements as sewn and embroidered embellishments or using fabric in place of paper, and often they hand-write the text into the design. they also incorporate personal aspects of each wedding into their designs: for a wedding in philadelphia (the city of brotherly love), they used a heart shape that seems reminiscent of a handcut valentine card, and for the above hydrangea image for a wedding in vermont, they printed directly onto maple wood. but however craft-inspired their ideas, their execution is flawless leaving you with the impression that you are holding something precious that deserves to be treasured.

well spun weds

well spun weddings creates the best wedding videography i've ever seen. based in philadelphia, jon gangwer documents weddings in an ethereal and beautiful way. he started the business after being dissatisfied with the videography options available for his own wedding. shooting digitally, jon creates films that have the look of 16mm film, espcially those of his films in black and white. He also offers the photography services of a talented photographer named monika broz who is a member of the wedding photojournalist association (although i highly encourage you to higher us, bluebird photography, instead).

sweet pea

sweet pea started out primarily as a florist, but has grown to include a wide selection of fine gifts (like the soap top right, and the 10" decorative plate in the bottome left) and they also offer registry services. like many other professionals in the wedding industry (including both well spun weddings and bird and banner), philadelphia native and owner, shelby fraser, started out by designing the floral arrangements for her own wedding; she had previously spent time in new york working in the photography industry.

Gorgeous jewelry

Gorgeous jewelry over at Raul Frisneda Jewelry. My favorites are the earrings, no wait, the bracelet. No! Wait! The ring. It's the ring. Who cares, they're all amazing. They leave me wishing for an occasion for dressing in jewels.
That reminds me. Today, is a very special day. Today is the LOST premiere. I'm a total LOST junkie. So much so that whenever I type LOST, I must use all CAPS, like in the logo... LOST! I must admit that the event is bittersweet. When we lived in Brooklyn I would host "LOST Night" every Wednesday. My friends would all come over and I would make dinner. It was the highlight of my week. Now that we're in Rhode Island, and my dear friends are far far away, LOST Night is sure to be a little sad. Luckily I have Sawyer to distract me from all the sadness.

in the night

Sometimes, late into the evening - when the house is quiet - I love browsing through flickr - it never fails to inspire. I had marked this photographer as a favorite sometime ago, but have not had the chance to enjoy flickr in so long - I had forgotten. The incredible depth of emotion and obvious drama called out to me this evening - I am once again awe struck... check out seventytw0dpi's portfolio here - Haanaah is another not to miss.

wedding dresses

Maybe not all for the same wedding, but Neiman's has some beautiful wedding accessories if you're looking to splurge on something really special. That shawl would be just as beautiful on your grandaughter in fifty years as it would be on you. And those shoes? Hot, yet the peep toe makes them surprisingly demure. The red soles are all sass.

lanterns in the shape of the eyes

OK. I'm back. Whoever, (Mom?) made the comment about morning sickness, HA! Not so much. I'm fine, just a touch of the flu maybe? Anyway, got a great tip today from Luna Bazaar about their awesome lantern collection. I love, love, love their selection of shaped eyelet lanterns, and think they all would look amazing hung low over guest tables, lit from within in groupings of three or so? At these prices, you can afford to get a bunch. The light coming through the little holes in the eyelet will be fantastic!