Style Me Pretty

Behind the Scenes of Betsywhite Stationery

We are spicing things up a bit this afternoon, and handing over the blogging reins to one of our favorite stationery stars, Gia of Bestywhite Stationery, for our first monthly installment of Behind the Scenes – where we pull back the curtain to the studios of some of our favorite designers! You’ll understand why we are kicking off the series with Bestywhite once you take a look into their lovely studio and see the amazing way their brain goes from inspiration to stationery reality with each design they touch. It’s really amazing, so I’ll stop blabbing and let Gia take it from here!

Hello SMP readers! I’m so thrilled that Abby has asked me to share a little about our studio with you! First, let me introduce myself. I’m Gia Graham, owner and Creative Director of Betsywhite Stationery – a design studio offering invitations and stationery for social events.

As a graphic designer, I initially started out in the world of corporate design. After working on countless boring brochures, I decided that I needed something more inspiring to fuel my creativity so I started designing wedding invitations about six years ago. I quickly realized that although it was important to create beautiful stationery, it was just as important to make sure those designs were reasonably priced. With that in mind, I set out to build a collection of deceptively affordable invitations and stationery. We launched our online store in 2008 and we’ve been designing invitations for brides worldwide since then!

I love the atmosphere in our studio – it’s a bright, airy, music-filled space. We’re pretty laid back around here. A typical day starts with a quick meeting to talk about what’s on the agenda for the day and to make sure everyone’s on the same page. The first part of the day is spent answering customer inquiries, revising proofs and filling sample orders from the day before. The rest of the day is usually spent creating proofs for new orders, packaging completed orders and depending on the time of year, working on new designs.

I think it’s important to be surrounded by the things you love and things which inspire you, especially if you work in a creative field. Here’s a sneak peek at our space…

The details:
fig. A: My desk
fig. B: Aimee’s desk (one of our designers)
fig. C: The vintage Hermes 3000 typewriter my hubby gave me for my birthday a couple years ago (it makes me happy)
fig. D: The Hermes 3000 types in an insanely adorable script font. Every now and then I type a little note so I can admire the font.
fig. E: Vintage postcards
fig. F: Tulips are my fave!
fig. G: My pinboard

The design process:
Ideas for new designs are constantly bouncing around in our heads. I usually jot things down as I think of them, or I pin things (on my actual pinboard or on my Pinterest boards) that spark new ideas. Sometimes inspiration will come from an object, a trend or even a color palette. Before a design makes an appearance in the store, it usually goes through several revisions, variations and critiques. We’re pros at nudging and tweaking around here!

Here’s a peek at how our minds work…

For the Dylan wedding invitation, I wanted to play with hard lines and feminine details:

With the McKenna wedding invitation we wanted a romantic, vintage feel:

The Arya wedding invitation was inspired by colorful sarees and ornate mehndi:

One of my favorite things to design is our wedding logos. More often than not, these designs begin as quick sketches and it’s such a thrill to see the final designs used by brides to brand their entire event, from invitations to favors. Here’s a look at how a couple of those designs began…

Thanks so much for taking a peek into our world! Congrats to those of you who are recently engaged… we hope you’ll join our circle of fabulous Betsywhite Brides!

Thank you Gia for sharing all of the prettiness that is your day to day! So inspirational! xoxo, A.Blaire

 

Ontario Wedding by Elizabeth Kaye + Electric Blonde Entertainment and Events

Not only is this a bookmark-worthy wedding (it totally is by the way), but it also goes to show a little rain (and a collapsed tent…eek) doesn’t ruin a wedding day – mostly for this beautiful Bride and her amazing family. It warms my heart how they all pulled it together so perfectly just hours before the show was about to begin, and after poring through all the gorgeous images from Elizabeth Kaye, it’s hard to believe things went less than perfectly. There are SO many details to love about this gorgeous fête, but I think I love the love behind everything most of all. See even more lovely here!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From Lynzie Kent, Bride and Owner of Electric Blonde Entertainment and Events… While many brides say that their wedding day was perfect, I will admit that mine was not. I had dreamed for over a year of a beautifully sunny day and got the exact opposite. There was a torrential downpour the entire night before the wedding, complete with thunder and forked lighting, and it continued until about 12 p.m. the next day. When my mom and I arrived at the reception venue at about 7 a.m. on the day of the wedding, we found that our tent had almost completely collapsed from the weight of the rain on the roof and that so many of the details inside that we’d set up on the previous day were ruined. The people who set up the tent hadn’t done a very good job, and it was falling apart. I was bawling and my mom, who was trying to stay positive, broke down too. But thankfully, I have incredible people in my life who saved the day — literally. My dad and uncle showed up with a ladder for putting the tent back together, my friend and coordinator for the day, Lisa, dried paper bags, rearranged the broken cake stands and cleaned the flooded dance floor. And my mom, bless her, remade about a million props for the photo booth.

By the time the ceremony started at 2 p.m., the rain had stopped. It was still very cloudy and sprinkling here and there, but my photographer Beth assured me that clouds made for the best pictures. I wore my mother’s veil, a Victorian-inspired hat, and walked down the aisle to Led Zeppelin’s “Over the Hills and Far Away.” I was so nervous, but the minute I saw Andrew, my face lit up. From there, things actually began falling into place and it was the most amazing day I could ever wish for. Andrew and I chose traditional vows and I remember talking over the officiant because I was so eager to get them out of my mouth — everyone laughed at me.

The reception was so incredibly fun, and when I walked into the tent I knew that our hard work all year had paid off. The speeches were particularity hilarious and there was so much love in the room that I felt like I was buzzing. We even ended up having a rainbow! Our goal was to create a vintage rustic elegance that incorporated our Canadian and Australian backgrounds. Andrew is an Aussie and over 30 people joined us from overseas. We named all the tables after Canadian or Australian animals and had a photo booth where you could dress up as a typical Aussie or Canuck, which was a blast. My sister Kendall, a graphic designer who designed everything from the jam labels to the buttons, even put a beaver bride and a koala groom on our invites. The food was delicious and prepared right in front of our guests, and we served local micro-brewed beer and made our own wine. And to top it off, my sisters sang to us, which left the room (and me) in tears. Lastly, the most important thing to us was the music. I am a musician by trade and Andrew is a huge music fan. When we got engaged, the first thing we did was book the Neil Murray Band. We loved every song they played and the dance floor was packed from the word go. At the end of the night, the played an extra 30 minute set. Their last song, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” by Oasis, resulted in the entire dance floor surrounding Andrew and me, hugging and singing to us. I was crying; it was so moving. For the late night partiers, we held a bonfire back at my cottage where we all reminisced and sang campfire songs. A perfect Canadian ending to such a beautiful day.

Wedding Photography: Elizabeth Kaye / Wedding Styling, Décor + Coordination: Lynzie Kent (Bride) and Lisa Cascun (Bride’s Friend) of Electric Blonde Entertainment and Events / Flowers: Roots Floral and Event Design / Ceremony: Bride’s Family Cottage / Reception: Stephen Leacock Museum in Orillia, Ontario, Canada / Invitations, Labels, Programs + Buttons: Beet & Path Designs (Owned by Bride’s Sister) / Wedding Dress: Barbra Allin via Becker’s Bridals  / Shoes: ZU / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Coralie Beatrix by Sophie Pearl / Bridesmaids’ Purses: FA2U / Men’s Suits: Andrew’s Formals / Men’s Ties: Cyberoptix Tie Lab / Hair: Sheila Loder of Fresh Salon and Spa by Holly + Madeleine Griffin of Body Bar Hair Salon / Makeup: Sarah Smith (sarah-smith@live.ca) / Caterer: Era 67 / Videographer: Michael Engel (michaelengeldesigns@gmail.com) / Ceremony Music: Richard Grossman via Electric Blonde Entertainment and Events / Band: The Neil Murray Band / Koala + Beaver Cake Topper: Garden4Arts / Jam Favours: Bride’s Grandmother / Cake + Cupcakes: Mariposa Market / Tissue Paper Pom Poms, Cake Stands, Table Numbers, Table Runners, Place Cards, Seating Chart, Bunting + Wine: DIY

Sonoma Wedding by Ryan Ray Photography

For anyone planning a Fall Wedding, this affair photographed by Ryan Ray should be at the top of your inspiration list. It’s autumnal with a style savvy twist. Honestly, even the pumpkins look glamorous and anytime black and white striped linens are involved, we just KNOW it’s going to be a feast for the eyes. So get ready because here comes the gorgeous Bride with a knock-out wedding in tow and Halloween may be over but with details like this, you’re going to be counting down the days until next October. See more of this pretty Sonoma wedding in the full gallery.

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the bride… Sonoma has such a “farm country charm” to it, and that is one of the reasons we love it so much. We love the wine country and the laid back atmosphere of Sonoma. It suits us perfectly as a couple. We wanted our wedding to be easygoing, fun and enjoyable for all of our guests. We had about 72 guests travel from different parts of the country to celebrate with us, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. The view from the tent was breathtaking and exactly what I had envisioned.

I can’t get enough of black and white stripes, so we used an outdoor fabric to make some table toppers. I love the way it looked with the pumpkins. I love October and I love pumpkins, so we used mini pumpkins on each place setting, as well as some of the centerpieces. We used really heavy rustic-looking candlesticks to do some larger flower arrangements and had mismatched mercury glass votives everywhere! I purchased the votives in warm colors like browns and oranges so when they were lit, they gave a warm glow to the centerpieces. The chandeliers in the tent MADE the room! I loved the way they added a little elegance to the tent — having the sides rolled up inside the tent so you could see out over the vineyard was amazing! Everything really turned out perfectly, and to hear guests say that it was hands-down the most beautiful wedding they have ever been to, well, it made me so happy. But not as happy as becoming Ty’s wife made me — I’ve never felt more loved.

Wedding Photography: Ryan Ray / Flowers: Vanda Floral Design / Venue: Viansa Winery / Wedding Invitations + Menu Cards: Three Quill Pen / Dress: Maggie Sottero / Shoes: Gianni Bini / Dessert: Fleur de Lisa Cakes

Austin Wedding by The Nichols

It’s been awhile since we’ve laid our eyes on a gorgeous wedding photographed by The Nichols, but today is the day loves and this wedding was completely worth the wait. It’s sweet simplicity with a lovely organic feel all crafted by The Nouveau Romantics. The flowers alone are total heart-palpitaters and then there’s the all white backdrop of Mercury Hall to really set the scene. This is a study in understated elegance wrapped up in Southern charm and we’re giving it two thumbs up. See it all here!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the bride… I really had no idea which direction to go when I began planning our wedding. I began pulling images from blogs early and putting together a PowerPoint, which ended up being the best thing I could have done. It was how I found our amazing florist. I showed the PowerPoint to my photographer who suggested that I get in contact with her friend. I am so grateful that Jennifer Nichols put me in touch with Liz Lewis of Nouveau Romantics. The first time I spoke to Liz on the phone, I knew it was going to be a perfect match. She understood exactly the look and feel I was aiming for. Liz has amazing taste, and she did a perfect job achieving what I had in my mind — and beyond.

Mercury Hall was a lovely venue that captures Austin’s easy-going charm. Because I had so many friends recommend it, we booked the venue unseen, and we were so glad we did. The beautiful wood floors and white bead board walls were gorgeous, which made creating a beautiful space so easy. Not to mention I really wanted to get married under a live oak tree, and Mercury had two amazing live oaks — an ideal backdrop for the ceremony. My mom inherited beautiful cake stands from my grandmother and great-grandmother. It was important to me to have something of theirs included, so I did my best to incorporate them. The stands also worked amazingly well with a collection of my mom’s cloches. We had our cakes done by Polkadots Cupcake Factory. They were able to make gorgeous cakes from some images I provided. And they were very yummy! I had seen a photo booth backdrop in a blog that I really liked, which gave me the idea to do a landscape using felt for a backdrop. My fiance proposed while on a trip in Iceland under a waterfall. I thought it would be fun to do a Icelandic landscape — with a geyser, glaciers, Vikings and, of course, a waterfall. The backdrop really turned out to be my favorite project. I got help from a sewing studio in my neighborhood called “Gather Here.” Our guests loved posing in the photo booth, and the playful personal touch made the photos that much more special.

My fiance is from North Carolina, and I am from Texas, so we thought spice rub as a gift would be appropriate. I found a great online fabric manufacturer in Durham, North Carolina, named Spoonflower that produces personalized fabric. I painted the states of North Carolina and Texas and had the fabric made for each. It was so easy, and the fabric with baker’s string was adorable on the little jars. We made a jar of Texas and a jar of North Carolina spice rub for each guest. Luckily, we had eager family to help put these together for us. The entire weekend was amazing. For me, it was great to see all of my favorite people gathered in one of my favorite cities. We were so lucky that people came from all over to celebrate with us, some as far as China! The night really turned out to be beautiful, and all the personal touches made it feel like our very own.

Wedding Photography: The Nichols / Wedding Coordination: Lizze Belle Events / Floral + Event Design: Liz Lewis of The Nouveau Romantics / Venue: Mercury Hall in Austin, Texas / Catering: Kurant Events / Dessert Table: Polkadots Cupcake Factory / Photo Booth Backdrop: DIY with Help from Gather Here (Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts) / Spice Rub Favors: DIY with Custom Fabric from Spoonflower / Wedding Gown: Catherine Deane / Hair: Jean Barton / Makeup: Rae Cosmetics

---

---

	Visit us on Facebook
	Follow us on Twitter
	Subscribe to our RSS Feed

---

• More Style Me Pretty...
• January 27, 2012
• January 26, 2012
• January 25, 2012
• January 24, 2012
• January 23, 2012
• January 21, 2012
• January 20, 2012
• All Archives

©2007-2012 Style Me Pretty, all rights reserved