LOOOOOOVE them. I am working on doing a bridesmaids gift round-up (if you have ideas for it, email me at abb{at}@stylemepretty{dot}com) and these would make the perfect packages. Each one is hand-printed on 100% organic cotton fabric with soy-based inks and features a gesture of giving…love, luck, wisdom. Click right here to order!

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, Gift Wrap
Post categories: Wedding Favors & Gifts

So, let’s all welcome the lovely and talented Viola Sutanto!

* * *

Hi everyone, I’m excited to be guest blogging for Style Me Pretty. My name is Viola Sutanto and I am the owner of  chewing the cud, a concept design and stationery studio based in San Francisco.

One of the most common questions I get from brides who plan to design their own invitations is “Where do I start?”. There are so many factors that could make or break an invitation: colors, typography, scale, illustration, paper choices, printing… and the list goes on. I thought it would be fun to start off my first post by sharing how color and typography (font choices) can really impact an invitation vastly.  Here is an example of the same invitation design, executed in 4 different fonts and color choices.

Starting at the top left, the first uses classic scripts and muted color tones, this would be appropriate for an formal, elegant wedding. The second, on the top right, features modern, clean, simple typography with cheery colors. Perhaps an outdoor, less formal soirée. The third, on the bottom left,  uses jewel tones and ornamental type with flourishes that would give a hint of an opulent ballroom affair. And finally, on the bottom right,  bold typography and earthy tones are perfect for a semi-casual wedding, perhaps at the park or in the garden.

* * *

Viola is SO right. One invitation can be personalized to fit so many different styles of weddings by simply changing hte color palette and the font choices. It’s often hard to visualize what your invite would look like if you changed the template design, so ask your designer (or have the store contact the designer) to do a mock-up. You might have to pay a little bit, but it’s worth every penny.

Viola is back in a bit with so much more eye candy and inspiration!

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, Viola Sutanto, Wedding Invitations & Stationery
Post categories: Wedding Invitations & Stationery

Obviously, there is something blissfully romantic about the thought of getting married in Italy. The food, the wine, the rolling vineyards. It’s just a little piece of heaven.

From Aaron…The pink building above is the Villa La Masa and it is one of the most beautiful Villas in Florence. It is where the bride got ready before we all headed out to the castle in the country. These photos are just here to inspire a feeling. I shot them awhile ago but they are close to my heart!

AMAZING. Feeling butterflies just thinking about what an incredible experience it would be to tie the knot in Italy. Such a beautiful story to tell your children. Thank you so very much to Aaron Delesie for taking the time to guest blog for us today. If you are new to SMP and aren’t familiar with Aaron’s work…it’s pure perfection. Take some time to look through his portfolio. You will be absolutely blown away.

Tomorrow, we have Viola at Chewing the Cud blogging for us and Wednesday, Lisa Hoffman (who is with me here in the Cayman Islands!) is stopping by to share some tips from her own affair. It’s a good week on SMP!

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Post tags: Aaron Delesie, Ceci NY, Chewing The Cud, Italy, Lisa Hoffman, Tuscany
Post categories: Wedding Photography

We have a gorgeous travel themed affair coming up in a bit, but before we get to it, I wanted to share some fun travel inspired details that I’ve found along the way…

top left and bottom right photography by Azzura Photography and invitations crafted by Brown Sugar Design / top right and bottom left by the wonderful Courtney Matevey

First set of photographs by the amazing Lauri Levenfeld at Zoom Photography, Luggage Tage by Pigweed Press and Vintage Inspired Travel Detail designed by Chewing the Cud and Jubilee Lau Events and photographed by Kevin Chin

All photographs by the FABULOUS Karen Wise

We have more details on the way, along with a SPECTACULAR travel inspired real wedding!

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Post tags: Azzura Photography, Chewing The Cud, Courtney Matevey, Jubilee Lau Events, Karen Wise, Kevin Chin, Pigweed Press, Zoom Photography
Post categories: The Blog, Wedding Decor, Wedding Details

Viola of Chewing the Cud is written ALL over this affair. And together with Eden of End Design, they designed a day that was total perfection. Xandra of Xyz Ink helped bring a sense of charm and handmade elegance to the day, as well…with signage and calligraphy that will honestly make you swoon. Oh and the best part? Kristen of Bliss Video Productions filmed the entire event, and is putting the finishing touches on it as we speak. I am secretly hoping that she and Elizabeth will share it with us when all is said and done.

This has been a day of pure beauty on SMP. Thank you SO very much to Elizabeth Messina and her fabulous new adventure, A Lovely Workshop, for inspiring us to no end. Elizabeth’s next workshop will be held in France and space is really limited. Sign up begins this Summer if you are interested!

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Post tags: A Lovely Workshop, Bliss Video Production, Chewing The Cud, Elizabeth Messina, Kiss the Groom, XYZ Ink
Post categories: The Blog

The Kenwood Inn, recently named the best hotel in the area by Conde Nast Magazine, hosted A Lovely Workshop and provided the most incredible array of food. Check out Elizabeth’s blog to see the ridiculously delicious pictures.

Gabrielle at Cake Coquette designed a beautiful red velvet cake with details inspired by some of the designs that Viola had incorporated into the printed materials and palette inspired by kiss the groom. The cake was topped was the crown that Elizabeth used at her own wedding. Ahh. Perfection.

So, so much more to come from this amazing event!

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Post tags: A Lovely Workshop, Cake Coquette, Chewing The Cud, Elizabeth Messina, Kiss the Groom, The Kenwood Inn
Post categories: Wedding Decor, Wedding Details, Wedding Photography

But the best part about Elizabeth is that she spreads the love. From her perfect blog to her more recent adventure, A Lovely Workshop, she isn’t afraid to teach people what she knows, to encourage photographers to find the beauty in every detail. Thus, we are beyond thrilled to share the images from her first edition of A Lovely Workshop…

Held in Napa Valley, Elizabeth partnered with some beloved SMP vendors and unbelievably talented designers to create a wedding workshop for photographers…allowing up and comers to hone their craft and shmooze with some of the best in the biz.

The FABULOUS Viola at Chewing the Cud designed all of the paper products for the event. From the invitations to the menus, every little paper detail was dreamt up by Viola. She even had little canvas bags that had Elizabeth’s The Kissing Tree logo mounted on the front with note pads and pencils tucked inside. The colors for the designs were all inspired by Kiss the Groom. As Elizabeth recently said…Viola is amazing, in every way. We have lots more paper photographs coming up!

The event design, which was FLAWLESS by the way, was all designed by Eden of End Design. Everything from the perfect florals, to the vintage chic styling was crafted in such a way that would give any creative person the butterflies. From the delicate bird’s nest detailing to the handmade 16 foot farm table (you’ll see in a bit), each and every element was perfection!

We have SO much more to come from this amazing event!

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Post tags: A Lovely Workshop, Chewing The Cud, Elizabeth Messina, End Design, Kiss the Groom
Post categories: Wedding Decor, Wedding Details, Wedding Photography

Well, Chewing the Cud is one of those companies that you just KNOW is going to do something great. And lucky for us, Viola is giving us a sneak peek at one of her new pieces of perfection.

This is Viola’s fabulous new reusable organic cotton gift wrap!! Printed on 100% organic cotton fabric with soy based inks, each one is designed as gesture of giving: GIVE LUCK. GIVE LOVE. GIVE WISDOM…perfect to use as table linens, napkins, favors, bridal party gifts, anything really.

From Viola…

“I’ve always believed that the gift presentation should be as thoughtful as the gift itself. The inspiration came from the Japanese furoshiki, a traditional wrapping cloth used to transport clothing, food and gifts. We infused meaning into each style with graphics that speaks to the idea of giving. The “Give Luck” wrap is designed with symbols of good luck, such as the 4-leaved clover and elephants. In another style, tree illustrations become the metaphor for giving wisdom—the perfect choice for wrapping books. Beyond the graphics, these gift-wraps are a wonderful option for wrapping odd-shaped gifts and an eco-friendly alternative to conventional wrapping paper.”

LOVE, love, love.

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, national stationery show, Organic, reusable cotton gift wrap, Stationery
Post categories: Wedding Decor, Wedding Details, Wedding Invitations & Stationery

YAY! So excited about this new line, I can’t even tell you. Here are a few more of the gorgeous invitations which were inspired by old cigar papers, paper-cutting, eastern textiles, Scandinavian art, old typography and children’s drawings. Viola wanted to create textures through patterns and colors that are fun and vibrant, eco-friendly (all printed on recycled paper with vegetable inks), and printed to suit today’s budget friendly bride…

The exclusive collection hasn’t been officially released to the public, so if you have questions, just shoot Viola an email and she’ll be happy to give you all the deets. Thank you so much, Viola, for letting us be the first to see this fabulous new collection! If you haven’t already, definitely spend some time checking out Chewing the Cud!

Oh and coming up…another FAB new invitation line from a wonderful, emerging artist!

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Post tags: budget, Chewing The Cud, Flat Printed, Wedding Invitations & Stationery
Post categories: Wedding Invitations & Stationery

She is just one of those designers that I have fallen in love with over the last two years thanks to her charming and completely refreshing aesthetic and her fabulously unique approach to every design that she touches. So, when she sent me pics of her latest creation, I swooned.

It’s amazing to me that Viola is constantly reinventing herself. This design is really different from anything that she’s sent us in the past and yet you can still see her style ingrained in the sweet, feminine design and the incredibly thoughtful approach to the invitation suite.

From Viola…

The English rose one is a custom-designed invitation for an English bride. The couple is sweet and fun, and the bride owns a children’s store so I thought it appropriate to create a custom print for their invitations in their color palette. The pattern could also be carried through to the rest of the details. They wanted 2 sets of invitations; a booklet-style invitation that was hand-sewn with silk thread, and second version for the evening guests that used a matching silk ribbon.

More to come!

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, Wedding Invitations & Stationery
Post categories: The Blog, Wedding Invitations & Stationery

From Viola…The inaugural Wedding University took place on Sunday, February 8, 2009. We were filled to capacity with enthusiastic couples eager to learn the many aspects of wedding planning. From 11am-5pm, our students rotated between classes to learn about wedding design, wedding logistics, photography, beauty, and other important topics. In addition, they sampled amazing food from a sushi bar to a prime rib station to an elaborate dessert buffet–all from the creative culinary team at the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley.

There were a TON of vendors that helped put the event together. The leaders included Viola at Chewing the Cud, Jubilee Lau, Jean Marks and of course, Four Seasons Silicon Valley. Congrats to everyone who made this event so beautiful!

All photographs were taken by the oh-so-talented Kevin Chin. So much more to come!

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, Four Seasons, Jean Marks, Jubil
Post categories: Wedding Decor

Some of you remember a feature that we did about The Wedding University…in a quick nutshell, the wonderful Viola of Chewing the Cud partnered up with Jubilee of Jubilee Lau Events to host a full day seminar packed with HONEST advice as to how to stretch your wedding dollars.It was the first real event of it’s kind, which featured a design team of San Francisco’s brightest including (to name a few) Nancy Liu Chin Designs, Sash and Sugar, Wildflower Linens, Hartmann Studios and Enhanced Lighting.

Well, Viola just sent me the images and I am SO jealous that I didn’t get to attend, as the ideas and inspirations were so so SO chic. Take a peek at this first table that the team designed…

all photographs were taken by the fabulous, Kevin Chin

From Viola…

The story that inspired this concept was a couple who spent most of their courting days separated by distance. They communicated mostly via letters, emails and packages. Nothing better than a good old love letter to set hearts aflutter right? We took this idea and threaded it through from the escort card area, reception table, favors, to dessert buffet. The escort cards consisted of wax seals with table letters on them; a vintage typewriter, globe and other antique props adorned the table. Mason jars, hemp linens, twine and postal art on the kraft box favors were a nice touch for the dinner table. The menus were slipped into enclosures designed to resemble vintage envelopes (which also doubled as place cards); the same striped pattern was carried through to the dessert buffet table as apparent on the cake and labels.Nancy created beautiful blooms that rested on risers made of kraft boxes adorned with postal art.Love letters acted as backdrops for the area.

We have SO much more to come today, so stay tuned!

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, Enhanced Lighting, Jubilee Lau Events, Nancy Liu Chin, Sash and Sugar
Post categories: Wedding Decor, Wedding Details

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, michelle brusegaard, Poppytalk handmade, Take me homeware
Post categories: Featured

The top photo is a sneak peak at a product that Chewing the Cud will be launching very soon…Cuddle with Cider, with the option of “Cuddle with Coco” and “Cuddle with Coffee.” Ummm, hello. So cute.

So much more to come!

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, Details, favors
Post categories: Wedding Details, Wedding Favors & Gifts, Wedding Invitations & Stationery

From Viola…This invitation suite is based on the concept of recipes. Beloved family recipes, passed on from generation to generation is a metaphor for sharing and enjoying. Recipes conjure images of sharing good food, good company, good conversation, good times … much like a wedding yes?

photos by Anna Kuperberg

From Viola…You probably recognize these from my own wedding based on To Kill a Mockingbird (also seen here, here and here!). We named each table after characters in the book. The runner was a gift I made for Phillip. It had bird illustrations and poems we read to each other during the ceremony.

We had an asian dessert bar, featuring our favourite childhood sweets. The jar above was one of Phillip’s…walnut candy. This is a  good example of how you could pull together an event, using a cohesive visual vocabulary, without everything being “matchy-matchy.”

More to come!!!

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Post tags: Chewing The Cud, Save The Dates, Wedding Invitations & Stationery
Post categories: The Blog, Wedding Invitations & Stationery