crabb cakes

we're famous! kinda...

2009-07-07T21:10:00.008-04:00

++ Breaking News : We're the Wedding of the Week on theknot.com! ++

Back in October, a month after the wedding, I was contacted by an editor at The Knot asking permission to feature our wedding in the California edition of their magazine. Umm... yes please! I was so flattered to be picked. Those wedding sites had been such an inspiration to me, it's so fun to now show my ideas. I must say a big thanks to our rockstar photographer Cameron Ingalls, because they are his amazing photos that The Knot (and Southern Weddings) wanted to feature. They gave me a lengthy questionnaire to fill out, and sorry to the editors, I gave quite long-winded responses! (At least I gave them a lot to work with!) We had to wait eight long months to see the issue. But it's on NorCal newsstands now! We were in the Northern California Fall/Winter edition. They sent us copies and it's really fun to see!

Also, our wedding feature lives on The Knot website.

my wedding, chapter 3A - decor details

2009-07-06T15:24:00.011-04:00

chapter 3A - the ceremony

The decorations for the ceremony were kept simple and minimal for a few reasons. First, the ceremony took place at a public park on the ocean, so there was a chance things might blow away or get left behind in the grass. I'm no litterbug! Second, this is the shortest part of the evening, so spending a lot of money for something not everyone would notice wasn't my idea of being "cost-conscious". Third, look at that beautiful view! Mother Nature provided a jaw-dropping backdrop, so that's almost decor enough!

All lined up at the rehearsal in the bright sun. Luckily there was a layer of fog the next day so the glare wasn't as intense for the wedding!

I opted for white wood-composite chairs, a step up from regular folding chairs, for their comfort and higher-end look. We used the same chairs at the reception, hiring a few strong men to transfer them. Orange, pink and yellow rose petals defined the isle. The rose heads were purchased at a local farmer's market and my gracious aunts de-petaled them all! Finally, the last elements of decoration were the amazing copper urns flanking each side of the "alter". These large arrangements, by the wonderful ladies at Adornments, grounded and established the focal point. They also made a great frame for photos after the ceremony.

photos © Cameron Ingalls and Kathy Nixon

my wedding, chapter 2B - food

2009-07-02T14:57:00.002-04:00

chapter 2B - cupakes & the big surprise!

I had posted months before the wedding that I wanted cupcakes at the wedding. It seemed to fit the informality of the wedding and it also offered the most bang for the buck. Cakes By Judy, a local baker, was referred to me by my planners. They raved about her baking abilities as well as the affordable price! I had 5 different flavors designated by colored dots on top, all wrapped in dark brown wrappers (ala Sprinkles). I ordered the wrappers online from Confectionery House and I think my obsession with everything coordinating really paid off! The contrast of the brown wrapper on the white stand really made a statement. The stand was purchase from CupcakeTree.com and Gavin's mom generously assembled, painted and edged it with ribbon. It was a masterpiece! I had my grandmother's wedding cake topper on the top tier and the flowers were places by our great florists, Adornments. Oh, and one more piece of wedding day communication was the Cupcake Guide Sign.

Our fun surprise of the evening was the unveiling of the self-serve A&W Rootbeer Float Truck! Gavin's cousin and her husband built this rockin' A&W truck (themselves!) and once they told us about it, we knew we had to have it at our wedding! The best part? The truck matched the wedding colors! Total coincidence. The rootbeer floats were a big hit - enjoyed by all. The side of the truck opened after the cutting of the cake.

photos © Cameron Ingalls

my wedding, chapter 2A - food

2009-07-01T12:48:00.004-04:00

chapter 2A - appetizers & dinner buffet

I've shown the design for the menu, now it's time to talk about what's on it!

We decided on a buffet dinner from Phoenix Fine Catering since they had so many delicious options to chose from. They provided the china (I specified fun square plates!), glassware, servers... pretty much everything we'd need. For hors d'oeuvres we had to have Crabb Cakes (haha), and added Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms, Bruchetta and a Cheese/Cracker/Fruit set-up.

"Crabb" Cakes, photo © Cameron Ingalls

The dinner started with a plated salad at everyone's seat. We had the chef recreate our favorite salad, made up of: Mixed Spring Greens topped with Feta Cheese, Toasted Pine Nuts, Dried Cranberries, Mandarin Oranges and a Ginger-Seasame Dressing. The truth is that it probably was a bit too obscure for some people's taste, but it was personal for us and fun to include!
[and I should add, this salad was first introduced to me by my sister - thanks jen!]

The buffet was set up in the barn and even included an in-line carver! We picked a wide variety of foods to satisfy everyone and kept with the modern country theme, picking "upscale" BBQ food. The dinner buffet included: Steamed Summer Vegetables, Waldorf Salad, Green Bean, Walnut & Feta Salad, Penne Pesto Pasta Salad, Santa Maria Style Baked Beans, Grilled Garlic Risotto Cakes, BBQ Tri-Tip Steak with Salsa and Horseradish and Butternut Squash Ravioli. Phew! Lots to choose from! I had a little bit of everything and it was extremely good!

new web address!

2009-06-30T12:30:00.012-04:00

I don't know why I didn't search sooner, but yesterday I searched, found and secured the domain www.crabbcakes.com! Yeehaw! Update your bookmarks (as if there were tons of people that visited this site - ha) and watch this blog grow! The wedding wrap-up will be completed in the next month and more posts relating to life in general (recipes, home improvement projects, cool design stuff) will be heading your way.

my wedding, chapter 1D - communication

2009-06-23T11:28:00.013-04:00

chapter 1D - wedding day communication

These next items are the remaining printed items I designed for the wedding: the Program, Menu, Place Cards and Signs. Some of these were even designed the day before and some put together the night before! Yikes! I definitely realize I'm someone who is very deadline driven, (aka - procrastinator), but I do my best work under pressure. :-)

Ah the program. I made these the week before since the ceremony details hadn't been solidified until then. We printed them out a Kinkos and cut and tied them together the night before the wedding. A butcher block counter works pretty well as a cutting surface in a pinch! Ha! So there I was, I was thinking all was fine and dandy. Midway through tying the program pages together with orange ribbon, my friend noticed something... a misspelling... of my name!! How could that happen! Ha ha. Oh well. I guess everything couldn't be perfect! After the wedding I printed some correct ones so family could have mementos.

Reception stuff: The menu served double-duty not only describing what was offered for the buffet dinner, but also stating our wedding favor. To be eco-friendly and cost-conscious, it was a donation to the American Cancer Society. Both our lives have been affected by the disease, so we felt it was appropriate and meaningful to make that gesture.

I printed the Place Cards at home, trimmed them out, and brought them with me blank to California. Since there were still unknowns about some guests, we (er, my mom) waited until the last minute to write the names on the cards. The seating of everyone was just as fun as it was a task! More on that later! We picked names for the tables from some of our favorite movies. At last, a part of the planning that Gavin enjoyed!

Finally, the last thing designed were some directional signs to be used in and around the restrooms. There was one restroom in the barn, and then a couple nice port-o-potties out back. I say nice cuz they really were! With sinks and mirrors and everything. What's funny is that I never used the restrooms that were available to guests, so I never saw the signs in action! Oh well!

my wedding, chapter 1C - communication

2009-06-22T17:19:00.012-04:00

chapter 1C - the invitation set

This by far was the most fun element to design. Fun, also hard. A designer designing for themselves is very challenging, and everyone is expecting great things!

As I picked out more elements for the wedding, it became clear to me that the basic theme of the wedding was Modern Country. The ranch where the reception would be had deer heads on the walls, and you know what, there was nothing I could do about it - so why not embrace it! I started by scouring my font collection for Western-looking fonts. I chose Rosewood Fill as the main headline font, with the classic Adobe Caslon as a compliment.

The whole Invitation set came in 5x7 white envelopes with names and addresses printed by my printer at home. Hand calligraphy was money-wise out of the question, so I picked a semi-calligraphy-looking font named Juergen and added what became the signature flourish detail. I also used the same design for the Return Envelopes.

The design for the Invitation set revolved around the color palette below.

The most formal piece was the actual Invitation card, in light gray, stating the ceremony details. The back of this card was solid brown with the M&G monogram picked up from the STD postcard. The next card you come across is the gold Reception card, containing all the reception info: times, address, directions (map on back), our wedding website URL for more info (registries, hotels) and a little blurb about the Sunday Brunch my parents were hosting the next day. Finally, the third item is the RSVP card and pre-stamped envelope. I had heard such fun stories about the excitement of seeing a little, brightly colored envelope in the mail each day as people responded, so I figured an orange envelope was a fun element to incorporate. (Though it was my parents who got all the joy from seeing the mail each day!) All of these pieces were wrapped up in a stone gray bellyband I printed at home, cut out, folded and taped into the wee hours for a couple nights... ahh, making your own invitations is such a glamorous job!

I had the Invitation card, Reception card, RSVP card and Thank You notes printed digitally at a local printing house. Digital printing is much cheaper than standard off-set printing, and of course much, much cheaper than the drool-wrothy letterpress technique.

invitation photos © Cameron Ingalls

my wedding, chapter 1B - communication

2009-03-27T00:10:00.012-04:00

chapter 1B - save the date (std)

Even though there were no decisions made except the general location, at 7 months until the wedding, it was definitely time for the Save-the-Dates! Plus the website was finished so there were no reasons to delay spreading the word!

To keep things simple, I chose to make the STD a postcard. There are so many fun, quirky ideas for Save-the-Dates, you could go crazy coming up with something that would be memorable and unique. But in reality, there were so many looming decisions ahead of me, I wanted to make something that was pretty to look at yet easy to design and produce. To add some personality, I used zazzle.com to make photo stamps. A really fun element! We got a load of raves about the stamps.

I got the postcards printed fast and cheap at Overnight Prints. I was able to add custom rounded corners and a glossy varnish on the front to protect it in the mail. Overall they did a great job. It came out a little darker than I anticipated, but when you're not on press, and you're paying so little, you kinda take what you get!

my wedding, chapter 1A - communication

2009-03-25T16:38:00.005-04:00

chapter 1A - the website

Being a graphic designer, this was the most fun and the most challenging part of the planning/design process. I wanted everything to be perfect, and having me as the client, it was going to be tough...

I researched and researched for the best wedding websites out there. I wanted something that I could customize, wasn't cheesey, looked like it was current (you'd be surprised the number of html circa 1993 sites that are out there...) and a site that was easy to use. I knew I needed to get it up before sending out the save-the-dates (STD) as that would be the first place I would list the url.

I decided on using the Wedorama service as it had a modern and somewhat customizable design. Also, it allows you to pick your own unique web address. You can get a discount on their subscription fee if you follow links from sites like The Knot and Wedding Channel. Below are some screen shots of my site:

Some of the fun features that Wedorama had were the photo album, the guestbook and uploading your own song to play on the site! We picked "Better Together" by Jack Johnson.

still here!

2009-02-05T18:40:00.003-05:00

i haven't forgotten you, dear blog. new posts to come soon!

the melvin wedding on the internets!

2008-10-16T15:46:00.006-04:00

I just received an email from my photographer, Cameron, and he told me our wedding has been featured on Southern Weddings! (Part I, Part II) How fantastic! I am so happy to share the details of our day since I was such an avid reader of wedding blogs myself!

call me mrs. crabb!!

2008-09-23T11:23:00.002-04:00

photo by Cameron Ingalls

Wow. What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been! And in the meantime, I totally neglected this blog... So, to catch up, I'll cover an element at a time to share how things turned out!

But first, a HUGE thanks to everyone involved! The day couldn't have happened without the wonderful help of Jonnell and Niki and Events Redefined. They allowed me to stay calm and (somewhat) relaxed leading up to the day, and for sure on w-day. I couldn't believe the amount of stuff I gave them Friday evening to set up at the reception the next day. But they pulled everything off! And without a hitch as far as I could tell!! Photographer Cameron Ingalls proved why he is so popular, and I am so thankful to have been able to book him! His professional-yet-relaxed demeanor made us feel comfortable in front of the camera, and his work that we've seen thus far is truly jaw dropping. Thank you!! Can't wait to see more!! The other various vendors have all been amazing to work with, and I'll post specifics as I cover those topics.

...so stay tuned for a through recap!

a little off topic

2008-06-10T13:11:00.001-04:00

I'm going to veer away from wedding talk for a bit, and do a post related to the title of this blog - crabs! I've been seeing them all over the place and just had to post a few of my favorites.

Crab pillow from West Elm, Crab plates also from West Elm, embroidered (white crab) handbag from J.Crew, flip-flops from LL Bean, Flip Flop Life, J.Crew, EBay, Crab broach from Pugster, signs from Texsign, Jack & Friends, Nautical Seasons, stock.xchng, Lost City

sweetness

2008-05-30T16:46:00.001-04:00

I've been all about cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake for a while now. The Planners helped me find a very reasonably priced baker, Cakes by Judy, (cuz they can be pretty expensive) and now I can't stop thinking about how they'll look! There are so many cute ways to top them and display them!

Sprinkles Cupcakes has redefined the look of a cupcake. The precision that goes into the smooth frosting, the colorful toppers they have - it's all so chic and cute! Also, putting their cupcakes in a brown wrapper really unifies a display.

images from the Sprinkles web site

I've seen quite a few different towers and ways to stack up the cupcakes. I think I want to go with something modern, square, multi-tiered...

images from Google, Style Me Pretty, and other sites...

As for toppings, it's really a toss up between cute sugar shapes (for a modern look) or some pretty, fresh flowers (for that natural look)... But either way, I love the idea of the topping signifying the flavor, then making a key so the guests can see what's what.

mmmm.... anyone else hungry?

the dresses!

2008-05-30T16:34:00.002-04:00

Alas - we have a bridesmaid dress! Actually, dresses. I'm giving the ladies the option of straps or strapless. I think chosing this Sweet Orange silk dress from J.Crew is the perfect shade for an early September wedding. It has the fun, brightness of summer, but moves towards the changing leaves of fall. Love them!

And the best part? They just went on sale!

images from J.Crew, Cameron Ingalls Photography, Style Me Pretty and Chrysalis Flowers

diy decor

2008-05-22T12:00:00.001-04:00

Well, the bridesmaid dresses are still being decided on... but my ideas are still flowing for the rest of the elements! I love LOVE these tissue balls seen on 99VintageGlam's knot bio page. Since I'll be flying across the country for the wedding (which, now I may have to pay for my checked baggage!!) there's no way these would survive. So, I'll have to enlist help from my West Coast pals. I think it would be pretty easy, time consuming, but maybe therapeutic?? I love the color she uses too.

photo credits to: Jessica Johnston Photography

bridesmaid dress ideas

2008-03-13T15:39:00.000-04:00

My goal in choosing a style of bridesmaid dress was to make it as wearable as possible. If I'm asking my BFs to fork over a fair amount of cash, I want them to be happy! Nothing too shiny, puffy or otherwise tacky! Luckily designers are realizing that people don't really like wearing ugly dresses, so the options are getting pretty good. Though there still is room for improvement...

The goal of the bridesmaid dress is just to really bring together a vision. It should reflect the mood, location, personalities, colors and level formality of the event. Since our ceremony and most of the reception will be outdoors, it's a more casual affair and I'm trying to chose dresses that will reflect that.

Here are some dresses I'm considering from JCrew. Price is always a consideration as well as flexibility of styles for those wanting straps, no straps, etc. I love that JCrew sorts them by fabric, so you can pick one color for various styles of that material. The new colors are coming out shortly! I'm anxious to get the color swatches. I hope there's a nice yellow!

JCrew Silk Taffeta {probably too fancy/shiny}

JCrew Cotton Cady {on the expensive side but so cute}

JCrew Silk Chiffon {loving the strapless style!}

moving along with the vendors!

2008-03-11T17:59:00.000-04:00

It's been a big few days! My sister was sweet enough to come down and give her (always very) honest opinion on wedding gowns! I had been scouring the web for months with all sorts of dress ideas, but there was one thing in common - the shape. I won't reveal anything about it on here but I will say I got it at RK Bridal in Manhattan. This place had been recommended to me by my bride-to-be neighbor as well as a friend of my sister. The feel is like a less expensive Kleinfelds. You could scan the racks and pull samples to try on, and your fitting assistant (Olga was great!) pulls more based on what works and what doesn't. It was hands down the easiest part of planning this wedding so far! And it's true what they say: you just know when it's the right one! Eyes get teary, you visualize walking down the aisle, you picture yourself shaking your money maker to Baby Got Back...

Also, with fantastic recommendations from my wedding planners over at Events Redefined, I have locked up my caterer, Phoenix Fine Catering and port-a-potties from Honey Huts! Woo hoo!

progress!

2008-01-17T15:42:00.001-05:00

Over the holidays, the husband-2-be and I drove all around the central coast looking to nail down a location. Keeping in mind that something naturey and oceany would be awesome, as well as near hotels and nightlife, we found our spot. The Holland Ranch. Located just 10 minutes from both Pismo and San Luis Obispo, it's so convenient yet isolated! It's in the canyons that are just East of Pismo so your neighbors are far away. Also, as opposed to the wineries, we have all day here - all the way till midnight for the music, 1am for the stragglers. See pictures below.

Here are some photos of other beautiful places we saw! I recommend them all!

From left to right, top row to bottom: Eagle Castle Winery (2 photos), Cypress Ridge,

Robert Hall Winery, (2 photos), Oak Hill Manor,
a cute church under construction in Shell Beach, Still Waters Vineyards

As for the ceremony spot, the Holland Ranch does have one, but we saw some gorgeous parks right on the cliffs in Pismo/Shell Beach area. See photos below. (It was a wet and cloudy day!) Hopefully we can get past the city's limitations in terms of max number of people there. The views are amazing!

Thanks to Cameron again (he suggested Holland Ranch!), I got a great recommendation for Events Redefined - some awesome wedding planners! I think I reached a point where I realized that planning a wedding from across the country is too hard! Unless I had a private jet, unlimited budget, all the time in the world... Looking forward to working with them!

So things are moving forward finally. Save the dates are next! And of course the dress!

color palette inspiration

2007-11-28T18:34:00.000-05:00

There are so many elements to a wedding that can guide your color palette, but besides the season in which you're getting married, it seems flowers make a huge impact. Right after I got engaged, I started looking on the web for color inspiration. By Googling "wedding bouquets", I found it. Such a gorgeous bouquet that has since shaped my vision of the wedding. Since then, I have been drawn to all things in this palette: fabrics, sticks, centerpieces, stationery... Even though the location is totally up in the air, at least I got my palette. As a graphic designer, that makes me very happy.

clockwise, Chrysalis Flower Design, Housemartin,
Patricia Mark by way of The Bride's Cafe,Chrysalis and Chrysalis

And here's my palette. It may evolve, but for now, it's what I stare at daily.

pms 505, 1525, 1375, 155, 397, 476

A GREAT site to check out for color palettes is Colour Lovers.

location, location, location!

2007-11-27T16:06:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog! I can't believe it, but after reading so many blogs about weddings and design, I thought, what the heck - I'll start posting some of my ideas! Who knows if anyone besides my sister reads this, but it'll be nice for me to have a place to neatly organize my ideas for the wedding...

Oh - the wedding.

My fiancé and I went to scout out locations right before we moved to the East Coast. We had just gotten engaged, had this mindset that our wedding was going to be so far in the future, that, well, we didn't take it as seriously as we should have. Now, here I am, 5 months later, 9 months until w-day, and no location. We know we want to get married on the Central Coast of California, where we both went to school (Cal Poly), but that's about it. We had thought about a seaside wedding, but on the sand is a little tough for the grandma's, and the awesome hotel-locale (The Cliffs) is now booked for the date we want (September 6th, 2008). I want something outdoorsy, since that is what we love about the San Luis Obispo area, but now we live in the New York City area and want some urban/modern elements too... There are some barns I've found online (and with the help of hopefully-future photographer Cameron Ingalls and hopefully-future florist/decorators Adornments) but without seeing the barns, it's hard to say if I can bring enough city into that country setting. Then there are all the wineries in that area... Some I'm considering, Meridian, Still Waters, Robert Hall, Bianchi...

from left to right: The Cliffs Resort, Cayucos Creek Barn, Meridian Vineyards,

Still Waters Vineyard, Robert Hall Winery, Bianchi Winery,
Eagle Castle Winery, Oak Hill Manor, Villa de Buena Vista
- sorry if I couldn't credit the photos specifically, see links -

LUCKILY, we booked flights to head out there for Christmas. My fiancé's family lives near Bakersfield, which is a short 2 hour drive from SLO. We better be real serious this time when looking! I'll come prepared with my spreadsheet of locations I've found online and checkbook to get a date set in stone! (The vendors will be so thankful.)

Long enough first post, eh? Well, I'll be sharing more later. :-) When you don't have a job, it's amazing how much wedding searching you can do! LOL