Modern Letterpress Invitations

I've been in grad school so my posting has been a bit light. But today I saw this blog posting and I gasped! So inspiring. Check out Erin Jang's very modern letterpress invitations.

Via the fabulous Kottke.org

Ashley Garmon's wedding photography blog

I'm taking a year off to go back to school, but check out Ashley's wedding photography blog - it is awesome!

http://photosmashing.blogspot.com/

Photo by Ashley Garmon

Santa Cruz engagement portrait

I'm splitting my time this year between Austin and Palo Alto, CA. It has been a lot of fun but I miss my Austin wedding photography shoots!

I had an engagement shoot here and just had to share. You can't just run to the ocean for the afternoon when you're in Austin.


Santa Cruz engagement portrait shoot

Katy Roth Photography

Hable Construction Wedding Party Gifts

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hable Construction makes gorgeous gift and home items. Treat your bridesmaids to a very cool canvas frame from Hable Construction.

And, for as long as it lasts, here is a coupon from Hable Construction! You can use it in their "DECORATE" section for 20% off:

Enter "love" at checkout


Katy Roth

Letterpress wedding invitations

Luxe Paperie

This site is the best! They have tons of letterpress vendors all on one site. They have darling letterpress wedding invitations, too.

I also have a coupon code for luxe paperie - I don't know how long it will last - enter "luckybreaks1" and you will get 25% off, too. Here is an example of letterpress wedding invitations from their site, check it out!

Katy Roth

Wedding Polaroids

Run and scoop up all the Polaroid cameras and film that you can - Polaroid announced that they are discontinuing the Polaroid film and the cameras. What a sad day!

Polaroid Film News


Katy Roth Photography

Orchid and Calla Lily bouquet

One of the best ways to let your personality shine through is with the bridal bouquet. Although I always think of this as being a yellow calla lily bouquet, the lilies are actually set off perfectly by these gorgeous orange-red orchids - mokara orchids? This was in a Santa Fe wedding at the Loretta Chapel.



Katy Roth

Why is wedding reception lighting important?

Lighting is one of the most important things you can do to create a gorgeous reception.

- Showcase those stunning floral arrangements
- Warm up a cool room to create flattering skin tones
- Light the center of a table while keeping the guests in candlelight

Think about a favorite restaurant - how is it lit? Look at the lights on the ceiling, the lamps, the candles on the table. Keep this in mind when you are planning your reception. Everyone looks gorgeous in the right light.

A big bonus - your photos will look terrific when you have great light, too. Pick up Vogue or Town & Country Weddings and look at the social pages - the backgrounds look great because somewhere, a terrific lighting designer planned it that way.



Katy Roth

Reunion Wedding Band - Austin, TX

One of the best Austin Wedding Bands is Reunion Band. Every time I see them, they just blow me away. This is one of the few bands that people beg to keep playing on and on.


Katy Roth

Succulents as Centerpieces and Favors

A great way to incorporate a Hill Country theme is to use succulents at your wedding.

I love succulents as centerpieces and favors at Texas outdoor weddings. The plants can be arranged in so many ways and they keep living, so you can give them away as thank you gifts to family and friends.

Have a green thumb? You can do it yourself in advance - here are my tips:

1 - In Austin, I would go to Gardens or Big Red Sun for the best selection
2 - Fill your pots with a dry soil or sandy mix
3 - Replant your plants gently
4 - Spruce up the top of the soil with a small gravel or moss
5 - Do not water, or, barely water
6 - Place in a bright spot with filtered light

If you are taking plants that have become leggy or sprouted pups, I would cut the plant stalk off close to that the decorative part you like the best, then set it gently in the dry soil or sand mix. Do not set in wet soil or overwater, they will turn to mush. These plants can also weather rain, but not freezing rain, cover if you expect freezing rain.

Martha Stewart Weddings also has this darling photo of succulents as favors

Do your planting up to a few weeks in advance. Have fun!

Katy Roth

Vintage Ink - Austin Wedding Invitation Calligraphy

I just found a new darling wedding invitation calligrapher in Austin, Erin Modglin. I love her style. After seeing Lauren Sell's gorgeous wedding invitations, I just had to share.

Vintage Ink
Austin, TX

Katy Roth

Custom black and white film printer - David Johndrow

David Johndrow is the best black and white film printer I have ever met. He is the reason why I keep shooting black and white film. I do get my film processed and proofed at a professional lab, but I always take it to David for the final prints. I would like to think that my images are always well exposed, and they probably are. But take an image to David to see what it can really be.

Even after spending hundreds of hours in the darkroom, I never fully understood the artistry behind black and white printing until I was lucky enough to see a straight Ansel Adams black and white print. No dodging, no burning, just a straight print. I was stunned. The final print was hanging on the wall, an image I had admired for years. I couldn't believe the difference.

Seek out good light. Shoot film. Take your time composing your images. Then take these raw images to an artist and fall in love with your prints.

Custom Black and White of Austin
10001 Murmuring Creek Drive
Austin, TX 78736
phone: 512.673.2088



Katy Roth

Sprinkles wedding cupcakes

These are to die for. I love them. Their design is simple but the flavor is amazing. Who knew a cupcake could be so good?

You can find them in nearby Dallas, stop in on your next road trip and bring some home to Austin.

Wouldn't these make a great wedding cake?



Sprinkles Cupcakes

Katy

Austin Wedding Planners

Having worked in lots of venues with a whole range of wedding professionals, I've learned first hand that a great wedding planner is worth her weight in platinum. In Austin, a few of the great planners include:

Amy Godoy, Barton Creek Resort and Spa

Amy Mader, Austin Platinum Weddings

Tanya Posavatz, Clink Weddings

Katy

Pink Tulip Invitations

The cutest invitation store and website with the most darling owner - Shannon Lilie - they just moved downtown and I can't wait to see the new space:

Shannon C. Lilie
The Pink Tulip
1410 West 6th Street
Austin, TX 78703
512-323-2626 phone
512-323-2676 fax
Pink Tulip Invitations



Katy Roth

Chris Guillen Photography

Now, Chris is an amazing photographer. We hired him for our wedding in Chicago, and he shot Amy and Aaron Stolberg's wedding in Newport, Rhode Island. Their photo is hanging in his new portrait studio in Forest Park.

Chris specializes in photojournalistic black and white photography. For fun, if conditions are right, he'll cross-process some film for stunning color photos. These are by far my favorites from our big day.

His super saturated photos are also featured every month in the Nightspotting section of Chicago Magazine.

Check him out.

Chris Guillen Photography
7451 W. Madison Street
Forest Park, IL 60130
708.488.1824

Katy

Ashley Garmon Photographers

Ashley is one of the most fun, and most talented photographers I've ever met. Her details shots just blow me away, and I'm a detail girl.

Ashley Garmon Photographers

Katy Roth

Beautiful letterpress wedding invitations

I think it would be safe to say that I am obsessed with letterpress. Some of my favorite vendors include:

Egg Press
Portland, OR

Hello Lucky
San Francisco, CA

Page Stationery

soolip.com

Great engagement gift and guest favor: Vosges Haut-Chocolat

You cannot go wrong with Vosges Haut-Chocolat. Susan Dell'Osso introduced these to me when one of her friends was just launching the business. These fabulous truffles are amazing. Black Pearl is my favorite. I have sent these to family and friends for Valentine's day, and served them at bridal showers.

They also make fabulous guest favors, complete with engraved boxes and ribbon that fits with your theme:

Vosges Haut-Chocolat

Love them!

Katy

Freytag's - white flowers at church, bright flowers at reception

Casey Freytag's very fun wedding at St. Austin's and the Austin Four Seasons

Katy

Wonderful Graffiti - wedding signage

How cool is this? Removable signage to add that extra personal touch:


Wonderful Graffiti for weddings


Katy Roth

Gorgeous wedding albums

I love seeing people's wedding photos. Don't just leave them in a box! Pick a few to put in frames around the house, have a couple professionally framed and hang them. Arrange the rest in an archival album. You'll be glad you did.

One of the coolest things I've seen is instead of one album, do two - one formal, the other full of your favorite detail shots and candids. It's amazing how freeing it is to do that; otherwise, you obsess over doing the single album perfectly.

Albums don't have to be big! Smaller ones with smaller photos are sweet, too; you pick them up from time to time and remember how amazing your perfect day was.


********************

Katy Roth
Katy Roth Photography
http://www.katyroth.com

********************

Leather Craftsmen albums

These are the most beautiful albums. Real photos mounted by hand into beautiful handmade albums. You can't go wrong.

700 Series

800 Series

Katy Roth

Best rubber cement for wedding photo albums and scrapbooks

This is great stuff. I use it to secure photos in archival albums. You can find it everywhere - Aaron Brothers, art supply stores, photo stores.

Best-Test Paper Cement, Paper Cement, Best-Test Rubber Cement Products, Art Material, Bestine Solvent & Thinner, Super Spray Adhesive, KLEAN Artist's Linseed Oil, Adhesive Remover: Best-Test Products - Union Rubber, Inc.

Enjoy!

Katy

Photo Save the Date

Everyone is sending Save the Dates these days. Do something personal, do something fun! We used a sepia toned photo of our chocolate lab.

The Save the Date was the 4x6 photo with an cream information card underneath, tied together with a dark pink ribbon.

Then, too cool, Kodak and Ofoto published a book called "Everyday Smiles" and this was chosen to be in it.

Photo Save the Date

Katy

Gorgeous green orchid bouquet

Bright bouquets

White bouquets are classy and timeless, but it's your day, why not carry whatever you want?

Picking your flowers for your bouquet, or your bridesmaids' bouquet, is an easy way to pick a color that gives you the cornerstone of a theme that pulls the entire event together. Whether it's red roses, coral calla lillies, or blue irises, flowers can pull together all the other wedding choices you've made.

Katy