Our friends at Union Street Papery in San Francisco, California submitted this customization of our Paradise (by Maura Gaulthier) letterpress wedding invitations and we swooned. The monogram was submitted by the couple and we were able to incorporate it throughout the suite (read more about custom designs here).  Letterpressed in amber and prussian blue inks on our 1-ply white paper this super chic invitation set is perfect for a California wedding.

inks: amber + prussian blue  | fonts: jubilant + adele | paper: 1-ply white  | invite size: f8  | liner: modern floral pattern in amber ink |

Last year we had the pleasure of printing lovely letterpress wedding invitations, escort cards, table numbers and thank you notes for Lisa and her handsome groom Stephen for their Malibu wedding. Today their amazing wedding, held at the Malibu Nature Preserve, is featured one our of absolute favorite wedding blogs, Style Me Pretty. (You can see Abby’s posts here and here.) We are so in love with this beautiful wedding, we just had to share more of the amazing photos from the incredible team at docuvitae and a bit more insight into what made the day so special from the bride herself.

Inspired by the beautiful flowers that grow wild in the California hills in late summer, Lisa dreamed of a lush, magical wedding that celebrated all the beauty of nature and evoked feelings of being lost in a fairy forest. The answer? Many little flower girls dressed in fairy wings, a ceremony in a sycamore grove and silk butterflies on strings. Oh. And a really fabulous dress from Claire Pettibone that was soft, shimmery and ethereal.

The beautiful flowers, created by Flowerwild in Los Angeles, were inspired by the very same flowers that dotted the landscape at the Malibu Nature Preserve. Romantic shades of sage green and lavender were carried through the day from the flowers to the custom linens to the beautiful emerald green dress worn by the only adult attendant, Lisa’s maid of honor.

Lisa and Stephen also worked to weave many eco-friendly elements into their event, without sacrificing a bit of charm or elegance. Along with working with Bella Figura for many of their stationery pieces, they also opted to work with a local organic caterer and provided transportation for guests so they could encourage carpooling. They limited excessive artificial decor elements and instead allowed the natural beauty of the setting, known for being eco-friendly, to shine.

Keeping their wedding truly personal and unique, Lisa and Stephen made sure to throw a party with great music because Lisa loves to dance. The newlyweds and their guests danced well into the evening. After dinner, in lieu of traditional coffee service, a coffee truck (Java the Truck) pulled up and served lattes and hot cocoas to excited guests.

Lisa’s best advice to couples still planning their wedding? “Go with what you like and what is representative of you as a couple or individually, not with what someone else tells you is in fashion or is “done.” We chose food and music that we liked, we carefully chose our wedding cocktail etc. and people really said it felt individual.”

Thank you, Lisa and Stephen, for allowing us to share your incredible wedding! And congratulations on your upcoming first anniversary later this week!

[All photos credited to docuvitae]

Vendors

Coffee truck: Java the Truck

Dress: Claire Pettibone

Cake: Sweet Lady Jane

Flowers: Flowerwild

Venue: Malibu Nature Preserve

Photography: docuvitae

Month-Of Coordination: Celebrations of Joy

{The wedding of Elizabeth & Felicia // Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, California // Circolo 2 letterpress wedding invitation design in champagne and pewter}

Our client coordinator Andrea had the great pleasure of working with Elizabeth (Eaz) to help choose the perfect wedding invitation for her ultra luxurious event. At first, Eaz was a bit skeptical about working with us exclusively by email and phone, but we are so happy that they did! Upon receiving their letterpress samples, Eaz and Felicia opted for the fun Circolo 2 design printed in champagne and pewter. The invitations coordinated perfectly with the charger plates they used and helped influence incredibly beautiful and personal details throughout their wedding. The couple infused their day with meaningful details that make it one of our favorite Bella Figura weddings to date.

Eaz and Felicia incorporated so many lovely details. Among their favorites were the rocks they used as place cards that were hand-painted by Felicia’s best man. They provided pretty custom embroidered handkerchiefs for all the happy tears and opted for flamenco guitar music in lieu of traditional wedding music during their ceremony. They had matching custom Converse All Star sneakers to wear after the ceremony and had a fabulously fun videobooth at their reception so guests could leave them personal video messages. The pastry chef for their wedding handmade beautiful lighted star ice bowls to serve their sorbet intermezzo and, our personal favorite, the matching chargers and invitations!

Elizabeth and Felicia’s beautiful ketubah, influenced by their Circolo 2 letterpress invitations.
We love this detail!

Eaz and Felicia shared with us a bit about their wedding and their inspiration for the event…
We wanted to throw a guest-centered extravagant party for our closest friends and family to thank them for standing by us over the past 10 years of our ups and downs. We had a hard time getting started with the inspiration and were carrying around tons of sample invitations that we hoped would inspire us. We went to one company to browse their chargers and found one that had the same star-burst pattern as one of the invitations. We decided that they looked fabulous together and decided to carry that pattern throughout the event.

What was your favorite moment?
Being wrapped in my grandfather’s tallis by the rabbi and seeing our guests faces as they walked into our “after-glow” with a jazz band, modern furniture, a hot-chocolate bar and video guestbook so they could all leave us a personal video message.

Favorite design element of your big day:
The matching chargers and invitations!

What did you love about working with Bella Figura?
The design was exactly what we were looking for and while they are not local for us (across the country actually), they always responded promptly to my emails and helped us to create a fabulous and beautiful design.

Cute custom Converse All Star sneakers that reflected the theme of the day and the beautiful chargers that paired so wonderfully with our Circolo 2 letterpress invitations!

What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding?
The little detailed extras are what your guests will remember forever and help to make your event extra special.

What’s next for you as a couple?
SCUBA diving in the Maldives and earning more letters after our names

We love Eaz and Felicia’s wedding not only because of how wonderful our experience with them has been, but also because it exemplifies so much about what we’re about at Bella Figura. Great design, small beautiful details, and a focus on family, friends and loved ones. Their wedding is a perfect example of allowing a single element or small handful of elements, in this case the chargers and invitations, and using them as the inspiration for other details throughout the day. We’re big believers in the power of great design to tie everything together and this wedding is proof that it can translate to an event that is unqiuely personal, thoughtful, and reflective of the love shared between two people. We’re so happy to have been a part of this amazing wedding. Congratulations, Eaz and Felicia!

Vendors
Location: The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay
Florist/set design – Flower Divas
Photographer – Jay Kelly Photography
Photographer – eye of passion – Juan Carlos Pometta Betancourt
Lighting/pipe and drape – Enhanced Lighting
Furniture – Blueprintstudios Trends
Eaz’s suit – Al’s Attire
Flo’s dress – Amy Kuschel
Flamenco guitar – John Clarke
Jazz band – Joel Nelson Productions
Video booth – PhotoBoof!