A Bright & Beautiful Eastern Shore Wedding

Having known Kelsey and Justin since high school, and having been there since the early dating days, their wedding was one for the books! I was especially excited when Kelsey asked if I would paint a custom map for their wedding on Maryland's Eastern Shore. 

The day itself was remarkably beautiful and the bride was stunning. You couldn't miss the ear-to-ear smiles on both the bride and groom, which really says it all. 

As the couple said their vows, standing under an arch of flowers with the June sun beating down and a slight breeze coming off the river inlet; I couldn't help, but think how perfect it all was. Congratulations, Kelsey and Justin!

Kelsey and Justin's wedding map was used on welcome cards for their guests.

Photography by Melissa Grimes Guy 

The Planning has Commenced

The planning has officially commenced, folks, and we're full speed ahead into wedding world!

Having not done this before, the wedding planning has already been an eye-opening process filled with questions. When will you get married? Where will the wedding be? How many guests will you invite? What are your colors? How many people in your wedding party?

I'm now relieved to be able to answer a few of those questions and excited to say that Mike and I will be married on July 2nd of this year! 

Since deciding upon the date and venues, a lot of other details have begun to fall into place. As it is Fourth of July weekend in our nation's capital, I want to make sure we honor this important day in American history in subtle ways throughout our wedding.  I also plan on adding my personal (watercolor) touch to the day. 

While I plan on sharing a longer post at a later date, including all of the various art and details of our wedding; I wanted to share the boxes I put together for my bridesmaids. I loved putting these together and tried to keep it all very simple and sweet.

In each box, I included:

• A hand lettered "Will you be my bridesmaid?" card
• A card with wedding day details on the church, the reception venue and the overall feel for the day
• My favorite lip balm, Rosebud Salve
• An American flag
• A champagne ribbon hair-tie (hinting at the color of the bridesmaids dresses)
• Sweet gummi lips from the cutest candy shop, Lolli and Pops
• Jo Malone tester perfume (I chose various scents for each girl)

Happy 2016!

The final weeks of 2015 were some of the most memorable -- my best friend asked me to spend the rest of our lives together, I said YES, and we celebrated with our families for the next two weeks! We rung in 2016 in Whistler, BC, and cannot wait to see what this year brings! 

Merry Christmas!

Taking a quick break from painting to enjoy the holidays with family.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Best Friends for Frosting Holiday Soiree Feature

'Tis the season for holidays parties and frantic gift shopping!

As Christmas quickly approaches, I wanted to share the Best Friends For Frosting post on how to throw a holiday soiree in a small place, which featured a couple of my custom signs. I loved being a part of this Mintwood Home styled shoot. Mintwood Home has some of the most gorgeous decor and serving items. 

Click HERE to read their nifty tips on making the most out of your small space when hosting.

P.S. - You seriously need to try the Pomegranate Citrus Fizz cocktail. It's amazing.

An Autumnal Upstate NY Wedding

A Fall wedding in Lake Placid, New York surrounded by the Adirondack Mountains. Sounds dreamy, right?

Having known this bride for a few years, I was thrilled when Sarah asked me to help design a custom wedding crest for her. We met over brunch at Le Diplomate and I got to hear all about her vision for the wedding. Maybe it was the french toast and coffee, but I was completely smitten. I wanted IN on helping her vision come to life.

Creating something special for Sarah and her fiancé felt easy because she had already put so much time and thought into their special day and those little details that were unique to them. Cue the apples, peachy tones and hockey sticks!

I worked with Sarah over a handful of months to create a custom crest, invitation suite, place cards and table number signs. It was so much fun to work through the creative process together and I can hardly believe it's already been four months since their beautiful wedding.  These wedding pictures taken by Paul Reynolds Photography perfectly showcase my custom designs woven into Sarah and Chris' big day. Congratulations again, Sarah and Chris!

Art Show at the Yellow Barn Gallery: November 21-22

I'm thrilled to announce that my dad and I will hold our first art show together this month! While I've been painting and experimenting with watercolors for a few years now, I have yet to showcase a collection of original pieces (which, by the way, is quite daunting). Sharing in this experience with my dad has made it all a little less intimidating and all the more fun. 

Here goes nothin'!

If you're in the DMV area, stop by our show at the Yellow Barn Gallery at Glen Echo!

Charleston Map for the Newlyweds

Charleston is without a doubt one of my favorite U.S. cities. With my sister living in Charleston, my visits to the southern city have only increased and I couldn't be happier. 

When Allison reached out to me to create this custom map for her wedding, I was thrilled to do it. I feel so honored when brides and grooms come to me for custom wedding artwork as I know what a big day it is in someone's life. For this particular commission, I loved doing my research on all of the landmarks for this map.

Custom Mimosa Bar Sign for a Flowery Bridal Shower

Mimosas. The perfectly concocted yet ever-so-simple brunch drink that has captured hearts all over the world. Mimosa bars aren't some new discovery, but I do think they've been taken to a new level (of perfection). 

Example A: a MOH commissioned me to create a mimosa bar sign and juice tags for her best friend's bridal shower. It was something about how this MOH was thinking of those little things - the thoughtful touches that would make any event that much more special. The MOH told me her vision for the shower and I got to painting. 

As a treat of my own, I've added the Mimosa Bar Sign to my Etsy page as a printable. Have fun brunching!

A Classic & Preppy D.C. Wedding

When Kelly and I met to discuss the details of her and Patrick's wedding and her hope for what I could create, there was no lack of excitement or details. While all their wedding events from the rehearsal dinner to the wedding and the reception were all in the District, there were some integral pieces of their relationship that Kelly wanted to tie into their custom map. One of those being the rivalry between Kelly's alma mater, the University of Kentucky, and Patrick's alma mater, the University of Tennessee. I loved her thoughtfulness when it came to her relationship with Patrick and how she wanted it represented on paper. 

Kelly & Patrick with their wedding party in front of the White House.

Kelly and Patrick's wedding took place in downtown D.C. at a historical Catholic church with the following reception at the Metropolitan Club. It was an absolute dream of a day! The couple incorporated shades of pink and green, even paying homage to their Irish heritage with a Celtic love knot on their paper goods.

Photography by Kate Headley.

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