image via IHP Flickr

Whitney and I are off to my hometown of Chicago. If our blog is lacking posts over the next few days, you know why. We plan to still post while we’re gone - but we may take the weekend to enjoy family, friends and food. Have a great week!

These save the dates were so much fun to work on that we have to share!

The bride and groom (who have been a joy to work with) wanted to excite their wedding guests for their destination Seattle wedding, so we designed these fun save the date cards with the theme, “Our Story Continues…”. The wedding date is marked with a gorgeous Swarovski crystal and the save the date card is accompanied by a custom map from Laura Hooper Calligraphy.

Laura created a beautiful map for Sacha and Will highlighting some of their favorite Seattle spots, which we then backed with gold accent paper. We also attached magnets so that their guests could give these fun little keepsakes a prominent spot on their fridge. Since most guests will be coming from out of town, these will be a great preview of some of the fun stuff to do here.

Order your own custom map from Laura via her website here.

I’m obsessed. I wear scarves every single day. I know I have a problem, but I can’t help myself. Especially when there’s so many beauties out there just waiting for me….like these two below. I want, I want…

each from anthropologie.

touseled scarf

double decker scarf

Just announced: We’ve won King 5’s BEST INVITATIONS IN WESTERN WASHINGTON! A huge thank you is in order to all of you clients, colleagues, friends, and blog readers that voted for us!

Here are just a few of the glowing reviews our former clients posted about us on the King 5 website:

“Whitney and Jonathan are truly remarkable in the personal care, and consideration they take with every design. Their invitations are the first step to a memorable occasion!”

“The Brown Sugar Design husband and wife team - Jonathan and Whitney Speir - is amazing! They listen to your ideas and take your design concepts to the next level. I could not be more pleased with the Save the Dates and Wedding Invitations they have created for us. I also appreciate their phenomenal customer service. They are right on top of everything and deliver within their promised timelines. They strive to work within your stated budget and offer ideas on how to achieve the look you desire within your price range. They are simply fabulous and bar none the - BEST - in Western Washington!”

“Brown Sugar Design did our wedding invitations for us, and we were very pleased with the product, creativity, and relationship that we had with them during the process. I was in New York and my future wife was in Chicago, and they of course they were here in Seattle. Despite that, they communicated everything promptly to us even though none of us were in the same part of the country. If they can do that, I am sure that it will be an even better experience for anyone here!!!”

“Brown Sugar Design designed beautiful, innovative invitations for us and they are wonderful to work with! Everyone says that our invitations are the best they’ve ever seen!”

Thank you again to all that voted for us and to all that left us such nice reviews!

I was recently doing some research for a non-wedding design project and was comparing some video hosting options. Vimeo was of course on the list, and while perusing the site I kept looking at the logo. After spending quite some time on the site I decided I really like the logo.

It, along with the simple site design, really creates some great design that is easy to understand, navigate and has a nice friendly feel. All at the same time giving users a nice product that is also easy to use. See below a video I embedded from their site. Oh, the beauty of typography!

Typography in Motion from ilovetypography.com on Vimeo.

Susan and Pete’s chocolate brown and burnt orange pocketfold invitation was featured on the Better Homes and Gardens website in their series highlighting invitations perfect for fall weddings. Check it out!

Attention, all BSD Blog readers!

Voting for Evening Magazine’s Best of Western Washington competition ends tomorrow at 7:00 P.M.! Be sure to cast your vote for us as Western Washington’s Best Invitations by following the link below:

VOTE HERE!

We are so honored to have been nominated for such a great award! Thank you again for your continued support of our work!

Seattle’s Bella Signature Design was asked to be a featured coordinator for the newest issue of the Bride and Bloom magazine (Winter 2008 - out now!) and Daniela, the talented designer behind Bella Signature, asked us to provide invitations, menus, place cards, and table numbers in line with her vision of “old Hollywood glamour.”

Our letterpress “Clara and Paul” invitation was perfect for the palette, with its vintage details and plush cotton cardstock.

She created a gorgeous color palette of warm gray, subtle nude, and fresh fuchsia - read more about her inspiration in her blog post about the shoot.

I received these details from Kelly of Sweet Pea Events about a fabulous opportunity to support a very important cause while enjoying a chic cocktail party and finalizing some wedding plans! Here is the rundown:

On October 23rd, a group of Seattle wedding vendors are getting together to host Get Hitched, Give Hope at the Dome Room in the Arctic Club Hotel. We’re hoping to raise $50,000 for Brides Against Breast Cancer/Making Memories, a not-for-profit that grants wishes to women with stage 4 breast cancer. This charity grants women wishes at a time in their lives when they are overwhelmed by bills and doctors appointments. It’s a way to give them something to look forward to–like a once-in-a-lifetime trip–at an incredibly difficult time in their lives. We’re hoping to raise enough money to grant 12 wishes.

The way we’re going to do this is by throwing a fun swanky cocktail party for brides (and their friends! and moms! and grooms!) which will include a silent auction of items generously donated by 30 of Seattle’s best wedding vendors. Brides and grooms will have the opportunity to bid on things they need for their wedding, and know that the money they’re spending is going to a great cause. Auction items include things like: Bridal flowers for 14…6 sessions with a personal trainer…a 3-tiered Italian butter cream cake…6 hours of wedding day photography…DJ services and more.

Brides or anyone else interested in attending can purchase tickets at http://www.gethitchedgivehope.com/tickets.html, or you can use that same link to donate to our cause. We hope you can join us for a fresh, new event that celebrates our industry, women, and the fabulous spirit of giving!

We were excited to be featured today in the “Abby Loves…” section of Style Me Pretty today! Thanks Abby!