Yes, we know - it’s the brides big day - it’s all about her and all eyes should be upon her glowing beauty. But, we guys put a lot of effort into looking good for our wedding day as well. Many times it is all for naught as we really are in the shadow of our beautiful brides (as it should be!).

This month though, Junebug Weddings has given a nice little nod to mens’ fashions on their wedding day. In Junebug’s lastest fashion report it’s “all about the boys” - they focus on men’s fashions and style. It’s nice to see a little attention on the all the guys who find their inner Cary Grant on one of the most important days of their lives!

top photo by John and Joseph Photography

bottom photo by Positive Light Photography

Here’s a small peek at some super-chic save the dates we created last month for a Hawaii wedding. We’re in the middle of working with this couple on their invites, and I promise the invitations will be gorgeous too!

I love how clean and beautiful the save the dates turned out - they were offset printed in two rich colors on a heavy double-thick textured paper. The envelopes were deep bronze with the address in white.

Some of you may remember the invitations from this wedding - a chic suite in shades of deep red, charcoal gray, and white. Maggie and Justin were so much fun to work with, and in reviewing the photos from their March wedding at the Bellevue Arts Museum, it looks like the event was a ton of fun too!

The museum was fully at Maggie and Justin’s disposal for the night of the wedding, so guests were able to enjoy the various exhibits throughout the evening. How great is that - guests were able to experience some world-class artwork while mingling and enjoying the wedding festivities! Justin’s dad ordered the custom bobbleheads seen in the photo below - so much fun!

The tulips featured in their wedding invitations and stationery were a consistent theme - from the floral decor to the napkins at the buffet.

I love the bright colors Maggie chose for her floral decor - from the green orchids in her bridesmaids’ hair to the vibrant reds, pinks, and yellows in her own bouquet - absolutely stunning!

Thank you Maggie and Justin for sharing your beautiful day with us - and a huge thank you to John of Yours by John Photography for supplying the images featured in this post. Check out Maggie and Justin’s other vendors below.

Photographer: Yours By John Photography

Venue: Bellevue Arts Museum

Floral: Colleen Monette

Catering and Event Coordination: Lisa Dupar Catering

Band: Michael Benson Band

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.

These invitations were ridiculously fun to work on! The bride and groom (whom you may remember from their scandalous tabloid-star-wars save the dates) are planning a destination wedding in Scottsdale, Arizona. They wanted a fun vintage travel poster-style invite that would convey all of their needed travel details (which there was a lot of, believe me!)

We designed a folding invite that is an impressive 20 inches in length when fully open! It includes all necessary travel and event details, along with a map and directions to help guests navigate Scottsdale upon arrival. Best part? It’s only one piece, so guests can just stuff it in their bag on their way and have it handy-dandy when needed.

The festive travel design is made more fun by the colors - black, white, deep red, and metallic silver inks were used to make the design really jump off of the page. The sparkley silver envelopes only add to the fun!

My favorite part of working with Alison and Chad was how open they were to having fun with the normally boring stuff, like transportation, rsvp yes/no selections, etc. (see photo below for some of the hilarity!) If I were a guest of their wedding I would be so excited to get this invitation in the mail and even more excited to actually read it!

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!

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!

I can hardly wait to share more details for this wedding with you - but for now, only a taste. These invitations, created for a wedding coming up in November, have been on of my favorite projects this year. Not all guests have received their invites, so I can only show some snippets for now…

My favorite aspect of this invitation suite are the belly bands - they are actual pieces cut from vintage map prints, so no two are alike.

We’re working now with this bride and her coordinator on other really fun items for the reception, so we’ll definitely post more about this wedding and the paper products for it later on!

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!