i do monograms

Thanksgiving's almost here!!! We'll be taking off tomorrow and Friday to celebrate the holiday with family, but before we close the studio we wanted to share a few of our recent goodies. Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we'll be back in the studio on Monday!

With Thanksgiving just a few days away it's hard not to think about being thankful and showing gratitude. How do you plan on showing wedding guests your gratitude?

Couple Alice & Nick were married in Santa Monica, California and had a stunning wedding coordinated by Meta Manguy. They used a vibrant color pallet of tiffany blue, bright pinks, and white... super fun but still glam & classy at the same time. Their monogram was proudly displayed on their programs as well as their favor boxes that awaited guests at their seats. They also used a more intricate monogram on the top of their cupcakes... and speaking of cupcakes, how sweet are these little beauties?! Alice & Nick's gorgeous day was captured by the incredible duo at Palos Studio.

I'm so excited to share that my sweet friend Krystal just launched her photography website: www.sweetpeastudiosva.com. Krystal's natural talent for photography is awe inspiring. She specializes in children & family photography in the Washington D.C. Metro and Virginia Beach areas. Go check out her work, you'll find yourself smiling as you scroll through the galleries! Oh and while you're visiting be sure to check out her fab logo (created by yours truly!)

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a big week at the I.D.O. studio and to wrap it up we're sharing some of this week's pretty creations! Have a great weekend and don't forget to enter our $100 Giveaway contest below. See you back here on Monday with a spectacular real wedding feature!

That's right friends... I Do Originals (our online wedding boutique) is officially 3 years old! It's been a fabulous three years and to celebrate... we're giving away a $100 gift certificate to iDoOriginals.com! This comes in perfect time for the holidays... enter for yourself or gift it to your favorite bride-to-be!

To Enter to win the $100 gift certificate to iDoOriginals.com:
(1) Become a visible follower of our blog (mandatory)
(2) Leave a comment telling us your favorite birthday gift you've ever received

For Extra Entries:
-post about this giveaway on your blog or favorite wedding message board (leave a separate comment with the link to your post)
-add our button to your blog (leave a separate comment to let us know you've done this)

If you do all of the above you can come back to enter once per day! You have until November 30th at 11:00pm EST to enter... good luck!!!

Let me start by saying if you haven't tuned in to the Weddings Unveiled blog: Completely Unveiled... you definitely need to! It's one of my absolute favorite blogs out there and they feature the most gorgeous real weddings. When I saw the wedding of Heather & Tyler they featured last week I fell in love! Not only was it a magnificent beach wedding but check out that crazy beautiful floral initial and the monogram on the ice sculpture... LOVE! To read all about the details of their oceanside nuptials be sure to check out the original post over at Completely Unveiled.

Stopping in to share a few of our recent goodies created for our ever so fabulous clients! Be sure to check back in this afternoon... we'll be sharing a gorgeous real wedding via the Weddings Unveiled blog!

This pretty purple pallet is simply delightful. The bouquets and floral arrangements by Valley Flora are so fun and flirty and they exude happiness. The couple used a traditional three initial monogram but made it a little more contemporary by having the initials on a diagonal and in both a script & block font. The monogram appeared on their lovely lavendar menu cards as well as their darling cake by Perfect Endings. The wedding was coordinated Traci Steuteville of Napa Valley Celebrations and of course was photographed by the wonderfully talented Joel Flory.

Alex, the brilliant Creative Director for Belle The Magazine, always turns out the most AMAZING covers. Her concepts are so fresh and modern and inspiring... well guess what lovely readers... one of our parasols will be on the December cover! I know... huge right?! Check out these behind-the-scenes pics that Alex was nice enough to send over...
I'm just crazy over the styling... the gown, the red lips, the darling hair accessory... and of course the 'Merry Christmas' parasol we created special for the shoot, held by the gorgeous Miss El Paso Texas 2010. This issue will be out the first week in December and is certain to be full of fresh inspiration. Be sure to check out Belle The Magazine's Blog for yummy bridal fashions, stunning real weddings, great practical advice, and swoon-worthy event planning and design ideas. A huge thank you to our friend Alex at Belle The Magazine for this incredible opportunity!

(oh and PS- see that pretty little model on the yellow cover? That's one of our former client's Michelle... isn't she gorgeous?!)

So in love with these two custom verse banners we created for the future Mr. & Mrs. Abraham! Our "Here Comes the Bride" banners are super popular, but the Abraham's also wanted a banner for their ring bearers to carry on their way back down the aisle after the ceremony... LOVE IT! The best part about it is that it will also make for a great photo prop for the newlyweds to hold... always think of ways your items can do double duty (you get the most bang for your buck!)

Just stopping in to share a few of our recent monogrammed creations from I Do Originals. Best wishes to all these fantastic couples!

How sweet is this?! Go check out the great DIY tutorial over at The Bride's Cafe where you can learn to make one of these beautiful earthy moss covered monogram letters...

We always get a ton of questions on monogram etiquette... so here are a few tips:

Q: Whose name/initial goes first?
A: Ladies first! The woman's name/initial always comes first on a monogram because the man's first name/initial should never be separated from his last name/initial... so as an example, for a traditional 3 initial monogram, if Shauna & Ryan Jones are getting married their monogram would read: SJR

Q: What if I'm keeping my last name?
A: We suggest using a 2 initial monogram... simply replace the middle initial with an ampersand (so in the above example it would read S&R)

Q: When can we start using our married monogram?
A: If you want to follow traditional etiquette, keep these simple rules in mind:
Before the wedding ceremony: If you're following traditional etiquette, it's a big no-no to use your married monogram before you're actually married. So that means using a monogram with your new last name or intial on save-the-dates, invitations, thank you notes, etc. is taboo. Instead, use a monogram that has just your first initials or first names.

During the wedding ceremony: This is still a gray area for some, but I say if you want to use your married monogram, go for it! The married monogram is a visual symbol of two people joining as one... so the wedding ceremony is a perfect time to begin using your new monogram on anything from aisle runners, unity candles, programs, etc.

After the wedding ceremony: Anything goes! Use your married monogram on anything you wish- the reception is a complete green light to display your new married monogram proudly be it on a table runner, menus, the cake, the dance floor, anything your little heart desires!


*Please note the answers are based on traditional monogram etiquette... and while most people choose to have their monogram reflect traditional etiquette, there's nothing wrong with wanting to switch it up a bit. Our advice... do what makes you comfortable!

Have a question about monogram etiquette? Let us know... we'll do our best to answer!

You really can put your monogram everywhere... how adorable is this on the coffee mugs? Get creative... think outside the box (or outside the mug!)

This soothing soft green and chocolate color pallet Celina & Jacob used is so pleasing to the eye... loving how the monogram is the only element on the front of the programs and is the first thing to introduce guests to the color scheme and styling of the ceremony and reception.

Photography- The Nichols, Ceremony- St. Mary’s Cathedral, Reception- The Winfield Inn, Coordinator- Sparkling Engagements, DJ- Tunes Across Texas

Hello lovely readers! You may notice a few exciting changes on the blog... the main thing being we now have a new name... I Do Monograms! You can now access the blog at www.iDoMonograms.com (you can still access through the blogspot address so no need to change your RSS feed). While we primarily were using this blog as a portfolio of our work over at I Do Originals (not to worry, we'll still be showing off our lovlies often) our new mission is to bring you oodles of swoon worthy monogrammed wedding goodness... like this sweet little cake from Bakerella.

We have so many exciting new features planned, we can't wait for what's in store... but we need your help. What would you like to see in regards to monograms? Also, we're looking for fabulous real weddings that show off monograms... so please send submissions to iDoMonograms {at} live {dot} com!

It's always so hard when a client already has a FABULOUS logo but wants us to tweak it for them... that's the case with our friends at Jolynne Photography who currently have a super cool logo but wanted to see if we could switch it up a bit. It was fun to come up with some different options for them! If you haven't checked out Jolynne's blog yet you definitely need to... her work is a-mazing.