Yunah + Jin’s Wedding in Grenada

My good friend Yunah got married in Grenada this past January, and I had the distinct pleasure of helping out with all her wedding stationery needs! Like me, Yunah is down here in Grenada accompanying her husband while he attends school at SGU. We met just over a year ago, but it seems like we’ve known each other for years. There’s just something about living on a small, tropical island with limited resources that brings people together. You learn to do without, to share what you have, and to ask for help when you need it. Yunah and I bonded quickly over our love for eating, cooking, and exploring new places. We still get homesick now and then, but it sure makes the time go by faster when you’re spending it with good friends. :)

Since Yunah and Jin were having a “destination” wedding of sorts (for all the guests, at least!), they wanted to have an invitation that gave their guests a taste of Grenada. We incorporated seashells, botanical leaves, and little touches of Grenada here and there on all the wedding stationery, while keeping the overall aesthetic simple, classic, and elegant.

Here’s a shot I took on my phone on their wedding day (gotta love the panoramic feature on the new iPhone OS). You don’t see it here, but just a couple minutes later, there was a full rainbow over them!

And I wanted to share with you a few more photos from their wedding day taken by our friend, Kat Fung.

A Bridal Tea Party for Yunah

Throwing a party in Grenada is almost as hard as throwing a party in Beijing. No Michael’s, no Paper Source, no Etsy, no boutique party decor stores. Not even a Wal-Mart. We’re lucky when we go to the grocery store and the milk and butter are in stock. :)

That being said, I was determined to pull off a beautiful bridal shower for my friend Yunah, even if it meant making everything from scratch! Luckily, we were able to find a few things that we could work with like tissue paper, coffee filters, recycled bottles and jars, and jute twine. I also had an awesome team of crafters and bakers who helped me do everything from crocheting doilies to fluffing pom-poms to making scrumptious treats like Chinese egg tarts, biscotti, and bubble tea!

We held the bridal tea party at the Grand Anse Beach Pavilion, which is located right next to the beautiful Grand Anse Beach. The pavilion had a breathtaking view of the ocean, a cool breeze, and beautiful lighting.

Mocha cake pops and tea favors

The beautiful bride-to-be

An assortment of pom-poms made from tissue paper and dyed coffee filters hung over the table.

Check out that view!

Party games

Yunah chooses the winner

Toilet paper creations

My awesome team of crafters + bakers with the bride-to-be.

Photos by the talented Kat Fung.

RENT – Seasons of Love Lyrics Poster

This has got to be one of my favorite projects ever. That it was for my dear, dear friend Esther only underscores how much I enjoyed designing it. :)

“Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent is one of Esther’s favorite songs and one that I know holds a lot of meaning for her. I remember Esther mentioned to me before how fun it would be if people scattered in the audience at her wedding would jump up and sing different parts of the song during the recessional (à la Love Actually!). It didn’t end up happening exactly like that, but it was included as part of their wedding. :)

So when her sweet husband Ben decided to surprise her for their anniversary with a poster of the lyrics, he thought it would be a fun way to incorporate words and phrases that jumped out instead. We brainstormed together how to bring through the heart and meaning of the song without necessarily writing out the entire thing. In the end, we came up with an infographic-style poster with colored icons and words for emphasis.

I also ended up creating somewhat of a “logo” for the song’s title and tagline, “Seasons of Love: Measure your life in love.” I used an image of a scale that was a play off of the idea of measuring love, showing that love outweighs all other things.

After the poster was completed, Ben thought it would be lovely to gift Esther with mini posters, in the form of bookmarks and greeting cards. I think they’re perfect for sharing messages of love. :)

*EDIT: Due to popular demand, the poster is now available for purchase in my Etsy shop! Click here for details.

Elijah’s Red Balloon Birthday Party

I was so lucky to be able to celebrate my nephew Elijah’s first birthday with him this past weekend in his new Beijing home. My sister is a major francophile – she lived there for a year, fell in love with her husband there, and just returned there for the first time this past spring with Elijah! How appropriate it is that the inspiration for Elijah’s first birthday party came from the classic French film, The Red Balloon.

The Red Balloon is a charming film about a little boy in Paris who befriends a red balloon. Together, he and the balloon wander through the neighborhoods of Paris, making new friends and getting into trouble.

The concept for the party began with the invitations, which features a red balloon and string floating around Paris, outlining the city as it floats across. I thought it would be so fun to run with this string idea and turn it into a 2D/3D effect by “drawing” on the walls with black tape to create our own little Paris in Beijing. I added a little cafe, complete with table, chairs, and a lamppost. :)

Can’t have a French party without berets!

My sister handled most of the food preparations and cooked up some scrumptious French foods for our birthday brunch, including quiche lorraine, croque monsieurs, French toast, and an onion tart. Read more about the food details and recipes here.

Our drink bar featured Vietnamese coffee and a DIY mimosa station.

Since we didn’t have a red egg party for Elijah when he turned one month, we thought it would be meaningful to have them for his one year birthday.

Sour cream chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Elijah approves!

C’est magnifique!

Nice to meet you!

A teddy bears’ picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Say cheese!

And I’ll leave you with this awesome pic of Elijah. I can just hear him saying, “Oui, oui, oui, hon, hon, hon.” What a ham!

The Big One: Elijah’s Red Balloon Birthday Invitation

Somebody’s favorite nephew is turning one! For Elijah’s first birthday, my sister thought it would be fun to have a Red Balloon-themed birthday party in honor of the popular children’s movie/book and to pay tribute to Elijah’s recent trip to Paris. He’s quite the little globetrotter, that little Smush (my favorite nickname for him!).

For the invitations, I decided to use the string of the balloon as loose inspiration for the overall look of the card. The string “floats” around Paris, outlining several major monuments (a la Harold and the Purple Crayon) and finally floating to their new home in Beijing.

Edit: Here’s how the party turned out!

Edit: Click here to see pictures and details from the party!

Jia + Andrew’s Wedding Invitations

You may remember Jia and Andrew from the Shang Chen Photo Giveaway a year or so ago. They won a design credit from Lavender’s Blue, which they used toward a custom wedding invitation design. Jia loves green and all things green – plants, flowers, tree, and grass – and so she wanted to incorporate those elements into the design, while keeping it simple and charming. Jia mentioned that she really loved the invitation suite that I did for Esther + Ben, so I channeled a bit of that aesthetic into these invitations as well. It resulted in this fun, folksy wedding suite, complete with little mushrooms, acorns, and plenty of grass and flowers!

the complete invitation suite

close-up of tree + monogram

details

rsvp card

Chinese version of invitation

Hoi + Nick Wedding Stationery

I just wanted to share with you the coordinating stationery components to Hoi + Nick’s wedding invitations that I worked on a while back! We kept it really simple and used mainly the same floral image from their invitations, with a few variations here and there.

Table numbers

Program + Menu

Ceremony fan with agenda on the back

And here’s a quick photo by John Yao of SimplyTwo Photography from their wedding day. Hoi was such a beautiful bride, and I was so blessed to have been part of their special day. :) (That’s me on Hoi’s right!)