i totally love how it’s a mix of the antique locket style, but inside is hiding all your techie geekness on usb. pretty awesome if you ask me! especially for someone that loves jewelry and loves having access to their files on the go!!

you can purchase them here….i’m thinking this would make a pretty unique valentine’s gift fellas!!

since i am vietnamese our new years is traditionally called tet, and celebrated on the same days as chinese new year. the little red envelopes full of money is definitely one of the highlights of this celebration. our new years celebration is more than just about food and money, though they are definite bonuses. it really is a time where all of the grandchildren and family get together. My grandparents get so excited for this celebration and spend days in preparation of food and happiness waiting to see the whole family together celebrating!

as a person of mixed heritage, i began thinking about how to incorporate my asian culture into weddings without it being cheesy and cliché. here are some of my thoughts on how to infuse some asian inspiration into your wedding, in a fun and modern way…

1. asian inspired appetizers: spring roll and egg roll mini bites, shrimp balls, sushi (YUM!)

2. origami can be incorporated into the décor as paper flowers

3. fortune cookies as party favors with little notes that say “we’re so fortunate to know you, thanks for being here today”

4. serve traditional hot tea during cocktail hour along with your favorite cocktails

5. traditionally in vietnamese cultures, on the day of the wedding there is an elaborate ceremony where the grooms family receive the bride at her home. but due to the time crunch of the wedding day with hair, makeup, and photos…a way to still do this ceremony without the stress of it the actual day of the wedding, is to do this during the engagement party instead.

6. the chinese lantern festival is a beautiful display of floating lanterns and a perfect inspiration to use at your wedding

hope some of these tips have helped you think of great ways to incorporate a little bit of my colorful culture into your wedding. and of course, no post is complete without inspirational eye-candy…

xoxo,
kerisa

(credits: chandelier tea bags-tumblr; hanging origami-favim; sushi: use real butter
chicken satay-wm events; bride-studio castillero photography; fortune cookies-flickr; paper flower décor-ashley rose photography; lanterns-travelpod blog)

we all love magical tales of witches and wizards, vampires and werewolves, or a classic prince and princess. whether your secret obsession is twilight, harry potter, or following the newly wed kate middleton and prince william’s every move, there is definitely magic beaming out of the fall 2012 collections. all our favorite designers are showing a mysterious whimsical side that reflects light and airy dresses with so much detail it is impossible not to stare.

the daunting task of narrowing down my favorites of all the fall 2012 collections leaves us with four glamorous dresses from four fabulous designers. monique lhuillier’s collections is breathlessly gorgeous with lots of texture and lace filled detail. this first dress named cherish really captures the magic that is inside the whole collection. reem acra’s collection screams glam glam glam! im left feeling so inspired by this whimsical dress. claire pettibone shows us how absolutely stunning lace is with her brigitte dress. and perhaps the most magical of all is vera wang’s collection called witchcraft. this amazingly daring collections features dresses in shades of nude and black that are so mysterious and sexy. this nude dress fills your eyes with lots of texture and a breathtaking design.

i love love love the new collections!!!

xoxo,
kate

depending on what our couples are looking for, we tend to narrow down selections and send them to sites that have more of the style they are looking for. however, around 98% of our couples prefer a more bespoke look, so we work together with them and an invitation designer to create an entire customized stationery collection for their wedding.

either way there are so many amazing choices out there. here are some of my faves…

for the “i like custom details” bride…
- paper and thread
- posh paperie
- pitbulls and posies
- monumental designs
- wiley valentine

for the “give me lots of options” bride…
- bella figura
- minted
- paper culture
- papeterie
- hello lucky
- delphine press
- love vs design
- pear tree greetings
- betsy white
- wedding paper divas

for the “i like to do things myself” bride…
- wedding chicks
- etsy

these lovely designs below are collections from bella figura, paper and thread, minted, wedding chicks, and paper culture!

favorite nail polish of the moment?
essie’s hot coco, it makes me want to curl up by the fire this time of year and sip on a hot cocoa!

what is your favorite part about working weddings?
seeing the design come together, from the concept to reality!

how would you describe your style?
clean and simple and a little bit beachy. i always have a bunch of layers on with lots of accessories.

favorite fashion designer?
michael kors, for his simplistic beauty that lasts through the ages.

what are you listening to right now?
andy grammer, he opened up for a colbie callait concert i went too and i’ve been obsessed ever since

favorite source of inspiration?
i love pinterest, it always gets my creative juices flowing

trend you are obsessing over right now?
scarves and boots!!!! my favorites are the infinity scarves and the over the knee boots

i never leave home without my….
chapstick and hair tie. i always start the day with my hair down, and then it always ends up on top of my head!

below is kate’s colorful beachy inspiration board she created…which represents her style completely!! she always rocks my favorite colors, just love her fun style!

(credits: teal ring-etsy; pink skirt-sabo skirt; earrings-layla grayce; coral dress-urban outfitters; tory burch flats-shopbop; clover necklace-etsy; michael kors watch-shopbop; perfume-viva la juicy)

how absolutely fabulous would it be to send this out to your guests as a way to announce your upcoming wedding?! not only is it completely out of the box (not another magnet), but also shows the fun sweet personality of the couple, we are all about that!!

sit back and check it out….

now that we are officially in the beginning of 2012, many of our brides are beginning to think about sending save the dates for their summer weddings. now it’s by no means a necessity, but it’s a super fun way to give guests advance notice of your wedding plans. if many of your guests will be traveling, it’s definitely important to send out save the dates.

depending on how far in advance you are planning, our advice is to send out your save the dates 4-6 months before your wedding. if you are planning a destination wedding, send them out 6-8 months in advance so your peeps will be able to make time-off and travel arrangements.

as for details to include, keep it simple…names, date, wedding city & state. it’s also great to include a link to your wedding website for guests to see more info for the wedding as it becomes available. for many of our couples, it’s also a way to give a preview of the wedding inspiration…as seen here in g+h’s loteria dave the dates!!

watch for more details to come on my favorite places to shop for save the dates!!

for some eye-candy, here’s a fabulous save the date i saw on oh so beautiful paper. it’s a deliciously amazing collaboration of august blume and feast calligraphy. love love love it!!

what’s your new year’s resolution? although my typical resolutions usually fail within a month, i decided this year i would attempt to save up so someday i can celebrate a new year in style on the streets of paris!

i absolutely cannot wait to kick off this new year, and in celebration here is our gilded new year’s inspiration board…

wishing you all a safe & glamorous new year! see you in 2012

xoxo,
kerisa

(credits: tablescape-sweet tea photography; dress-tumblr; drinks-sweet tea photography; paris-tumblr; invitations-martha stewart; man with champagne-our labor of love; table setting-sweet tea photography)

now that we are venturing into 2012, i want to formally introduce kerisa as an official part of smw!! to help you get to know her fabulousness a little further, i asked kerisa some fun questions…

favorite nail polish of the moment?
Essie’s Fifth Avenue, i am Absolutely in love with their bright coral-red color.

what is your favorite part about working weddings?
Nothing beats seeing the enthralled reactions of the guests and newlyweds seeing the décor and details of the wedding space for the first time.

how would you describe your style?
Eclectic Urban Chic. I’m definitely a mix of a lot of styles; I love anything chic, cute, and comfy.

favorite fashion designer?
Sachin + Babi…i Love their interesting combinations of fabrics and modern silhouettes. The perfect combination of what is chic and classic with what is edgy and trend driven.

what are you listening to right now?
Lately I’ve been obsessed with the singer songwriter jazz sound, like Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles.

favorite source of inspiration?
Home décor always inspires me. I love how a mix of textures, patterns, and materials can completely transform a space.

trend you are obsessing over right now?
The best part of winter is being able to wear my favorite knee high boots and big chunky sweater.

i never leave home without my….
My beloved iPhone, I’ve become absolutely dependent on the GPS system. I’m terrible with direction so without it I get completely lost wherever I go!

you will be seeing and hearing from kerisa much more very soon, but in the meantime here’s a little inspiration board she created to reflect her personal style…

(credits: Girl in sweater-tumblr; citron room decor-high fashion home; rack of clothes-sachin and babi; city lights-etsy; Girl on stairs-tumblr)