Moving on Up

Come check out the new blog at Simply & Forever!

Winter Wonderland Cake

Image by Lauren Clark Photography

Looking outside today reminded me why I love winter weddings. Today's snowstorm would have made for some amazing photos with those big snowflakes swirling around! I just love watching the snow fall and some of the great holiday elements you can pull into the design of your wedding to compliment the view outside! The 3-D snowflake designs on this cake are exquisite and would be a perfect idea for brides planning a winter wedding!

Hope everyone has a fun New Year's Eve tomorrow night! Be safe!

For those music lovers out there

Awesome idea for those bride and grooms out there that love music and are looking for a unique save the date idea. Steve Clayton does custom guitar picks. A package of 100 ranges from $24 for text only to $39 and up for ones with graphics. All you have to do is go to the site and start designing your guitar pick from the color of the text, one of their font, and the image you choose. Take a look at Vera's from My $10K Wedding save the dates. Notice the custom guitar pick in orange below? These could also be awesome favors for those music lovers out there.

Invite design by: Vanessa Wieren at Lollipop Events and Design

Envelopes created by: Vera D. of Va de Vie Events and My $10K wedding

I took a stab at playing with their Custom Pick tool, and it is super easy to use. You can upload your own images, or grab one from their image library like I did below if you want to test it out. You can move around each box you create to get the exact positioning you are looking for.

Steve Clayton Custom Picks

Exciting new things coming to Simply & Forever

Mike and I are officially married! I can't wait to share with you all the details that went into the planning of the wedding and how everything came to life three weeks ago! The day went so fast, but it was such a blessing to spend the whole weekend with our family and friends that traveled from all over the country to be with us.

We will be sharing some photos from our lovely brides soon as well, just as soon as we launch our new look!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!

Fascination with Owls

So about a month ago I took a lunch break from my downtown job and met my mom for lunch at Shaw's Garden. It's custom to always visit the gift shop after visiting the garden, so one must allocate enough time to look through all the goodies that they have gotten in. (Let's keep it between us that this usually takes about 45 minutes in itself). This time I found three amazing platters that I gave as thank you's for one of my showers, and tons and tons of really really cute owl items. I'm talking statues for outside, owl soaps (which I've already bought for our annual Kappa holiday party) and so much more. I never used to think that I would like owls, but after Kappa, and after the last few years, I seem to find everything I find with owls on it to be the cutest thing ever. And this guest book that I just saw from Cut the Cake Designs is just that, the cutest thing ever. I love this idea of gathering everyone's information while they are all in one place, you have no reason for NOT sending out holiday cards after doing such a thing like this at your wedding!
So check out this and all the other lovelies from Cut the Cake Designs on etsy! And if you're a fellow Kappa, you just may be getting this as a wedding shower gift someday! :)

Engagement Pictures

Mike and I have 51 days until our big day, and everything is starting to really come together! I promise that I have much more to share on here, but you will have to bear with me these 51 days as I try to get everything together for our wedding as well as things for other clients.

We had a fabulous day this past weekend for Mark & Jamie's wedding and I can't wait to share that recap with you soon as well. I loved every moment of their day, and hope they are having a blast on their honeymoon right now!

In the meantime, you must go visit the Todd Studios blog to see some of Mike and I's engagement photos! I am usually the one taking photos and doing everything behind the scenes at my weddings, so it was such a relief to have this much fun actually being the subjects of the photos. I just wish I had a shot of Angie hiding in the corn to take some of these pictures to share with you. Angie spent ALL afternoon with us at the farm, and she took some pretty amazing shots. She has amazing style and such an amazing personality, and on top of that, she's an amazing designer. She has designed my entire collection of wedding elements (from save the dates, to invites, to programs, etc) and they have gotten rave reviews from our family and friends!

Look for a recap soon and some of my latest inspirations! But first, I must head off to my first dress fitting at Karen's Wedding Boutique!

Is anyone else thrilled that it's almost the weekend? I'm excited that it's GAME DAY though!


~Katie

Feels like yesterday

When you say that it was 8 years ago, it seems like so long ago. But when you truly reflect on that day, it feels like only yesterday. I remember being in my communications class and walking out with my friend Stefanie (from New York). We were both on the way to Philosophy class and heard bits and pieces of conversation from other people walking to their classes. We were puzzled because we had no idea what was going on at that point. We ended up walking out of our philosophy class because something just didn't feel right. Everyone was silent, the scenes we saw were just too heartbreaking to even talk about just then. In the months after, I watched a lot of New York friends suffer because they had lost friends and family members. Even some of my church family here in St. Louis lost people that day.

For eight years, on this day, I remember those friends, and their families, and EVERYONE who was affected that day. I think we all should remember that day, and the men and women who protect us on a day to day basis. They give us the freedom that we all enjoy and sometimes take for granted.

God Bless,
~Katie