JOWY Productions invites you to Wedding Wednesdays: A Glimpse Back

Yesterday was Amanda Dawbarn's one year wedding anniversary.  If you don't recognize the name, Amanda is the founder of the utterly fantastic blog 100 Layer Cake.  We here at JOWY are big fans (it's the romantic wedding lover in us).  

The video is by Brian Morrow of Sharkpig. We are obsessed with the old-timey, home video type feel of it.  It's romantic and fresh while remaining intimate and quaint at the same time.  A lovely compilation of the days leading up to Amanda's wedding and the day itself; it perfectly captures the essence of their day and the couple's love - can you feel it? 

JOWY Productions Presents Wedding Wednesday: Feathery Flourishes

Last weekend we designed and produced a fantastic black and white Masquerade Ball. This got us thinking, while we may not be able to sell a "masquerade wedding" we could find interesting and romantic ways to incorporate some of the themes into our fall weddings.  We particularly like the idea of using feathers in unique ways; they are light, versatile and come in a myriad of colors and varieties.  Here are a few ways feathers can be used in weddings: 

1. Create a signature feather design and incorporate it in your paper items throughout the wedding

2. Bid guests farewell with a feather design on a gift bag

3. Decorate your cake using beautiful peacock feathers

4. Leave your wedding in style in a beautiful feather jacket

5. Add feathers to your bouquet and his boutonniere 

6. Wear a vintage dress decorate with feathers a la Ginger Rogers  

Have any of you used feathers in your wedding decor? We would love to hear how. Leave a comment below. 

JOWY Productions Presents Wedding Wednesday: The "Guest Book"

"Do you want to do a guest book?" 

The simple question we ask of our couples getting married.  To be honest, mostly the response is less than exciting; "I guess we should" or "our parents will want us to have one".  This is because most couples think of a guest book as the traditional, bound album where guests sign their names dutifully as they enter the reception.  We are here to tell you, it doesn't have to be that way.  This is a great opportunity to be fun, creative and completely personal.  Here are a few, non-traditional ideas we love for fun guest books that will create great memories.

1. Thumbprint Tree: Have an artist create a tree on a canvas or heavy weight paper.  Each guest leaves their thumbprint and signature somewhere on the tree.  

2. Polaroids: Ask guests to take a polaroid of themselves and sign it with a message to you.  You can hang them to display in the reception for everyone to enjoy!

3. The Puzzle: Buy a blank puzzle (available on Amazon or an educational store).  Have guests write a message on a puzzle piece then after the wedding put the puzzle together and reminisce about the wedding. 

4. Advice Coasters: Leave custom coasters out for guests to write messages and advice on.  Pick someone trustworthy to collect the coasters throughout the night.  Read them on your one-year anniversary!

5. Jenga!: Each guest can write a message on a Jenga piece.  Makes for great memories every time you play the game on game night. 

6. Wish Rocks: Have guests write short messages to you on beautiful river rocks then display the rocks in a jar somewhere in your home.  

7. Mad Libs: Who didn't love Mad Libs as a kid?  Create a custom mad lib or purchase ready-made cars on the web (Etsy has some cute ones) and ask guests to "fill in the blanks".  Makes for fun reading and plenty of laughter after the wedding is over. 

We would love to hear any other creative ideas that you are using for your guest books. Share in the comments below. 

JOWY Productions Presents Wedding Wednesday: Why Thank You!

If our couples had to pick the worst thing about planning a wedding it wouldn't be the fights over budget or the uncomfortable family conversations about seating or any of the other seemingly obvious things that come up during the wedding planning process. The number one pick would be writing Thank You notes. Writing a thoughtful, timely thank you note is definitely not for the faint of heart. 

That's where Postable comes in.  Postable was launched in March of 2012 when co-founders Scott Potash and Jesse Blockton came up with an easy way to collect addresses; ask people to send them to you via email.  The service provides users with a custom URL which users send out to friends and family and it’s a personal request for their mailing information so it’s collected in one place.

As you can imagine, this became a huge hit with brides about to mail invites to all of their wedding and bridal festivities which will be followed by thank you notes.  

You are wondering how this relates to helping you write the actual thank you notes. Well, in June 2013 Postable launched phase two of its application - custom thank you notes!

First, you pick a card that you love.  There are around 100 different cards to choose from sourced from 24 different designers such as Fawnsberg + Sweet Belle and Rifle Paper Co. 

Second, you select from 1 of 12 different handwriting fonts, or 10 different stylistic fonts to be used on your card.

Once you are finished typing all of your notes, you hit "mail cards" and Postable prints them on top quality, card stock (including Cranes Lettra or "brown bag" recycled paper), stuffs them in the envelopes, puts a stamp on them and drops them in the post for you!

And the best part is that they are surprisingly affordable at just $2.00 each, plus the cost of the stamp.

Check out the below video to learn more about how Postable works.  

JOWY Productions Presents Wedding Wednesday: Our Fall Bridal Picks

Fall 2013 brought about some interesting trends in bridal dresses from florals to very minimalist looks.  While we could show you all the trends, we have sifted through the good, the bad and the ugly and thought we would tell you our three favorites and why.  

1. Short: This hemline is not typically something you see in the Fall.  Yet, more and more brides are showing restraint and not following the “expected” trends of the seasons in order to trade in for something more comfortable and eye-catching.

2. Backless: Since some of the most memorable moments of a wedding take place while the bride's back is turned to her guests (the ceremony, first dance, father/daughter dance), we love the idea of a beautiful detailed back on a dress.  

3. Long Sleeves: Thanks to Kate Middleton, we don't think this trend will leave us anytime soon.  There is something modest and romantic yet fresh and interesting about a long sleeve done in a unique way.  It’s classic!

How do you feel about these trends?  We would love to hear in the comments below.