Marry You Me Exclusive Free Download: Garden Stripes Invitation Suite

I'm super excited to share the amazingly fabulous + free downloadable invitation suite that I gave you a sneak peek of earlier in the week, designed by Cambria Evans for J.Bartyn Design and Manufacturing to commemorate the first anniversary of Marry You Me. Inspired by this apple green and black inspiration board, Cambria designed the hippest garden stripes invitation suite exclusively for Marry You Me, and made it available in four color combinations. Oh, and did I mention these were free?!

The Garden Stripe Invitation Suite
Download the entire {free} suite here!

5 X 7 Invitation or Menu Card

4 X 6 Blank Card for Enclousures, Response Cards, Thank You Notes, Etc.

2 X 3.5 Favor Tags or Escort Cards

4 X 4 Table Number Cards

And also included is a bonus 8.5 X 11 page of the stripe pattern to use for belly bands or any extra wedding crafting you want to do!

The Garden Stripe Invitation Suite is also available for download in these three colors:

Grapefruit and Poppy

Limon and Gingersnap
Robin's Egg and Slate

All of the downloadable files are set up for 8.5 X 11 ink jet or laser printing, so all you have to do is add your own text! Custom set typography is available from Cambria, to get a quote email jbartyn@me.com. Prices vary (depending on complexity) from $65 - 125.

Happy 1st Birthday to Marry You Me!

My little labor of love turns 1 today. I started Marry You Me one year ago as a way to channel all of the wedding ideas that constantly popped into my head. My own wedding having already happened, I was driving my husband crazy with my cries of "Oh this would have been so cool to do" or "I love this theme", and he encouraged me to blog about my ideas. I'm so glad he did. My hope for my blog since I started it is that it would be a source of inspiration and beauty, and that is still my goal. I want to give a special thanks to Cambria Evans for re-designing my site and helping to take MYM to the next level. Thanks to my husband Brandon for being so patient and supportive and believing that I can really take this somewhere. Thank you to every one of my readers, and a special thank you to my commenters - your comments of support keep me doing this!

my little blog birthday cake from Enlightened Patisserie

Inspiration Board: Garden Party Wedding

Could pink and yellow look any sweeter together? A mix of DIY and purchases that can be repurposed - I think this would make a perfect spring wedding. The invitation suite from Lilly Pulitzer sets the tone and color scheme. Have your ceremony and reception indoors and the cocktail hour outdoors. Bring the garden feel indoors with centerpieces of lush peonies in cafe au lait bowls (like these from Anthropologie that come in tons of colors) that you can use as dishware after the wedding.

You could easily arrange the flowers yourself to save some money - I've even found great bundles of peonies in the spring at Trader Joe's *talk to their floral manager, they can place special orders for you if the flowers are available to them. For the centerpieces, place soaked Oasis foam in the cafe au lait bowls to anchor the blooms, and group them on tables, you can even stack bowls on top of each other for height. DIY crepe or tissue paper flowers are another whimsical and budget friendly alternative.

Little details like the mini envelope guest book and the tissue paper favors help carry your color scheme and theme throughout. Decor like the open gilded frame (a great way to display seating cards) and the stacked antique books on a table add charm and visual interest. The antique white tea cart not only serves as garden decor, but will make a sweet little bar cart in your newlywed nest. Simple, delicious cakes are replacing the overdone cakes of the past decade - this adorable yellow cake with white piping on a cute cake stand is the perfect example of this.

Credits: Click, then rollover photos for credits/links.

Sneak Peek: Apple Green and Black Inspiration to Invitation

I wanted to give you a little sneak peek of the free downloadable invitation suite by Cambria Evans that will be featured tomorrow Thursday on Marry You Me! This 'garden stripe' invitation suite was inspired by this Apple Green and Black inspiration board. Come back tomorrow Thursday to check out and download the entire adorable and free invitation suite!

Pink and Green DIY Shower Inspiration

I threw a 50th birthday luncheon for my mother a few weeks ago, revolving around a whole pink and kelly green theme - inspired by her favorite colors and the adorable invitation. The luncheon was held at a local restaurant, Portello winecafe, and I was so happy with how it turned out. I thought it could also make a great bridal shower and wanted to share my ideas!

I knew the color scheme I wanted to go with, and searched for invitations first. My mom grew up in the 70's loving Lilly Pulitzer print dresses and preppy pink and greens. I found these adorable gems by Gartner Studios at Target, 50 for $20, and knew they were perfect for the theme. They came with white ribbons for the top of the invite, but I headed to Michael's and picked up a light pink grosgrain ribbon with darker pink accents, which looked much nicer.

A roll of pink and white patterned Waverly wrapping paper, cut in half, served as the table runner. The centerpieces were mismatched milk glass vases that I found for $1 - $2 each at a local charity thrift store. Now I have my own little milk glass stash!

Every place setting had a hand embossed place card in a frame. I found the frames in the $1 bin at Michaels, then hand painted them to match the color scheme. They doubled as cute favors for the guests to take home.

I collaborated with Nicole from Singing Sparrow Flowers on the flowers. I wanted bright pink peonies and light pink roses with splashes of green. I love what she did! The tall milk glass vase arrangements consisted of the dark pink peonies, pink roses and cascading bupleurum, and for the votives she combined light and dark pink roses with Peruvian lillies.

Pink and green M&M's (my mom's favorite) were placed on the table in white tin candle holders that I found - 3 for $1. After the party, they can be used again as cute candy dishes or as candleholders.

Also at each place setting was a light or dark pink tissue paper flower napkin ring which I DIY'd following this tutorial with some modifications - I used 5 X 5 inch squares of tissue paper for my napkin rings.

The cupcakes were the final sweet touch to the luncheon. I shared my theme and vision for the mini "pixie cakes" with Nickol of Enlightened Patisserie. She hand makes the most amazing gum paste flowers or decoration for the top, so I sent her a picture of the napkin rings that she replicated. Nickol uses only the best organic ingredients, I went with her moist pistachio cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting, and tart lemon cake with lemon curd buttercream frosting.

I displayed the pixie cakes at the end of the table on two of my stacked whiteware cake stands, and cut circles of green and pink decorative paper for underneath.

How to translate this to a DIY budget bridal shower:

1. This could easily be held in a home, but don't rule out a restaurant or cafe. I didn't have to pay any rental fees for the luncheon, we basically had the place to ourselves, and the yummy food was under $10 a plate and all the wines were $5 a glass. For a smaller shower, the bill could easily be split among the bridesmaids or others throwing the shower. It could easily be the same cost everyone would spend on buying and making food for a shower at home!

2. Instead of opting for the cheaper (but kind of lame) fill in shower invites, or the expensive custom printed kind, find or download nice blank invites and print them yourself on your printer. I found mine at Target - 50 for $20.

3. Have a DIY night and work on painting the frame favors, embossing the place cards and assembling the napkin rings.

4. Scour thrift shops for centerpiece vases/votives. All of my milk glass vases were under $2 each.

5. Add special touches that make the event about the bride. All of my mom's friends know she is an M&M addict, so they loved that they were on the table for everyone to snack on.

Inspiration Board: En Plein Air

This morning I was inspired by missing my favorite patisserie in Bellevue, Washington, Belle Pastry and the alfresco dinner party from the movie Marie Antoinette. This board is what came about. The feel is light, fresh, airy and delightfully homespun. The focus is very French - great food, wine and friends. I love the mismatched lace tablecloths (gather them from grandma's collection, friends and family, antique stores and thrift shops), canopy tenting just above the tables, the buffet around a large tree, several courses including a cheese course, and potted herbs and market bundles of hydrangeas for decor. And finally, to replace the cake or dessert bar, try a delightfully French twist by having a tarte bar full of delicious French pastries. Bon appetite et bon mariage!

Credits: Click, then rollover photos for credits.

Free Download Tuesday

Love the look of snazzy graphic designed items for your wedding, but have no clue how to do them your self? Luckily there are tons of {free} downloadable DIY resources popping up every week in the wedding world - here's a few of my recent favorites:

Invitation Downloads via Nonpareil Magazine - These adorable and free downloadable invites come from some of the best in the biz; Kristen Magee of Paper Crave, Wiley Valentine, Erin Vale Design, Bread of Many, Cottage Industrialist, Twig and Thistle and Roxane Bradley. They also come in different color and design options.

Wrap-around Address Labels via Martha Stewart Weddings - Perfectly printed address labels that give an envelope an extra something special. Get the how-to here and the template here.

Air-Mail Save The Dates via Ruffled - Could this save the date card and envelope set be any cuter for your destination wedding? I think not.

Favor Box Template by Kristen Magee for Nonpareil Magazine - These adorable favor boxes can be customized to pretty much any look, add to your decor, and of course make a sweet take home parting gift for your guests. Get the download here and the how to's here and here.

Candy Buffet Signs by Two Brunettes via Ruffled - These sweet little blank cards would work great as place cards, escort cards, or candy buffet signs.

Menu Cards via Martha Stewart Weddings - This swirly template comes in classic black or a light orange.


Hand Calligraphed Table Number Templates by Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls via Martha Stewart Weddings - This template has two design choices for your table numbers. I love the hand calligraphed look of them - it looks like you hired Laura Hooper to make your table numbers!

Like what you see? Would you like me to do a weekly round up of great free downloads from around the web? Comment and let me know!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you are spending the day with someone you love, even if that someone is yourself. :) Enjoy this adorable Valentine's shoot styled by Innove Events and photographed by Marie Labbancz Photography via Style Me Pretty.

Real Wedding: A Conservatory Garden Wedding

I am so excited to share this bit of loveliness today on Marry You Me. Kelsey and Stephan were married at the gorgeous Conservatory at Garden Vineyards in Hillsboro, Oregon, and their day was infused with simply lovely details - from the bride wearing her mother's wedding dress to the amazing loose and fresh picked feeling of the florals by Ink & Peat to the sassy bridesmaids dresses and the romantic garden setting. I love the great job that Emily of Emily G Photography did capturing the day - the photos fit the setting and the style of this wedding so perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing them with us today Emily!

The amazing florals were by Pam of Ink & Peat: "The bride was as sweet as pie and such a pleasure to work with. I think we had the same vision of the floral design being loose and fresh and light. The bouquets and table arrangements consisted of peachy dahlias, Karamel Antik garden roses, Metallina and Alexandra roses, green cockscomb, sedum, red clover, rattle grass, feverfew (which looks almost like chamomile), geranium leaves, and unripe blackberries."

Thanks again to Emily of Emily G Photography for sharing this beautiful event!

Credits: Photography Emily G Photography, Flowers Ink & Peat, Venue: Conservatory at Garden Vineyards, Catering Art of Catering.