Invitation Consultants Blog - Wedding and Party Inspiration

Fab*Mom Spotlight on Nikii!

Reilly — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:35:48 -0700

Nikii & Darius are college sweethearts from my alma mater who have always had the brightest smiles & attitude. When Nikii shared photos of their little guy, Xavier, I just knew our readers would love them. Superheros, mega-watt cuteness, and a sweet & honest interview with Nikii follow below...

As a first-time mommy, what is the biggest surprise about having a little one?
In general, I guess how much you can love this new little person. You think you know how much you’re going to love them, but once that little guy or girl gets here and you can’t stop staring at them, or watching them sleep, or just being amazed at how they learn to move- it’s a whole new level of love that you have never experienced or imagined.Specifically for Xavier-How awesome he sleeps! 7:30pm to 7 am...now he has started in the last few days to wake up at 6, but that’s still great!

Xavier is such a unique and strong name, how did you & Darius choose? Were there other names you were considering that made it tough to decide?
I’ve always loved the name Xavier; it’s less used and I like that. I hated being Nicole B growing up because there were 10 of us in one class! Darius and I love superheroes, as a pair our favorite superheroes are the X-men and the X-Men are led by Professor Xavier! So we have this joke that he’ll grow up to be a professor and then we can call him Professor Xavier. Of course he can be whatever he wants! We decided this name years before Xavier was conceived and it was pretty much the only one we agreed on 100%. His first and middle name is Xavier Alexander and we love how strong it sounds.

What is your number one piece of advice for finding balance between work & family?
Know that you can’t take care of anyone without taking care of yourself first. Don’t feel selfish or guilty for doing what you need to stay happy and to be an amazing mom. I had a hard time going to the gym and leaving Xavier after a full day of work away from him, but it was important to me to get back in shape. I rearranged my schedule and go to the gym in the morning before work. I’d rather sacrifice my sleep than my time with him. Find what it is you need to be happy and fit it in your schedule, it will all work out!

Your family photos are too cute! How do you get Xavier to be so smiley? What inspired the superhero theme?
Well Thank you! This little guy wakes up smiling! He keeps me from having a bad day, or even a bad hour. Again we love superheroes and my personal favorite is Superman, so I thought it would be awesome to get all three of us in superhero gear and have a blast being silly. Xavier is so strong for a little guy and at 7 months he inspires me to be strong in every possible way. He is my little superman!

Who is your favorite celebrity mom?
P!nk is one of my favorite moms. She is so strong, beautiful, creative, and looks amazing after gaining 55 lbs. in her pregnancy. She inspired me to find a way to make being a mom and getting in my gym sessions possible. I saw a clip of her recording a video or taking photos for her album and her little girl was sitting in a bumbo seat on set. I loved that her daughter was with her, it made her “normal” and easy to connect with.

Thank you so much, Nikii for sharing your gorgeous family with us!

Photos courtesy of Jason Angelini Photography.

CUSTOMER IDEA: Have a Chic Parisian Birthday Party!

Courtney — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:46:00 -0700

Bonjour! We were tres inspired by this customer's adorable birthday party theme and stated getting all kinds of ideas for a Parisian party of our own. Using our Party in Paris invitation to get the party started, you could serve all kinds of French fare from croissants, croque monsieurs, frites and macarons! Having some French accessories on hand would be an excellent touch, like a beret for each guest! This would make for an excellent photo booth! The soundtrack to Amelie would be perfect background music for Paris themed games or activities like pin the tail on the poodle or writing postcards from "Paris" to their family back home. Let your imagination run wild and plan a Parisian sleepover to transport your petite guests to the streets of Paris for a night! Au revoir for now!

Friday Deal Alert! Custom Stamps are 20% OFF

Reilly — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:58:51 -0700

Happy Friday folks! We're buzzing around over here working on summer projects, but we wanted to sneak in to tell you that Custom Stamps are now 20% off. So, now would be a good time to snag one if you've been eyeing them!

Behind The Scenes | Custom Scarf Painting!

Allison — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:36:20 -0700

Last week the designers and I got to create our very own custom scarves as a teambuilder. It was a BLAST, and I would recommend this to anyone in the St. Pete area! Each of us were given a plain white silk scarf to work with and some wonderful instruction from the company, Uniquely Yours. We were each given tips + examples before starting and then set free to create our own masterpieces! The photo above shows our creative genious...or something like that.

Before starting, we were given a large swatch of colors to choose from. I think for me, this was definitely the toughest part! With so many choices, it was hard to narrow down the colors to envision with the final design, but we each finally decided on our three-four to use.

After our colors were selected, we started creating our designs. The paint acted like a stain and the colors blended together a bit, giving the scarf a kind of watercolor effect. We tapped into our creative sides and each scarf turned our great! In the end, each scarf definitely fit the owner in terms of colors, design, and creativity.

Have you done any creative activities yet this summer?

Brilliant Invitation Idea: Summer Sushi Party

Allison — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:16:12 -0700

No matter how much you love cheeseburgers, hotdogs and corn on the cob (we all do too!), it doesn't take long to get over typical BBQ food, especially during the summer months. So shake up your traditional BBQ summer get-together this year and roll out the bamboo mats instead. Learn how to make sushi then invite your friends over for a summer sushi party. They'll thank you, and so will your body for sparing them both a few hundred calories.

Local Love | Tampa Bay Times Bridal Show

Allison — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:33:41 -0700

This past weekend, Lucy and Zahara represented Invitation Consultants as the Tampa Bay Times Bridal Show. We love seeing all the local wedding vendors and brides and have already had a few ladies come see us again this week in our Design Studio!

We love showing our new invitation designs to our customers face to face and chatting about the latest wedding trends. Bridal shows are a lot of fun - are you planning to attend any this summer?

Instagram Diaries :: Photos from our Bloggers

Allison — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 05:57:03 -0700

Summer is here, which means bright colors, fun trips - and, in Florida, rainy afternoons. Go away, Andrea!

Kaity spent her Saturday off the shore of Caladesi Island.

Courtney just got back from a trip to California wine country! More to come on that later...

Allison is exploring the Lone Star state and visited the Wolfdancer Golf Course in Austin.

Reilly & Antoinette were in synch with their summer hued bags.

Amy and Vince moved into their first house!

And the newest member of the IC family - and blog team - Josh spent a lazy Sunday by the pool.

Brilliant Announcement Ideas: We're Having a Baby!

Allison — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:03:00 -0700

A few weeks ago, this picture arrived in our email inboxes here at Invitation Consultants. That's our very own designer (and Fab*Bride) Brittany and her husband, Jeff - and they're having a baby!

Of course, we all squealed at the photo announcement, and then immediately marvelled at Brittany's creativity. In the photo, she is reading the latest issue of Fit Pregnancy, while her husband delves deep into Dude, You're Going to be a Dad!

We put together a list of other fun and unique photo ideas for announcing your pregnancy:

"First comes love, then comes marriage..."

Feature a photo from your early days as a couple, as well as a wedding portrait and let your loved ones finish the sentence!

Switch things up!

We love how HGTV's Emily Henderson shared the news with her blog readers earlier this week, with her husband sporting a faux-baby bump!

Bump Ahead

Posing together with the 'bump ahead' street sign might not be all that new, but it's still adorable.

Fuzzy Math

1 + 1 = 3!

Big (Furry) Brother or Sister

If you're already parents to a dog or cat, get them in on the act!

Littlest Sports Fan

Personally, the idea of a tiny jersey just sends my heart aflutter. So if you're a sports-loving couple, how about announcing that your favorite team has a new fan?

Of course, when your little bundle arrives, be sure to send out birth announcements - we love the photo announcements - to family and friends.

What unique ways have you announced your pregnancy - or how did your family and friends tell you?

http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/the-hendersons-are-expanding/

PRODUCT FEATURE | MILITARY WEDDING INVITATIONS

Courtney — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 08:49:19 -0700

Today we'd like to share with you a new collection of invitations that our very own designer (and military wife) Brittany designed! Our military wedding invitations feature classic motifs and modern layouts that reference different aspects of military culture. Military life may take you to a lot of different places and can play a big role in your lives, so why not incorporate that and pay tribute to his or her service as a part of your wedding day.

I asked Brittany what her inspiration was when designing these and she said:

"I was inspired by the sense of patriotism and pride one feels when they are involved in the military. It’s a community of people who all have something in common no matter their branch or status. Military life is full of adventures, stories, and experiences (good or bad) and I think people enjoy sharing that with others. And what better way than by incorporating it into a milestone event in their lives?"

Thanks for sharing Britt!

Behind The Scenes | Summer Sip and See

Allison — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 06:12:00 -0700

Last month, we had our Summer Sip n See! Reilly put together a sweet display of our newest invitations - along with mimosas and fruity pink lemonade!

This dreamy birth announcement and punny birthday invitation were among our favorites. We also got to see some of our new summer-inspired invitations and started planning a few summer soirees ourselves!

Our fabulous design team truly outdid themselves this year - so will you be throwing a party this summer?