:: DINOSAURS & CAKES ::

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a friend's wedding in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The ceremony was simple, classic and elegant ... very Amanda-like, but what I will probably remember most from the weekend was the reception.  Your typical reception is usually held at some nice fancy venue - maybe at a hotel or banquet hall.  Some receptions are even held at the church or at someone's house.  Amanda and Mark had their reception at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.  I had never been to a reception at a museum before but I would have to give the experience two thumbs up.  The layout and set-up of the museum was very conducive for mingling and it was just flat out COOL!  When you entered the museum, you took the escalators to the second floor where drinks and appetizers were served.  You were also able to walk around the many exhibits and had the chance to learn new things.  Did you know that bats hung upside down (which is called roosting) to ease tired their limbs and for ease of take-off?  After cocktail hour, we went up another escalator to the third floor where there was dinner and dancing.  There was also this AMAZING cookie bar.  I believe cookie bars are more of a northern thing, but we should definitely try to bring it down here to the south.  The night ended with us waving good-bye to the new bride and groom as they rode away on a rickshaw.  The entire evening was a success.  Congrats to the new couple!

:: WORK SHOWER ::

Today was a nice break from the usually daily grind.  A co-worker of mine is getting married next month so I was able to work on a shower invitation for her.  I started with a caricature sketch of her at the end of the day yesterday and I finished the design this morning.  I used some design elements found on her actual wedding invitation and this was the result... TA-DA!!!

{ Amanda's very simple and cute invitations }

:: FEATHERED DRESS ::

My sister's best friend got married 2 months ago and after seeing the photos, I fell in love with this dress.  It's made with all real feathers!  Can you believe it?  I wish I knew the designer of this dress...

(I got these photos from http://blog.allisonreiszphotography.com/)

:: SEATTLE SUMMER WEDDING ::

Back in July, I went to my cousin's wedding and loved all the things they did to make the day special.  Cute couple, cool colors.  I thought the bobble-head cake toppers were absolutely adorable and I loved how they made the white IKEA frames (displaying the table numbers) look classy.  The cupcakes were quite tasty, too.