Real Weddings: with PrintYourParty

Today's Real Weddings Feature comes from Etsy Wedding Team member PrintYourParty.  Their beautiful Sadie Table Numbers and Menus are proudly featured in this oh so chic table scape.

They also created these custom bar menu which is a spin off of their Sadie design.

You can read more about Print Your Party by visiting their blog http://printyourparty.blogspot.com/ and their shop on Etsy http://printyourparty.etsy.com/

Six Months On: How the Red Cross is Helping Haitians Recover

As many of you know, the Etsy Wedding Team raised and donated $564.85 to the American Red Cross to benefit the people of Haiti. The video below shows the ARC 6 month progress report in Haiti.

Special Occasion Clothing for Children: An Interview with Bean & Company

This weeks interview features Jenna Lang from Beane & Comany.  Jenna is located in Los Angeles, CA.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hello everyone! I currently live in Los Angeles with my husband I and my daughter Roxy. I started Beane and Company in 2007, shortly before my daughter was born. We affectionately call her Beane.  I have been involved with arts and crafts all my life. I absorbed it through my mother a seamstress, and my grandmother who was very accomplished with the art of crochet. I was a professional dancer for years and out of necessity taught myself to sew. It soon became a passion. After the birth of my daughter I began a love affair with children's clothes, there was really no other direction to go! There is lots of love and excitement in everything I make. I hope you enjoy.

What special things do you create for weddings?

I create wedding attire for children. I do what I call "vintage inspired with a modern twist" for flower girls and ring bearers. I've had so many requests over the last year for bridesmaids dresses that I have added bridesmaids and "Indie" bridal gowns to my personal website.

Who or what sparked your interest in making wedding-related items?

The first thing being, I am a girl! Like most girls I had been planning my wedding since I was 5! After I had my own wedding in 2002 I found that I still couldn't stay away from the bridal magazine isle. It didn't really take hold until my daughter was born and I began making her "special" dresses. It was then that it clicked...this was the perfect way to incorporate my love for weddings and making beautiful children's clothing. It was then that Beane and Company was created!

What is a little known fact, or something unique about your work that is interesting?

I guess it not so much a little known fact...but I will change any color to suit the color palette of the wedding at no extra charge. If brides send me a swatch of color I will re-design a dress and incorporate the color anyway the bride wants. I also use 100% cotton linings so the fabric next to the child's skin is soft and they will be comfortable. Lastly...I use traditional couture sewing techniques on all the clothing. Even children deserve to have well made clothing!

If you are married, what’s the one thing you wish you had for your wedding that you didn’t?

When I got married in 2002 there wasn't nearly as much accessible on the internet. There are so many blogs and great informational sites with great ideas out there today. It was mostly magazines then and you didn't get as much diversity as you have out there today. I tell my husband all the time that we have to have a new wedding every few years just so I can incorporate all the new trends that pop up! I guess that is the beauty of being on the vendor side of the wedding industry...you get to live vicariously through other brides!

What trends do you see happening in your specialty at the moment?

People are very interested in vintage right now. That really excites me! I am also very excited that brides are using brighter more non-traditional colors mixed with the more traditional ones. I am also excited about this "Indie" movement that is taking place now. People are not afraid to be creative with their weddings these days. Simplicity is coming back. I love it!

What is your favorite part of the wedding journey?

Absolutely the idea/early planning stage. I love the blank slate that you have in the beginning when you are just throwing ideas around trying to find out what direction you want to go! Just standing back and looking at every idea you've collected and letting the perfect thing for your wedding jump out at you...with that feeling of "that's it!"

What advice can you share for all the brides getting married this year?

Use your instincts and take your time in making decisions. Also invest in good photography...you will have those pictures forever! One huge thing I regret about my own wedding. I look back at the pictures and I'm very disappointed. Paying for a good photographer is worth it!

What is your perfect honeymoon spot?

Any place warm and tropical!! Or maybe Paris!

If you could pick anyone famous that would purchase your items for their wedding, who would they be?

Living...Sarah Jessica Parker! I know she's already married but I can dream. Also Anne Hathaway or Drew Barrymore...they have great style! Deceased...would absolutely be the greats Audrey Hepburn, Jackie O, and Grace Kelly.

If you could choose 1 item from your shop that you wish every bride could have, what would it be?

So hard to choose...I am attached to everything I make. Each time I create something I think it's even better than the last! I guess I would have to say the Feather dress I have in my shop.

What are some of your favorite shops on Etsy, wedding or otherwise?

I love Silvia66. She knits the most beautiful things! Also bonzie...I've seen their stuff in magazines. It is so signature it jumps right out at you. A few others are giantdwarf and LoBoheme.

Do you have a website, blog, where we can read more about you and your work?

I don't have a blog...but I do have a website http://www.beaneandco.com/.

Summer sales from the Etsy Wedding Team

10% off custom orders from Bellina Bridal

Special markdowns on Ready to Ship items! Come browse!

Free shipping on any new custom wedding shawls & wraps orders.

Enter code "EWT FREESHIP" in 'note to seller' at checkout.

5% off your order of $300+

use code "SUMMER10" at http://shop.glitzyevents.com/

expires 06/27/10 @ midnight

Sale on custom drinking straw flags. Regularly $12 for a set now $10.

Results of our #HaitiRelief fundraising efforts

As many of you know on January 12, 2010 Haiti was devastated by an Earthquake. The Etsy Wedding Team came together to raise money to help the people of Haiti. The members of this team generously donated items, and shipping costs; and these items were sold in our Team Store on Etsy.

As a result of those wonderful donations we were able to raise $564.85!  These funds have been donated to the American Red Cross's Haiti Relif and Development.  Although this is no longer a main stream media topic, Haiti still needs our help.  If at all possible donate to the American Red Cross, Unicef, or any other established reputable charity organization that will get the money to where it is needed ASAP.  The American Red Cross has a minimum donation amount of $10.00, and Unicef is $50.00. 

Every dollar counts;  If every reader of our blog donates $10.00 we can raise $4,000.00 in minutes!

I would like to give a special thanks to Melissa of Design Circus.  She created all of the artwork for the team shop, (as well as all of our giveaway artwork) and helped me to list the 50+ items that were donated by our team members.  Also a big thanks to Shelli of Monde Design, and the Garter Maker.  Her wedding dress labels were our biggest seller, and she kept allowing me to relist them which was extremely generous of her.  Last but not least, a huge thanks to the entire Etsy Wedding Team for making this all possible.

~Kim
Etsy Wedding Team Leader

Handmade Bridal Butterfly

It’s the little touches here and there that pull a theme together and the same is true for a butterfly theme. Here from the Etsy Wedding Team are some ideas for using beautiful butterflies in your wedding.

Stationery. Your butterfly motif can be used as an icon, an overall pattern or in a monogram repeated throughout your stationery. For a more varied look, use butterflies in new ways. These butterflies fluttering in flight offer a different view. {handmade by www.anaderoux.etsy.com}


Jewelry. Wear your theme in jewelry with earrings, bracelets and necklaces that feature butterflies. With many options you can find designs to match your style, from classic to bold. {handmade by www.MGMart.etsy.com}


Hair. With color and stylish accessories, such as crystals and feathers, a butterfly hair accessory can become a statement piece in your bridal look. {handmade by www.Mikiye.etsy.com}


Flower Girls and Bridesmaids. Distribute your theme to your wedding party. Shoe clips, cufflinks and headbands are wonderful places to add butterflies. {handmade by www.luly612.etsy.com}


Ceremony. You don’t have to wait until the reception to use your design motif. Ceremony program, ring pillow and petal cones can all include your butterfly theme. {handmade by www.YANDEBRIDAL.etsy.com}


For more beautiful handmade wedding accessories browse the Etsy Wedding Team members on the left.

Women's wear clothing: An Interview with Amanda Archer

This weeks interview features Amanda Archer from Amanda Archer Collection. Amanda is located in Chicago.

Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm a California beach girl at heart, moved to San Francisco to pursue my lifelong dream to become a fashion designer, graduated in 2003 from FIDM, spent 5+ years working in the industry as a designer before launching my own label: Amanda Archer Collection. I met my husband in San Francisco, he is a fabulous chef, we recently relocated to Chicago for my husbands work where we live with my 11 year old baby kitty.

What special things do you create for weddings?
I create non-traditional wedding dresses and custom dresses for bridesmaids, I'm also known to make matching ties and flower girl dresses from time to time.

Who or what sparked your interest in making wedding-related items?
My background is in evening wear, special occasion women's wear dresses. My passion is designing dresses for all sorts of occasions, (I also love designing coats:) But what really got me into weddings was designing my own wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses, it was such a wonderful experience, I wanted to relive it over again many times.

What is a little known fact, or something unique about your work that is interesting?
My dresses are so wearable even for non-wedding related events, Some of my cotton wedding and/or reception dresses can be dyed afterwards to be worn again, which is great because I believe in being able to wear a dress for more than one event.

If you are married, what’s the one thing you wish you had for your wedding that you didn’t?
Etsy! I did a lot of my own DIY wedding details, but I didn't know much about Etsy at the time, it would have been fun to explore different ideas.

What is your favorite wedding song?
The Luckiest by Ben Folds

What trends do you see happening in your specialty at the moment?
People are thinking more modern, simplistic and unique, getting away from the satin polyester "traditional" wedding stuff you see everywhere.

What is your favorite part of the wedding journey?
Picking out the fabric and designing of course, but I loved our reception which was held at Aureole, Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. It was sooo beautiful, we had swans in this pretty outdoor pond, even a view of fireworks during our champagne toast, and the dinner was AMAZING too:)

What advice can you share for all the brides getting married this year?
Have FUN!! Don't let the pressure of the "perfect" wedding get to your head, your memories will be of all your friends, family and the laughter and tears of happiness you all share.

What is your perfect honeymoon spot?
Paris, France

If you could pick anyone famous that would purchase your items for their wedding, who would they be?
Zooey Deschanel, although she is already married... so I would need to go back in time.

If you could choose 1 item from your shop that you wish every bride could have, what would it be?
A LWD (little white dress) perfect for the reception, rehearsal dinner or honeymoon

What are some of your favorite shops on Etsy, wedding or otherwise?
I have so many favorites, but to name a few I've had a wonderful experience with: luxedeluxe, charmdesign, and tinatarnoff.

Do you have a website, blog, where we can read more about you and your work?
http://amandaarcher.com
http://independentdesigner.blogspot.com/