My Paper Cranes in a Photoshoot!

When I was going through my blog reader, I stumbled upon this photo board on Limelight Photography's blog, said, "oh that's pretty", and then I realized it included some of my handiwork! I got excited and had to share it!

This photo shoot was designed by MMD Events, a company that I work for, and they asked me to help out with part of the design. What part is that, you ask? Well, paper cranes. Yes, I taught myself how to make paper cranes. Four tutorials and lots of folded paper later, I can now make paper cranes in my sleep! It was so much fun to teach myself a new skill! And now to see not one, but two photos of my work is so exciting!

Paper cranes included, the photo shoot turned out beautifully! The white, the crystals, the sparkle, the lighting! Limelight took some amazing photos, and I absolutely love the white and sparkle factor! Hopefully I'll be posting some larger and more close-up photos soon!

DIY Menu Wheel

When I saw this very cool DIY project, it immediately went on my list of things to share with my readers!

Photo via Design*Sponge

Anna of Rifle Design created this incredibly fun menu wheel! Since this is a somewhat time intensive project, it would be ideal for a small wedding. However, it would also be a great idea to just put one or two at a table! It would be a great icebreaker for your guests too!

{The instructions, along with detailed photos, can be found on Design*Sponge.}

I would love to host a dinner party where I could make a few of these! I'm thinking of perhaps making these for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, in the appropriate colors. Anyone have an event coming up that you could make these for?

DIY Decor: Pom-Poms

I'm still in wedding decor mode from the amazing wedding I helped with this past weekend, so it seemed fitting to share one of the trends in wedding decor I've been seeing!

You may have recently seen a lot more tissue paper pom-poms being used as decor at weddings. These fun and whimsical decorations are also perfect for a bridal shower or baby shower! Thanks to Martha Stewart and her tutorial on how to make them, tissue paper pom-poms are becoming a common decor item! It's a wonderful DIY piece of decor to add a pop of color to an event and it's also such a fun element!

Photo from Martha Stewart Weddings


Photo from Style Me Pretty


Photo from Style Me Pretty, by Katie Anderson Photography


Photo from Rock, Paper, Scissors

You can also get a pom-pom DIY kit from the Prost to the Host Etsy Shop! You can save yourself the time of cutting and measuring, but still put the poms together!

Photo from Prost to the Host

Are any of you planning on using tissue paper pom-poms for an upcoming event, or have you? I can't wait to have an excuse to make them!

Fall Wedding Season Begins!

So it's now October, and in the wedding industry, it's the start of the Fall wedding season! My first official wedding with the company I'm apprenticing with, MMD Events, is tomorrow and I'm so excited!

Here are some of the photos from a recent photo shoot that MMD did the decor, design and floral work for! Design and decor of weddings is something that I adore, so when I saw the photos that Limelight Photography did of MMD's work, I had to spread the beauty!

Gorgeous! The pink is so chic, and that centerpiece is amazing! So whimsical!

Look at how much draping and uplighting can do for the design and decor of an event! Wonderful work MMD and Limelight Photography! [Go to Limelight's blog for extended vendor information.]

I'll be doing another post in the next few weeks all about decor and design for events. In the meantime, I'm sure I'll be posting some TwitPics of upcoming weddings, so follow me on Twitter to keep a look out for them!

Have a wonderful weekend!

*All photographs by Limelight Photography

Turning a House Into a Home

"Turning a house into a home". This saying has been heard many times, for many years. But I recently experienced the truth in it. My husband and I lived together before getting married, but it felt like we were just living in a "house". We had no pictures on the wall and nothing matched. The house just didn't have any sort of ebb and flow to it.

So, I talked my mom into coming down for a weekend to help me turn our house into a "home". We spent a day cleaning every nook and cranny, and the next day we set out to hunt for decorative items for the "house to home" transformation.

We actually found most of our decor items at Ross. They had a great selection of decorative items! And cheap at that! We cleaned out Ross, and within a few hours, the transformation of a house into a home was complete.

Transforming my house into a home really played a hand in our transition into being married. The house, now our home, felt cohesive and more relaxing. It's amazing what a few pieces of matching furniture and things on the wall can do to a space!

*Image via Design Formula

Image via Decor Catalog


Image via Better Homes and Gardens

*Image via Canadian House and Home


Image via LeentheGraphicsQueen Etsy shop


Image via cpearson6's Etsy shop

There are so many options when decorating! You can use photos, framed prints, vintage plates, wall hangings, decals....there are a plethora of items that can be used to create decor.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions for those who are trying to transform their house into a home?

For the Love of Paper Designs

I haven't posted anything paper design related recently, so I figured today I would do just that.

Here are some goodies that are just pure paper beauty!

Invitation suite from Momental Designs
Individually hand painted-creations. Amazing.

Fabulous invitation suite from Gourmet Invitations.
Note the embossed pocket folder that matches the invitation's design.

Letterpressed Save The Date Coasters! What an amazing idea!
Via Oh So Beautiful Paper, made by Sesame Letterpress

Invitation in a hand-stitched fabric pouch. By Bird and Banner
A good twist for a DIY vintage wedding!

Henna Notecards from Escargot Studio

I hope you were inspired by these pieces of innovative design!

Thanks for the help!

Thank you all for your input on what photo I should include with my Thank You notes!

Since I couldn't pick just one, I decided to make a collage of my favorite photos to send out!

It's going to be somewhat small, but all the pictures are clearly visible. I can even pick out specific people in the group shot. I wanted everyone to see it since you were all a part of my decision to make it! Thanks again!

Real Wedding: Lauren & Schuyler

Yes, yes, this is my wedding. I thought it would be appropriate to start out showing photos of my wedding 1) because I thought it was amazing, and 2) to share a little bit more about ME!

I'll begin with the design elements of the wedding, since this IS a design blog...hence the name The DESIGN Grove. :) For me, the design and vision of my wedding began with the dress. The dress is a whole different story, but the elegance of it led me to envision how I wanted my wedding to be.

I believe the design and vision of a wedding consists of many things- the flowers, the table settings, the paper elements, uplighting, cake, the favors...the list goes on and on. Showcased in this post is the work of my floral and event designer, Dan Hathcock. Also included are my designs, which I printed myself. So, without further ado...

Photos by CVB Photography
Flowers and Decor by Dan Hathcock
Paper Elements designed and printed by bride

About Me

I'm new to the blogging community, but I've been a blog stalker for a while. I firmly believe that if it weren't for blogs, my wedding wouldn't have been half as amazing as it was. {Thank you to my best friend and Emily from Emily Ley Paper for introducing me to the blog world!} It helped tremendously to have other "minds" to pull ideas from. Blogs enabled me to find ideas and inspiration for my wedding, making the vision I had come to life.

I want to help my readers find their vision and help it come to life. A vision is not complete without designs. I believe that design is the key to a wedding. Design is what is used to "brand" a wedding. Branding a wedding is spoken of everywhere, and I look for designs that emulate the brand of a wedding. Every aspect of a wedding has come from some sort of design; from the dress to the programs. It's all in the details!

Anything and everything related to design will be on this blog, whether it be for the home, office, or wedding. I am willing to be another "mind" for you, and if you need any inspiration help, please let me know! I hope I can help my readers bring their visions to life!

{Update: Throughout the past few months of blogging and being immersed in the wedding industry, I have decided to pursue the career goal of wedding planning! This blog will also be focusing on different aspects of planning a wedding, as well as continuing to provide inspiration for brides. A completely new and redesigned blog will be coming soon, so be on the lookout!}