I love working on my close friends weddings, because all the time and energy I put into it, is manifested with a little more heart and soul. When my college roommate and BFF, Ashley told me she is not passionate about anything in life but the Lakers, her family, and Jeff, it was no surprise when she revealed her wedding theme would most definitely be oriented around NBA team, The Los Angeles Lakers. {And yes, I’m behind on this post, but it’s Lakers Season now…so it’s relevant.}

The other bridesmaids and I tried to convince her to save the casual sports theme for the bridal shower {Check out our Casino Couture Shower we threw for her instead} but she was adamant about a Purple & Gold Championship Lakers Wedding to the fullest. They decided on a combined Lakers + Ravens Sports themed wedding, which highlighted the commonality between both the teams and them. Half the table number photographs were at the Ravens Stadium in Baltimore, and half were taken in Lakers jersey’s in the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

So we were posed with the challenge to create a Lakers and Ravens inspired, Purple & Gold, Indian-esque -but-modern Wedding Invitation set and corresponding stationery, while still being elegantly chic. Last time I went to a Lakers game, I wore Nike’s, distressed jeans, hoop earrings, and a jersey…so far from elegantly chic. It was a challenge we happily accepted.

First, we had to modify the traditional purple & gold color palette associated with the Lakers. We opted for a deep plum and a antique gold with a pearl gold, and Topaz Swarovski Crystals. Once the colors were set, coming up with a design that embodied both their tastes, vision, and aesthetic was our next task. I think it worked out well, because we built a cohesive set with the invitations, labels, program booklets, water bottle labels, escort cards, and food label tags.

And that’s when I thought of one of my favorite ad campaigns. The NBA in the US promoted the 2008 Playoffs and Finals with an epic tagline: “There Can Only Be One.”  This led to an integrated advertising campaign involving interactive, print and film components. The campaign, featuring two players at a time, {Shaq & Kobe below} promoted basketball games on NBA, TNT, ESPN and ABC, connecting with fans online at www.nba.com/therecanonlybeone where users were allowed to submit their own.

It was brilliant. It was timeless.

And while all of this seems so far removed from Paper, Daydreams, and…Weddings… this was actually the inspiration for all of the above for the beautiful couple, Ashley & Jeff. I’ve never met  any couple like Ashley and Jeff. They’re equally complimentary and compassionate, and just like the tagline, there can only be one…like them. They’re brilliant. They’re timeless.

The Escort Cards inspired by  Sporting Event Tickets {read: Lakers Tickets} with the inspirational tagline for the couple.

The creative, clever, and custom table numbers photographed at both the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and the Ravens Stadium in Maryland.

The breathtaking bride Ashley, with her beautiful twin sister, Anisha.

There Can Only Be One.

Our StyleGuide Vol.1 on Divanee Weddings

We were so excited to work on the logo and branding concept for Rubina’s Cake Shoppe! {revamp from her shop previously known as “Rubina’s Cakes.”}

After confirming the color palette of a rose pink and chocolate brown, we thought we’d add a touch of a modern-artistic-painterly look. We initially had the logo just include the hand-drawn swirl on top, so it would look like a somewhat abstracted cupcake top, but without the bottom wrapper, it could have easily been mistaken for a ice cream sundae…We obviously added the bottom wrapper extend from her shop name. The polka-dots were a no-brainer. A little mod, a little girly, and totally trendy…and voila, Rubina’s Cake Shop relaunch had begun.

I’m really behind on posting these pictures that her and her hubby so graciously sent over, so my apologies on the delay!

Rubina was a featured vendor showcasing at the “3rd Annual Valentine Romance “Sneak Peek” Oscar® Gifting Party” in Beverly Hills, this past February!

With the event styling by Hello Kismet Events, PaperDaydream designs, and the beautifully delicious Cake Truffles and Fabulously Sculpted cakes by Rubina, I’d say the event looked like a success. Below is the gorgeous Shop Owner and Pastry Chef herself with a few of Hollywood’s familiar faces, including Kevin Eubanks from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Vivica A. Fox {Kill Bill, Booty Call}, and Kiowa Gordon of Twilight: New Moon & Twilight: Eclipse. Everyone loved how amazing her cakes were, Oscar Nuñez from the hit show The Office even commissioned her to create his wedding cake!

Feel free to contact her to sweeten up your day, and your next event.

Still can’t get over how gorgeous the bride, Alina looked on her wedding day! Not only did she beam with an inexplicable radiance, but every detail of her event looked radiant as well. It’s not a easy feat to make a 750 guest list wedding feel intimate, but it all came together quite lovely. The black, red and champagne color palette was a classy and unique approach that mixed traditional with modern for the typical South Asian Weddings. In addition, we came up with the “Love: In Translation” theme to capture her idea to have a book/chapter/love-around-the-world theme.  After creating 750 programs for each place setting, we created the table numbers/names. Each table number/name includes the translation for I love You, along with the origin and language name. Instead of directing guests to a “table”, they were directed to a “Chapter” to their around-the-world timeless love via their skinny bookmark escort card.  Cheers to the beautiful couple! Wishing you a lifetime of love…in translation.

xo.

Wedding Photography: www.ajstudios.net | PaperDaydream Photography: Sadia K. | Event Decor: http://www.aseedandstone.com/

With all the fervor and media coverage of the Royal Wedding, we’d be remiss to not make any mention of this auspicious occasion. It’s lovely that it’s a love story, and not just a forced courtship between two royal families. I think that adds to the appeal of it all. And royal blood or not, Kate Middleton exudes nobility and sophistication all around. I’m in love with their love, and the hype behind this wedding-of-the-century is definitely exciting. Even my mom is excited! {Obvi}

Mom: Did you know Prince William was an Art History major, like you?!! He’s a good match for you!

Me: Really, Mommy, Really? Darn, looks like Kate beat me to my Prince Charming then. Ah, well.

{My mom’s a little more of a {day}dreamer than me =] }

I gotta say though – I was way underwhelmed after seeing their invitation. My reaction was “Wait, What? That’s it??? “ Gold Embossed on ivory stock – with handwritten guest names directly on the invite…WITH DOTTED LINES TO FILL IN THE BLANK!? Yikes. This is slightly embarrassing. No offense.  The overall aesthetic doesn’t seem to embody the modern elegance the couple exhibits at all.

That’s when we decided to come up with our own rendition of how we feel the invitations could have looked better =] We incorporated royal blue in the palette to streamline with her beautiful sapphire engagement ring.  Throw in some antique gold, ivory and caramel, and we’ve created our version of the Royal Wedding Regal Invitation.

This is just a prototype obvi -

• The real deal would be letterpressed on 220# ivory linen stock, {That’s like Cardboard with texture}  with blind debossing for more subtle texture, and a antique gold foil stamp along the Crest we custom designed.
• I opted for an English Victorian Rose “Garden” for the outer casing to compliment and contrast the Heraldic Design we created for the actual inserts.
• Then embellished with a crystalized pearl seal – and Sapphire and Topaz Swarovski Crystals on the inside.

We hope this fits the bill for the Royal Treatment they deserve.  We checked out the guest list, and noticed a certain British hottie couple – Victoria and David Beckham, so we used that as our sample invitee. {The internet is a creepy place — abundant in way too much information,  sorry.}   Thoughts??

Imagine a female version of Ocean’s 11– Seriously. A Team of 11 of Ashley’s Ace’s forwent planning a casino robbery in lieu of planning a casino shower. The end result: A lil’ Casino Royale, a lil’ Romance, and a lot of Sexy. Equipped with maps, spreadsheets, meetings and teams — we practically could have made our own movie! But, somehow I think the lack of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon’s star prowess would not help our cause. Anyways…

I’m no gambler, but I went all in with the idea I had for the invitation. After crap shooting a bunch of “blah” ideas, I decided to keep it simple: 4 Aces for Ashley. Each card listed different information for the shower details. The cards were printed double sided with 1/4 in. rounded edges, and a Red Garnite & Charcoal Gray Swarovski Crystal on the 1st Card.

That made it easy and clear to pave the way for the rest of the design elements! A Red, black, and White color palette theme was kinda default chosen for us going off of the Card Suites and shapes.

The water bottle labels had 4 different designs; One for each card suite shape — Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, & Clubs.

When we went flower shopping, we found black flowers! Love. We paired white hydrangeas with Chocolate Cosmos, Red Roses and Curly Willow. Ashley’s fabulous twin sister, elder sister and BFF’s took care of the food and the gorgeous cake! Our other A-Team member/BFF took care of the games…It was a fabulous calloborative A-Team effort.

When Dr. Farshid Kazi, MD {Yep the MD is official, he’s got his on-call pager and intern minions to prove it} told us he was getting married, we laughed for a good minute.

Then we realized he was serious.

Wait, what? Who did he trick into thinking he was really funny and charming? {Ok, so maybe he kinda is…but we’re not here to feed egos} Turns out, the lucky lady is the beautiful Natasha Khan Kazi – Social Media Diva of ModCloth, and Mastermind behind Sapna Magazine. Ya did well Dr. Kazi.

Every single one of this couples events were amazing. From the “no-big-deal” pre-wedding pep-rally festivities, to the Mehndi and Wedding Reception hosted by the brides family in Pittsburgh, to the Walima Reception hosted by the grooms family in Downtown LA… everything was perfection.

When you put so much time, energy, and effort into organizing all the wedding details — thanking your guests should reflect the same level of detail, and cohesively culminate the event. That’s when the OG Mrs. Kazi gave us a call.

She wanted the Thank You cards to reflect her style and taste… without any hesitation we knew instantly exactly what to do! We wanted to incorporate elements from the Moroccan themed foyer, and the purple hues from the interior of the hall {and the bride’s beautiful outfit} all together. The result: a rich, bold purple and bright teal whimsy Thank You “Merci” card, embellished with a peacock feather and Swarovski Crystals in Amethyst. We were going for a trés chic look with this design – which is why we even decided to go with a French translation for Thank You. We are so happy for the lovely couple, and wish them all the best! As they’re off on their honeymoon, we wish them a lifetime of honeymoon’s and happiness.

Merci BeauCoup Mon Amours!

We had to include a few shots from the big day – not only because these pictures are gorgeous, but also so you can see our “inspiration palette” Enjoy!

xoxo,

PD.

So this has nothing to do with Paper, but it has EVERYTHING to do with Daydreams. Christian Louboutin’s Spring/Summer 2011 Lookbook is full of whimsical, inspiring, and boldly original photographs by Khuong Nguyen. Nguyen takes Louboutin’s work of art, and transcends it to a new work of art on a whole other level. The dream-like feel to the photography is almost reminiscent of a post-modern-surrealist  version of Salvadore Dali’s The Persistence of Memory.  It’s nonsense, it’s beautiful, it’s nostaligiac, it’s magic…and nothing makes more sense to me than materializing daydreams.

These red-bottom sole’s just got more soul.  I’m in love.

Special Thanks to Aamir Syed {ASY} @ Taacit for sharing this with me first.

Perhaps it was divine intervention, or just a gift from the gods – but what ever the case,  Miss Natasha was well deserving of this Greek Goddess {All White & Gold Err-thing} Bridal Shower.  A Bridal Shower that came straight from Mt. Olympus, was totally  fitting for the well-traveled bride, whose favorite vacay spot is Greece {Also their honeymoon destination}.

We are SO excited to be featured in the Winter 2011 Anniversary Edition of South Asian Bride Magazine! We teamed up with the creative forces behind 2Create Design Studio to create this Winter Wonderland Luxe tablescape. We designed the full suite menus, favor tags, table numbers, escort cards, and invitations for this fabulous Wedding shoot at the beautiful Island Hotel in Newport Beach, CA. Saman at 2Create Design Studio did an AMAZING job with everything, and we love how beautifully everything turned out – but then again everything always does with them. Also, the photography is nothing short of breathtaking, no? Aman at Samson Productions did an AMAZING job with the photography. Love!

xoxo,

PD

Other participating vendors that contributed to the awesomeness: Just a Bite Cake Pops {Cake Pop Favors} | 3D Sounds Lighting | BTB Events | WildFlower Linen

At least that’s what Rent The Runway wants you to believe. And I kinda love this brilliant idea. How many of us really repeat our bridesmaid dresses?  Just a high-priced piece hanging in our closet, right?  Renting high-fashion for a low-price is even better than ice cream. {And I love ice cream}

The new line of Wedding specific dresses and accessories {launched today!} is amazing. Thought I’d share the amazingness, as it provides a great alternate solution for looking good and saving money.  Check it out for yourself.

xo,

PD

They say you should never mix business with pleasure, but when it came to do business with Tara and Jorge on their full wedding stationery suite, it was impossible for it to not be a pleasure. They were the ideal client to have! Clear on their general direction, while still allowing us creative control. After having her color theme already selected – coming up with the design and style for her custom chocolate brown and red rose colored invitations, favor tags, seating charts, and table names was the next step. Tara wanted swirls and bling, while Jorge wanted clean and simple. We compromised.

The MAC Hello Kitty Wild collection could not have debuted at a better time. Plans were already underway for the bachelorette party for our BFF when MAC introduced this edgy pretty kitty line. A little bit more rockstar glam WILD than the sweet lil’ sugar MILD, bride-to-be Natasha was used to.  But when it comes to bachelorette parties – MILD is not OK…WILD all the way.  So, needless to say, this was purrr-fect. {Thank you Kitty!}

Natasha decided she wanted to spend her weekend with her bridesmaids at Disneyland. While we could have easily opted for Disney characters to cohesively theme the event – we would be remiss if we did not pay homage to her favorite character in the whole wide world. We opted to say “hi” to the kitty.  So as this campaign paved the way for inspiration for all collateral involved for this bachelorette suite – I added my own flavor of dirty jokes, wit and rockstar wild to the mix.

Read with caution. You have been forewarned.

The shirts specifically read NATASHA’S BRIDAL MOB because M.O.B. are her {now} hubby’s {then fiance} initials! Mirza.Omar.Baig. We thought it would be a good personalized touch to include it on the T-shirts instead of saying “Bridal Gang” “Bridal Girls”…etc.  I recreated the MAC Hello Kitty by drawing it out on my Wacom tablet that Natasha had given to me on one of my birthday’s. {I use it ALL the time! Thanks Tasha Fierce!}

I’m re-posting this blog I did @ Divanee here, because I’m so excited about this callobo project! I love it when two differing art forms  & two differing artists  harmoniously merge together. {Kinda like fashion + paper} This inspires me, does it inspire you?!

Louis Vuitton Embraces Diwali’s Festival of Light | Divanee – South Asian Lifestyle

I think I spent more time and energy in planning my sister’s bridal shower than some people put into planning their own weddings. Yah. I was SO excited my big sister was getting married, this was the first thing I couldn’t wait to do for her. She didn’t really have a choice @ the theme though. Yah. I told her it was going to be Arabian Nights…

“you cool with that?”
“ok”
“perff…I’m gonna make you look like Jasmine!”
“ok, but I’m not even engaged.”
“so.”
Yup, that’s pretty much what happened.