Women of Wardrobe Event

As a 100% women owned and operated company, there’s nothing we love more than a chance to network and mingle with other influential women in Austin!

This was the first Women of Wardrobe (WOW) event hosted by Dress For Success Austin this year, designed for women of all industry backgrounds to get to know each other and support the nonprofit’s mission and organization. The event took place at Lustre Pearl, an old converted home turned venue and one of East Austin’s best kept secrets when it comes to entertainment with an outdoor patio.

Inside, the bar was full of quesadillas, sandwiches (we would’ve had 12 if we could, they were THAT good) and bite size cupcakes that didn’t make you feel bad if you had a handful. The hosts handed out goodie bags that were filled with jewelry, makeup, and salon vouchers, all aimed to help women feel and look their best. We loved the rustic interior of the space, we set up our selfie station so the walls were the backdrop and we absolutely loved the vibe. We wanted to keep our overlay minimal, so we used a gradient white and simple logo design. Sometimes less really is more.

We’re already looking forward to the next event!

Photos courtesy of Christine Torres

Feathers & Frosting Cake Tasting Event

Cake for breakfast? Sign us the heck up.

We’ve done two cake tasting events for Danae at Feathers and Frosting, and without fail we always leave with a car seat full of cake on the drive home (most of which won’t make it past the end of the week). We were so excited to be a part of this event and work alongside such amazing vendors. We knew we wanted to use the white brick wall as the photo booth backdrop for our selfie station set up. We’re big supporters fo a sleek and simple aesthetic. Between photos and boomerangs, the boomerangs were the crowd favorite, and guests decided to use the faux cakes as props!

Vendor team:

Cake: Feathers and Frosting

Design & Styling: Melody’s Joy

Venue & Rentals: 10th Collection

Florals: Wildly Cultivated

Coffee: Creature Coffee Co.

Photo Booth: Oh Happy Day Booth

Stationary: Angela Davidson Design

Photos: Brittany Jean Photography

Predicting the Trend: Fall Jewel Tones

A guest post by Pearl Events

It’s been a long hot summer, and we’re ready to trade our floppy hats and sandals for cozy sweaters and nights around the bonfire! This season, we’re excited to work with some of our favorite fall jewel tones. Here are some tips on how to incorporate these trendy shades into your wedding day décor!

1.     Stationery

Welcome your guests with a richly colored invite! Flat matte cardstocks look elegant and presentable. Accent these dark backgrounds with metallic copper or gold script and add a signature monogram or image to personalize your stationery.

Courtesy of Jake Holt Photography

2.     Bridal Party

A bold way to introduce color is through the bridal party. Groomsmen may wear your chosen shade on a bowtie, necktie, boutonniere, or even suspenders and socks for a subtler touch of color.Bridesmaids may make a more striking statement donning full length jewel toned gowns, or keep it understated with a statement shoe or hairpiece.

Courtesy of Mint Photography

Courtesy of Loft Photography

3.     Florals

Our favorite!! Work with your florist to design custom florals that incorporate your favorite fall hues. They’ll know just what colors to pair to create designs that are uniquely yours.

Courtesy of Jenna Routh Photography

4.     Cake

Use your cake – the perfect blank canvas – to compliment your jewel toned color palette with wooden accents or touches of copper or gold.

Courtesy of You Are My True

5.     Favors

Finally, send your guests home with a unique and personalized keepsake from your special day!

Courtesy of You Are My True

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We'd like to thank Pearl Events for collecting some really great tips on how to incorporate jewel tones into a wedding! We completely agree that these hues will likely be extremely popular this season and we can't wait to see it in action. Of course, if you're looking for a way to incorporate your photo booth into this color scheme, we suggest pulling these shades into your print design, and picking a really great backdrop that will match the aesthetics of your reception as well. We're anticipating our gold, dark grey and white backdrops to be in heavy rotation this fall if lots of couples are choosing this color palette! 

The School of Styling

We were asked by the owner of The School of Styling, Kaitlin Holland, to be a part of the dinner party at the end of the workshop, and our course our immediate answer was 'yes!' We've been following Kaitlin on Instagram for the longest time and have seen so many people go to the workshop, and we were honored to be a part of it. Everything about the evening was perfectly styled (what else would we expect??) from the bar area to the seating areas and tablescapes. We were sure to match the prints and backdrop to the decor as well, since we know the School of Styling places such a huge importance on making sure that every aspect of an event is well thought out and cohesive. We are head over heels for these photos from Ally and Bobby!

Creating a great event hashtag

Importance of developing an event hashtag

Regardless of the type of event you’re hosting, a hashtag can be useful for compiling photos and interacting with guests before, during and after an event! For corporate events, an event hashtag not only allows the attendants to look back on the event, but it creates online visibility and is a lucrative way to engage guests. Event hashtags, when used properly, create a digital presence and attraction to your brand or company. For weddings, using a specified hashtag means guests can see photos of themselves that might’ve gone untagged or missed without the event hashtag. Most importantly, this allows the bride and groom to look back on the event and relive all the fun memories from one of the best days of their lives.

Here are a few ideas on how you can get started on creating a unique one for your event!

How to develop a hashtag for a corporate event or fundraiser

1. Keep it short. Simplicity is key.

Your hashtag should be as short as possible and take up as few characters as possible. If your guests will be posting on Twitter, the last thing you want to do is take up too many of their limited 140 characters! Abbreviate event names that are long. For example, Austin music festival Blues on the Green uses the hashtag #botg, as opposed to #BluesOnTheGreen, which is pretty long. Keeping it simple also means fewer people will forget exactly what your hashtag is. If they can’t remember, they won’t use it.
 

2.  Use the event's name and location.

If the convention name is BeautyCon, using #beautyconLA may be more effective than simply #beautycon.

3. Include the year for annual events.

If creating a post for an event that occurs annually, including the year to specify which year is attended - for example, using #beautycon2017 or #beautycon17.
 

4. Make sure to determine a good event hashtag well in advance.

Once it has been created, start using it yourself as an organizer and notify your audience about it. For example, runners who are training for the Austin Marathon in 2018 can use the hashtag #austinmarathon2018 when posting a photo of them training in the months leading up to the race. There is great power in promoting a hashtag before an event, especially if the goal is to encourage participation from the public.
 

5. Consistency.

For annual events, having a consistent hashtag every year also allows the participants to refer back to previous years’ photos by simply changing the year at the end of the hashtag.

Photo by Pine and Blossom

How to develop a hashtag for a wedding

Wedding hashtags have recently become increasingly popular, so it is important for your hashtag to be unique. After all, you don’t want to see photos from a random wedding that isn’t yours showing up under your wedding hashtag feed! Here are a few tips on creating a hashtag that is personal and specific to your big day.

 
1. Make the hashtag easy for guests to remember.

Wedding hashtags that have a play on words may be easier for guests to remember. Consider mashing your names together or focusing on the last name if you plan on sharing a surname after you’re married. Puns are always welcomed (and totally encouraged, if you ask us!).

For example, one of our recent wedding clients’ new last name is Newberry, and their hashtag was #TheNewestBerry! We even saw a wedding where the the groom’s surname is Morgan, so they chose the hashtag #ILoveYouMorganAnything. Get punny, because the funny hashtags are typically the most memorable!
 

 2. Avoid any hashtags that could be potentially misspelled by your guests.

Try shortening any long names or move words around to avoid having two of the same letters next to each other. For example #davidandashley looks much better than #ashleyanddavid.
 

3. Use a hashtag generator.
If you're having trouble coming up with an original hashtag, try checking out a hashtag generator to get started. Sometimes it’ll get your creative juices flowing and help you come up with something unique.
  

4. Get the word out about your hashtag.
If a hashtag for the wedding has been created before the couple walks down the aisle, use it on photos of the couple engaged. If you are the one walking down the aisle, consider using it when snapping a photo of you dress shopping or wedding planning. Put it on your save-the-date and your wedding website and get the word out!

Photo by Amanda Hartfield

We hope these tips help you create the perfect hashtag for your event. What's your favorite hashtag you've seen so far?

4 Valentine's Day backdrops you'll fall in love with

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! Whether you're planning a big party with all of your couple friends, a super casual Galentine's night out for all your girlfriends, an awesome photo booth backdrop can make a huge statement and add a ton of fun to your get together! 

1. FLOWERS & STRIPES

Paper flowers and a classy black and white striped base make this backdrop the perfect Kate Spade inspired addition to your soiree! 

Via Pinterest.

2. LUXE LOUNGE WITH GIANT PAPER ROSES

Make the backdrop the center of attention at your party by adding a gorgeous love seat in front of it. Everyone will want to snuggle up for a cute photo with their sweetheart! 

Our friends at Birch & Brass have a gorgeous pink settee that would be perfect for this setup!

Via Kara's Party Ideas.

3. LINEN & GREENERY

Take your backdrop from basic to ooh-la-la with some real greenery (eucalyptus is our favorite!) and some silk blooms from Michael's or Hobby Lobby. The best thing is, those flowers are reusable for other crafting projects after your party!

Via Classy Clutter

4. ROSE TAPESTRY

Want a great backdrop, but low on space? This rose tapestry is not only minimal, but also super romantic!

Via Society6

We hope these gave you some creative ideas for super unique backdrops for your party! If you're hosting an event, shoot us an email! We'd love to be a part of all the fun!

Mercury Hall Open House

January has already flown by, and we kicked off 2017 with an open house at one of our favorite Austin venues: Mercury Hall! We had a blast meeting the future brides-to-be and guests. Luckily for us, we had the best of both worlds by being under the clear tent, which was strung with festoon lights, and being able to peek into the chapel and its stunning stained glass windows! Even though it is minutes from downtown, the greenery that surrounds Mercury Hall makes it feel secluded from the busy streets of Austin. The Loot Vintage lounge was placed in the middle of the canopy, and we were drooling over their blue velvet bench in particular! It’s never really hard work when we get to work alongside other amazing vendors such as Gypsy Floral, who was there to create beautiful bouquet arrangements for each guest, Feathers and Frosting, who offered delicious cake tastings, and the beautiful custom designs of Parcel Design Co. (Fun fact, the owner of Parcel Design Co was actually the room mate of our owner, Kelsey!) Vanilla Orchid catered some of the most delicious bites for the event as well. We really could not have asked for a better Thursday night! We love open houses because it gives us a chance to meet and chat with guests on a more personal level and get a better feel of what they are wanting at their special event. Big thank you to Mercury Hall for hosting such a wonderful night, we cannot wait to meet YOU at the next one! 

Austin Woman May Launch Event

Austin Woman is one of our favorite publications in Austin! Their staff is some of the best people we know and we were so excited when they reached out to collab on a couple events!

We got to party with them at their Cinco de Mayo event celebrating the release of their May issue, with Mica May on the cover! We could not have been more excited that Mica was the cover girl since we're so obsessed with her brain child, May Designs!