Where It's At

Amazing chapel, no? Located in Arkansas, Thorncrown Chapel and its surroundings are so breathtaking you wouldn't need to add any decoration. Not one bit. And I love that.

Nicole + Tom + OnceWed

It is with great excitement that I've been telling nearly everyone who will listen and click: OnceWed featured Nicole + Tom's wedding yesterday! What a great tribute to an amazing couple, a beautiful wedding, the best night ever, the greatest of photographers, and a labor of love that was worth every second. See the post right here. (And now that the photos have made their big debut, I'll start recounting some of the details in this little blog. Keep checking back!)

Under Construction

I once promised an update on this personal project of mine and it will come soon - I just need a few days off first, which as luck would have it, are coming later this week! For now, here are the beginnings of the construction of this piece, right at the point when I commandeered the living room table for about two weeks and forbade the opening of any windows for fear the wind would scatter my vision. Can't wait to show you how it turned out.

Dear Etsy,

I don't trust my banners with just anyone and you shouldn't either.

Caitlin of Nice makes The best, best-looking, and best quality fabric-and-felt banners. I had one made for the Nicole + Tom's photo booth, another to hang outside of the venue, and also put Caitlin on a special project with absolutely amazing results. (Photos of those sort of details will be posted soon. I'm waiting for the event to make its appearance on one of my very favorite wedding blogs. Who am I to spoil the big reveal?) For now, enjoy this "Sweet Action" mini banner by Nice, available on - what else - Etsy.

RSVP

Jenny Lewis made some music with Johnathan Rice and together they became Jenny & Johnny. I haven't listened to the song that's available on their site, but I couldn't help but post this photo that is part of the promotional materials. For the right couple, re-creating this moment would be an amazing front to a save the date or wedding invitation, don't you think?

Day and Night

I was browsing nytimes.com this morning and came across the story of a woman who built a tiny Victorian home out of a shed. It is cute and inspiring as can be. Oh, but you have to read the whole story and see her real home. The writer called it a study of contrasts, which is a perfect understatement. Photo by Trevor Tondro.

Guy Stuff

I'm not one for Hawaiian shirts, unless the pattern is perfect. And it's not all that often that I like ties with square ends. But this is so great and perfect and limited edition, even. (And if you've never browsed through Hickoree's Hard Goods, you must!)

Cast Your Vote for Coolness

DesignSponge is going on a book tour. I love DesignSponge. You love DesignSponge. DesignSponge should come to Denver, yes? Yes is right. Cast your vote here and do Denver right: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/06/ds-book-tour-vote-well-see-you-in-2011.html.

This is Winston

Did I mention we have not one, not two, but three dogs? They test our patience daily and can never seem to break bad habits, but they also provide countless laughs a day and get us outside when we might be sitting on the couch. I love them and their cold, wet noses.

Color Theory

I love nothing more than seeing colors work together, so for me a day's thrill can come from something as simple as a perfect color palette. I'm of the belief that a well-defined set of colors should be one of the very first decisions when planning an event of any sort - it helps keep decisions in sync. The Inspired Bride has an amazing collection of palettes to draw inspiration from, as does Lauren of Color Collective. Lauren is also a new guest blogger at DesignSponge and picks out palettes based on images of homes. Genius. Other places I always defer to for ideas are Kate Spade and Dwell Studio - if they say two colors go together, they surely do. (Image above from The Inspired Bride.)

Power of Packaging

At Felt and Found...

A Musing

This is what an engagement photo should be, don't you think? By Suzi of Q Weddings.

Dear Etsy,

Sweet as can be print from FreyaArt.

The Ringer

We are going to pick up my ring today and I couldn't be more excited - it's perfect and perfectly me. In researching and searching and researching some more before finding mine, I came across St. Kilda jewelry and absolutely love this set. A little bit out of our price range, but oh-so-nice to look at. Photo credit: St. Kilda.

Where It's At

The other day a friend told me the story of a bride who had her wedding in Minneapolis at a glass building in the midst of rubble. Naturally I had to find out more. The Mill City Museum, which opened in 2003, is located on the site of a flour mill that exploded in 1878. See a 360 video of the space here. Can you imagine a wedding ceremony taking place right there in the courtyard? So beautiful. Visit the museum site to read more about the building's history. I think we should all get married in Minneapolis now.

Photo Credit: Minnesota Historical Society

Dear Etsy,

I shudder to think of a world without Etsy, which is why this blog wouldn't be complete without a regular feature highlighting some of my favorite Etsy sellers..."Dear Etsy,". To start, a story of handmade fate!

In the planning of her wedding, Nicole and I regularly came back to Sam + Ian. (Side note: We quite lovingly refer to a few of the couples featured in wedding blogs by their first names. Who is Adam without Halli, after all?) One detail we wanted to borrow from Sam + Ian was the "Happy Tears" stamp to use on envelopes with vintage hankies tucked inside. But for some reason I couldn't find the source. Not even with an exhaustive Google search. I finally relented and put out an Alchemy request on Etsy, but not without quite a bit of guilt - the creator was out there somewhere and I hated to ask for a copy. A friendly Etsy regular responded to my request and referred me to Blossom Stamps as a great source for custom works. So I wrote a quick, hopeful note and received a quick, sweet reply: "Did you know I created the Happy Tears stamp?". The stamp came out perfectly and when I needed another, it seemed Blossom Stamps had created and shipped it before I could even say "Thank you." Quality craftsmanship and speedy service. Happy tears, indeed!

Under Construction

A recent personal project started with a couple year's worth of sticker sheets from Lucky Magazine and a pair of scissors. I'll share the results next week!

The Little Things

I love this grainy cell phone photo. In fact, I love it so much that I look at it once a day. It was just about 48 hours before Nicole and Tom's big day, I was in their apartment alone, stringing garland out of the fabric flowers I had spent hours upon hours making. Tracing circles on fabric, cutting out circles, gathering circles one by one, threading circles. And poof! A cute little flower. To say it was a labor of love would be an understatement but it was at this moment, when I took this grainy cell phone photo, that I realized everything was coming together. And I loved every bit of it. And I knew the bride and groom would, too. There was a huge sense of relief, and an overwhelming feeling of joy. The tutorial to make these tiny gems is right here.

They're Here!

Don't delay. Visit the blog of Josh Goleman and smile over the photos of Tom + Nicole's wedding.

Pardon the Interruption (to the Start)

I am pretty sure when one starts a blog that one should post more than once a month. Plans for thisisjenwood.com and all its pretty parts, including this here blog, have been in a sort of holding pattern as I wait for the pieces of the puzzle to come together. But oh! I am so excited to get started. Patience is key, though, as we don't want to hastily throw something as important as this together, right? Right. For now, here is a link to one of my favorite weddings of all time. (Besides yours, of course!) The bride is so stylish and the intentions oh-so-right.

Happy tidings,

Jen Wood

P.S. My niece wrote today and told me in all caps that "YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR WEDDING IN NYC!!!!" She's so smart.

Cloud 9

It is Wednesday. On Saturday, my best friend in all the world married one of the greatest people I've ever met and four days later, I'm still reeling from the excitement of it all. So far we've been given just a little taste of the photos to come - a single photo from Josh Goleman, who is an Amazing with a capital A talent. That one quiet and perfectly simple photo was enough to bring yet another happy tear to my eye - one of many that have been shed during the process of helping plan this wedding. I can't wait to share everything with you, show you everything that made their big day one that would leave us all inspired and in awe. If it weren't for the fact that there is so much to look forward to - an L.A. wedding to plan for a full-of-life couple who make me happy every time I see them and then my own - I just might have wanted time to stop right then, on May 15, 2010. Sincere and endless thanks to Nicole and Tom for allowing me to let loose on my creative urges, fill your New York apartment with boxes and boxes of trinkets and treasures, trusting me with a tough decision, and being the kind of people that make everything better. For all the many things you have gifted me with - sweet words when I needed them, a clean shirt when I ran out of my own, bear hugs at every turn, and much more - I am forever grateful and feel forever lucky to have been a small part of making your day what it was, an amazing celebration of love, friendship, and fun.

Much love,

Jen Wood.

Photo: One of many sweet little pieces that made up the wedding decor. Purchased from vintageworks. Photo credit goes to vintageworks.