Three Weddings

 

 

If you ever need an extra wedding guest (yeah, because who ever needs MORE people at their wedding?) invite me! I love weddings.  Totally, totally, love them.  My assistant has, in the past, accused me of “loving love” and I suppose she’s right, I do. 

I fell in love young-ish (21 or so) and knew immediately it was love.  We met online so I can’t say it was love at first sight, but at first sound.  One snowy January day when the busses weren’t running and I couldn’t get to our date, I called my now husband and left a message. He had me at “You’ve reached the voicemail…”

I still love the sound of his voice.  And he’s adorable, so that’s a bonus, and it means we make really cute children.  But I digress – I’d marry him all over again, not just because I love him so much, but because I love weddings, too.  The celebration of love and family, pretty dresses, lots of presents, food, cake, wine, dancing… what part of this sounds bad?

So since I can’t go to weddings every weekend, I’ll settle for making wedding gifts.  Recently I made a custom wine tote for one of my mom’s employees, and a former co-worker.  He’s a graphics guy, so of course he had a logo made for the wedding.

For a wedding that happened this past weekend, in Idaho, we first did the ten flasks on the left for the bridesmaids.  Each is a limited edition with our “Pressed” leather with an Idaho applique on the back.  The bride was following the progress on Instagram, and showed her smoke-jumper husband.  He decided to go for a set of woodgrain ones for the groomsmen!

This last piece is a valet tray that I made for a high-school classmate to give one of her friends as a wedding present. She and I hung out in the same circles when we were in school together (and I won’t say how long ago that was) but we weren’t close.  Working with her on this piece gave us a chance to reconnect – we both have small children, and are artists married to non-artists.  She is, of course, across the country from me but smart, creative, baby-loving people are always welcome in my life and I am glad that my work has given us an excuse to reconnect.

xo

c

Forget the Wedding Registry

You know that thing the bride and groom spent so much time on? Forget it.  Throw it out.  Totally ignore every wedding wish they had.  Get them something handmade instead.  Why? Because unlike a cup, a fork, or a towel that will blend in with a sea  of sameness, every time they see the handmade gift you picked out for them, they will think of you.  And they will smile. Doesn’t a smile sound better than being forgotten?

So, now that we’ve ditched the registry, what to get? I advocate for something that they will use every day, preferably together.  That is why these little leather valet trays are such a splendid gift.  You can personalize them – add initials or a custom inscription – and every day when the bride and groom come home and put their keys, cell phones, and other odds and ends in the tray they will think of you.

Smaller trays are also available, for just the wedding rings.

Happy Summer!
-c

 

www.moxieandoliver.com

caitlin@moxieandoliver.com for custom requests

Weddings and Anniversaries

 

That’s my hubby and me, ca. 2006.  Yesterday was our eight year wedding anniversary.  Can you believe it? I can’t.  He offered to take me out somewhere fancy – I looked at the menu and asked “isn’t there anywhere that takes the Prime/Passport card?”  It’s our dining discount card.  His co-workers don’t believe that (frugal) women like me exist.  Gotta save money on food if you want to keep yourself in cowgirl boots, right?

Anyway, we celebrated by going to a taproom near our house. We started our marriage on a beach in Mexico with 10 of our friends and family in attendance, plus two people we had just met (our photographer and his wife).  I’ve always been a no-frills kind of girl.  Recently I’ve been reading Hippie Homesteaders and realizing just how much of that translates into my work as well. I want things to look good, function better, and last forever. My work, my marriage – it’s the same no-frills functionality for everything.

Most of my wedding thoughts recently, though, have been occupied by other peoples.  This is wedding season, and that means that I am making a lot of monogram flasks for people to give as groomsmen gifts. Sometimes I think the initials are not really initials, but more an abbreviation for a nickname, like the money clip I did years ago that said “PITA” on it.

I’ve also been thinking about bridal party stuff. The pattern above is a new one of mine called “Aurora” – the name was a customer suggestion and she says it is inspired by the castle in Sleeping Beauty. I love that imagery and think it’s so appropriate for a wedding.  After 100 years of sleeping, the prince shows up and the thorns on the castle (that have killed every other suitor, at least in the version I have) shrivel away to let him pass.  These flowers don’t have thorns, but the gears combined with the soft flowers and vines create a feeling of rebirth, fusion of the natural and mechanical (perfect for marriage? maybe – I’m the natural in ours), and a lovely harmony.  I think these sweet clutches would make wonderful bridesmaid gifts, and maybe the larger one for the bride herself.

Those are all my musings for now.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

xo

c

A Custom Guest Book–It’s Wedding Season!

So between trying to bang out chapters for my book on leathercraft (being published Summer 2015), filling orders, chasing after babies, and trying to make some progress ridding our house of the hideous colors left by the old owners, it’s wedding season. 

Now, most years wedding seasons would pass me by unnoticed, but this year is different.  So far this year I’ve had three cousins get married.  I have 30-some-odd cousins, so by volume it’s not that many, but still.   Still to come, that I’m aware of, are one more cousin wedding, two friend weddings, and my stepdad is getting married as well.

All this to say that I’m really getting into this wedding gift thing.  And wedding favors.  I will be doing a lot of those, too.

This guest book is our wedding gift to friends of ours who are getting hitched in about two weeks.  I loved the art deco feel of the invitation, so I used some of the stylistic elements, and the fonts, to create the pattern for the guest book.

For another layer of personalization, I added their names and their wedding date on the inside cover.  Not that either of them would ever forget…

A handmade guest book makes a wonderful wedding gift, of course, and I have a growing collection on the Moxie and Oliver website.  I am also happy to do custom guest books by request – you can send me a scan of the invitation, or just give me some direction on what you would like.  Super heros? Sugar skulls? Something more traditional? Yes, I can do that.  Just send me an email (caitlin@moxieandoliver.com) with your custom request.

I hope all of y’all are getting out and enjoying the spring. It’s warm here, and that always makes it a little hard to stay inside and work.  This is why I think people in Seattle are so creative – it’s dreary here nine months out of the year, and we have to stay inside.  There’s nothing better to do when you’re a shut-in than to make stuff.

xo

Caitlin