New Year and new resolutions

I can't believe that 2009 is over already! Wow it went so fast. I guess it's time to start thinking about all those things you want to do in the next year. Well for one, blog a lot more! I still can't believe we went a whole 12 months without sitting down once to write about some of the wonderful things we got to do. So here is my number one goal for 2010; at least 1 post a week! So stay tuned.

Happy "Princess" Birthday Candice!

One random Thursday afternoon a call came in from the nicest boyfriend ever. He wanted to put together a really special 28th birthday party for his girl up at La Caille. The theme was "Candice, A True Princess". The guests were coming in costume and he wanted to do up the table. After the craziest 24 hour rush job ever, here's what we did.








The cupcakes and cotton candy or done by Diva Bites, Heather Saiki 801-865-7126.

New Digs!!!

Just a quick announcement. We have finally moved into our new offices and I can't tell you how excited we are! More space and a shorter commute. Who can ask for anything more? Now we just need to get the internet working again ;)


New Address:
C3 design, LLC
6786 South 1300 East
Salt Lake City UT 84121

Can't wait to show it off!

Concept Tables 2008

Ok, I do love doing weddings and working with our clients. But I have to admit one of my favorite times of year is when we create our concept tables! It's so much fun to just let the juices flow and have no limits on what you can do. This year I was nuts about the colors purple and green. I'm also loving using different fabric textures then the usual wedding standards of satin and organza. After some wonderful brainstorming sessions the result...







The best part of all; we got Jonathan Canlas to do the shooting!!! I'm still gitty with glee on how well the pics came out. Like I really had any doubt that his images wouldn't make our stuff look even better then in real life. As you can see he's the best with details. If you haven't already been introduced to his work you have to check him out. He can make ANY event look fantastic!

Another great part of this was getting to shoot it at Red Butte Gardens. One of my favorite places for weddings. Of course I'm bias. It's where I tied the knot ;) with my hubs.

Inspired Invitation

We recently finished a fantastic invitation design (if I may say so myself). The bride came to us looking for something that would carry the colors of the event but also express the feel of the evening to come. After running through a few ideas we settled on the perfect way to do this. Crystals! Crystals were the single element that was showing up consistently throughout ALL the aspects of the event. This all became came clear as soon as we looked at a picture of the wedding dress. The bead work on the bodice was very similar to the beads that were going to be on the table clothes at the reception, and hanging from the flower arrangements, and being used in the ceremony decor. As a result the beading design on the dress became the main inspiration for the final motif on the invites. For the final touch we just had to add one last crystal. (Notice the the center of the design on the closure warp.)

Once the design was completed we found ourselves just dreading the idea of having to put this wonderful piece of work inside a standard envelope to mail. We wanted something that would really make the whole thing feel like a 'gift' when it arrived. And what better way to do this then put it on display! We selected a white stationery box with a clear lid. Then placed the assembled invitation in a white organza draw string bag and rested the whole piece on top of lavender tissue before sealing the box. For the final touch we added an address label that went above and beyond by wrapping the it fully around on side of the box and having it printed on the same paper used for the invitation pocket envelope.

I realize that it is only April and at the start of full blown wedding season but I feel confident in saying this is going to be my favorite invitation for 2008.

Eco Chic

The best thing about the event design industry is that you can never assume that you've seen it all. Each new event and each new client brings new challenges and new creative roads you can go down. I just love that! It continually keeps me pushing what I think are our creative limits. But that's what makes my job one of the best around.

A good example is a client that we have recently been given the opportunity to help design a wedding for that is going to be as eco friendly as possible. This has been one of the most fun challenges so far. We are only at the beginning stages but I have done more brainstorming and researching on this wedding then I even did when I first started the company. I find myself constantly reading articles and earth friendly websites to help spark and new ideas. And inspiration seems to come creeping in all the time. In fact the other night I woke up at 3:30 am with a flash of new concepts for the center pieces. I just had get to the computer and start drawing things out.

I'm loving this challenge and can't wait to see it all come together. This earth friendly event concept is so appealing to me I'm considering starting to offer an "ECO Chic" package to our future clients.

Things we are doing so far:

-No invitations
Instead we are just sending out Save-The-Dates with general info and a website address. We are going to spend the stationary budget on building a nice website where guests will view an electronic invite and can find links to the hotel, schedule of activities for that weekend, and other good info.

-Buy Local
We are hiring caterers who are willing to buy only local produce and meats. We are even looking at having all of it delivered in bio fueled trucks. ~For those who are interested Culinary Crafts of SLC is already doing both of these things.

-Recycled Floral Pieces
We haven't worked all the details out for this yet, still at the beginning stages, but we are looking at making all the center pieces and other floral decor something that we can send to a local charity or community facility like a hospital or community garden.

-No Bottles!!!
There will be absolutely NO bottled water at the event. And if we can manage it, also no bottled water during setup and take down. We are going to handle this by having everything served in pitchers and other serving items. What ever we do end up having in bottles and cans, we are going to have recycling containers where we can gather all it up.

~I'll keep posting musings on this idea so come back often and see how it all comes together. This wedding is scheduled for August 16. We will post images around the first of Sept so mark your calendar if you want to see how it turns out ;)

Why the blog?

I have been asked more then once how we do what we do, where the ideas come from, and what our creative process is like. I figured that a blog would be the perfect place to jot down quick ramblings and thoughts as our events are being designed. So the next time someone asks me "What made you come up with that idea?" I can just point them here rather then shrugging while I scramble to remember what made us do what we did.