R P Scissors Blog

Flower Arranging Birthday Party Featured on Style Me Pretty

Ara recently styled a cocktail and flower arranging Birthday Party that was being thrown by Gabriella New York. Guests were greeted with delicious champagne and cheese platters. Rountree Flowers was on hand to teach a class at this fabulous feminine party! Check out some images below...

The cake was made by Lael Cakes -- doesn't it go perfectly with our party?

We used vintage teacups as vases for the flowers, however any and all types of glasses, cups, and bottles found in your home can be used to create a unique and fabulous arrangement!

The finished products were beautiful! Each guest took home their teacup arrangement in a personalized box. The beautiful photography was captured by Moss + Isaac and the birthday cake was made by Lael Cakes. 

Visit Style Me Pretty to view the full post on our fabulous Birthday Party!

xFrances

Thanksgiving Decor Ideas Featured on the Food Network

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Ara shares styling tips with the Food Network for fun and easy to re-create centerpieces that are both grown-up and kid friendly!

 

Re-use wine bottles as candle holders and fill them with rice, grain and spices for a hearty look.

Cake stands filled with fruit, squash and gords paint the perfect holiday picture.

 

Using "non traditional" colors adds a bold statement to your Thanksgiving table.

Clilck here to view all of Ara's creative ideas for your centerpieces.

 

Ara also provided inspiration for your kids table!

This crayon table runner provides a fun way for kids to play while they wait for dinner.

Squash boats and vases, and ice cream cone cornucopias add a delicious touch!

To view more kid friendly table fun click here.

All photography by Marshall Troy for the Food Network.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

xFrances

 

Winter Wonderland Wedding Ideas

As it cools down outside, take a look at some of our ideas to create a warm & inviting atmosphere for your winter wedding! 

 

 

via Ruffled & White Lilac Inc

Use lots of lights and candles to create a soft and warm glow.  Here the hanging orb candles create a delicately warm wedding ambiance.

 

via Intimate Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings & Love and Lavender 

Keep guests warm with a hot cocoa bar. These can double as your party favor as well!

 

via Martha Stewart Weddings

Pinecones can be great accent decor and look fabulous as escort cards. 

 

via Ruffled

Rustic wood touches help to incorporate the winter season for your wedding. 

xFrances

Cheerful, Colorful Wedding at Falkirk Estate

Here are some pics we snapped from our wedding last weekend at Falkirk Estate!  The colorful palette and bow napkins give this wedding such a light-hearted effect while still maintaining a sophisticated look.

The garden inspired Chuppah was AMAZING!!!

Candy escort cards added a unique and whimsical touch as did the beautiful and colorful floral centerpieces done by Rebecca Shepherd Floral Designs 

Gatsby Inspired Wedding at Skylands Manor

Take a sneak peek at a Gatsby Inspired Wedding we styled at a 1920s Mansion Estate.  The wedding did not have a seated dinner at all.  Instead the whole event was one grand cocktail party.  Such a cool idea.

Calligraphy was done by MJ Paperie  and flowers were done by Kat Flower

We can't wait for the pics from Weddings by Two!

Charming and Rustic Wedding at Brooklyn Winery

Here's some Iphone pics from our Labor Day Wedding. It took place at Brooklyn Winery, where we incorporated the rustic charm of the venue to create a soft and delicate feel. We did the flowers too!

We used wine bottles as vases, mason jars for flowers, and potted plants which included ivy and moss to add to the simple yet elegant look.  

Sophisticated Foundry Wedding: Gabi + Dan

Gabi and Dan had a lovely, elegant, soft vision for their wedding.  Sage, creams, silver with a hint of dusty pink. To-die for gorgeous, and we got to help them realize their vision.  We were lucky to have SMP feature it, and you can check our more pics here.

The absolutely gorgeous flowers were by Rebecca Shepherd Floral Designs, the catering was by Cobblestone Catering, and this wedding was held in the Foundry.

If you want to see more pictures from this wedding, head over to Style Me Pretty.

 

xoxo, Ara

Hudson Valley Rustic Bengali-American Wedding: Farihah + Jeff!

This wedding was one of the most interesting of 2011: cool Brooklyn couple, awesome rustic old Hudson Valley factory and a traditional Bengali Muslim ceremony.

The Basilica Hudson, in Hudson, New York.

The Basilica Hudson has an eclectic collection of chairs in house where the guests sat for the ceremony.

We hung marigold strands around the door to welcome the guests.  One peaks out here in anticipation.  The Imam who was performing the ceremony was about an hour late.  Apparently this is fairly standard timing for a Bengali wedding!  

Here comes Farihah!  Definitely worth the wait.

Farihah and Jeff with the Imam.  The backdrop was a collaboration between us and Brooklyn Guild.  

Amazing pictures by Weddings by Two!

Custom escort cards by Swiss Cottage Designs.

Erica Darling Floral Design really nailed the feel we were going for: interesting, structural flowers to compliment a unique setting.

Color!  The couple's color palette was a dream for this designer: fuschia, teal, orange and yellow.  Plus some lime green for good measure.

The string lights really brought interest and made the space come alive!  Another collaborative effort by RPS and installed by Brooklyn Guild.

Photobooth by Weddings by Two spinoff  We Love Photobooths.

 Farihah and Jeff's wedding weekend was one where friends and family pitched in to compliment the ideas that Farihah, Jeff and I had collaborated on, along with the talented Annie from Brooklyn Guild.  The reception included several performances by guests and family members.  Several guests made videos that were shared on an old projector during the reception, Farihah's sister and bridesmaids did a traditional dance, and a family friend sang and performed poetry.  This wedding was the most original I have been a part of, and was such a lovely expression of the joining of two families and a couple who is very clearly loved by their friends.

This wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty, and you can see the post here.

xoxo, Ara

Rock & Roll Wedding: Scottsdale, Arizona

We had so much fun putting together this unique take on a rock and roll wedding with Megan and Derek and were lucky to get it published on 100 Layer Cake and HiFi Weddings!

To see more photos go to 100 Layer Cake or Hi-Fi Weddings 

We had such a great time working in Arizona, Ara's home state, that she is now officially taking on more Arizona weddings.  She'll be there taking Phoenix area appointments in late February and would love to meet you if you have an upcoming wedding!

Photography: Breanna and Scottie Chanson of Radiant Photography / Venue: The Silverleaf Club / Illustrator: Ello There / Paper+Print: Definitely Debra / Designer: Ara Farnam of Rock Paper Scissors Events / Florist: The floral experts at Flora Bella / DJ: Mister P Body / Pastor: Tim Jacobs / Ceremony+ Happy Hour Musicians: Sam + Anthony Lowy

Xo Jordyn

Using Pumpkins as Reception Decor

There are plenty of festive ways to enhance a fall wedding.  Below are a plethora of options available for using pumpkins as a prop, from centerpieces to escort cards.

 

Leaves add a classy fall feel

Painting the pumpkins white is perfect for the occasion

Monogram pumpkins are a wonderful way to show off the new initial for your new last name

 

Mini pumpkin escort card holders... adorable

Who needs Mr. and Mrs. chair signs with a look like this

 

This makes a perfect centerpiece or focal point on a cake table

Want a vintage feel? Add lace to a pumpkin for a nostalgic flashback

 

xoxo, Jordyn

Vintage Hollywood Wedding with Yellow and Gray Details

We were thrilled to see Kwanji + Howell's adorable retro Hollywood Romance inspired wedding on Style Me Pretty last week! 

Photographer: Patricia Kantzos Photography/ Venue: Pelham Bay & Split Rock Golf Course/ Artwork: Courtney from Swiss Cottage Designs / Event Planner: Lauren from Loli Events / Flowers: Lynn Jawitz of Florisan LLC / DJ: Philip Quinaz of 74 Events / Cake: Sal from Conti’s Pastry Shoppe / Invitations: Minted / Wedding Gown: Michelle Roth / Wedding Gown Purchased At: Kleinfeld Bridal / Shoes: Stuart Weitzman / Bridesmaids Dresses: Ella Park Bridal

Infuse Your Wedding with Vintage Wallpaper

Want an inexpensive way to add a little vintage to your wedding? Here are a few ideas using wallpaper to dress up your wedding with some old fashioned flair.

Be ready to get DIY inspired!

Aren't those place cards adorable?!   Via Project Wedding

Add another personal touch to your table by making napkin ring holders   via Martha Stewart Weddings

 

I have fallen in love with these unique, feminine patterns! See how 100 Layer Cake created these vintage inspired invites.

Add texture to your table with pinwheel table numbers   via Ruffled

A wedding isn't complete without a photo both! See how you and your vintage wallpaper can create one. No skills required! via Ruffled

 

Have fun! Elyse xoxo

Romantic Vintage Inspiration at The Metropolitan Building

We were so lucky to work with some amazing vendors on this photo shoot produced by the lovely blog Aisle Candy and the photographer KT Merry.  The full post was on Style Me Pretty, and here is a sampling.

 

 

 

If you want to see even more, head on over to Style Me Pretty!

The inspiration came from BHLDN's new line of wedding dresses.  From there we decided to do a super soft, romantic, vintage inspired shoot that was 100% pretty.  We shot at the Metropolitan Building, which is a super cool venue out in Long Island City, and we used all of the tableware from Anthropology.

I had the bright idea to do a sequin lined aisle, which came out beautifully, but word to the wise, you need a billion sequins to get a cool effect, and a good vacuum to pick them all up later!

I brought in some of my very favorite vendors to collaborate on this, including kat flower, Preston & Olivia, Nine Cakes and Love Jenna Calligraphy.  The absolutely freaking amazing photography was done by KT Merry, who I feel truly lucky to have worked with.  We also did a DIY project based on the favors in this shoot, which we'll feature next!

Location: The Metropolitan Building in Long Island City  (http://www.metropolitanbuilding.com/)
Photographer: KT Merry (http://www.ktmerry.com)
Hair: Takahide Tokuyama for Patrick Melville Salon  (http://takahidetokuyama.com/)
Makeup: Hiro Yonemoto for MAKE UP FOR EVER (http://www.hiroshiyonemoto.com) 
Models: Click Models (http://www.clickmodel.com/click-nyc.php)
Dresses: BHLDN (http://www.bhldn.com) and a few others from Gabriella New York (http://www.gabriellanewyork.com/)
Hair Accessories: Preston and Olivia (http://www.prestonandolivia.com), Jennifer Behr (http://www.jenniferbehr.com/) and Jannie Baltzer (http://janniebaltzer.com/)
Jewelry: BHLDN (http://www.bhldn.com)
Flowers: KatFlower  (http://katflower.blogspot.com/)
Cake and macarons: Nine Cakes (http://www.ninecakes.com)
Event design and styling: Rock Paper Scissors Events (http://www.rpscissors.com)
Calligraphy: Love Jenna (http://lovejennacalligraphy.com/)
All tableware: Anthropologie (http://www.anthropologie.com)

 
 
 

Vintage Americana Souvenir Wedding Inspiration on SMP

We were so lucky to do a vintage roadtrip wedding inspiration shoot with the uber talented women at Melangerie, Inc. and Jen Huang Photography, featured on Style Me Pretty. Check out a peek here!

We created keychain escort cards with Ebay buys.

 

 The shoot sprang from the inspiration of a Viewmaster Invitation by the lovely Melangerie, Inc.

 

Souvenir state plates chargers. More Ebay fun :)

 

 Each of our tables was named after a famous American roadtrip landmark.  We did a Grand Canyon and Graceland centerpiece vignette for this shoot. 

 

Map placements were repurposed as a runner.
 


Our "groom" was name Jack, so we had to serve Jack and Cokes. And aren't the flags adorable?

 

You can check out more pictures and more details from all the vendors on the write up over on Style Me Pretty.   Such a fun shoot to be a part of!  xoxo, Ara
 

Simple is Beautiful

Beautiful doesn't have to be complicated, as evidenced by these chic, simple tablescapes.

Love the monochromatic orange centerpieces with blue goblets.  Via Style Me Pretty, Muse Photography

 

 

Wine bottle table numbers, patterned table runner, and a few Chrysanthemums in porcelain vases, create a very simple and chic table.  Image via Martha Stewart.

 

The Elephant Ears branches make an elegant, modern, clean statement against the crisp black and white palette. Image via In Style Weddings, Summer 2004

 

The magnolia leaves running down the center are such a great simple way to fill in the table.  Image via Brooklyn Bride, photography by Scott Clark.

Other Wedding Festivities Part V: The Post Wedding Brunch

A citrus inspired post wedding brunch

Clockwise from top left: Martha Stewart, The Knot, The Knot, Kelly Oshiro Events, Buddy and Bean

Welcome back to the final installment of the “Other Parties” series going on this week on Scissors brought to you by intern extraordinaire Alex. Every bride knows that outside the main event are a seemingly endless list of parties that either build up to or wind down from the wedding itself. It can be a bit overwhelming, no? But the fun side is that they can be a great opportunity to showcase all the fabulous ideas that didn’t make it into the big day. 

The post wedding brunch is the final event in a long line of parties celebrating a wedding. This one is unique because it happens after the ceremony and reception, lending it a “wind down” kind of feeling.

The day after brunch is a modern event that is quickly gaining popularity as a way to send off your guests and relive memories from the night before. As a newer trend it has less traditions saddled to follow but it is usually hosted by the bride and groom, or by a close friend or family member as a gift to the couple. The location could be a private home, a restaurant, or, if most out of town guests are staying in a hotel, consider hosting a brunch there to make life easy on everyone, including the host. You can send a separate invitation for this event to make it really stand out or you can include it with your wedding invitation for simplicity’s sake.

At Rock Paper Scissors just because the post wedding brunch is the last event to take place doesn’t mean it needs to be last in style! We picture a low key brunch using simple and inexpensive lemons as a main décor element. White linens, usually included at a venue or restaurant, can be supplemented by yellow napkins to make your table look custom and cheery. Centerpieces can be as simple as a big bowl of simply citrus or supplemented by yellow flowers.

Rock Paper Scissors Twist: Lemons can be used to bring interest to all five senses. It can be added to meals and water as a flavoring, and large quantities emit a lovely scent, one that can also help to wake people up before a long flight or drive! 

Pink Winter Wedding Inspiration

When you're planning a winter wedding, the options can seem much more limited as far as your color palette and your themes. However, winter weddings allow the creative bride a whole new stage on which to display some really gorgeous ideas! And don't feel like you have to have the winter blues to make your event seem seasonally-appropriate... instead, take inspiration from our rosy winter cheeks, and go pink! The combination of pinky tones, mauves and warm golds really keeps this palette from getting too light and pretty and instead keeps your wedding warm, cozy and completely unique. Add lots of candles, some gorgeous winter flowers (think cockscomb, sweetpeas, and roses) and you have yourself a pinky-peachy-keen winter wedding affair! xoxo Molly

{winter flower bouquet, MSW; pink feather headpiece, Serephine; boutonnieres, Twig & Honey; gold-plated flatware, Horchow; pink/ gold/ black invites, JP + Kiera; glitter star centerpiece, MSW; pink glass plate charger, eBay; gold wreath ring, Tryst by Kerry; black and gold favor box, Advantage Bridal; blush pink taper candles, Colonial Candles; glass candlestick holders, CB2, gold painted leaf centerpiece, MSW}

Paper Flower Tutorial

We are beyond thrilled to be on the lovely Merci blog today!  You can check out the whole post, shot by the talented Lauren Gabrielle, on Merci here, and we wanted to share with you the paper flower how-to.  The overblown, large paper flowers added SO much interest to our table, and are not too difficult to make since we made a template for you and have given you step by step directions below!

 

Supplies needed: templates, 24" x 36" thick paper, pipe cleaners, scissors, pencil, hole punch, double sided tape.

The template for the largest flower, labeled "one," requires two pieces of 8 1/2" x 11" paper, so first step is to print out all of the templates, second is to tape the "one" template together. Now trace the templates on your 24" x 36" piece of paper.  We have also included a template to show you how to maximize your piece of paper.

Cut out each shape, and then cute a 1" to 1 1/2" slit in the bottom of each petal.  You are cutting this slit so that you can "boat" the flowers by folding them and giving them a more structured shape.

Now that you have cut the slit, attach a piece of double stick tape to one or both sides of the slit, and bring one side over the other to create tension in the paper ("boating" the flowers).  Next punch holes about 1" up from the bottom of each petal.  For the larger petals, punch a hole about 2" in from the sides.  For the small petals, you will be punching closer to the edge.

Start by putting together the innermost smallest petals.  You will make two bunches of three petals each for the smallest petals.  Use the pipe cleaner to attach the petals by looping through two pieces of pipe cleaner and then twisting them on the back.  Make one bunch tighter than the other with no space between the petals to serve as your innermost bunch.

Then take the smaller, tighter bunch and put it through the one with a little more spacing to create one joint flower.  Twist the pipe cleaner in the back to secure.

Making the middle and largest petals is very similar.  Use two pieces of pipe cleaner to secure the petals as shown above, leaving a center hole so that you can attach each new layer.  For the largest flower petals, you may need to twist two pieces of pipe cleaner together to make a longer piece.  



Put the small bunch you already put together inside of the medium bunch, attach the pipe cleaners by twisting. Do the same now with the medium bunch and put them throw the large bunch, twist pipe cleaners as needed.  We kept our pipe cleaners long so that we could use them to manipulate and stand the flowers, but feel free to cut them  after twisting if they are getting in the way.



And here are the finished flowers!  The instructions are the same for all shapes, and it looks best to mix up your shapes, colors and sizes slightly to get an effect like this:

Here are the templates for your downloading pleasure:

Download RPSPointedFlowerTemplate   Download RPSRoundedFlowerTemplate   Download RPSScallopFlowerTemplate



Credits: Top and bottom photo by Lauren Gabrielle, How-to photos by Alexandra Baackes

Vintage Book Theme Brooklyn Wedding

So excited to finally share all of the gorgeous details from Cameron and Marcella's book and travel themed wedding. We've been waiting for the cute ladies over at Wedding Chicks to feature it, which you can check out here, and now we can share all the fun here as well! The fantastic pair married at the truly breathtaking Palm House at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.  Since the bride is a teacher and the groom loves to read, we started with a book theme, and then quickly added in a travel element since the couple are big travelers as well.  Each table had a stack of vintage books that the couple collected over a few months that served as a favor for each guest.  The books also served as great (and inexpensive) visual interest that created layers and textures and different heights for the candles and gorgeous flowers by Amy at Seaport Flowers.  Each table was named after a destination that the couple had traveled to together, and the groom happens to be an amazing photographer and he created beautiful postcards for each place setting.  And the photography by Ohana Photographers really hit this one out of the park.

 

For the escort cards, those are standard air mail envelopes run through a printer.  Cute, fabulous and budget friendly!

A detail of the beautiful postcards made by the groom.

And it gets even better.  The couple printed a note on the back of each city giving travel tips and favorite memories from each city visited.  

 

 

All photography by Ohana Photographers.  Flowers by Seaport Flowers. Venue The Palm House at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.  Event design by us ;) Rock Paper Scissors Events

Wine Bottle Table Numbers

Simple.  Chic.  Love.  If you are looking for uncluttered, clean and simple decor, filling your tables with elegantly labeled wine bottles is the way to go.  Look at how few flowers they used, and how great it looks.  The patterned table runner and blue vases add a bit of pop so it is far from boring, but the overall look is very clean and spare. And it's budget friendly to  boot.  Perfect.

Creative wedding table number idea from Martha Stewart Weddings 

Smogshoppe Wedding by Annie McElwain

Does everyone know Annie McElwain?  'Cause if you don't, you should.  She has one of my absolute favorite photographer's websites; one with pictures that put a little tear in your eye and that has music that actually adds instead of distracts from the site.  You can see her amazing pictures on her site here, and you can check out a bit of her work below.  She sent over a totally gorgeous California wedding that took place at the Smogshoppe, yes as in a converted old smog shoppe.  Love interesting venues.  The bride and groom are the lovely Christi and Jaime, and they softened the industrial Smogshoppe with pink peonies and purple hyacinth.  Beautiful.  

      All photography by Annie McElwain

Queen for a Day

The second photo shoot that I worked on with Quatre Couer, Allan Zepeda, and Paper Eight was featured on Merci yesterday!  So excited to finally get to share some pictures with you all.  The concept was essentially showing how to create interest by layering different styles, in this case antique with modern.  Instead of going super modern in your loft space venue, add some interest by bringing in some antique pieces or even small accents like antique inspired place cards.  Same goes for the old farmhouse venue.  How cool would it be with some ghost chairs and graphic candelabra?  Try mixing it up a little, and I am sure you'll have some fun.  Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!  To see the full post on Merci, click here.

 

     All photography by Allan Zepeda

Creative Centerpieces

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite weddings from over at Style Me Pretty.  The wedding is modern, chic, fun and playful with some great ideas that we can dissect and use for a little style lesson.  Part of what makes this wedding both interesting and modern is the bold color palette: black, yellow and white.  Using black in your palette will absolutely up your sophistication quotient quite a bit.  Think about black and white, black and pink, black and orange, etc, and all have a beautiful, chic association.  Notice a couple of other things: there are no flowers and each centerpiece is different.  Each table has has unique props, and they kept it cohesive by using all the same color palette.  The varying centerpieces gave her reception a super stylish feel, and gives us inspiration for what to use as centerpiece objects.  See how she used lamps, boxes, candles, books and glass jars?  So clever and so chic.  I am absolutely inspired by this stylish wedding.  To see the images from the entire wedding, go to Style Me Pretty.

 

 

Boxes wrapped in decorative paper and ribbons - so easy and so cute.

Love the fabric wrapped lampshades.  So clever!

The books are simple and cool - and easy to do yourself.

And this is seriously my favorite favor at the moment.  So playful and cute and unexpected.

Photography by White Haute Photography and Ohana Photographers.  Styling by the bride and Just Chic Events.  All images via Style Me Pretty. 
 
 

 

Modern chic centerpieces

As I was perusing 100 Layer Cake, I saw this really interesting idea for a clean, simple, modern centerpiece that I had to share.  Guest blogger Yes, Please details how to make the railroad tie blocks, which does require someone who is handy,  but doesn't seem too bad to tackle on your own.  As an alternative that would be slightly easier to achieve without power tools, how about a base of a clear glass low rectangular vase filled with small sand colored pebbles?  Then place the succulent and Billy Balls as per the image.  For instructions on how to make the centerpieces pictured, go to 100 Layer Cake.

 

Great Idea: Wine Bottle Candle Holders

I came across this beautiful, clever idea for wine bottle candle holders as a fabulous centerpiece on the fantastically inspirational blog This is Glamorous.  This would be so easy, inexpensive and beautiful at a wedding for a dramatic centerpiece at a totally reasonable cost.  All you would have to do is to collect white wine bottles (try asking your local wine shop that does tastings if you can have the left over bottles after a few tasting nights, and you'll be all set!), strip them of their labels, buy taper candles to fit, and your beautiful centerpiece is done!  Add a few low level votives and a couple of bud vases for a drop dead gorgeous effect.  You will definitely be seeing this idea in one of my inspirational photo shoots coming up!  Another tip: part of what makes this so effective is the different height candles and the wax dripping on the bottles.  A couple of days before your wedding, assemble your bottles, and light the candles.  Blow a quarter out after 5 minutes, a quarter out after 10 minutes, a quarter after 15, and the last quarter after 20 minutes.  Then your centerpieces will be beautifully "lived in" at your reception.  I would also recommend bringing an extra box of taper candles that your caterer can fill in if you are going to have a long night of dancing.

Photography by Tom Mannion for Elle Decoration via This is Glamorous