Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

Meghan Carey recently stopped by the studio to say hello and when we weren’t laughing we found ourselves slack jaw listening to her stories as a designer for stationer William Arthur and Vera Wang Fine Papers. After learning how she incorporated inspiration from our country’s first president’s birthday invitation, we knew we had to share her with you, too.

L&L: Tell us a little about you and the history of William Arthur.

MEGHAN: William Arthur was originally called Ten Bamboo Studio. It was started in 1949 by a couple named Philip and Rita Renning. They were both artists, and they named the company after a Chinese Wood-cut Manual.  I keep this photo of Rita on my desk – she sounds like such a smart and vibrant woman – and just look at her (below, left)! In 1984, The Rennings sold Ten Bamboo to a Mr. Bill De Jonge. He changed the company name to William Arthur. The actual company moved from Wellesley, Mass. to West Kennebunk in 1987, and was acquired by Hallmark ten years later. We operate a manufacturing facility that is tucked in the woods right off the Kennebunk exit.

I lived oversees for a spell, but actually grew up in this town – my folks moved to Kennebunk when I was still quite small. I studied Illustration in New York at Parsons School of Design, and printmaking in Halifax at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. I lived in both Boston and Austin for a bit, before landing a job here, in my hometown, seven and a half years ago. I’m now settled in Portland, in a kooky old house that I accidentally painted purple (no. really!) I live with my amazing partner, Sean.

L&L: How long has Vera Wang Fine Papers been a part of William Arthur? How did that come to be, and how do you have the lucky fortune of designing such beauties? Pretty please share what your job entails.

MEGHAN: When I was interviewing for a position as the Marketing Designer at William Arthur in 2004, I remember that the walls were bedecked with Vera Wang inspiration – runway shots and fabric swatches. The first collections of boxed stationery and wedding invitations were released in 2005. At that time, I was responsible for designing the ad campaigns for both brands, as well as laying out the catalogs, POP displays and what-not. I LOVED that job. It was really fun, and it was there I learned that a lot of parameters can sometimes pose rewarding challenges to a designer. I think I grew a lot in that period.

I didn’t actually start designing product until 2006, when I had the good fortune of slipping into this role. That was huge for me. I was suddenly flying to New York every couple of weeks, attending fashion shows and meeting role-model professionals. I went to Parsons because I originally thought I wanted to study fashion — being back in that whirlwind was as challenging as it was exhilarating. We were photographing bridal trunk shows, and then interpreting snippets of lace into gorgeous embossed invitations; we were splashing paper with ink to capture the Rothko wash we had seen on the runway. It took us a while to really feel comfortable interpreting the Vera Wang aesthetic onto paper, but I think we’ve got it down now. We have a great relationship with the members of her licensing team, and everyone is really excited to be working together.

L&L: How closely do you work with Vera Wang? What is she like?

MEGHAN: We used to meet with Vera a couple of times a year. She is incredibly intelligent, creative and motivated. She appears to have visceral reactions to everything she sees, and her motors are running a mile a minute! She’s pretty amazing. I can’t even describe how intimated I felt when I met her for the first time. I was 27 and felt so inexperienced! I could not stop obsessing about what to wear  (I mean — what does one WEAR when presenting to an über-talented, world renowned fashion designer?!) The Vera Wang brand has continued to grow so much. To keep up with an empire of licensees, a Creative Director was hired this past spring. It appears that she may be presenting collections for us going forward.

L&L: Where do you draw your inspiration from?

MEGHAN: Everywhere! When designing for Vera Wang, we have an unusual challenge. We’re trying to stay on top of trends, generate unique and inventive formats and layouts, and experiment with new material and processes, all the while channeling Vera’s unique sense of style. I’m attaching boards that we prepared for a bridal luncheon this year. They track some of our inspirations — from the runway to tabletop. My favorite example is the board of ephemera (above). My boss and I arrived in New York early one day, a few years ago. The Vera Wang offices used to be on 39th Street, so we popped into the Public Library for a couple of hours. We spent that time poring over digitized microfiche – we saw George Washington’s birthday party invite, and an invitation to a high tea that Thomas Jefferson was hosting. It was amazing. Each of these pieces was host to costless fonts, gorgeous calligraphy and unexpected alignment. It really shook us up! I designed the Black Border invite after that meeting, and it turned out to be a best seller (below, left). We hadn’t seen anything like it in the invitation market at the time.

In general, all of our designers are invested in inspiring one another. We’re sharing links to blog posts and articles. My personal inspirations tend to be more old-fashioned in core derivation: I love visiting flea markets, reading the Sunday Times, and going to museums. A visit to the ICA Boston a couple of years ago garnered a bizarre Russian Constructivist graphic obsession, for example.

L&L: William Arthur is a staple in the wedding stationery world. What are your most popular styles of invitation suites? Has it evolved over the years?

MEGHAN: In general, it is our more traditional invitations that become the best-sellers. I think that the William Arthur designers have done a fantastic job at defining what it means to be “traditional with a twist”. When I started in 2004, I think our industry was on the brink of change. The range of typestyles available to desktop publishers was snowballing. Suddenly conventions were exploding: Colored papers were everywhere. Ink combinations and formats were countless. We’ve found that while a classic, understated aesthetic will always drive this industry, there is an increased interest in innovative typesetting, unexpected presentation, and trend-driven palettes.

L&L: You do holiday cards, thank you notes and social stationery as well. What are your favorite pieces in your current albums?

MEGHAN: Oh, gosh! That is so HARD!! Let’s see. I love this photo card (above) from the Vera Wang Holiday collection: It has a full bleed on the front, and customers can place up to 4 photos inside (above). The colors and greeting are completely flexible. The Longfellow Note is a favorite too – it was obviously derived from the same inspiration as the Black Bordered Invite. And I also love a classic holiday party invite foil-stamped in gold, which is something new for us, from the William Arthur collection. We’re really excited about that.

For Thank you notes, I’m torn. We have new children’s Thank You Notes from William Arthur that I think are absolutely adorable. This incredible cigar-label inspired Thank You Note continues to be a best-seller for Vera Wang (below, left), and our Raspberry Grosgrain flat card is perfect. It looks pretty buttoned-up until you see that engraved oversized peony on the envelope flap. It’s a surprisingly petite card too – about 3.5 x 5”. I totally have a stack at my desk for personal use.

And for stationery? Would you believe that after seven years, I STILL don’t have personalized stationery?! I can never make my mind up, and then there’s always a new album coming out… A few of the items I’ve considered are: This quirky Etched Anchor Note (below, right). There’s something classically Edward Gorey about it. This Kraft Paper card from Vera Wang is handsome and classically vintage-inspired, while the letterpressed business card from William Arthur gives a nod to modernity with it’s surprising heft, tiny scale and back pattern (both below next question).

L&L: What keeps you busy and happy outside of work?

MEGHAN: Busy? That would be my 1870’s New Englander and my extremely creative and overzealous boyfriend. Happy? Well. I guess that would be the same. We’re constantly taking trips, building things, and fixing others. Right now, among other tasks at hand, we’re organizing a few parties, planning to host a booth at PICNIC with another couple (PICNIC is a local alternative craft fair that Sean helped found) and very good friend of ours is starting a brewery so we’re helping him develop branding materials for that. We have nieces and nephews and we’re preparing a slew of hand-made gifts for the holiday season.

L&L: What “must-see” places and eateries do you suggest to folks from out of town check out while visiting Maine?

MEGHAN: Hands-down, Local 188 is our all-around stomping ground. Another favorite spot to bring out-of-towners is Le Petite Jacqueline. The steak frites, Dodge Cove oysters and gin martinis are absolutely perfect – though, the Blue Spoon is a hidden GEM for custom vintage cocktails on Friday and Saturday nights. I love Ferdinand, on the East End, and The Merchant Company on Congress Street for edgy local crafts, Space Gallery for music, art and performances, and heck, I could ride that Peaks Island ferry back and forth forever.

L&L: Thank you for giving us an inside peek into William Arthur. If readers want to get in touch with you, what is the best way for them to reach you?

MEGHAN: Our website is williamarthur.com and our blog is williamarthurblog.com. Our Facebook page and Twitter feed were a long-time-a-coming. Following us there or would be much appreciated. Our website:

Hey, lucky Love & Lobster readers, receive 15% off your order through January 1, 2012 with promo code: LOVELOB. Thank you, Meghan!!

Clockwise from top center: Tec Petaja, Carla Ten Eyck, Rachel Thurston, Erin Hearts Court, Hazelnut Photography, The Pixel Studio, Project Wedding DIY, Celeste Duran, Caroline Tran

Hi, my name is ______, and I’m a pinoholic.

If you’re familiar with Pinterest, you can relate to that declaration. If you haven’t yet experienced this online phenomenon sweeping the wedding world, get ready.

For the uninitiated, Pinterest is a way to bookmark and display inspiration you find online, wedding-related or otherwise. It’s basically the virtual version of dog-earing a bunch of bridal magazines featuring your favorite ideas. But instead of sifting through hundreds of pages to find that one hairstyle you circled three months ago in god-knows-which magazine, it’s all online and at your fingertips.

For those already hip to online inspiration-hoarding, Pinterest takes all those bookmarks and makes them visible.  Like you’re “pinning” them to a bulletin board that you and all your friends can see.

Starting to see the appeal? Instead of toting a binder full of style, dress, food and other ideas to each vendor meeting, you can simply ask your vendors to follow you on Pinterest. And since other people can comment on each item you pin, your bridesmaids and pals can weigh in anywhere, anytime. You don’t have to wait for a Sunday morning brunch to hear your girls exclaim, “OMG you would rock that gown!”

Sign up for an account, or start browsing to get a feel for Pinterest’s layout. Boards by TheKnot, Martha Stewart Weddings and others are a good place to start.

But beware: There’s a reason people talk about Pinterest in terms of addiction. Once you start pinning, entire hours can slip by in a blur of adorable DIY crafts, mouth-watering recipe ideas and more. We found this, this and this in just the last five minutes. Other random things you’ll see plenty of are cute animals, handsome men, inspirational sayings and grammar police.

Pinterest’s appeal lies in its power to make you feel creative and stylish without actually doing anything. You’ll make those desserts/buy those shoes/paint your walls that color someday, right?

At least pinning for a wedding comes with a built-in deadline. One tip: Make a board for each element of your big day. For example, style, color, invites, food, flowers, etc. One catchall “wedding” board will soon get overrun with ideas.

Ok, now out with it. How many Pinterest addicts do we have out there? Share with us in the comments.

With our bellies still full from the Thanksgiving feast, we thought we’d tackle a food-related question today. It’s an easy one to overlook — especially when your fridge is packed with leftover turkey and stuffing – but one you’ll regret not considering.

How to avoid running out of food at your reception? It may seem unlikely, but when it happens, it’s a nightmare. The food is just one way couples show appreciation to their guests for sharing in the big day, and leaving guests hungry puts a bad taste in everyone’s mouths. A few things to consider:

• Whose responsibility is it? Ideally, your caterer will take the lead in deciding, for example, how many hors d’oeuvres you’ll need. Most couples aren’t well informed enough to make that call, taking into account the number of people, the length of the event and the types of cuisine being served. See if your caterer will provide assurance in the proposal that the food won’t run out. Ask whether they’ll prepare extra dishes for unexpected guests and if there’s a charge for that service.

• Communicate your headcount. This figure can change after you make your guest list and collect RSVPs. If your gang of relatives from the Midwest decides to attend at the last minute, let your caterer know. Check in a couple of weeks before the big day to nail down guests who haven’t responded, and make sure you and your caterer are working with the same number.

• Don’t take shortcuts. With the menu, it’s better to have too much than too little, even though it’ll cost you more. Leftover alcohol will keep for months, and you may be able to receive a credit for unopened bottles. Not so much for untouched food, but at least your guests’ memories will be filled with pangs of emotion instead of pangs of hunger.

10.9.11 Chris and Meg
Stage Neck Inn ~ York Harbor, Maine

Planning our destination wedding had its challenges, but in the end it was absolutely perfect! The decision to have a destination wedding was pretty simple, we live in Chicago and our families and friends are spread across six states and two countries so they would all be traveling anyway. After a weekend in Maine enjoying the local attractions and visiting possible wedding venues, we fell in love with the area and knew it would be perfect for our wedding. York Harbor is breathtaking, and has the comforting small town feel where everyone knows each other. The main drag up the coast is lined with multiple bed and breakfasts, each one more charming than the next… and there is so much history in the area. October paints a canvas of vivid fall colors as the leaves begin to change, and just makes you relax.

Both of us are big foodies, so we decided that food had to be one of our two planning priorities for the wedding (tied for first was photography). We would have the photos as memories for years to come and recognized that item as a long term investment. Lobster is so prevalent in New England, specifically Maine, so instantly that became a mini food related theme. We had a small guest list (40 total) and thought a lobster bake rehearsal dinner would be a perfect kick-off for the weekend festivities! Since we had a small group it would be intimate and everyone could socialize and get to know one another before the reception.

We had a strict budget, coupled with my love of crafts and planning from 800 miles away a stage was set for our “dressed-up-casual” evening escorted by UPS next day delivery! It was important to me that every detail be personalized and all the pieces fall into place for the big day. With the help of my wonderful groom, bridesmaids, and the staff at the Stage Neck Inn all the pieces came together for an amazing, unforgettable evening.

photographer: Whitney, emilie inc. photography
venue: Stage Neck Inn, York, Maine
florist: Flowers by the Sea
dj: Fred Pappalardo
cake: Confection Art
gown: Victoria Sdoukos at Boutique Victoria

Clockwise from top left : Kelly Brown Weddings, Ashley Garmon Photographers, Andrew Weeks, Gretel Home, Eden’s Wake, Michelle Turner, Martha Stewart Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Knot & Bow