inspiration board

Inspiration board: An Iowa friendship brunch

Today I’m sharing the inspiration board for a friendship brunch I recently had the honor of helping plan.

My client Betty came to me asking for help planning a brunch she was having to celebrate her friend Susan.  Susan was a dear friend of Betty’s who passed away unexpectedly this past summer.  Her birthday was in November so Betty wanted to bring together a group of Susan’s closest friends to celebrate her memory.

The inspiration for the brunch came from a picture of a beautiful yellow rose taken from Susan’s casket at her funeral.  Betty’s daughter-in-law took a picture of the rose she’d been given and kept in her refrigerator for over a month after the funeral.

1blankrose

Betty decorated for Christmas the week before the brunch so we thought a Christmas feel for the event was more appropriate. Yellow is not a typical Christmas color but since it was such an important part of the event, it had to be included.  So the requirements were:

1)  Use the color yellow and incorporate yellow roses

2)  Make the decor fit in with the Christmas decor already in the house

3)  Add a bit of sparkle

Here is the inspiration board I created for the event:

Friendship-brunchI went with a yellow and grey color scheme and I was oh so excited!  This is my favorite type of event to plan, one that has meaning and an obvious attention to detail.

Join me later this week when I share pictures of the finished event.

P.S.  How fun is the idea of a friendship brunch!  What a special event to share with your friends.  I might just have to use this idea in the near future to get a group of my favorite ladies together.

It’s finally here!

I can’t believe today is finally here!  For the past couple weeks I’ve tried to figure out what I would say when the time finally came to write this post and to be frank, as I sit here typing, I’m still not completely sure what will come out.  Today is the culmination of many years of work.  If you mix together lots of starting, stopping, some fear of failure, lots of ah-ha’s, dreams, ideas, support from family, friends and some great professionals, praying and a great desire to walk in a God-given calling and use my gifts, you have what you see before you today; the new Madelyn Ridgeway Events website & blog! I finally have a place I’m proud to call home for what I think of as my third baby, my business.

Here is the brand board that started it all:

MRE inspiration

 

I worked with Tara & Kathleen, sisters and the masterminds behind Braid Creative to take all the ideas I had floating around inside my head and heart and craft a plan for my business & brand using their braid method. The wonderfully awesome, Kate Baird, of Katelyn Brooke Designs created my new brand identity that included a beautiful, calligraphy logo, by Moya Minns  of MM Ink.  I can’t say enough good things about the lovely ladies I worked with to make this day come to pass. Not only were each of them professional and good at what they do, each of them was fun to work with too!

Join me the rest of the week as I share other pieces of my brand and what each part means.  One thing I’ve learned throughout this process is that a brand is not just a logo but a set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships at it’s very least.

To celebrate the launch, I’ll be sending one reader a sweet little package filled with some of my favorite things! Check back tomorrow for more details.  In the meantime, grab a glass of sweet tea and browse around the new website.  There are a lot of fun touches I’m so proud to share with y’all!

Welcome to the new Madelyn Ridgeway Events!

pantone color of the year inspiration board

Pantone, the global authority on color,recently announced emerald as it 2013 color of the year following last year’s choice of tangerine tango (which I loved!).   Here is what Pantone says about the color emerald:

Most often associated with brilliant, precious gemstones, the perception of Emerald is sophisticated and luxurious. Since antiquity, this luminous, magnificent hue has been the color of beauty and new life in many cultures and religions. Also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity, no other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity.

emerald1

emerald3

emerald2

Source

I’m really excited about this choice and have already started to notice it everywhere from design blogs and magazines to Good Morning America.

Today I’d like to share with you an inspiration board I put together using emerald paired with peach, ivory and touches of gold.  I could easily see gold foil invites paired with this sophisticated yet fresh color palette.

Emerald-Green Inspiration BoardSource: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

So what do you think of emerald green? Is it a must have or a miss?

Love y’all,

signature