makeitgrandmarketplace

Featured Vendor: Katie Murphy Stationery

Make It Grand! — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:21:57 +0000

Katie Murphy Stationery has been a graphic designer for 20 years. As an addition to her graphic design business, Katie started Katie Murphy Stationery, when she found that she was designing a lot of custom wedding invitations for friends and family, and decided to expand it in to a line of wedding invitation systems and stationery as well.

Katie produces custom designed wedding, baby, and personal stationery for her clients by sitting down with them, listening to their own wishes on what they would like to evoke in their paper correspondence, and then bringing those wishes and ideas to life.

If clients tend to like to pick something, rather than have a design made specifically for them, Katie Murphy has options for choosing from collections that have a graphic sensibility, a clean, fresh, american spirit, and use of bold, fun colors, found art, and ethnic trends that are cropping up in American style.

Katie uses many printing processes based upon the client’s budget, and design aesthetic. Letterpress, thermography and digital printing are the most popular forms of printing that have been used for clients. Katie can meet you at Make It Grand, by appointment.

Set The Spirit. Define The Style. Call Katie Murphy Stationery.

web: www.katiemurphystationery.com

cell: 612-245-7054

email: info@katiemurphystationery.com

A Day to Remember

Make It Grand! — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 01:54:39 +0000

Some of the Vendors of Make It Grand! donated decor for the Mount Olivet Church Women Spring Fashion Show on Saturday, April 16th. It was a really fun event highlighting styles from the Shops of Galleria in traditional, modern and destination wedding fashions.

: Traditional Table Decor, Linens by Linen Effects, Cake by Penny Steele Custom Cakes, Menu by Paper Thick Ink

Modern Table Decor with Table Linens and Chair Covers by Linen Effects, Floral Centerpiece and Bouquet by Studio B Floral Designs, Menu by Paper Thick Ink

Destination Wedding Decor Table with Table Linens and Chair Covers by Linen Effects, Shell Centerpiece by Flora by Vonna and Cute Shell Menu by Paper Thick Ink

New Years Day Wedding

Make It Grand! — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:48:33 +0000

Some people don’t think winter weddings in Minnesota are very popular, but so far 2011 has been a busy year for the Make it Grand vendors! Jamie & Justin got married on New Years Day in St. Michael, MN. As you would expect in January, it was COLD, but Jamie & Justin were true Minnesotans and braved the sub zero temperatures for some photos. Two vendors from Make it Grand! collaborated on this wedding, Katie & Gene’o of Kage Imagery were the photographers and Tami of Studio B Floral was the florist. Enjoy some of the photos from their big day!

Congratulations, Jamie & Justin! We were happy to be part of your wedding day, and we’re glad you escaped to New Zealand for your honeymoon!

The Grand Proposal Recap

Make It Grand! — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:48:48 +0000

We’re excited to share some photos from our big event, The Grand Proposal! Some of the highlights of the day are below.

Kevin of Ganache Truffles shared a chocolate making demonstration. A rainbow of chocolates!The Wedding Shoppe had a beautiful gown on display! D’Amico provided the delicious food. Pink Champagne in honor of Valentines Day!The cake pops by the Cake Diva were to die for!And the main attraction, the winners of the Grand Proposal Contest were announced! Third place went to Alyssa & Cory, second place went to Lisa & Brian, and the Grand Prize went to Sarah & Michael! All of our winners won some wonderful prizes from the vendors of Make it Grand!

Thank you to everyone who attended our event. The vendors of Make it Grand are looking forward to being a part of your wedding!

All photos by Kage Imagery.

See you Sunday!

Brooke Ringdahl of ta'rooke photography — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:23:51 +0000

Sunday, February 13th from Noon – 4

The Grand Proposal!

Make It Grand! and The Wedding Shoppe are teaming up to bring you a one-of-a kind wedding fair experience.

Displaying great ideas for planning your wedding and topping it off with chocolate demos from Ganache Truffles!

See makeitgrand.com/events for more details.

Voting has begun!

Brooke Ringdahl of ta'rooke photography — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 17:20:27 +0000

Be sure to read each of our wonderful Grand Proposal stories that were submitted then head over here to Make it Grand’s! Facebook page and vote for your favorite.

Then be sure to come to Make it Grand’s shop at 1274 Grand Avenue on February 13th to the event to see who won! Find more event information by clicking here.

Mary and Tim

Brooke Ringdahl of ta'rooke photography — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:58:21 +0000

Our Proposal
My boyfriend Tim had casually asked me if I wanted to go on a picnic about a week and a half before he proposed. He knows I love them, so I immediately said yes! We had decided that we would get take-out from the Q, our favorite local chinese restuarant. We got to the park, by his house (where we had our first date) with our food, and sat down on a bench to eat. Tim scarfed his down in about 2 minutes!! He kept asking me, “are you done yet?” and I was getting annoyed! I was thinking, “geez, just let me eat!”
After we finished eating, I asked Tim if he wanted to push me on the swings; he agreed. He was pushing me higher and higher, then all of a sudden, he grabbed the swing and stopped me. I was thinking to myself “what the heck are you doing, keep pushing silly!” He came around me and said “you know I love you right?” not thinking anything proposal, I said “yeah, I love you too” (still wondering why he wasn’t pushing me!) He then got down on one knee and I started almost hyperventilating “oh my god, oh my god!” he said some very sweet things to be and then opened the ring box. Before even thinking, I yelled “ITS HUGE!!!” and started jumping up and down! About a minute later, after jumping and crying some more, I screamed yes!!

I cannot wait for our wedding on October 1, 2011. We picked this date because we started dating on October 1, 2004, so the day we get married it will be our 7th dating anniversary!!

Hope you enjoyed reading my proposal story, and thank you for your time!

Rachel and Lee

Brooke Ringdahl of ta'rooke photography — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:46:25 +0000

Before you read this story, you must know a little about our history. Lee, my fiance, and I are high school sweethearts and have been with each other since May 2004. What was at first a high school summer romance turned into something much more. Now, over 6 years later, we love each other more than ever. Lee graduated in 2008. I will be finishing my last semester of college this Spring. We had decided to both finish school before getting married. Through college and jobs, we have endured times when we were long distances apart, but it has only made our relationship stronger. We are excited to share the rest of their lives together and we each feel that we are so lucky to be marrying our best friend.

Wedding Date: January 11, 2012-

Destination: St.Thomas, USVI

My Grand Proposal:

My fiance, Lee, had every detail planned out for the proposal, so the story is very detailed as well. He is a great planner.

My birthday is March 8th, so Lee had given me a gift card to La Grande Salon & Day Spa in Forest Lake for a Day of Bliss. He told me that he wanted to schedule my Day of Bliss for me for the next weekend while he was on a work trip, but that they were booked, so he had scheduled it for March 20th.

The day arrived and I went to enjoy my Day of Bliss at the spa. I had an hour massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, makeup application and hairstyle. After 7 hours at the spa, I went home to get ready so that Lee and I could go out for dinner. (Of course we had to with my cute hair and makeup!) The week before Lee made me think that he was not very excited about this dinner out.

After getting ready, I became a little worried because I was waiting for Lee to arrive at my house to pick me up. This usually doesn’t happen and it is usually Lee waiting for me. I called him and he told me he would be there soon.

When he walked in to my house to pick me up I gave him a hug and kiss. Then I looked out the window. There was an stretch SUV limo outside of my house. “WHAT IS THAT,” I said. I was so excited about the limo that I didn’t even stop to think about what it might mean. I just proceeded to take pictures and enjoy the experience.

On our way to the restaurant, I noticed we were going the wrong way, but Lee assured me not to worry and that we were just taking a different way there. Ha! Then we eventually pulled up to the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. We got out of the limo, and began to walk down the bridge, enjoying the view of the city and the river.

We stopped when we arrived at the middle of the bridge and Lee hugged me to keep me warm. (He almost gave me his jacket and I understood later why he didn’t- the ring was in the pocket!) We kissed and we told each other “I love you.” It was so romantic!

Then all of a sudden Lee began to get down on one knee. It was kind of a blur from there. He took out the ring, opened the box, and asked me to marry him… and I said “Yes!”

Bethany, owner of Sparrows Eye Photography, was waiting on the bridge to take pictures of the whole proposal. This was also a wonderful surprise and we are so thankful to have the amazing pictures to remember this special day!

We then had a wonderful dinner at Ruth Chris with a bottle of champagne chilled and waiting for us. (Compliments of one of Lee’s clients from work- which was even a surprise for him!)

Just when I thought the night was over and couldn’t get any better, pulled up in front of Chino Latino (my favorite restaurant). We got inside and both of our families were there waiting for us! Including my grandma, who had come from North Dakota to be there, which made it even more special!

To end the night, we went to a suite at Graves 601 in Minneapolis, where he had champagne and rose petals leading into the room for me.

Later I found out that many of my friends and family knew it was going to happen.. but I had no clue! In the words of my friend Beth, who was working at the salon that day I was “adorably clueless.”

Kristin and Andrew

Brooke Ringdahl of ta'rooke photography — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:42:06 +0000

Andrew had just flown almost five thousand miles to visit me in Florence, Italy where I was studying abroad. He looked very happy to see me but also very on edge. I just assumed it was because he had never flown that far or that long before. We took a bus into the heart of Florence and then had to walk almost a mile to my apartment. He had one large suitcase and a carry-on bag slung over his shoulder. I asked him if I could carry the small bag and he just kept saying ‘no, no, let’s just get to your apartment.’ I shrugged and kept on walking. When we got to my apartment, he carried both bags up 59 narrow and uneven stairs, still refusing to let me help him. We got to my room and I began opening the luggage to unpack and to see the presents and cards my family had sent me for my birthday. Andrew was pacing up and down my hallway. Again, I chalked his nervousness up to being in a foreign country for the first time. Then, very suddenly, as I reached into the carry on bag, Andrew came into the room, grabbed some cards out of the suitcase and threw them at me. He said, ‘Here! Read these.’ I didn’t think much of it; I opened the cards to read them. One card in particular really made me tear up. I missed my family and their messages were so sweet. Then I heard Andrew behind me say, ‘I have something that’s going to make you cry a lot more.’ I turned around and he grabbed my hand. He pointed to his carry on luggage and told me to look in there. I couldn’t! I was frozen and told him to look. Then he knelt down and brought out a ring box. When he opened it, it took my breath away. It was a beautiful blue sapphire. Andrew finally asked the question I had been waiting for. ‘Kristin, I love you so much. Will you marry me?’ I managed to squeak out a ‘yes!’ between the tears. It wasn’t until later that I realized that Andrew had been so nervous because I had gotten so close to it when I was opening the luggage. He realized that he had to propose right then and there before I found it. Even though it wasn’t the ‘grand’ gesture Andrew had hoped for, I thought it was perfect for us.

The attached photo is from later that night. Andrew took me to La Giostra, my favorite Italian restaurant, to celebrate our engagement.

Jenny and Ryan

Brooke Ringdahl of ta'rooke photography — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:35:44 +0000

Jenny and I had been dating for a year and a half before we became engaged. We had already spoken about marriage; it was just a matter of getting permission from her father. After we finished finals for fall semester, Jenny left for China to spend Christmas with her family, as they have lived and worked over there for the past three years.
Several weeks later I also flew over to China in order to spend a few weeks with her family, getting to know them better. I talked with her father, and he gave me permission to propose to Jenny. We talked further and both decided that the Great Wall would be the most romantic location for the proposal.
A week later we found ourselves in Beijing visiting some friends who drove us out to a remote location of the wall. It was a beautiful day, and there was even a clear blue sky. We got onto the Wall itself when our friends announced that they were tired and just wanted to sit on the Wall, but we were free to explore. I selected a tower further down the Wall as the best location, and we proceeded in that direction. Just before we reached the tower the Wall became too steep to safely continue, so we had to turn around.
As we approached our friends, I had to motion that I had not asked her yet so that they would not say anything to give the upcoming question away. We decided to go to the tower in the opposite direction, but after a few minutes of walking, again found ourselves unable to reach the tower. We walked back to a flat spot on the Wall and stopped to talk.
We talked about our relationship for a few minutes, and I reminded her of how much she meant to me. At that point I said to her,
“Jenny, I know we’ve talked about marriage before, but I want to officially ask you,” as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring while getting down on one knee.
Her face lit up, and huge smile spread across her face, and she immediately said “Yes.”

We were able to call her family right away, but had to wait several hours to get a hold of people back in the States so we would not wake anyone up in the middle of the night as there was a long time difference between the two countries. As it was, we still woke several people up, but they did not mind once they heard the news.