Testimonials
Lindsey and the Ribbons and Elbows team take great pride in planning events and creating those special D.I.Y. touches for friends, family, and clients alike. Below, some of our happy clients share their experiences.
Katie C., Portland, OR
I got married in the summer of 2013 and knew very little about wedding planning, let alone crafting, when I started the process. Once I started talking with Lindsey about some of my (rather disjointed) ideas, she pointed me in the right direction and helped me focus my theme, look, and feel. I went with a rustic theme for a woodsy outdoor wedding, and Lindsey’s crafty touches were instrumental in tying everything together. In addition to many other things, Lindsey hand-crafted a burlap aisle-runner with lace trim, a burlap-wrapped guest book, and colorful programs that doubled as fans in the summer heat. Although my crafting skills are mediocre at best, I also wanted to contribute to some of the craft work, so Lindsey set up a session for me and a few friends to paint center-piece bottle vases. She procured all of the materials and showed us how to tastefully paint the bottles to match the wedding theme.
Throughout the whole wedding planning process, there were many times when I bounced ideas off of Lindsey or showed her ideas/decorations I had seen online for purchase. She frequently took those ideas and created something similar from scratch that matched the wedding theme for a lower cost than any of the prices I found online. As the last few weeks before my wedding approached, Lindsey checked in with me to see if there were any other projects that needed to be complete, and (of course) there were many! It was relieving to be able to assign Lindsey projects on a moment’s notice and know that they would be executed to perfection. With all of the stresses of planning a wedding, it was comforting to know that Lindsey would make sure everything came together in the end…and it did!
Michelle S., Boise, ID
While I was planning my wedding, I was having a really hard time deciding what necklaces my bridesmaids should wear. I had been “pinning” away, and checking out different sites on Etsy, but nothing stood out to me. I had a modern vintage, Peacock themed wedding. I had gold, feather-like earrings for the girls, but was struggling to find the right necklace. I've known Lindsey since college, known that she made amazing jewelry back then, had seen the amazing jewelry she made for other friends weddings, and her own. I decided to call her up, and see if she wouldn't mind using her talents to help me out, and create something unique and special for my bridesmaids on my big day. She said she was excited to help me, and for me to send her my colors, and give her an idea of what I wanted.
I didn't want anything literally peacock feathers in anyone's jewelry. I thought that would be overkill. I told her what color the earrings were, and what colors I was interested in. I trusted her to run with my descriptions, and ideas, and take that and make something beautiful. That's exactly what she did for me! I was so pleased to give my bridesmaids the necklaces she made. It was really special, and they were gorgeous. I had let the girls pick out their own dresses, they were all different, with different neck lines, but her necklaces worked with everyone's dresses. I think the best compliment received was, one of my bridesmaids called me a month ago and told me she wore the necklace I gave them to work, and all her co-workers loved the necklace and wanted to know where she bought it. I was kind of sad I didn't get one for myself to wear later.
Rachel J., Denver, CO
The day I decided on my dream wedding dress, I also found my dream pair of earrings in an upscale boutique in Denver. When I saw the price tag for the earrings, my jaw dropped to the floor. I thought I was used to the sticker shock of all the high-priced wedding items I would need, but the price for these earrings was waaaay outside my budget. Being the scrappy lady I am, I snapped a few pictures of them and sent them over to Lindsey, who right away told me that not only could she make them, but she could use better materials and add a few customizations for a fraction of the cost. I commissioned her to make earrings for each of my bridesmaids to match their dresses and accessories and they were gorgeous! All of my bridesmaids tell me that they wear the earrings on a regular basis. I couldn't have been happier with the quality of her work, and her keen eye for incorporating the details of my wedding into the jewelry she designed.
In the age of Pinterest and wedding blogs, we are expected to think that every moment of our "big day" should look like the cover of a magazine. [On the day of my wedding] with nothing more than a poster board and some markers, she ended up creating the most beautiful sign to hang on the back of our pedicab - a sign that would later end up in the pages of The Knot! In short, Lindsey is amazing, accommodating, scrappy, and stylish. Lindsey makes us look like the DIY Goddesses we all wish we were, and her projects [add] an intimate touch to everything she transforms.
Shannon S., Portland, OR
When I began planning my wedding I was astounded by the cost of everything, as well as overwhelmed by all the beautiful ideas out there. Pinterest usually infuriated me before it inspired me. There was just too much out there. I was lucky enough to have Lindsey in my wedding, but if you can’t have Lindsey as a bridesmaid then the next best thing is to have her plan and/or decorate your wedding. Lindsey helped me narrow down all the crazy ideas I had in my head to clear and concise ideas. Lindsey’s artistic skills and imaginative ideas brought some beautiful touches to my wedding. It started with the invitation design. Lindsey enthusiastically drafted several invitation ideas for my review, and was flexible when I kept changing my mind on what I wanted, even down to the wedding colors of my wedding. She eventually whipped out a design for rehearsal dinner invitations, RSVP cards and the invitation itself in ONE day. Lindsey also decorated a very special birdcage for wedding cards, designed and constructed programs, designed locator cards for the guest book and gift table, as well as some lovely face plates. It seemed that Lindsey always had me on her mind, even when she was helping the planning and decorating of her dear sister’s wedding at the same time. She did this all from afar as I live in Portland and she [lived] in San Francisco.
Lindsey has an eye for personal design and also knew where to get the materials to make it and at a very reasonable price. It’s exciting to work with Lindsey because she also comes up with things that wouldn’t even have been considered otherwise. Her motto should be “all details are important, never too small.” Lindsey was not only a great friend during the stressful wedding planning process, but she was professional, responsive, and everything always came out perfectly, exactly how I would want it to look even though I couldn’t find the exact words to describe it. It’s like she knew what I wanted without my saying it. Lindsey did all my “do-it-yourself” projects and I could not have asked for anything better.