I’ve been really trying to step up my gift giving game this year to help convey my gratefulness and love to friends and family. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I’ve teamed up with Architectural Illustrator, Lydia Marie Elizabeth and one of my favorite local family-owned businesses, Face to Face Designs to create a very personalized V-Day gift for Casey.

I knew that I wanted his gift to be incredibly thoughtful and last for years to come. Fortunately, I’ve been following Lydia Marie Elizabeth on Instagram for years and I absolutely adore her work. She does a beautiful job of bringing places and spaces to life with her illustrations. As a result, I asked her to illustrate three very meaningful places to Casey and me. I choose the Charleston Grill and St. Philips Church both in Charleston, and our first home that we bought together in St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Casey and I met in Charleston over 9 years ago through a mutual friend. We were both dining at Charleston Grill, one of my favorite restaurants in the Charleston Place Hotel when we were introduced by our dear friend. The actual table in Lydia’s painting is where Casey and I sat and talked for hours over a glass of wine. Then two years later, we exchanged vows at St. Philips Church right around the corner. I choose these two locations because they’re both a very big part of our story. Charleston will always be a special place for us and now we have these beautiful custom illustrations to remind us of these special moments.

After we got married, we moved from Charleston, SC to St. Simon’s Island, GA where we bought our first home together (which is actually in the same neighborhood that we live in now)! I thought that it would be a fun tradition to document our homes through illustrations. (Next year I’m hoping to add our new home to the collection)!

To showcase Lydia’s beautiful artwork, I turned to Face to Face Designs, a retail and wholesale family run business, that makes everything handmade from frames and pillows to trays and towels. I especially love their coastal and clean aesthetic, often with a Scandinavian touch. I absolutely LOVED getting to know the husband and wife team and couldn’t wait to showcase their creations with you. The wood from the frames were salvaged from an old barn in Fitzgerald, Georgia. The reclaimed wood frames provide the perfect texture and color that compliments the illustrations in a way that only Face to Face Designs can do. If you visit St. Simon’s Island,  I would highly encourage you to stop by their stylish retail shop right off of Frederica Road or you can browse their selection online and via Instagram.

The finished product turned out beautifully and I can’t wait to give them to Casey! I hope that this personal idea inspires your gift givings! Framed custom illustrations are great gifts for house warming, birthday, anniversary, Christmas and baptismal events. These will always have a special place in our home and hopefully one day be passed down to our children. Thank you to Lydia, Brigitte and Ashley for creating something that truly means so much to Casey and me.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I’m sharing what I got Casey with the help of @lydiamarieelizabeth and @facetofacedesigns. @lydiamarieelizabeth brought three very meaningful places to us to life through her illustrations and I’m absolutely in love with the finished product. ❤ Click the link in the bio to find out more. #valentinesday 📷: @hamilton.hayes

A post shared by Monica Lavin (@lavinlabel) on Feb 11, 2018 at 4:06pm PST

Photography by Lavin Label