♥ sealed with a kiss.

in last week's fashion friday blog post for regarding design,

i wrote about "the mother of the american valentine," esther howland.

receiving her first english valentine at the age of 19, esther was the first

to discover the resources & [wo]man-power necessary to create frilly,

swoon-worthy valentines that people clamored to order from her.

and ps. she was from massachusetts!

source.

soon after that, the industrial revolution brought about faster,

easier techniques of mass-producing valentine cards

printed with multiple colors.

source.

although my bridesmaids already sort of knew who they were,

i really wanted to make it official in some way, so i went to my

favorite vintage store, streamline antiques and picked up

some very, very old valentines and replaced the back

with a picture of me and each lovely lady.

here's a closer look:

my sister, lissy.

my little sister, jennie.

my cousin, jaimee.

my bff, marykate.

and my bff, carolyn.

happy valentine's day, my darlings!