How to Make Your Wedding Feel Personal

When my husband and I were planning our wedding, while we wanted everything to look and feel beautiful, we most importantly wanted it to feel like us. We've all been to those weddings - where you could nearly swap the bride and groom out for a different couple, and no one would notice. But, as artists ourselves and people who have both walked the path less traveled in life, it was super important that our wedding reflected our personalities and love story. I like to think we were pretty successful in doing so, and here are a few approaches I'd suggest if you are of a similar mindset.

1. Focus on storytelling over aesthetics.

A lot of the decisions you make around your wedding will seem to center around how everything looks - from the florals to the tablescapes to the bridesmaids' dresses. And while the aesthetics are obviously important (I do a design wedding stationery after all), if you want your wedding to feel personal, you have to focus more on how things feel and less on how things look, and a great way to do that is through storytelling.

Use every opportunity you can to tell the story of who you each are - as individuals and as a couple. This will immediately make your wedding yours and yours alone. This can look like getting personalized stationery with imagery you are known for, turning the first text your partner ever sent you into custom cocktail napkins, or simply having your officiant tell the story of how you met.

2. Choose vendors you connect with.

This may seem obvious, but when you go to pick your vendors, there can be so much pressure to lock someone in who comes highly recommended, and to do it yesterday. Just make sure to check in with yourself - Do I vibe with this person? Do they seem to understand me and my partner?

While it's important to focus on the product they deliver (their photos, their florals, etc) it's also important to focus on how they are delivering it, who they are and how you connect with them. Because, at the end of the day, your vendors are going to be holding the torch for how you want your wedding to go, and witnessing you in some very intimate moments. You want to feel comfortable with them and you want to know that they get you!

(We did an AMAZING job at this with our wedding and if you are getting married on Nantucket and need incredible vendor recs I'm you girl)

3. Carry a creative thread throughout your planning process.

You don't have to be an artist to add your signature touch to your wedding day. Whether you want to hand paint the place cards or make all the ceramics or coordinate a surprise flash mob during the reception, find one thing you want to DIY on your wedding day, and use it as a creative outlet throughout your planning process. It will help your guests feel the YOU in your wedding, and it will also be a great respite to return to when you inevitably get tired of looking at spreadsheets.

What are you doing to add a personal touch on your wedding day? Leave a comment below!

My Journey from Spoken Word Poet to Wedding Stationery Designer

I recently shared on my Instagram a bit more on my personal journey, from spoken word poet to wedding stationery designer. As a poet, I often wrote about my struggles in relationship - my words at once deep and moving, as well as dark and intense. Now, after a roundabout journey and many stops and starts, I somehow find myself designing wedding stationery, helping people tell their love stories through colorful artwork. I truly never dreamed I’d be doing this, but looking back, it makes total sense. And the symbolism of the whole thing is not lost on me - how I am now transforming my own darkness to light.

So, why is this of interest to you? Well, I always love knowing the stories of people I follow and work with - and I hope you do too! But, mostly, if you’re planning your wedding, while you may not have gone through the same struggles that I did, it’s likely that this is a big step for you - whether you have family drama you worry will come up, fears of abandonment/divorce, or if you just find the whole process incredibly stressful - and something about sending a Save the Date or invite and saying to the universe, to all your loved ones, and to yourself, that you’re really doing this, is scary. It’s exciting and wonderful, but it’s also scary. And I am someone who understands that intimately.

Most of what you’ll see and hear as you plan your wedding is about the good stuff, the celebrations, the happy ever afters - but weddings can also bring up a lot. And so, if you’re looking for someone with a sensitivity to that, I’m your girl. I am so excited to celebrate your unique love story with the happiest, most playful and fun stationery ever - but know that there is room to honor the struggles that may have come before, too.

Here’s to loving every step of the journey.