Why You Should Approach Your Wedding Planning Process Like You’re Hunting for Vintage Finds
Okay. Hear me out. As a wedding stationery designer who wore a vintage wedding dress to her wedding, I think certain parts of this process can be applied to your planning journey - to make it feel more unique, more timeless, more you. There can be so much pressure to follow trends and check things off your bridal to-do-list. But you’re not like every other bride, so let’s make your planning process one-of-a-kind! Here’s why you should consider this approach:
Rather than following trends and finding a dress online that anyone else could have, bringing this approach means you are focusing on things being one-of-a-kind. My dress had these beautiful lace eyelet flower details on the shoulder, and a sage green layer underneath that literally made it look like the ocean. It wasn’t a “traditional” wedding dress but it was so me, and I loved that. It’s less about the knee-jerk, cookie-cutter approach to weddings - where you are just doing what everyone else is doing and getting things to get them -and more about what feels like it is meant for you. While this can apply to how you find your dress, this can also apply to how you make decisions, how you source your goodie bag items, etc. Be unique not just for the sake of being unique - but because your love story is unique too, and it deserves to be celebrated in its own unique way.
The process. While you can certainly approach looking for your dress and planning your wedding in the traditional way - scouring Pinterest and bridal sites for the perfect fit - there is nothing like the thrill of the hunt in a Vintage, thrift or consignment shop. It gets you into your body, it’s tactile, you get to touch and feel and relate to things. It’s delightful! What if you brought this tactile, slow, natural approach to your planning? What if you sourced photos for your moodboard from the real world, like your favorite restaurants and art museums and decor stores, rather than scrolling on Pinterest for hours? What if you got vendor recommendations from that friend of a friend who also got married in Newport a few years ago, rather than reaching out to random people on Wedding Wire? What if you took your time, trusted the process, and let inspiration arrive into your life, rather than searching so hard for it?
A focus on storytelling. I loved my vintage wedding dress because it came with a story - not just in how I found it, but also in the life it lived before me, and even the life it lived on my wedding day. Yes, it ripped! But that’s now woven into the story of the dress, that I will always remember, and my guests will, too. Similarly, you have imperfect and ancient parts of your story that you can weave into your wedding that make it feel like yours. You could put family heirlooms on every table, or tell the story of how you met at your ceremony, or play your father’s favorite song as you walk down the aisle, instead of stressing over following bridal trends and aesthetics. You could be your one-of-a-kind self, instead of the bride you think you are supposed to be. You could be yourself, not only on your wedding day, but all along the way.
How I Come Up With My Designs
PC: Kelsie Frasca
I recently had the pleasure of attending Happily Ever Expo in Quincy this month. It was an opportunity to not only connect with other vendors in the industry, but to also connect with engaged couples (like you!) in the midst of the planning process. And there was one question that I kept hearing from them as they peered over my stationery samples - how do you come up with your designs? Perhaps you’ve been having the same question, so I thought I would answer it here!
To put it simply, my design process is an incredibly collaborative one. I take information in from my clients in the form of a questionnaire that I send out upon starting our work together. From this, I learn not only about my clients’ wedding vision, but also how they met, what they like to do together, and cute stories from their relationship that almost always make me tear up. I learn about their style (think things in their home, favorite artwork and flowers) and their favorite love songs. I take all of this information in, talk it through with them on a design call, and let it inform the creative direction.
While I certainly take cues from my clients, and some designs are directed by them (i.e. they really want a portrait of their pets on their cocktail menu), I try to source ideas for my designs just as much from my own inspiration. For every project, I create a visual moodboard that pulls images from Pinterest - featuring artwork from the wedding region, iconography, and images that speak to the vibe of this project and this couple. I try to take inspiration less from other wedding stationery or wedding related imagery, and more from the couple, the place, and whatever else strikes my fancy. Sometimes ideas come to me on a walk in nature, or at the end of a nap (this happened recently!) and I roll with them, incorporating something one-of-a-kind into every design.
Together, we talk through all of these ideas on our design call, where I share some sketches along with the moodboard to conceptualize my vision. Once we’ve agreed on the direction, I dive into my studio, where I go through a three-part design process from start to finish. I get feedback from my clients throughout the process making sure we are getting everything just right, and hopefully end up with something that feels like it could only be made for these two people at this meaningful moment in time.
Interested in getting the conversation started? Book a free call with me here to see if I might be the right stationery designer for you!
5 Reasons You Should Invest in Wedding Invitations (in the Age of Digital E-vites and Minted.com)
My therapist recently asked me, with nothing but good intentions, why I would be starting a business designing wedding invitations when so many people are opting to send digital invites. While it caught me off guard at first, upon further consideration, it is a valid question in this digital world, and I’m sure you’re considering this yourself. Why spend a decent chunk of your precious wedding budget on personalized paper invitations when you could just send them online, or design one yourself from a template? Well, here’s my two cents, as a wedding stationery designer, snail mail enthusiast and thank you note writer extraordinaire.
Wedding invitations, aside from being a timeless tradition in the history of people getting married, serve as a physical reminder to your guests. To RSVP. To get that flight booked. To check the wedding website. To book the hotel. And with so many emails these days filling up our inbox, a digitally sent invitation could simply get lost in the mix, or filed into the folder in our brains that says “I’ll deal with this later.” But a paper invitation sent straight to your door? That you can hold in your hands? And put on your fridge? That reminder simply has a whole different weight to it, that a digital invite simply can’t compete with.
Designing your invites with an artist/stationer helps you think about the design and vibe you want to create for your wedding day. Since invitations often get mailed out way before you start thinking about your floral design, what rental items you are going to order, or what color palette you want your bridesmaids to wear, a lot of the design work you do with your wedding stationer can feed into the rest of these elements. The moodboard, inspiration photos and color palette you create together can be sent to your other vendors, getting incorporated into the day’s design so that everything aligns.
Wedding invites give your guests a feel for the vibe of your wedding - and your love. They get your guests excited, help them envision what to wear and what to bring, and basically make them feel like an exclusive member of your “love club.” Hint - they are!
It’s an opportunity to add a personal, heartfelt touch - weaving in elements from your unique love story and personal history so that people can really feel who you are as a couple. This, in my opinion, is what weddings are all about!
Wedding invitations are an emblem of a time-honored tradition - the love letter. While traditional wedding stationery in your mind might evoke an image of boring calligraphy and black borders, I like to think of it as a love letter sent out to all of your favorite people, echoing of a time when we could only communicate via the mail, sending our love across oceans sealed in envelopes. There is something ancient about it, something analogue and tactile, that speaks to the romantic in us all. It’s a way, upon opening the envelope, to literally open the hearts of your guests, inviting them in to the look and feel of your unique love.