What a Chocolate Bar Can Tell You About Your Wedding Invitations

I recently opened a Raspberry Dark Chocolate bar of Chocolove. Aside from being fair trade, organic and just generally delicious, these bars also all come with a love poem tucked into the wrapper - a sentimental treat for you to discover upon opening. And as I sat there, savoring my chocolate bar and chewing on this poem, it had me thinking about its parallels with wedding stationery.

There is of course the surprise and delight factor - something I have practiced for years in customer service. The element of the unexpected woven into the packaging, something that catches your eye, slows you down, invites you to savor. It transforms something ordinary and every day, like opening a chocolate bar or a wedding invitation, into a magical experience for the senses. And who doesn’t want that?

But beyond the surprise and delight element, including a poem inside a chocolate bar (or inside your wedding invitation) taps into something deeper in us. It reaches beyond the taste and sensibility of a bar of chocolate - tasting good and coming from a just origin - and it touches our heartstrings. That human part inside of us that is hungry to connect, make meaning, and tell stories. I also believe that this is the part of us that makes memories, and is why I always reach for this brand every time I am hungry for rich chocolatey indulgence. Any bar of chocolate can taste good and have good ingredients, but does it include a special something that is going to stop me in the middle of my day and make me feel something? Only Chocolove can do that.

Similarly, any wedding invitation can be both beautiful and informative. But can it reach that third thing? Can it touch your guests’ heart strings? Can it communicate a personal detail, a shared memory, or a heartfelt sentiment? Can it make people feel something? That is the kind of wedding stationery I strive to create with my clients.

So, consider this your invitation, to reimagine what your wedding invitations - and your wedding itself! - can be. Reaching beyond beauty and information, let’s touch the heartstrings of your guests through personal illustrations and poetic wording. Let’s invite them to slow down, savor your love story, and feel something.

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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!

4. 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!

5. 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.

Why you should think of your wedding invitations like a love poem.

Poetry is a beautiful art form that has been shared between lovers for centuries. Its sonorous, highly specific yet simultaneously simplistic qualities can often hit straight to the heart, connecting with a reader in a way that other art forms cannot. So, why wouldn’t you think about your wedding invitations - which literally communicate a commitment of love between two people - like a love poem?

There are a few components that, in my mind (as a spoken word poet turned wedding stationery artist), make up a good poem. A good poem has beautiful, song-like language that just sounds good, yes. But it’s more than that! It should contain intimate, specific details that end up communicating so much more than if they were generic or overarching (the hit of “I love you” vs. “I love the way your feet twitch when you get excited”). A good poem also has an economy of words, where each word is carefully chosen to be included - or not included! And, it often has a sense of transformation or alchemization - where tragedy is turned to triumph, and the ugly is made beautiful in the telling.

If you want wedding invites that feel poignantly personal, that maybe bring your guests to tears, and that tell the story of your love (which you’ll need to practice for your actual wedding day), here’s how these elements of poetry can play into your invitations.

Beautiful, songlike language - This can look like alliteration or rhyme. Metaphor or simile. Painting a picture with words. Anything other than the usual “so and so requests the honor of your presence.” You are likely spending a lot of money making the invitation look beautiful - so shouldn’t it sound beautiful, too?

Specific details - While this can certainly come from the illustrations and artwork your designer includes, the actual words you choose can get personal as well. Think - quotes pulled from love letters or favorite phrases shared throughout your relationship. Nicknames you have for one another. Details about the venue you’ve chosen or the items you’ve added to the menu. Lyrics from your song. These details will connect to the heart of your guests, helping them feel who you are and how you want to tell you love story. And, if done right, it will also help them connect to their own love stories.

Economy of words - Keep it simple! You don’t want to cram up the page with a bunch of fluff, especially if you are working with a talented stationery artist whose work you want to showcase. Choose words that hold weight, and don’t worry so much about tradition. All you really need to tell people is who the wedding is for, where to be and when, and how to RSVP. The rest is up to your poetic genius!

Transformation - I don’t know about you, but to me, a good love story involves a beginning, middle and end, where the couple has to go through something together to emerge stronger and more united. Okay, I just described the story arc of every rom com ever - but really. While you don’t need to air out your dirty laundry on your wedding invitations (I highly suggest you don’t) there is beauty in sharing the journey you’ve been on together, in big or small ways. Perhaps this is something you save for your wedding day, or more so something that you think about it general (i.e. you don’t have to only share the rosy parts), but if there is a detail that alludes to the journey you’ve been on, know that it is certainly allowed to live in your wedding invitations. Which are, after all, little love poems sent out to all the people you care about, inviting them to celebrate your greatest work of art yet - your marriage.

How to Make Your Wedding Planning As Enjoyable As Your Wedding

PC: Georgie Morley Photography

When you’re planning a wedding, it can be so easy to put so much energy into perfecting this one big day, that you forget that your wedding is comprised of so much more than that. It’s all the days leading up to it - it’s the meetings with your planner, how you show up to conversations with your partner, it’s the dress shopping and the seating plan deciding.

When I was planning my own wedding I got really clear on wanting to enjoy THAT process, as much (as possible) as the wedding day itself. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about celebrating this great love story, so why would I want to take away from that for a second?

Of course stress will come, but here are some things I focused on to stay anchored in a positive, playful perspective while I was wedding planning, making the whole experience * almost * as enjoyable as the wedding day itself.

1. I journaled nearly every morning on how I wanted the experience to go - but in the past tense, as if it had already happened. This looked like “Our planning process has been full of ease and enjoyment, our wedding day went so smoothly and felt so us, I love getting to plan our wedding,” etc. This allowed me to reset the overwhelm, the stress, and the urgency that can often come with planning a large and incredibly meaningful event, and to step into the feeling that I wanted to be embodying during that time. It also means that I have a journal of spells that I can look back on with pride, knowing that I made that thing happen!

2. Whenever things got stressful or tense (and I’m human so they did) I stepped away. Took a break. Turned the computer off. Went for a walk. Did something else. I tried to make sure that when I was in an active state of wedding planning (making calls or working on a spreadsheet or talking with family) that I was in a good headspace. And if I ever found myself forcing something or worrying, I would step away from that thing until I was in a better space. Basic human psychology here, but somehow when you are involved in the planning of what is supposed to be the best day of your life, all that pressure can make our basic human psychology practices run right out the door.

3. I turned to the parts of the planning process that I enjoyed. I am not a spreadsheet girl, but I love a handmade gift. A piece of art. A thoughtful touch. So, making our stationery was such a joy for me, as was putting together our goodie bags (and making sure they wouldn’t just get thrown out or left in someone’s hotel room) as was making our signage. Find the thing that feels good to you, and carry it through the whole process.

4. On the wedding day, I really let myself let it all go. The plan for the day, my expectations, hell, even my dress’s integrity. I let them all go, and surrendered to what the day became, knowing that I had an amazing team behind me to steer the ship. It rained, our reception location flip flopped, my dress ripped at the end of the night, but because I had been practicing my perspective leading up to the wedding day, I was able to roll with it all, and truly have the best day of my life, with my favorite people and my now husband by my side. I wouldn’t have it any other way.