Love Story Wedding Stationery is really about listening.
I fully believe that my work as an artist and a designer is not just about creating pretty things - but pretty things that are also deeply personal, playful and meaningful. I’m a hopeful romantic - it’s no wonder I ended up in wedding stationery! - and so weaving in sentimental touches to your stationery is super important to me.
And what that means in the design process is I start out by doing a lot of listening. To your love story and how you met and what you love about each other. To the colors you like and don’t like. To everything you share on your questionnaire - and everything you don’t. And then, it’s about taking all of these seemingly disparate threads (hiking and cooking and the color blue) and weaving them all together into something that feels like YOU. It’s about hearing your ideas and listening so deeply that I can hear beyond them - for something greater than what you might even be able to articulate, but that ties the whole design together.
The end result is art that you get to send straight to your guests, your love story illustrated and on display on your wedding day, and a process that hopefully helped you and your partner’s relationship deepen along the way.
Want to get in on the creative journey? I’m booking into 2026 and can’t wait to listen to your love story!
Warmly,
Sage
Stationery Sets the Tone 💌
How Designing Custom Wedding Stationery Can Help You Enjoy the Journey of Planning Your Wedding 💌
Thinking about designing your wedding stationery might just feel like another item on your never-ending wedding planning to-do list. It might seem easier to simply download a template off Minted, or even forgo them altogether. But, as with most things in life, you get out what you put in, and designing custom wedding stationery can become something that really supports and connects you and your partner throughout the planning process, if you let it!
I’ve seen it firsthand - on design calls with clients, the collaboration that comes through as you navigate different preferences, interests and aesthetics together; in questionnaires, each partner holding and savoring different parts of your story; and in the design process, as we weave together all these different parts in a way that feels super personal - how taking the time to really create something one-of-a-kind connects couples, and really becomes an opportunity to reflect on the journey you’ve gone on as a couple to get to this stage - as well as the experience you want your guests to have on and leading up to your wedding day.
A lot of people talk about how stationery sets the tone, and I think that’s true - but it sets the tone not only for your guests, but also for you. Getting to go on this creative journey together, with myself or another designer as your creative partner, is an opportunity to step away from the planning spreadsheets for a moment, and towards the colorful, magical and romantic world of your love, for a little bit. It’s a process that is meant to reconnect you and your partner to what this whole wedding this is all about, it’s a process that will help anchor you during inevitable moments of stress, and it’s a process that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as the stationery itself.
Your love story. It’s like no one else’s. So let’s create stationery that celebrates that, and reminds you to - as best you can - enjoy the journey of coming together along the way.
Wishing you all the best, wherever you’re at in your planning process.
Sage
Making Wedding Stationery FUN again 💌
When I first started designing wedding stationery, a lot of the feedback I got was that my work was “fun.” At the time, I felt ashamed by that - thinking that the compliment I should be receiving was “beautiful” or “flawless” or “timeless.” And while my work has certainly evolved since then, I have come to wear that compliment of “fun” as a badge of honor.
We want our weddings to be fun. We want our guests to enjoy themselves, dance all night, laugh at the speeches and savor the passed apps. And yet, somehow we think the invitations and artwork welcoming everyone in to this experience need to contain the formality of our grandmothers’ era. But no more.
Because I believe wedding stationery can be fun while being elevated. Bold while being beautiful. Playful while being polished. And so I am celebrating that my work is seen as fun - because that’s the experience I want for my clients, for their guests and their vendor team. While stress cannot be avoided in wedding planning, I’m here to bring as much color, playfulness and * hopeful * romanticism into the process as humanly possible. Not just in the designs we create together, but in the way I walk you through the process, every step of the way. Your wedding is not just one day - it’s the whole journey leading up to it - so why not make it FUN, together?
Want in on the fun? Inquire today, or download my free wedding stationery timeline, designed to help you and your partner enjoy the planning process while staying on track 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.
What to Include in your Wedding Stationery
You’ve probably googled this before and given yourself a minor aneurysm. There’s a lot that can go into wedding stationery - but I’m here to remind you that not everything has to. Take a deep breath. Remember - it’s 2024. You did not hire Emily Post as your wedding planner. This is your wedding, and you only have to include what feels important to YOU (and 1-2 people whose opinion really matters to you, like your fiancé and your mom, for example).
These days there are so many different ways people approach their invitations - from sending digital invites with music accompanying, to putting all the info on their wedding website that they send out in an email, to sending out full invitation suites that they design themselves on Minted. There is so much variety, which can feel overwhelming - but it doesn’t have to! It also means that there’s room for you and your fiance to have the wedding - and the wedding stationery - that feels like you.
That said, if you’re here, you’re probably the old fashioned type that likes receiving and sending a paper invite, and you’re hopefully looking for something a little more personal and fun than the classic invitations you’re used to seeing. If that’s you, I’m glad you’re here! I’m going to break down what goes into wedding stationery, and give you my two cents on what to send and when.
Before the Day Goods - Surprise! This is everything that goes out before your wedding day, typically in two installments.
-Save the Date - These should go out one year to six months before your wedding. The earlier the better, especially for destination weddings, so that people have time to plan their travel, book their accommodations, all that good stuff. As with the title, these are meant for people to “save the date” for your wedding, so don’t feel like you have to have your entire wedding planned out before you send these.
The invite itself is usually postcard style, including the couple’s name, date and location of your wedding - along with a link to your wedding website as well (if you have one). Stylistically I like to keep these on the simpler side (such as with a portrait of the venue) and leave the bulk of the design for the main invitation.
-Invitation - This goes out roughly four months to six weeks before your wedding. Again, the sooner the better, especially if your wedding requires travel.
At this point, you should have more of a sense of where all of your wedding events are happening, what kind of vibe you want, attire, etc, and your invite is an opportunity to welcome people into that vibe. It should get people excited, and if you work with me, at least one person should want to frame it (I hope). It can also serve as a reminder for people to finalize their travel plans if need be, an opportunity to fill them in on important details, and an encouragement for their RSVP.
Many pieces can go into this - not only the formal “please join us for the marriage of so and so,” but also a schedule of events cards, RSVP card, maps, invites to other more “exclusive” events like a rehearsal dinner, etc. Again, you can really play around with what you want to include here - but my Standard package covers the basics of what I think every couple needs.
On The Day Goods - This includes all of the signage and paper goods needed on your wedding day. It’s an opportunity to incorporate the design from your invitations to give your guests a cohesive feel, and to fill people in on all the things (like what they’re eating, drinking, listening to, etc). This can include but is not limited to:
-Ceremony Program
-Drink Menu
-Dinner Menu
-Table Signs
-Welcome Sign
-Escort Cards
-Place Cards
After the Day - This is your thank you notes! These can go out up to one year after your wedding day, but I suggest getting started once you return from your honeymoon (if you go on one). It’s a great way to keep the memory of your wedding alive, and thus I think the actual note you send should reflect that memory as well - with an illustration of your florals, or a photo of you and your new spouse, or a continuation of your invitation design. Need a last minute thank you note made just for you? I’ve got a custom greeting card set option on my website separate from my wedding stationery packages to get you going, and would love to work with you.
The moral of the story? Do what feels good to you, while thinking of your guests’ experience throughout the process. This is your wedding, and people will remember and enjoy the things that felt like you, not like what Emily Post told you to do.
Yours Truly,
Sage