My client was worried about how to word her wedding invitations.

Her concerns were twofold - 

💌 how to invite guests to this celebration without using the word “wedding.”This was their second marriage and while they weren’t legally getting married, they still wanted to emphasize the formality and importance of the event and their commitment to each other. 

💌 AND how to focus the language around gratitude & celebration of their guests who had helped them get to this point together. This was meant to be a celebration of not just their love, but also their people!!

We started by focusing on simplicity. Instead of filling the invitation with a bunch of stuffy language “so and so cordially invites you to the marriage of”….we simply put their names, the location and date - using the rest of the page for a playful illustration of couple on their special day. Ultimately, we trusted that their guests would get it, without having to over explain what this event was about. We let the artwork speak for itself.

For the details & RSVP cards, we provided the when’s where’s and why’s - and then we leaned into language that really allowed their love and gratitude to shine. Focusing on the couple’s gratitude for their guests made for a design that felt both like an invitation and a thank you note all at once.

A reminder that when you allow yourself to go outside of the box with language and design, you can create something that is truly one of a kind.

One thing I won’t stop talking about . .

A love letter to newly engaged couples 💌

is the need for engaged couples to actually ENJOY their engagement while planning their wedding.

Look around - everything is frozen outside and covered in ice, and yet somehow in the wedding industry, we have people pushing all this urgency out into the ether. Messaging like “BOOK NOW or else” and “you NEED to do this” abound, even as we are only a week into the new year. And while I totally respect the need for some of this urgency - timelines are real, vendors should absolutely market their work, and not booking someone soon might mean missing out on their expertise - I also respect my clients’ relationships and engagements.

Because being engaged is not only about planning a wedding. It’s about savoring and celebrating and telling the story of how it happened over and over and over. It’s about slow mornings over coffee, scheming up where the band could go and what you’ll serve and all the different things your day could be. It’s about, before rushing into logistics, giving yourselves the space to dream.

Because from that place, you’ll create a wedding and experience that not only feels like you - rather than just another copy and paste of what you think you’re supposed to do - but you’ll also get to enjoy the journey along the way. And, as a wedding stationery designer working with couples on the little details that come before, and during, and after the day, I think it’s so important to focus on enjoying the journey along the way. Through my art, I want to help you celebrate your story and center your relationship throughout the process - so that you can stay anchored in what this whole thing is all about, anyway.

So, allow yourself to take some time to soak it all in. And, once you have some decisions made that feel good in your bones (think date, venue and guest count that have you giddy with delight), I’d love to chat about bringing your love story to life, creating invitations that reflect who you are and help you hold onto what matters - the whole way through.

For a little bit longer, though, I hope you remember to focus on you 💌

Warmly,

Sage

More Than Just Wedding Stationery

I am an artist and stationery designer working primarily in the wedding industry - but deep down, in my eyes, I work in the business of hearts.

Because what I do is more than just wedding stationery - it’s about holding your hand across one of the most monumental thresholds of your life, and creating artwork out of it that gets you to the other side. What we create together is more than just something we send to your guests - it’s a process that brings you deeper into your story and your journey and your heart, and from that comes art, that you get to carry into this new chapter. A totem pole you can hold onto along the way. Because let’s be honest - choosing between color palettes and illustrations is a lot more life-giving than staring at planning spreadsheets. But truly - I want this process to connect you and your partner to what matters to you, and to what brought you together in the first place. This is something you can lean on throughout the stress of planning, and perhaps also deep into marriage, years down the line, when you need to be reminded of what matters.

I spoke recently with a logo design client about this exact phenomena. She is in the early stages of starting a business, which naturally entails a lot of logistics - applying for certifications, insurances, et cetera. But in the creative world we are diving into together, there is respite and reminder of why she is embarking on this journey in the first place. And the best part? What we create will become a literal representation of that journey, something to buoy her when storms rush through her world. And I am just so grateful to be a part of the process - of holding my clients hearts during a very tender time.

I’m sure you could get beautiful stationery designed on pretty paper by a hundred other people. But when you work with me, it’s not just about a piece of paper. It’s a process, a portal, stepping you into your new life. And I’d love to be the creative companion by your side 💌

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.