Designing the Table around Connection

For the first time in our new home, my husband and I are hosting Thanksgiving - bringing together our two families under our new roof. Naturally, I decided to design a menu for our table, inspired by the toile patterned dining chairs (originally upholstered by my husband’s mom!) that we’ll be sitting at. But it didn’t end there.

Because I didn’t want to design a menu just to design a menu. I wanted it to serve a purpose that went beyond a pretty piece of paper. I wanted it to help tie the different members of our family together at the table - to make people feel seen and special, and perhaps start a new tradition in this new space, centered around the Thanksgiving theme of gratitude. And so, I decided to use the back of our beautifully designed menus as pre-printed place cards with each guest’s name, with enough space below for us to write a hand-written note to each guest, expressing our gratitude to them. A pretty piece of paper that might otherwise get thrown away is immediately transformed into something to be treasured and saved.

And I share this because, whether or not you work with me on your wedding stationery, I want to invite you to bring this same kind of thinking into your wedding table, or even your next dinner party. I want you to consider how you can use your stationery not just to convey information and offer beauty (although those things are important, too!) but also to bring your guests together in these increasingly divided times. I want you to consider how you can design your table around the theme of connection.

There are so many ways you can do this - some I’ve explored with past clients, some I’ve seen online and just love. I invite you to steal any and all of these!

• Hand-written notes to each guest serving as place cards

• A story on the back page of the menu sharing how the couple met

• Polaroid photos of each guest serving as a place card

• Cocktail napkins with an inscription of the first text message shared between a couple

• Conversation topics written onto every table number based on where you seat people

You get the idea! While there is no need to go overboard here, I highly recommend thinking about how you can weave in a little more intention and a little more connection into your next event. I promise you’ll thank me later.

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 💌