Putting it on Paper - Stationery

I have got to tell ya...
Getting inspired to work on the details for our own celebration has been a little bit of a struggle.

Connect with Sharon!
Website: prettypetalpapers.com/
Instagram: @prettypetalpaers

Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I am not excited by the fact that I get to spend time on these details, it's just a time thing. This season has been such a rollercoaster going from 0-100 as a wedding designer for others, that it can be a bit of a struggle to then clear my mind and think about the vision we have for ourselves.

​When moving our celebration home for a more intimate gathering it gave us the ability to bring on more talented vendors. Each taking some of the work off our plate to capture our vibe. While it was a difficult choice to change our plans completely, it left room to create details more personal to us! This starts with our paper goods and stationery. 

The FIRST PERSON I thought of  was Sharon of Pretty Petal Papers.

Sharon and I have worked together on multiple projects. She is a CRAZY talented stationer and wonderfully supportive friend. She is a calming presence for me in such a chaotic world and her style of work is just beautiful. I have to admit, I had a tall order for her. My inspiration was transitioning as we started to shift from the large Belle Isle Casino, which has a very distinct architectural design style, to the blank canvas of our yard. Sharon took it head on and nailed a concept that was perfect for us. Here are some of the things I strived for..... Fall but not something that screams fall, moody, florals maybe ( not a super huge fan) but not overly floral, boho but still refined, modern in fonts but still playful. We have a green, terracotta, gold and black palette but I do not want to to be Halloween-ish" I laugh looking at what I sent to her but she translated all of my jabber into something beautiful.
​Check out the inspiration I sent to Sharon below. 

I first asked Sharon to create our invitations and table numbers so that they correlated. What I LOVED about Sharon is that, even though I didn't need a lot of edits after she presented us with her first renditions, she gave us the opportunity to tweak what we felt would best suit us. We fell in love with our end result and are so excited that our guests are receiving them as we speak! The deep green of the envelope, the contrast of the black with the gradation of the vines, the combination of fonts...WE ARE HERE FOR IT ALL!

We loved the idea of using "We Still Do" considering we already got married last April we thought this was appropriate. 

As we continued to work with Sharon we decided to hire her for all our paper goods that day. This includes an items for the place setting and all our signage. I thought it was important to have that exact match because we just feel in love with what she created. Now, don't think I didn't throw another curve ball into the mix for Sharon... because I did. She handled it with grace and mastered the blend of this new inspiration into the other items. I found an item we are using for place cards ( sorry no photo spoilers) and asked Sharon if she thought that there was a way to blend what she already started for us and this additional piece of inspiration. 

These cards are a special addition to our lineup. Sharon did a unique laser cut on thems for us and we cannot wait to use them at our celebration. While I am not going to show you alllll the goodies one of the driving forces behind the added inspo was the Papel Picado which is a party decoration that is traditionally found at Mexican celebrations.
The blend of this and the Irish toast written on the front made it the perfect combo to represent us both. 

I checked in with Sharon about how she felt about the process in creating our collection!

"When Amanda reached out for wedding invitations, I knew it was going to be a blast custom designing for her. She sent me a beautiful color palette she would be using for her wedding day. I could envision exactly what I wanted to create for her and it was just a matter of getting it onto paper. She had shared that she didn’t want a floral design so I knew exactly what I needed to create. I began by sketching a line drawing of some greenery. I knew I wanted to incorporate the colors from her palette, so I chose a gradient effect to incorporated into the art that had most of her colors in it. This design was used throughout her stationery. 
I also created some custom laser cut pieces for her big day that were inspired by Papel Picado, which she had mentioned she wanted to incorporate into the wedding day because of Jesús’s Mexican heritage. The signage for her wedding day was so important too and we wanted the design elements to coordinate with the invitations and laser cut pieces. I ensured that there was consistency in each piece to tell a cohesive story to her guests on that special day. 
The perfect part about all of this is that they LOVED IT! She even shared with me that this was really “lighting the fire in her” for the big day and made it more of a reality for her. This meant so much to me as this is my favorite part of being a stationer. I love making my clients happy and feeling Amanda’s happiness about her wedding invitations, truly warmed my heart. Designing paper goods for Amanda and Jesús was truly an honor and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to be a part of this special time in their lives!" 

Connect with Sharon via social media and/or through her website! I promise you will absolutely love working with her from start to finish!