Friday, August 26, 2011

A little* SOMETHING EXTRA}}

There is one thing many couples come in saying and I am sad to hear. 
It goes a little something like this...
"I want my invitations to be beautiful, but people are just going to
throw them away so they don't need to be anything special*". 
I am making up the anything special* part.  What they are really saying is that they
don't want to spend too much on something people aren't going to keep, but alas what
I hear is that this part isn't so important. I say, what isn't important about setting the
tone for you wedding day?   The fact is, yes, a lot people will throw it away (hopefully
most will recycle them these days), but that doesn't mean these announcements of what
will hopefully be one of the the beginning of a life long commitment of love,
friendship & family shouldn't be anything special!

I think that is why I started this business. When I look back at my reasons I tend to focus on the fact that I had just had a new baby and was leaving my full time job and looking for a way to possibly make a little extra income, be my own boss, set my own hours and be creative all at the same time.  But another very important reason was because I kept receiving these plain jane invites, that were clearly just chosen out of a book with no sense of the couples style. This may sound strange to some, but I felt, and still feel, a calling to announce couples wedding with style, be that with different fonts, bold colors, or different graphic art. I even enjoy the mundane task of printing envelopes (just got a new enormous home printer, ask my husband what my new favorite thing is and he'll tell you)! That's how I know I really love my job!

So I charge you with this, whether you are designing your invitations through me
or another designer, inquire about little things that might
set your invitations apart from the rest. 


Adding a pocket, petal or gate card is always a nice touch.


Add an envelope liner (my personal favorite) and contact Tobe Reed to hand address your invitations. 




Tuesday, August 9, 2011

an {almost} YEAR in review



(poster in tribute to my 2011 wedding season)

I know what you are thinking, it's August Allie, but it feels like my season is coming  to an end and without any sort of a break a new one is beginning!  

You may have noticed I really broke my promise of blog Tuesdays.  This is because I was working on 26(?!) summer & fall wedding projects.  Please forgive me dear friends. What a year, can I say that again, what an AMAZING year this has been for this little business of mine I started to keep my mind working and make a little extra money when my sweet, smart, beautiful, (slightly silly) Audrey came into this world.  

2008-2009
Brought more business than I thought possible, 24 weddings.  That season I had just 2 brides who came to me for their save the dates as well as invitations.  In the first 16 months I was "in business" I thought I was living the dream! Doing something creative I loved and working with brides I loved even more.

2010
With just 15 wedding projects, 2010 was a year of growth in business and in our family. I stopped advertising, in preparation in welcoming my hilarious, lovely, independent little Lini (otherwise known as the clown). After she joined us and I realized I could juggle my business as well as two little chicks I spent more time than I would like to mention investing in side projects, getting my name out there with shows, MoH and building relationships in the KC wedding vendor world.

Then a little month called November 2011 hit and... BOOM! I have not slowed down since! As it stands, I have completed 37 weddings completed, not to mention the 17 (yes, I said 17) freelance projects I have worked on, including 7 websites designed and MoH.  In a word, or more of a phrase, I'm tired.  

Until next Tuesday, or possible 5 Tuesdays from now, good night America.


(proudly hanging in my office, ready for new brides to glance at it)