Hi all! Hope you’re all keeping well. I’ve decided to make a small return to blogging, and what better way to do this than talk about my favourite subjects: my sister; and weddings!

As most of you will know my sister got married in October last year at Leez priory. It was the most incredible day and I had the pleasure of being her wedding stationer. While it was an honour, it wasn’t as easy as my usual structured process so here are my pros and cons of the experience.

Let’s do the Cons first

Wow did I feel the pressure? I’m my own worst enemy for this one but my own expectation that everything had to be more perfect, more unique, and more thoughtful than usual caused me more stress than I’d care to admit. In the moment, it was hard to remember that my sister picked me to do the stationery because she wanted me to do it!

Now I love my sister, but her communication on what she wanted was laidback, to say the least. I’d get a random message with link to a Pinterest board randomly almost every day until the wedding. Each message with a different theme or colour scheme which didn’t make it easy trying to envision Clare’s theme. She knew what she wanted most of the time, such as using pet names for the table plans, an illsutrated cocktail sign and an unplugged ceremony sign saying ‘no photos we are selling our photos exclusively to hello magazine’. But we did have a full-colour palette change from copper and white to emerald green after sending save the dates and a sudden ban on any all capitals fonts. Reason 1754 why I always like to keep the save the dates quite simple, so there is room for the style to develop and change during the planning process.

Another fun thing about Clare’s communication is that we did the usual couples consultation with her and her partner, but throughout the meeting (and pretty much any time her partner made a suggestion) she’d text me “we’re not doing that”. While I always cater to both the people who are getting married, this time had to listen to my sister more! And by more, I mean completely! Sorry, Oli!

Now for the Pros…

There was so much I loved about this experience. Being a professional in the wedding field and an expert in Clare meant that this was one of my favourite projects ever. I could talk Clare through ideas at any time, and make personal detail suggestions. Both Clare and I were close with our grandparents, and Clare was gutted they never got the chance to see her happy in love. Knowing this, allowed me to suggest having beautiful calligraphy reserved seats for them next to where she got married. It was these little touches that really made the day extra special.

Having worked in the industry for a few years I was able to recommend amazing suppliers to the couple. The main one being Jess Bevan the photographer. Having worked with Jess before I knew her style was just the classic, laidback look that would suit Clare and Oli perfectly.

My first attempt at floristry and cake decorating… I think I did ok.

One thing I loved, being the control freak that I am was I got to help with the setup so I could make sure everything was displayed as we had imagined. I thought about where the guests would be entering to make sure the welcome sign was the first thing they would see and had the order of the day where guests would be enjoying the drinks reception. However, I was also roped into decorating the cake and the cake stand the morning of the wedding which did have me sweating a little. But I did finish it with the cake topper I made so it was worth it! I also got to grab some great photos of all the details throughout the day too.

The best thing about being my sister’s wedding stationer was that I got to be involved from the very start (the moment I got the call letting me know she was engaged) until the big day when I got to see all my hard work. I got the perk of being able to overhear the compliments about my work firsthand while trying to keep my cool and not to squeal with excitement. Even the venue asked me if they really were selling their photos to hello magazine!

Overall I’m super glad I was my sister’s wedding stationer and nothing could have been better than seeing her and her husband beaming on their wedding day and knowing that I had helped to make that day happen. Bring on the 10 year vow renewal I say!

Suppliers:
Photographer Jessica Bevan Photo
Stationery and unofficial wedding planner (me) The Amyverse
Venue Leez Priory
Flowers Llaurel silk florist
Dress David’s Bridal
Hair Emma victoria Bridal
Makeup Bkimche Makeup
Cake Wilton
Fireworks Dynamic Fireworks
Videographer Video 4 a day

The Details

Here are some of the pieces I created for their elegant emerald wedding at Leez Priory. Hand-lettered calligraphy, a venue illustration, and a emerald watercolour wash tied all the pieces together.