Where are the pastels?

When I first started playing around with designing wedding stationery I became very hung up on the idea that I needed to replicate all of the beautiful, dreamy, ethereal designs that were filling up my instagram feed and Pinterest boards. Pastel shades and stunning florals were everywhere I turned and it felt like they were the only types of invitation suites that couples were interested in. Now don’t get me wrong, I love those weddings and there is a reason my Pinterest board is full of those designs, but when it comes to creating stationery myself something wasn’t clicking, all I was doing was replicating other people’s work. I couldn’t come up with my own vision and this led to huge amounts of self doubt and a lot of “I’m obviously not meant to be a stationery designer” type thoughts.

It’s only in the last year or so that I’ve stopped trying to create things that don’t come naturally to me and have started embracing my natural creative inclinations - and it turns out that I tend to lean towards more of a dark & moody aesthetic. Now I know that might not sound like the most optimistic theme for a wedding but hear me out. I’m talking inky navys, smoky greys, opulent maroons and the deepest of greens. These are luxurious colours that scream elegance and glamour, give a hint of attitude, and when used in the right way give me all the feels. They also work incredibly well with metallics (hello foil!), and a brighter pop of colour can always be thrown in for good measure. I’m a personal fan of a navy and gold combo as my brand colours will tell you and am not averse to a dash of hot pink here and there.

This is not to say I never use pastels, I am as much a fan of colour as the next person and I know better than to restrict myself to a specific palette but I’m far more likely to reach for an aubergine card stock than a dusky rose. I know it’s not for everyone (wouldn’t the world be a dull place if it was) and I still have a lot of moments when I wonder whether I should include some lighter shades in my designs but I’m determined to continue ploughing my own furrow and for now that furrow is mooooooody!

I’ve spent the last six months or so working on what I would describe as my “dream wedding invitation suites” - different designs and colour combos that I’ve created without any restrictions, hopefully to act as some inspiration for couples out there, but also to let me stretch my creative muscles a bit and see what comes out the other side. I’m nearly ready to release them out into the wild so keep an eye out on the website and my instagram feed. Or you can sign up to my newsletter and then you’ll get a sneak peek when they’re ready!

Thanks for reading!

Sarah xx