Wondering why you should hire a professional to make your wedding invitations? Ashley, founder of My Urban Invites, will tell you everything you need to know about wedding invitations and stationeries, and why she wants to take the stress off you and help you create beautiful invitations!

How did your business get started?

I first started out going through Radiation Therapy school in Indiana for my “practical” degree and to make my parents happy. I knew I was destined to be anentrepreneurthough, my entire family hasowned their own business at some point in their life. I knew that I loved weddings and all things that involved creativity and creating things. While I was in school, I took an online learning program and got my wedding planner certificate, and from there I started learning more about all areas of the wedding industry. It wasn’t until I found my first invitation software program that I fell in love with stationery and graphic design. I opened my business up in 2009 after realizing how much I loved doing my friends invitations and I have finally quit my radiation therapy job and started doing My Urban Invites full time last year!!! I couldn’t be more excited!!!

How did your passion for this arise?

I think I was born with the passion for creating and once I figured out my niche it was like love at first click.

How do you get ideas to come up with different invitation/stationery styles?

I usePinterest, Google, stationery trends magazine, and the national stationery show as aresourcefor inspiration. I take ideas from my brides and expand on them from all of the other amazing stationery and graphic designs I have seen and know will look good together.

What kind of invitations/stationery do you do most often for weddings?

We really thrive on creating custom invitations for themed weddings and contemporary styles. Anything that is different than all the rest is what drawscertainbrides to us and is also how we stand out amongst the others.

How do you make the invitations/stationery unique for each bride?

There are so so so many options when it comes to wedding invitations! They are like snowflakes, no two are ever the same, even if we are recreating a design we have already done for another bride. Changing up fonts, colors, and wording can completely change an invitation. Other than that, we do a lot of custom designs which are so unique because we learn a lot about the event and personality of our brides and create something that is unique to them as a couple.

What is your favorite part about invitations/stationeries?

My favorite part about creating invitations for our customers is the whole process of generating the ideas and then watching as all the ideas come to life.

What is your best tip for brides as far as invitations/stationery goes?

Start early and hire a professional, you will thank yourself later! There are millions of things that can go wrong, avoid these things by starting to hire your stationeer around a year before your wedding. Not only will you not have to worry about the timeline, but your stationery professional can provide lots of answers and ideas to etiquette, design, colors and more.

What sets you apart from other invitation and stationery vendors?

We are an event branding company. We take our brides events and make it into an unforgettable brand. From their logo/monogram to their thank you cards and everything else in between, we help them make an impression on their guests that will last a lifetime. It’s not all about just getting your wedding information out there, it about getting your family and friends excited and buzzing about your special day!