In case you haven’t heard (via my admittedly ridiculous announcement) – I’m pregnant! Our little girl is due mid January and of course my husband and I are over the moon excited to welcome our first child into the world! In keeping with our now traditional anniversary photo shoot, we had an anniversary/ maternity photo session with the very talented Emily Helen during our “babymoon” in Kauai. Of course I had to share these beautiful photographs but I also wanted to dive into what a baby on the way means for Whimsy as we move into the 2018 wedding season.
What This Means for Whimsy
As most of you know, I am the only custom designer for Whimsy and the driving force behind our aesthetic (not to discredit all the wonderful work my Production Assistant, Whitney does because I couldn’t function without her). Since this is my first child I want to take my time easing into parenthood and learning my new work/life balance. That means my first baby, Whimsy Design Studio, will sadly need to put on the back burner while I focus on my personal life in the coming months.
While I wait for our baby girl to arrive I will not be taking on any new custom stationery projects. Frankly, the custom invitation process would be too rushed between now and my official maternity leave to feel confident in my work quality and I always want to give my clients my full creative attention! That said, I’m still available and happy to take on smaller design projects that can be completed before the end of the year – such as holiday cards, watercolor crests, signage requests, last minute wedding details, and, of course, our Collection Invitation Suites (more on that later).
My official “maternity leave” will begin December 22nd (a little early to accommodate the holidays). I am aiming to return and start taking on custom wedding projects at the beginning of March – but please keep in mind that this date is tentative and completely dependent on when our little one decides to make her big debut.
2018 Wedding Invitations
CUSTOM DESIGN // Since I’m not starting new custom invitation projects until March 2018, this unfortunately means I won’t be able to design new custom stationery suites for Spring and most Summer couples. My custom invitation design process generally takes anywhere from 10 to 16 weeks (depending on project scope). With that in mind, couples getting married mid-August 2018 and later would be the best fit.
I will be starting to book March consultation appointments for custom stationery design at the beginning of the year, so if you are interested and comfortable waiting until March to get started, please don’t hesitate to reach out and put something on the calendar!
COLLECTION SUITES // I know this schedule eliminates a lot of 2018 couples from being able to work with Whimsy on custom invitation suites this year. I apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment this may cause but want to remind everyone of our Collection Suites! We designed this collection based on our most popular custom requests but because they are pre-designed and not 100% custom, they are more affordable and the ordering process is dramatically faster. These invitation suites are ready for personalization and available for purchase on Etsy. I’m hoping to get back to working on collection projects prior to my full return from maternity leave (fingers crossed) so as long as the Etsy shop is up, we are accepting orders! We will actually be adding TEN more suites to this selection at the beginning of the year so if you don’t see something that catches your eye now be sure to check back.
2018 Wedding Day of Details (signage, place cards, menus, etc.)
With my return from maternity leave in March, we should be able to accommodate most day-of design requests for the bulk of the 2018 wedding season. This timeline will probably work best for weddings mid-April and later.
Again, I will be starting to book March consultation appointments at the beginning of the year, so if you are interested in using Whimsy for day-of design and/or signage please contact us to put something on the calendar!
The joy of owning my own business is that I have the flexibility to take the time to enjoy this precious time in our lives and I intend to take full advantage! The truth is that when I return to work in March I will still be figuring out what working from home with a baby looks like; so I will start by only taking on a few clients at a time and slowly ramping up my workload as the 2018 wedding season progresses. Please be patient with me as I adjust to this new chapter in our lives.
Thank you for your well wishes, support, and most importantly your patience! I am so excited for this new journey in my personal life and feel so very blessed to be able to grow our family while continuing to pursue my passion in this industry that I love!
Photography: Emily Helen // Location: Princeville, Kauai // Dress: Wren & Ivory