Sustainability, awards and creating wedding stationery
I can’t believe that it’s been a year since I went full time doing this amazing job that I love so much. I am super proud of what I’ve achieved in my first year in business and how many couples I’ve helped with their wedding stationery. Here’s some of the highlights from the past twelve months.
Magazine features and becoming a recommended supplier
I started the year off with my first styled shoot, ‘Modern Love’ which took place at the beautiful Deer Farm Tipi Weddings amongst the rolling hills of Devon and was thrilled to see it featured in Wed Magazine! It featured my first collection, Callisto, and I just loved the whole experience from start to finish. From working with the best local, sustainable wedding suppliers, to the fun, community vibe of the day!
From that day on, I really wanted to be out meeting suppliers and couples as much as I could and loved chatting about creativity, sustainability and beautiful, meaningful weddings. So I did just that. Throughout the year I’ve attended open days at beautiful wedding venues, like Brickhouse Vineyard, Crowcombe Court, Deer Farm Tipi Weddings and Upton Barn and Walled Garden. As well as open days, I showcased my stationery and chatted to lovely couples at wedding fairs across Devon like the Pretty and Punk Wedding Fair, Plymouth Wedding Extravaganza and Westpoint Wedding Extravaganza.
On top of this, I was so pleased to be added as a recommended supplier at Brickhouse Vineyard, Deer Farm Tipi Weddings, Crowcombe Court and Rock My Wedding (a fantastic directory and blog for wedding inspiration – go check it out!), which has just been renewed for 2024!
wedding industry awards
Back in November, I attended the South West Wedding Awards in Plymouth, accompanied by my husband, and was so pleased to be announced as a finalist for the New Business category. We also had the pleasure of attending to the Sustainable Wedding Awards in London at the start of February, as I was shortlisted as a finalist for the Sustainable Start-Up Award! Although we didn’t take home the winning trophies this time, we had the most amazing evening at the awards ceremonies and I was so pleased that my little business even made it that far. It truly was an honour to be voted amongst the best in the business!
a more sustainable future and looking forward
I’ve loved making stationery for so many unique and stunning weddings this year, many of which have been zero waste weddings. It’s no secret that sustainability is very important to me and is one of the reasons I started Paper Belles.
When I found out I was a finalist for the Sustainable Wedding Awards, I booked my ticket for the ceremony in London and saw there was a Sustainable Wedding Summit, hosted by the Sustainable Wedding Alliance the same day, so I grabbed tickets for that too. It was held at the stunning BMA House in Bloomsbury (yes, they do weddings too!) and was the most inspiring, thought-provoking day. It truly was an honour being surrounded by so many talented and dedicated wedding suppliers from all over the country, who have made such a positive difference in the wedding industry.
I deepened my understanding of the importance of sustainability in the wedding industry and how I can put into practice more action towards this vital cause. Even though I am doing a lot already (read our sustainability statement), I recognise that there is much to do on my sustainability journey and I am committed to doing even more.
Here are my top four takeaways from the summit:
1. Perfection is the enemy of good – doing something is better than doing nothing at all when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint.
2. There is so much hope and opportunity for positive change.
3. One person has so much power to positively impact the planet with the choices they make. Make your choices count!
4. I’m proud and inspired by the work sustainable wedding suppliers are already doing across the country.
Looking forward to the next year to come, as well as improving our sustainability practices, there is lots on the horizon and I am super excited to work with the most amazing couples on their wedding stationery. Here are a few things to watch out for soon and where you can find me:
• There will be a new, beautiful (and very colourful) styled shoot being released. Keep an eye out in Wed Magazine!
• There’s a new collection launch coming soon too… think Bridgerton vibes!
• I’ll be at Brickhouse Vineyard Open Day on the 18th February
• Come and chat to me and lots of other amazing suppliers at Westpoint Wedding Extravaganza on the 24th and 25th February
Here’s to the next year!
Photo Credits
Modern Love Styled Shoot: Capture Weddings
South West Wedding Awards: Steven Rees-Webb Photography
Sustainable Wedding Summit: Zoe Mills Photography
