Meet a Wedding Vendor: Amy Civetti
For our first interview in our “Meet a Wedding Vendor” series, we’re talking with wedding stationery designer, Amy Civetti.
Amy is an artist and graphic designer based in Washington, D.C. In 2010 she graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Advertising Design. She currently works in-house at an environmental non-profit, and in the last few years she has started designing wedding stationery. She loves designing stationery pieces that deliver the aesthetic her clients want for their weddings. She finds that designing something so personal makes the final product that much more rewarding! She also creates work for HotTopic and Society6 in her spare time.
Jessica and I had the pleasure of working with Amy on conferences for years and are thrilled to be working with her again in the wedding world. Let’s meet Amy!
Amy, tell us about your business.
I am a graphic designer and have started to do more work in the wedding stationery world. Over the last few years, I've been super interested in connecting with the community in different ways and using my design skills outside of my 9-5.
How did you get into wedding stationery design?
I went to art school and have been working professionally as a graphic designer since 2010. But when I moved to DC I quickly saw lots of other designers dabbling in side gigs all over the place. It totally opened my mind up to how I could design outside of my 9-5.
What do you love about the business?
My favorite thing about the business is that each wedding has its own brand. It is so fun to design an event that is also so personal to my clients, and having them happy with the end result is really rewarding.
What should a couple know or have in mind when first looking at stationery designers?
I think they should think about overall budget and the larger event picture. A lot of my clients come to me for a save the date, but they forget that the save the date is really just step one! Beyond that there’s so many pieces and it’s good to think about the end result — do they want invitations that match the save the date? Do they need RSVP cards or will that be online? Do they want place cards or menus that go with their invitations? It’s a lot but it’s good to have those in mind at the beginning.
What do you love about the business?
My favorite thing about the business is that each wedding has its own brand. It is so fun to design an event that is also so personal to my clients, and having them happy with the end result is really rewarding.
What should a couple know or have in mind when first looking at stationery designers?
I think they should think about overall budget and the larger event picture. A lot of my clients come to me for a save the date, but they forget that the save the date is really just step one! Beyond that there’s so many pieces and it’s good to think about the end result — do they want invitations that match the save the date? Do they need RSVP cards or will that be online? Do they want place cards or menus that go with their invitations? It’s a lot but it’s good to have those in mind at the beginning.
What’s the best advice you would give your couples?
If you’re tight on money, one way to make your stationery feel super high end is to increase the paper weight. I always tell my clients they can print through a lower cost service (something like Vistaprint), but to select the heaviest weight paper on there. People notice the difference!
What is the coolest wedding design you’ve worked on?
I had a friend ask me to illustrate a map for her wedding and it was so much fun. It was really a cute piece and I loved creating something useful for her wedding day!
Do you have any advice for couples dealing with postponing their wedding due to the coronavirus?
This is so hard. I have had two friends cancel weddings and bachelorette parties and showers already. I would say to stay positive — you can get married anytime! And the people who care about you will always want to celebrate you. So try not to let the current state of the country bring you down. Keep your guests informed on your website and just try to look to the future.
What is one of your favorite elements from your own wedding?
At my own wedding I designed koozies to have at the bar since we served beer in cans to minimize the amount of glassware we offered. The koozies were snatched up so quickly! People loved them. And I still have people today tell me they took multiples home and still use them. Don’t forget that there are fun ways to add design to your wedding that aren’t just stationery.
Looking to get in touch with Amy? You can find her here:
Instagram @amycivetti
Website: amycivetti.com/contact
In our next "Meet a Wedding Vendor” video, we’ll be interviewing Annette Pinkston, a wedding stylist who will be offering some incredible advice for brides looking for that perfect dress. Stay tuned!