We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Frances Ledgewood. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Frances below.

Frances, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

My business, Ledgewood Fine Stationery, specializes in luxury wedding invitations and stationery. Over the past decade we have seen lots of trends come and go! Currently, incorporating venue watercolors is very popular! We love this specialized and personal addition to our paper goods. Not only does it add a unique touch, but is simply beautiful! Not only can the watercolor be used on the wedding invitation suite, but we can incorporate it on day-of items such as programs, welcome signs, and more!

Frances, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Frances Ledgewood and I was born and raised in the creative haven of Florence, Alabama. I graduated from the University of North Alabama. I have been working in the stationery industry for over two decades and have worked with thousands of brides throughout my career. As a high schooler, I was so lucky to find my passion for pretty paper when I began working at a little party store in my home town. I was able to work with brides planning out their paper goods and I was HOOKED. I loved the process of creating beautiful paper goods, from the first bridal consultation to all the planning and designing in-between and then the final product! Gosh, it’s just the best process!

Working in the stationery industry since I was in high school has enabled me to have a vast knowledge of stationery and invitation etiquette. Not only that, I LOVE designing custom invitations for my clients. After Brent and I got married in 2014, we moved to the Huntsville, Alabama area and word spread about my design skills and passion for paper. In 2015, one thing led to another and Ledgewood Fine Stationery was born! God had the best timing for my business and my dream job to become a REALITY – my OWN business!

Ever since, I have been creating and designing beautiful paper goods for my dear brides. Along the way I have made such wonderful friendships with my clients that I will forever cherish!

My husband, Brent, and I have three children, Sadie, Wesley, and Sophie (and two fur babies Sassy and Sparky). When I’m not creating pretty paper goods, I enjoy spending quality time with my family such as painting nails with Sadie, throwing ball with Wesley, or running after Sophie. When time allows, I enjoy cuddling up on the couch with Brent and watching a good movie while snacking on my favorite special treat… chocolate.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I absolutely LOVE paper, design, and weddings. I am so extremely fortunate to love my job and career SO much. I do believe this shines through my personality, work, and correspondence. Personally, I thrive off of organization and communication. With this in mind, I in turn deliver top notch organization, communication, and efficiency to my clients. They are top priority in my business and making sure their paper goods exceed their expectations and not only that, but their experience with Ledgewood Fine Stationery is nothing short of amazing. If you mix all these things together – each client should have a remarkable experience. Not only have I worked with awesome clients, but so many wedding vendors. Each vendor has enjoyed my process, communication, and overall end product – they then come back and want to work with me more! This has spread throughout the years and has built a reputation that I am dependable, organized, and talented in the realm of wedding invitations and stationery…. all things paper!!

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

From as far back as I can remember I have LOVED stationery. From doodling snail mail to my cousin as a child, to my first invitation I designed in high school. During college I found myself designing invitations for friends. After graduation, I became the stationery designer for a department store. I LOVED IT. But, once my husband and I got married, I moved an hour and a half away from what I thought was my “dream job.” When I moved to Huntsville, I got a marketing/design job at a mortgage company. I remember one day on my lunch break, I walked out of the office and had a moment of just standing and thinking to myself “WHAT AM I DOING HERE.” I was not being creatively fulfilled. Soon after that moment, I had several friends reach out to me wanting me to still design their invitations for their weddings and special events, even though I had moved away! At that point, Ledgewood Fine Stationery became a reality.

I was working LATE nights after I got home from my marketing job at the mortgage company to design and fulfill my invitation orders. Luckily, my boss at the mortgage company saw my potential and encouraged me to pursue my dreams of owning my own business!! I was able to go part-time doing only their designing and work Ledgewood Fine Stationery part-time. Quickly, I saw it was hard to juggle both as my business was becoming more and more busy with orders. After awhile, I made the scary decision to go full time with LFS! Wow. It was scary – but, SO fulfilling. It’s been nonstop since then and I have enjoyed being able to do exactly what I love for a living.

Owning your own business is not for the faint of heart. You wear SO many “hats” and have lots of responsibilities that go far beyond just the designing and production. I am very thankful my side hustle became my full time business, but it took lots of work and countless amounts of hours, days, months, and years to get to where I am today!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ledgewoodfinestationery.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ledgewoodfinestationery
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ledgewoodfinestationery
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@ledgewoodfinestationery

Image Credits
Lauren Tomasella Photography (stamps and Frances pictures) AL Weddings (navy invitations) Twenty Oaks Photography (blue and gold invitation) Hannah Miller Photography (black and white invitations and script invitations) Be Light Photography (light blue invitations / white and gold invitations) Leslie Hollingsworth Photography (dark green envelopes)