Adored New Jersey Wedding and Special Occasion Stationer Celebrates Ten Years of Booming Business and ‘Momtrepreneur’ Milestones
RSVP to me; the custom wedding and special events invitation couturier of Northern New Jersey is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2016. The ten-year anniversary is particularly meaningful to the founder of RSVP and proud mother of two, Kelly Adams because the occasion serves as a testament to not only her professional accomplishments but to her personal and familial accomplishments as well.
Before she was bitten by the pretty paper bug, Adams had a successful career in speech pathology. It was not until she started planning her own wedding in 2006 that she realized there was a need for a boutique service offering creative, contemporary invitations and day-of stationery solutions. To produce the stationery suite she dreamed of for her own wedding, Adams took matters into her own hands by designing and crafting her own wedding invitations. After receiving rave reviews from her wedding guests, she decided to offer her unique talents to other brides and event planners in New Jersey.
Adams’ RSVP to me business grew rapidly, and in a matter of months, she had already received dozens of requests for custom creations from couples looking for unique wedding stationery solutions. Her client-centric approach and ability to translate a couple’s unique wedding story into something visual allowed Adams to quickly earn a reputation across New Jersey as the premiere invitation couturier.
Word of Adams’ unique talents soon caught the attention of high-profile wedding industry professionals such as celebrity wedding planner and reality television personality David Tutera. In 2012 Adams designed four standout invitation suites for the brides and grooms on Tutera’s hit show, “My Fair Wedding,” and has remained one of his ultimate preferred partners. Tutera, like all of Adams’ clients, appreciated her unrivaled ability to understand a couple’s style and aesthetic and create an ideal complimentary invitation suite. Her work with Tutera opened opportunities to collaborate on other high-profile weddings, including the opportunity to design a set of wedding invitations and stationery for Dancing With the Stars dance pro Lindsay Arnold and her fiancé Samuel Cusick.
“I was beyond excited to work with Lindsay on the invitations for her big day,” said Adams. “We stayed true to all her color cues: champagne, gold, and blush pink accents, and infused trademarks of antique-type applique. Overall, it was a romantic and classic look, something that perfectly reflected Lindsay’s youthful spirit and nuanced bohemian aesthetic.”
2015 saw record growth for RSVP to me as Adams opened her second boutique location. The new Verona, New Jersey storefront shares space with several other local wedding professionals, including Gabelli Studio and Melissa D’Aloia & Co. 2015 also saw the establishment of a second wedding and special event service with her Sweets by RSVP to me business, which offers theme designed, and hand crafted candy buffets and dessert tables. Sweet by RSVP to me offers unique dessert solutions for weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and other special events. Kelly also plans to bolster her custom greeting card offerings for holidays, congratulatory announcements (births, anniversaries, graduations, etc.), and debut new wedding day-of decor, gifts, and accessories, including bridal party presents, photo albums, and guest books.
While the success of RSVP to me and its sweet spinoff has been exceptionally meaningful, Adams credits her family as her true measure of success. Alongside full days of work, she and her husband, Ray, are raising their two children, eight-year-old Reade and three-year-old Remy. Since Ray has a frenetic work schedule, Adams has learned to balance work and family responsibilities. After dropping Reade and Remy off at school, she spends full days between her at-home flagship studio and the new Verona location, before settling in for evenings spent managing hockey mom responsibilities, making dinner, helping with homework, and bath time.
“My family keeps me grounded,” said Adams. They inspire my creativity and motivate me to continue pushing for success. I want my kids to look at me and realize that you can truly take what you love and make it your career. I am proof of that.”