I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Haley and Emilee of Mint & Lovely Studios during Explore North Workshop. They helped us plan the beautiful styled shoot and provided all the stunning stationary. Their work was fabulous but what I appreciated even more were their kind hearts and sweet personalities. They are bringing so many creative ideas to the wedding world of Wisconsin and I’m honored to feature them on today’s Vendor Love!

When did you start M + L?
Mint & Lovely was born in 2014 from an idea that Milwaukee deserved not only beautiful events, but the opportunity to invest in unique and one of a kind experiences. We are believers in empowering other women and supporting local businesses. Our company specializes in event design + coordinating paper goods along with hosting several workshops and classes throughout the year.

What interested you about your craft? Why start your own business?
We actually met each other by chance at an event for a mutual friend. We soon realized that we had a shared passion for designing beautiful weddings and events which compelled us to leave our full time jobs and launch a design studio where we could bring our client’s creative visions to life.

What kind of schooling/training have you had?
Haley: I was in sales for many years and realized pretty quickly that it wasn’t a fulfilling job for me. I had been searching for an opportunity to make my passions into a career and after meeting Emilee, I realized it was a great fit. We both believe in creating one of a kind items and experiences for our clients that truly set us apart from any other wedding services in the Milwaukee area.

Emilee: Deciding to go into business together was a natural fit. Our mutual love of well designed, beautiful events and spaces was the first thing that drew us together but as we started to talk more about our passions we began to see that our strengths play off of each other perfectly (Haley with marketing and business, me with graphic design). I had been searching for a way to launch a business that would allow me to use my talents and passions to service the Milwaukee area and Mint & Lovely has become just that.

How would you describe your style?
We combine intentional and personal details with a touch of traditional style and modern simplicity.

What are some of your unique offerings?
In addition to wedding invitations and stationery, our workshops have become one of our most popular offering that we host throughout the year. They are an in person learning experience held in beautifully styled spaces featuring some of our favorite creatives. With our most recent workshops focused on the art of calligraphy, we met a lot of engaged women who loved spending an afternoon learning a new skill that they could apply to wedding projects!

Favorite part of weddings (or the wedding planning process?)
We love incorporating details that are unique to the couple that make their day feel special to them. From shared interests to giving a nod to the place they met, we love finding ways to intertwine those personal details into everything, from their invitations to the table numbers and wedding day stationery.

Favorite business experience?
Our most memorable and unexpected accomplishment was being recognized by Wisconsin Bride Magazine in 2015 as their Best Newcomer to the Wisconsin Wedding Scene. Being a business that was only a year old at the time, we were surprised and delighted that our hard work was not only being well received, but appreciated too!

Any Helpful Tips for Brides?
We are big believers in encouraging brides to be true to themselves and their style. Don’t feel like you have to include certain trends in your wedding just because you see it on Pinterest or it’s what your friends did. Our favorite wedding invitations and designs have been the ones that are one of a kind and totally unique to the couple.

What is in store for Mint & Lovely’s future?
Along with designing authentic and thoughtful weddings, we see M&L reaching the market in a big way through our workshops and classes. We’ve been met with nothing but rave reviews as we provide these fun opportunities for local creatives and we know it’s something Milwaukee needs.

Tell us more about Emilee & Haley!
Fun fact: we decided to start Mint & Lovely after one meeting over a drink. We only knew of each other through mutual friends and took a leap of faith based on our shared dreams of bringing something unique to the Wisconsin wedding industry. Just six months later we were officially launching our company. Since then Haley had a little boy (with another on the way in October), Emilee adopted an adorable labradoodle named Nova and we’ve both annoyed our loving husbands with multiple projects we dream up for our events.

Additional advice for women trying to advance their career in the creative industry:
Have a passion for what you’re doing and don’t let fear of failure stop you from getting exactly what you want. Event design is a relatively new concept to the Midwest and forging our own path has had its major ups and downs. Our passion for what we do is what drives us to keep going, even on the hard days. You’d be surprised at what you’re capable of when you give yourself the chance.

Details about your business:

Website: www.mintandlovely.com

Facebook: facebook.com/mintandlovely

Instagram: @mintandlovely

Hours: 9am-5pm M-TH

Their latest workshop is Flourish: A Modern Calligraphy Workshop. Haley and Emilee are big believers in supporting one another and they want to see YOU at their July calligraphy workshop in either Madison or Milwaukee! Sessions will be held July 9th and 10th in Madison, July 30th and 31st in Milwaukee. All you wonderful readers will receive a special discount code!! Visit mintandlovely.com/flourish and use discount code: flourishcreatives to receive your discount.