Yvette Schmitter
Google
I had a VISION for my birthday invitations - luxury linen shadow boxes adorned with silk flowers, tied with ribbon. The kind of invitation that stops people in their tracks and makes them feel something before they even open it. Because that's who I am - I don't do anything halfway.
Reached out to a certain NYC "luxury" designer, CeCi. Filled out their intake form with excitement. Had multiple calls where I painted my vision in vivid detail, sent screenshots, poured my heart into explaining what this moment meant to me. They promised a proposal in a week.
Week one: Nothing. Week two: "We'll get that to you soon." Week three: Silence. Week four: Still nothing.
Finally, after a MONTH of my time, energy, and hope - they had the nerve to tell me they "can't design what I requested" and sent me a link to their basic flat cards.
Basic. Flat. Cards.
For someone who came to them with magic in her hands and joy in her heart.
This is what they do to us. This is how it always goes. We walk into spaces with our full brilliance, our uncontainable dreams, our refusal to settle - and they try to hand us mediocrity with a smile. They expect us to be grateful for scraps when we came asking for stars.
We are expected to apologize for our joy and perform humility in ways no one else is asked to. They will try to make rules up as they go, rules that were never written until you stepped onto the court, the stage, the boardroom, the classroom.
But here's what they didn't expect: I don't shrink.
I pivoted with PURPOSE. Found @WeldonDesigns and gave them the SAME vision - no apologies, no dimming, no making myself smaller. And baby... they said YES. They said YES to my joy, YES to my vision, YES to the fullness of who I am.
The invitations they created? BREATHTAKING. Every single guest has been stopped in their tracks. People are calling, texting, posting stories. They're not just invitations - they're a statement. A testimony. A declaration that says: "I am here, I am joyful, and I refuse to apologize for it."
Don't let that stop you. Your wins are only a threat to fragile egos but to the rest of US they are a testimony - so let them testify!
To everyone reading this who has ever been told to tone it down, dim their light, or accept less than their vision deserves:
You do not owe anyone a smaller version of yourself just because your lack of mediocrity unsettles them. You are allowed to win loudly, breathe deeply, smile wholly and walk away whole. Keep your head up and keep your joy intact.
Your dreams aren't too big. Your joy isn't too loud. Your standards aren't too high. YOU are not too much.
You just need the right people who understand that your brilliance isn't meant to be contained - it's meant to illuminate everything around it. So, thank you Weldon Designs for seeing my light and giving it wings to fly. THIS is what happens when you work with people who celebrate your magic instead of trying to dim it.
To everyone else: Find your Weldon Designs. They're out there waiting to say YES to your biggest, brightest, most unapologetic dreams.
Walk away whole, loves. Always walk away whole. 💫
