So Chic

So Chic Boutique has been a Peoria area favorite for gifts and wedding supplies since 2013. The first boutique opened its doors in Morton, and four years later, a second shop was added in Peoria Heights.

Sara O’Shea, the entrepreneur behind both gorgeously curated shops, got her start in the wedding industry as an event planner with So Chic Events, founded in 2007. For 12 years, Sara has been a champion for local business, a powerhouse of ideas and local events, and a curator with a gift for making the shopping and planning experiences feel truly personal.

Now, there is even more on the horizon for So Chic:

CUSTOM INVITATION SUITES

So Chic Boutique has offered custom inhouse invitations for 3 years, but just in the past month, they have upped their game, Sara says.

“We have two, full-time graphic designers now so we can offer custom suites at a greater scale,” she says. “The timing is great because while wedding invites are our bread and butter, we can do shower invitations, signage, wedding day details, programs, etc. We can take care of all of it.” Currently, there is a huge divide among couples about how to do their wedding stationery. Many engaged couples opt to go online for invites, but Sara says that personal assistance can’t be beat.

“There are so many little nuances, and until their wedding, many couples have never had a reason to order formal stationery in their lives,” she says. “So having someone who is in stationery and can walk through what you need in your invitations is really helpful, which you can’t get with the online process. People are often surprised that they can get comparable pricing to online with the personal help.”

Photography by Kara Kamienski

WEDDING DAY INVITATIONS + PAPERS

What Sara says she loves most about offering custom invitations in-house is that they can really carry details through your whole wedding. Even if a couple purchased their invitations online or elsewhere, So Chic can still offer wedding day paper for them and match previous designs.

“A lot of the online places that do invites don’t do coordinating wedding day details so we have some brides who just work with us for wedding day paper,” she says.

Sara added that she loves the aesthetics of cohesive details. c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c “Seeing those details carried through is something people will notice,” she says. “I think that events of any size, and any budget, should still have all the style and design they deserve.”

This personalized process, and the fact that you can sit down and talk to a live person, is what sets it apart, Sara says.

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“People are being so much more creative and infusing their personalities in their stationery,” she says. “People are making them so much more personalized, like using a customized monogram or even their dog, to make it about who they are as a couple.”

If you want to work with So Chic to design wedding invitations, 6 months ahead of the big day is the ideal time to get in touch. But don’t panic if your wedding is sooner; shorter turnaround is totally doable. Once your invitations are ready, Sara recommends sending them out 8-10 weeks before your wedding.

Visit thesochicboutique.com to set up an appointment. As a lover of all things wedding, So Chic Boutique first started as an offshoot of Sara’s wedding planning services. Brides-to-be could find reception decorations and wedding essentials at the store, but over time, customers began to request even more gift options for bridesmaids, parents and event hosts.

“It’s still amazing to me how many people don’t know the stores exist and that it’s not just a wedding store,” Sara says. “It’s a full-service experience. We want you to come in and let us help you pick out bridesmaids gifts, hostess gifts, wrap the gifts, and have the whole small business shopping experience. You can still plan a party with us and buy pretty party things, but you can still shop if there’s not a wedding in your future.”

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