UK Creative Contemporary Wedding Blog, Directory & Show

We at National Vintage Wedding Fair love to share with you companies we love and think you will too. Today is the turn of one of our sponsors, Magikal Moments. We took time to ask founder Gary a few questions about the business…

NVWT: Tell us about yourselves and your business.

My name is Gary Williams, and I am a freelance graphic designer from Newcastle upon Tyne. I sell on my own website Magikal Moments and also on Etsy, Folksy and Notonthehighstreet. My business is wedding stationery and personalised posters, mostly of a vintage/retro styling.

I’m based in a building called “The Biscuit Tin” in Sandyford, Newcastle. It’s an artist studio complex which houses 40 studios – all packed with people who are doing something of a creative nature.

NVWT: What made you start your business? Was it a dream job that you always wanted or something you fell into?

After looking at a lot of wedding sites and blogs around this time and also enjoying the experience of designing my own invites, I decided to design some themes and put them up on Etsy. After such a positive response, I just kept on growing the business, adding new designs and things of a wedding nature such as seating plans and thank-you cards. I then put them up on Folksy, and signed up with Notonthehighstreet. Again the orders just kept coming in, so I started doing personalised posters which added a whole new dimension to the business.

Once I had enough products to warrant a stand alone website, I put that together along with a developer so that people could contact me direct and I could have everything together under one roof. I never imagined doing this, but just went with it once it took off. As I also have experience of working in a printers, it’s good that I can offer the design and printing all in one package.

NVWT: Why weddings? What do you love about them?

I started the business after designing my own wedding stationery back in 2012. The thing that I love about weddings is that it’s probably going to be one of the happiest days of your life, getting all your friends and family together in one place to witness you making a commitment to someone you love, and then to round it off with a big party. It also gives people the opportunity to put their own personal stamp on the day by how they theme the invites, and how they decorate the venue.

NVWT: What inspired you and your business to embrace the vintage theme?

Personally, I just like things that look out of time. They seem to have an untold history that inflames the imagination. Give me vinyl over CD’s and MP3’s any day.

NVWT: What is the best thing about running your own business?

Without doubt the freedom!

NVWT: What has been your biggest achievement to date?

I think my biggest achievement is that out of the hundreds of jobs I’ve done, I’ve not had one person who wasn’t happy with how their wedding invites / stationery turned out. I’ve had so many nice messages from customers, that it makes me glad to have helped them out.

NVWT: Where do you want your business to be in the future: any plans you can share?

I think it’s just a case of growing it organically, adding new themes and designs to the existing range when inspiration comes along. I’m quite careful that I don’t just want to put everything but the kitchen sink online. I’d rather it was a smaller selection where quality control was exercised.

NVWT: Finally, we have to ask – are you married?

Yes I’m married, to a lovely wife called Anna, and we have a little boy called Benjamin.