What I learned from an Eric Church concert about designing wedding invitations

One of my goals with designing wedding invitations is to design for a celebrity wedding. Being in the middle of the Midwest, I think it’s a pretty lofty goal. But if I don’t put it out there, it won’t happen. So I’m putting it out there (still looking at you, future Mrs. Brittany Mahomes).

And with the title of my blog post, you would think my post would be about designing wedding invitations for Eric Church. It’s not. But it is a great story about what I learned about designing wedding invitations.

It’s not about design at all, actually. It’s about following your heart.

Corporate Benefits

A few years ago, my friend asked me to join her in her law firm’s corporate suite at an Eric Church concert. She didn’t have to ask me twice. I got all cute and joined her and some of her partners in the suite. This friend of mine and I go a long way back with attending country concerts. She and I may or may not have snuck backstage at a Kenny Chesney concert. But we have no proof either way.

Regardless, as I was sitting in the suite I was meeting so many great people. People who work in the corporate world. Very different than my work-from-home-work-for-myself world. They had great jobs with great businesses here in Omaha. They were all very successful and connected and I started to get a little envious. How amazing would it be to get benefits of working at a great corporate business? I was sitting watching Eric Church because of one of these great businesses. I used to work at one of these businesses and I loved those perks. Concerts. Fancy parties. Great tickets to athletic events. Meeting other super successful people.

The question came into my head again: Should I go back to a real “job job”? One with perks and benefits and not worrying about if i would make money that month?

Then Eric Church spoke to me

Not literally. But in a way, I kinda thought he was talking to me. On stage, Eric brought up the fact that he used to play at the little casino across the river from the large event venue he was performing at that night. He would play for nothing but tips. There would be like 50 people there, but he played because he loved it.

He loves to sing country music and he followed that passion. No perks. No corporate benefits. High risk. Smoky bars. Long nights. Endless travel. Sketchy hotels.

If you’ve ever seen Eric Church perform live, you know how passionate he is about his music. The guy played for three hours that night. THREE HOURS. He stood there playing hit after hit, pounding on his heart, closing his eyes, singing like this was the last concert he was ever going to do. There is nothing else in the world this man should be doing.

At that moment it hit me hard. The risk is high to follow your heart. It’s not easy…it can be long nights and being unsure about yourself. It’s no promised paycheck and uncertainty on what the next year will bring. But if he didn’t play at those small venues and keep going after what his heart wanted…heck, it could be Eric Church the insurance salesman. But it’s not. He probably had the same question I had multiple times…should I go back to a “job job”?

I haven’t looked on LinkedIn since

Before that night, I would randomly browse over to LinkedIn and check out the jobs. My brain would go to the “what if” area. After seeing and hearing Eric Church that night, I haven’t done that. He made me realize that I’m following my passion. And designing wedding invitations is what I’m suppose to be doing. Because how can you make it to the big stage without following what you love to do?

My perks look different than the corporate world. And I still hope friends invite me to concerts (I miss me some concerts right now). That night made a big difference in my business. So thanks, Eric Church. I love your music and I love your passion.