About Turnage + Watts

Your wedding invitation is more than an announcement. It is the first tangible expression of your marriage. How it feels, what it values, and what it honors.

At Turnage + Watts, we design wedding invitations and stationery for couples who care deeply about meaning, craft, and longevity. Invitations that feel considered rather than trendy. Pieces that belong as naturally in a keepsake box as they do in your guests’ hands.

Based on the Maryland Eastern Shore and serving couples throughout MD, DE, VA, and D.C., each suite is created with thoughtful restraint, refined design, and a deep respect for your story.

Heirloom Wedding Invitations, Designed With Intention

Hi! I’m Cari, the designer behind Turnage + Watts.

I’ve spent more than 30 years working in the creative industry, long before I ever designed my first wedding invitation. Over the years, I’ve collaborated with nationally recognized brands and publications, and my work has been honored with more than 40 design awards. That experience matters, especially when it comes to wedding stationery.

Weddings are emotional, detail-heavy, and full of decisions. Invitations sit right at the intersection of tradition, timing, etiquette, printing, and personal style. My role is to help you navigate all of that without it feeling overwhelming. I guide you through the process, explain what actually matters (and what doesn’t), and help you make confident choices that feel right for you.

My design style is classically romantic and rooted in tradition, but never stiff or outdated. I’m drawn to beautiful typography, thoughtful spacing, and details that feel intentional rather than trendy. I believe your invitations should feel effortless and refined, even though a great deal of care goes into every decision behind the scenes.

I don’t design for what’s popular right now. I design for what will still feel meaningful years from now, when your invitation is tucked into a keepsake box, pulled out on an anniversary, or shown to someone who wasn’t even there yet.

Meet Cari

My love story is full of unexpected twists and turns, but it’s the belief in romance and destiny that led me back to the love of my life. From our first date at our high school prom to years of long-distance dating, our story resembles a rollercoaster ride with its highs and lows.

Like a scene from a movie, a missed phone call became the turning point, altering our paths in ways we never imagined. But destiny had its own plans, and years later, a simple message on my phone sparked a flood of emotions and memories.

Reuniting over dinner, we caught up on the chapters of our lives that we missed together. And then, 36 years after our first date, we were happily married, still falling for each other every single day.

My love story

My Design Philosophy

Whether we’re working together on a fully custom suite, a semi-custom design, or a print-ready collection, the goal is always the same: to create wedding stationery that feels personal, balanced, and unmistakably yours—without overcomplicating the process.

Family and tradition shape everything I do. Turnage and Watts is named for my grandmothers, Pattie Mae Turnage and Sue Ella Watts, who always threw the best gatherings with their friends in Elon, North Carolina. Two women who knew how to bring people together, how to host with warmth, and how to make moments feel meaningful without trying too hard. That sensibility lives in my work: refined, welcoming, and quietly intentional.

I bring that same care to every couple I work with, helping you make confident choices, guiding you through details you didn’t even know to ask about, and creating a suite that feels right for you, your setting, and your celebration. It’s about creating something that feels like the beginning of your story.
I’m so glad you’re here.

The story behind

our name

Every Semi-Custom suite in the collection is named after the wonderful people who enriched my life in Elon, NC, my Grandmothers' friends.

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I married my prom date...36 years later!
(Yep, you read that right. And, I still fall for him EVERY DAY!)

36

I’ve won 47 design awards in my career.
(I’ve worked with some of the best in the luxury events industry…Departures, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, American Express Travel, and TIME Magazine.)

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Fun Facts

A few personal details, just for fun, because you should know a little about the person you’re trusting with something this meaningful.