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{Sponsored} Once upon a time, a boy and girl became best friends and fell in love. They wished upon a star to spend the rest of their lives living happily ever after.

Lisa Baker, 24, and Cody Hytinen-Durst, 30, met while living in a Florida housing community for adults with special needs. Their friendship blossomed as they shared a love of Disney and dancing. When Cody’s family moved across the country, the pair were forced apart for two years. The love between them never faded, but grew stronger, and they were determined to spend the rest of their lives together.

Cody’s parents found a way to reunite them in Michigan and their long wait to see each other ended in a joyous reunion at the airport in September of 2020. Soon after, a surprise marriage proposal had the two planning and dreaming about their happily ever after.

The realities of starting a life together and being financially independent seemed nearly impossible. According to Cody’s mom, Kimberly Hytinen-Durst, Cody and Lisa will lose much of their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits once they are married. Their story caught the attention of local news outlets and a GoFundMe account, Special Needs Housing for Cody and Lisa, was set up to help them with their housing.

Their love and excitement to be married is contagious and the local wedding community could not let their sweet love story go untold. A venue, a photographer, hair and makeup artists and now invitations have all been donated to help Cody and Lisa live out their fairy tale with a wedding in October of 2021.

Carlson Craft offered to provide the couple with all of their fine stationery needs for the big day. Stationery Trends is documenting the process as Cody and Lisa

begin planning their wedding. Divided into four parts, we will dive into save-the-date cards in this issue, followed by theme and color decisions that lead up to choosing the perfect invitations in the spring edition. The summer issue will report on the task of choosing wedding day accoutrements and reception details that will make the day unforgettable. And finally, with the fall issue, we will report on the day itself, with photos and all of the details.

With a vaccine on the horizon, there is a glimmer of hope that life will return to relative normal in 2021. Those in the wedding, occasion and event industry can look forward to new stationery designs from Carlson Craft for all kinds of special occasions. Wedding invitations get most of the attention and they have three new wedding releases planned for March, July and September but they’re also releasing a brand new Bella Collection in February for Spanish customers and the 2021 Holiday Collection will launch in June. Not to mention lots of online exclusive releases for graduation, personal stationery, accessories, save the dates and more happening throughout the year.

“We also decided to release a new line of free virtual cards in the spring called #happinessdelivered. These e-cards were meant to share and inspire during the frightening and uncertain times caused by COVID-19,” said Peggy Mueller, account executive at Carlson Craft.

2020 has been a tough year for everyone and gatherings and celebrations have taken a huge hit. But now, more than ever, people need to share happiness and joy. Carlson Craft is adjusting to the “new normal” and connecting with customers by offering a variety of stationery, including personal stationery and holiday cards, so even though social gatherings are down, they are still printing other kinds of greetings that keep people connected in a safe way.

Follow Lisa and Cody’s story as we document their journey through their October 2021 wedding.

To see more of what Carlson Craft can do for your wedding or special event, visit carlsoncraft.com.

© 2021 Carlson Craft