It all started with a Lewistown wedding, craft paper and a mind full of creativity. When a high school friend asked Sarah Prye to design her wedding invitations, the graphics designer did not realize that her creations would launch her career as an invitation designer.
Today, the Lewistown native has a successful studio that creates custom-made invitations, which have been received by well-known names like Oprah Winfrey, Lee Iacocca, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Boone Pickens, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and former President George and Barbara Bush, Prye said.
On Tuesday, her handiwork will be displayed to an even larger audience on national television.
Producers of the new reality show "Hitched or Ditched" chose Prye to design wedding invitations for the couples featured on the show. Local viewers may watch for Prye's invitations on the show at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on the CW television network. The show runs weekly through June 30.
Specializing in wedding invitations, Prye said she follows wedding television shows like the "Bachelorette."
"I sought out the producers," Prye said of last season's "Bachelorette" with DeAnna and Jesse. "I wanted to do the invitations for that wedding."
Prye said the producers were optimistic and asked to see more of her work; however, the couple broke up several months after the show, which meant no wedding invitations for Prye.
"But I had a contact at that point," Prye said of her connection with Hollywood.
In January, producers of the new "Hitched and Ditched" show contacted her to request that she design wedding invitations for the whole show, she said. Prye said she created invitations for five of the six shows.
Like the fast-paced show which asks long-term couples to plan a wedding in one week, Prye said she also had less than a week to design and complete the invitations.
"They would come to me with details on the first day," Prye said. "I'd get the colors, theme, names and where they're getting married - it's very quick."
After creating the samples, Prye said she had two days to get everything assembled and shipped off to the couple.
The artist said she works well under pressure - "it's one of my highs."
Some of the colors Prye has had to work with on the show include a white theme with red and gold accents and an all-yellow theme - which, she said, have challenged her creativity.
While she is used to designing for high end clients, Prye said she is thrilled to see her work on national television.
"It's fun to see (my invitations) on TV after doing this for a long time," Prye said. "The show is really well done despite the limited time to film."
The Indian Valley High School graduate attributes her success, in part, to her Mifflin County education.
"My art teacher at IV (James Bright) really pushed me to do something," Prye said, adding that her parents, Jane and Marlin Prye, also have been influential in her career.
After graduation, Prye attended Moravian College, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in graphic design and advertising.
On a typical day, Prye works in her studio in Lehigh Valley, in eastern Pennsylvania, where she collects "every craft supply ever imagined."
Some unusual supplies - like moss, sand dollars and sugar cubes - also have been incorporated into her designs - making every invitation into a piece of art, she said. Her invitations are sent out in boxes rather than envelopes, she said.
She displays samples of her work on her Web site, www.prye.com.
"I try to push the limits," Prye said of her invitations. "It's definitely lots of fun."
