kind words

If you’d like to share about your experience with paper forest design, we’d love to hear from you!

Where to even begin? This note is long overdue- in part because we wanted to make sure we took the time to sit down and attempt to adequately convey how exquisite the experience of working with Kelly was for us. Shortly after getting engaged, we started looking for wedding venues, which quickly pivoted into looking for a wedding planner. Searching for a wedding planner felt almost as overwhelming as planning an actual wedding. So many fell flat and felt disconnected from what Ben and I envisioned and wanted to create for ourselves and our guests. Enter Kelly and her team at Paper Forest Design. In a time when weddings tend to feel overly trendy, repetitive, and financially impossible, Kelly has managed to carve a path all her own, leading the way for the rest of us who also want more for ourselves and our “big days” than what is commonly offered throughout the wedding industry.

From an artistic standpoint, Kelly is a visionary. The lens through which she sees the world and how beautiful it can be is a gift. She took the time to understand what Ben and I wanted and made our vision even better than we could have dreamed. Every single aspect of our wedding weekend felt so intentionally curated and thoughtfully selected because that’s who Kelly is at her core. She not only sees the big picture, but she also sees all of the hundreds of little distinctions that add up to create a FEELING, not just an aesthetically beautiful event. From the planning/execution side, Kelly made us feel heard, safe, and taken care of throughout the process. She is a straightforward, clear communicator, kept us up to date, guided us through cost-saving options, and helped us decide where to invest. Her gift for detail and creativity is only surpassed by who she is as a person.

Kelly herself is a walking contradiction (in the BEST way!). She is simultaneously kind, warm, present, inclusive, deeply compassionate, a light-filled energy source, and one of the toughest, will-get-shit-done-better-and-faster-than-anyone-else, intensely detail-oriented people we’ve ever met. Trust us when we say, you want Kelly in your corner. Always. From navigating our tricky family dynamics with grace and a sense of humor, to sourcing the most beautiful pieces to add an intentional and elevated touch to the wedding decor, to introducing us to some of the most exceptionally talented vendors in the industry, to getting my veil just perfect in those final moments before I walked down the aisle to marry the person of my dreams, Kelly was there to provide a safe space, supporting us in whatever way we needed. Ben and I were able to indulgently enjoy our wedding day because we completely trusted Kelly to tackle whatever came up. Kelly’s refined experience and supreme artistry gave us the greatest gift of all- to fully lean into the joy of celebrating and be present with one another as we started our new life together. Without her, I don’t know if we would have been able to let the rest of the world slip away and focus solely on each other and our guests that evening. It was pure and total bliss. That’s not something everyone can say after their wedding, and we will never take for granted the privilege it was to experience our day so fully.

My husband and I had a running joke that turned into one of our favorite memories from wedding planning. Whenever we had decision fatigue we’d tell ourselves IKWT, which stands for “In Kelly We Trust”. What started as a silly acronym ended up being the best way to summarize our experience with Kelly. Entrusting Kelly with our wedding weekend was the single best decision we made while planning and having her at the helm set the tone for the entire process. We owe all the magic and sparkling memories we have from that weekend to her and her team! Our gratitude buckets will forever overflow with thanks to everyone at Paper Forest Design!

-Ali + Ben

Kelly sets herself apart from the mainstream world of weddings & planning in a number of ways, including but certainly not limited to, her ability to get at the heart of someone's vision—to enhance and reinvent creative wheels—and her dedication to finding new and meaningful ways to honor a couple's connection. We stumbled upon Kelly's work very early on after getting engaged. What captivated me personally was the artisan aesthetic and the fact that her work didn’t look like so many others I was seeing. There's a certain life force behind the photos we saw that we knew we wanted to incorporate in our day. Meeting Kelly added a new dimension and even more assurance that she not only has a creative, hand-picked approach, but that she truly cared about connection - the connection between us, with her, with our vendors and with the experience the day of our wedding. This was so prevalent in the questions she asked to get to know us and throughout the process, in the vendors she suggested and working relationships she managed. She’s a confident, capable "hands-on" planner. There's no other way to say it. From the dress (and its accessories) to the material of the suit to the style, to the table settings, the typography for our stationary... she volunteered her thoughts throughout the planning process and intuited our preferences. She’s sure of her skills, her processes and resources that she's nurtured over time. But importantly, if we ever had a change of heart on one item or another, she had the humility to course correct right along with us. As for her communication skills—where all the info happens—she has an ease in articulation, which so effectively keeps everyone on the same page and moves things along. Finally, I can speak for myself (and my wife!) when I say, we found an incredible friend in Kelly. Not only can her stream of creative consciousness inspire you to think differently, she's kind-hearted and real. What more could you need when planning one of the most memorable days of your life?

Michaela + Jess

‘Kelly and team, we can not possibly thank you enough or speak more highly of all that you did to make our wedding day and planning experience the most thoughtful, energized, design savvy and overall one of a kind. The countless hours you invested and your tailored and personalized approach, we could quite literally never have brought this all to life without all of your brilliant ideas, compassion and heart. Your design plans and concept boards, ongoing brainstorming and attention to every single detail brought together the vision we could only half put into words, and you made it our dream reality. On our wedding day, we felt completely at ease and present to take in every moment, because we knew we had the best planner a couple could ask for! You went above and beyond in every sense throughout the past year and we are eternally grateful for you.’

Julia + Dave

‘What a luxury it has been to have Kelly and her team’s support, guidance and elevated design sense throughout this entire process. Thank you for being such a bright, wonderful energy driving the planning, creative design and execution of everything that made our wedding day stand out from so much of what we were seeing and -did not- want to replicate. As we considered and brainstormed every detail big and small, starting with scouting our perfect location, to my dress designer you recommended, and all the moments that completely shaped our experience - having you with us along the way provided the utmost confidence in making the best possible decisions. And that our plans & design were coming together in the most cohesive and personal way. We will always remember you as part of this spectacular day and look forward to staying in touch. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, you’ve done an outstanding job!’

Kayla & Ryan

Working with Kelly was a dream and I dearly miss our planning sessions! She helped plan and design our wedding and hit all the right chic & subtle, authentic & elegant notes we were aiming for. At the beginning of the process, she helped me understand the most important design elements that were worth investing in to achieve our vision. I appreciated her sensibility for balancing the image we had for our day with our overall investment. When it came to the day-of, she blew us away with her attention to detail and all the little things that hadn't even crossed our minds. Both Kelly's designer's eye and planner’s sharpness are forces to be reckoned with! She was fabulous and we highly recommend you hire her! Thank you, Kelly!

Julie + Dillon

Working with Kelly was, in itself, a total dream. She is collaborative and communicative, her enthusiasm is contagious, and her mind is just an endless stream of wildly creative, mind-blowingly beautiful ideas. We started with a loose vision, and Kelly turned it into a reality that exceeded every single expectation. We wanted our wedding to be as unique as we are, and were overwhelmed at the prospect of transforming a barn into a dreamy & wild, calm & beautiful space, where our guests would be welcomed by the varied vibes that make us who we are. Kelly made it happen, smoothly and seamlessly, on a level that we still can't find the words to express. Every detail was beyond perfect, everything felt like the dream version of our dreams. The level of beauty and perfection is still impossible to describe. Our guests were completely blown away, as we were ourselves. I cannot recommend her highly enough to make your dreams come true!"

– M + A

We had the incredible opportunity of working with Kelly, to refresh and style our family room and guest bath. Kelly has an exceptional eye for color, textiles and accents. I completely trust her sense of style and enjoyed collaborating with her to make these spaces perfect for our family. Kelly went above and beyond to offer many options; all which created cohesive and stylish spaces that are unique to our own personal taste and preferences. Her attention to detail and natural passion for design showed through with her creative suggestions and personalized touches.  We absolutely love the final product and look forward to working with her again!

~Lindsay & Doug

interior styling // family room & guest bath // boulder, co

Kelly will exceed your expectations when helping to create any size gathering or event, whether casual or formal as well as any interior project. We have worked with Kelly on several occasions and find her to be highly creative, responsive, reliable and fun. Kelly brings a natural, refined aesthetic to all she does. Along with her network of incredible partners and resources - our continued experience has been that Kelly is highly skilled to help you execute any sized gathering or interior project exactly as you are hoping for.

— Sally

event planning & interior styling // erie, co

Kelly was absolutely incredible to work with to plan and design our wedding at the Boulder Flower Farm. Every last detail was taken care of, beautifully executed and substantially above our expectations! We were blown away with how everything came together, Kelly’s kindness and compassion, her professionalism and keeping us on track every step of the way. We highly recommend you partner with Kelly and her team for their incredible planning and design expertise.

— Kevin + Emily

event planning + design // boulder, co