Smyth native helps wed ‘The Bachelor’

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

A Los Angeles design studio run by a Sugar Grove native was chosen to create the stationery for the wedding of last season’s star of the ABC television show “The Bachelor.” 
Former “Bachelor” stars Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney were married Saturday, and the ceremony was featured in a two-hour special, “The Bachelor: Jason and Molly’s Wedding” that aired Monday night.
The couple chose Tiny Pine Press, owned by Jennifer Parsons who is also its lead designer, that “fashioned the ultimate wedding stationery suite for this Bachelor couple’s televised nuptial celebration on ABC,” a statement released Monday for the studio said.
Confidentiality requirements prevented earlier disclosure of details of the wedding plans.
“Early on in the preparations for their special day, the couple met with lead designer Jennifer Parsons to create a quintessential stationery suite and help craft the themes of the upcoming wedding,” Monday’s release said. “Molly and Jason requested a design blending rustic and modern styles, within their color scheme of green, white and black. Tiny Pine Press produced a white handmade cotton card secured to a genuine wood veneer backing, with bright green silk thread wrapping each invitation. The wording of the invitation was set in a classic and yet modern all caps typeface featuring their names in an elegant handwritten script. The invitations, completely handmade, featured Tiny Pine Press’ specialty of letterpress printing, in charcoal ink.”
The stationery’s theme was carried through other elements of the event.
“At the reception, menus and escort cards echoed the same look and feel,” the statement said. “A custom pattern printed in green, lined each envelope, with the initials M + J subtly incorporated for the recipient to detect. The chic motif, designed specifically for Molly and Jason, was repeated throughout the invitation set, as the backing of the wedding dinner menus, escort cards, and even on their wedding cake.”
According to the release, Malaney was thrilled with Parsons’ work. “‘The invitation looks GORGEOUS! Thank you for ALL of your help.  You were amazing, and I haven’t stopped raving about your work,’” she said. 
Contacted in Los Angeles Monday, Parsons said she was a graduate of Marion Senior High School. She studied “some art” there, “but mostly I just studied. I was the valedictorian of the class of 1995.”
Parsons said she continued her education at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where she got her bachelor degree in radio/television/film.
“I moved to Los Angeles in 2000 and pursued a career in film until a friend and actress, Natasha Gregson Wagner, asked me to do her wedding invitations for her 2003 wedding,” Parsons said. “I started my company then, and have been a paper person since.”
Wagner is a regular television presence, appearing in “House, M.D.,” “C.S.I.,” “E.R.,” “Ally McBeal” and other series and productions.
Using simple lines, Parsons’ work is influenced by the environment in which she grew up. “I think my aesthetic is understated elegance, with some rustic qualities that come from being raised in the mountains,” she said.
In addition to Wagner, Parsons’ clients include “Mariska Hargitay and her Joyful Heart Foundation,” Parsons said. “I did Kevin Costner’s wedding invitations, and actress Jeri Ryan’s wedding invitations.”
Hargitay is “Law & Order” Detective Olivia Benson. The Joyful Heart Foundation’s Web site said she started the organization “in 2004 to help survivors of sexual assault heal their minds, bodies and spirits and reclaim their lives.”
Film star and producer Costner is known for his roles in many major movies, including “Dances with Wolves,” “JFK,” “Field of Dreams” and “Bull Durham.”
Ryan has appeared on “Law & Order,” “Boston Legal” and “Star Trek: Voyager” among other television roles.

Editor’s note: After publication, Parsons clarified that she was one of four valedictorians for her MSHS graduating class.