Meet Rach: The Story Behind Illustrated by Rach

3 Oct

Hi, I'm Rach 👋 the illustrator behind Illustrated by Rach.

I'm a graphic designer, illustrator and wedding artist, creating live wedding illustrations and personalised artwork for couples across the UK.

But Illustrated by Rach wasn't something I always planned to do… grab a tea, and spend a few minutes behind the artist behind the ipad!

Where it all started

My background is in graphic design, so I've always been drawn to creating things.Design, illustration, colour, typography and all those little details that make something feel personal have been a big part of my career.

It wasn't until I was planning my own wedding in 2024 that I started thinking about weddings from a completely different perspective.

I became slightly obsessed with all the little details.

The stationery.
The venue.
The personal touches.
The things our guests would actually remember.

And somewhere along the way, the idea for live wedding illustration started to take shape. I fell in love with the wedding industry, the idea that little old me could create such important memories on the biggest day of someones life.

From an idea to Illustrated by Rach

I loved the idea of creating something for wedding guests that wasn't just another favour they'd forget about.

Something personal. Something made especially for them. And something that also gave them an experience during the wedding itself. Something they actually wanted to keep.

That became the starting point for Illustrated by Rach. What began as an idea alongside my design career has grown into a business creating artwork for real weddings across the UK!

What do I actually do?

As a live wedding illustrator, I spend part of your wedding day creating personalised illustrations of your guests.

I might be drawing couples, friends, families or groups - all while your wedding day is happening around me. Guests get to watch their illustration come together and then take it home with them.

I also create artwork outside of the wedding day, including venue illustrations, portraits and personalised wedding keepsakes. I've expanded into hand-painted wedding details, including glassware, shot glasses, mirrors and signs, turning another one of my creative hobbies into a part of your special day (Us creative types really mean it when we say we can’t sit still..!)

It's become a lovely way of bringing illustration into even more parts of a wedding, and for me, an outlet for all of my creative ideas!

Why weddings?

There is something quite special about being part of someone's wedding day. I'm there for a relatively small part of it, but I get to meet so many of the people who matter most to the couple.

And because I'm drawing those people, I end up noticing all the little interactions happening around me.

The friends who've known each other since school. The grandparents. The children running around. The couple who haven't seen each other for half an hour because they've been pulled in different directions. All the little moments that make a wedding feel like your wedding.

That's what I love about it!

Based in the Midlands, travelling wherever the weddings take me!

I'm based in Staffordshire, but I don't only work locally. I've illustrated weddings across the Midlands and travel throughout Staffordshire, Cheshire, North West, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and beyond.

I'm always happy to travel for the right wedding, whether that's a country house in the Peak District, a relaxed barn wedding or somewhere completely different. I’m also open to Destination Weddings - set me up illustrating for the day in a vineyard in Tuscany.. yes please!

Some of my favourite venues have been: Eaves Hall - Clitheroe, Hawkstone Hall - Shropshire, Calke Abbey Riding School - Derby, Colshaw Hall - Knutsford.

What I want Illustrated by Rach to be

I don't want your wedding to feel like it's been pulled from a template. That's why I love working with couples who want something personal, creative and a little bit different. It’s personal, it’s hand-made (NO ai around here), it’s premium, it’s a wedding luxury.

Whether that's live illustrations for your guests, a hand-painted mirror, personalised glassware or an illustration of the venue you've fallen in love with, I want everything I create to feel like it belongs to your wedding.

And ultimately, that's what Illustrated by Rach is about: Creating little pieces of your wedding day that you can keep long after the day itself is over - but knowing that nobody else in the world has that exact same piece as you.