Bespoke wedding invitation suites
Are you in the midst of gathering suppliers and planning the biggest day of your life so far? Are you looking for someone to take the reins of stationery and produce ideas that don’t stop at stationery, but touch the entire day? I love getting stuck into a wedding from the beginning and working with you to follow it through until the thank you cards.
Limited to paper? Absolutely not. We can create wedding invitations on a multitude of materials to surprise and delight guests when they open them up. On the other hand, if what you’re after is some beautifully calligraphed invites letterpress printed on handmade paper, wrapped in silk ribbon with a calligraphy envelope, I’ve got you. Always elegant and the best of the best.
Below you’ll read what is commonly included in an invitation suite (and what’s not - in case you want to be a bit extra), the three popular printing methods for a classic invitation, inspiration photos from past invitation suites and the process from start to finish.
What’s in a wedding invitation suite?
Where to start? From save the dates to fun ‘extra information’ booklets - have a read of my guide to what should be (and what can be) included in a wedding invitation suite.
Portfolio of past work
You’re here because you like the look of my wedding calligraphy and stationery - but you’re unsure of what exactly you want and need a little inspiration? Have a skeet at some chosen past wedding work and read the captions to see the detail, different finishes and love that went into each and every one.
Printing methods
Letterpress printing
My all time favourite, first love of printing methods. Letterpress is a tactile finish which (in my opinion) evokes
a luxury feeling that no other finish can quite match.
The design is made into a ‘plate’, which is lined up on a press. The press is then inked up with our chosen colour and each blank invitation card is pressed with the design. The paper is super thick and the impression pillowy deep.
Embossing and debasing are also wonderful options, as seen on the couple’s emblem in the above photo.
Hot foil printing
Foiling is the method that gives us an impactful metallic finish and definitely speaks for itself! Foiling doesn’t have to be confined to the invitation face - we can gilt edge them too giving it a finish that has truly been considered from every angle.
Think we’re restricted to silver, bronze and gold? Think again! We can do copper, rose gold, gold in all shades, blues, pinks, greens - even holographic!
Digital printing
If we’re after lots of coloured details such as water colour and venue illustrations, digital printing is definitely the way to go. The colour choices are endless and can definitely assist in injecting personality.
Digital printing and foiling can also be combined as a best of both worlds - for those times when you need the illustration of the venue covered in lilac wisteria but also need the foil to make it pop!
I’m sold. How do we get started?
The process
What happens from the moment you enquire to the moment you hold the invitations in your hands.
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First port of call is to complete the wedding stationery questionnaire. This will give me the bare bones and let me know that:
a) I am available to be your stationer
b) we align - what you want and what I can provide/my design style need to be in tune for me to be able to work with you on such a special piece of your wedding -
Let’s schedule a call and discuss exactly what you want from your invitations. We’ll go through areas of your questionnaire and I’ll have a clear plan of the elements you want and the things you might not want.
We’ll talk extras, timelines and printing methods. I’ll get to know you both so I can make your personalities sing on paper.
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Before designing commences the non refundable design fee is due.
Following this, design evolution and timelines are crucial. You have booked me based on my past work - you already trust me - thattrust is imperative to choose a design to move forward with.
The designs I present to you will be sketches and ideas from which you will select a route to go down. You will receive a quote based on the printing methods and number of invitation elements we have agreed upon.
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Once you have given me the design I am moving forward with, I will go ahead and design the entire suite and provide a digital mockup so you can see the exact final pieces.
One round of amendments are included in your design fee so make sure that all changes are picked up on and communicated at this time. Extra rounds of amendments are charged at £50 per hour, and will be added to the final invoice.
Spelling will be exactly as it has been sent to me - so this should be triple checked!
The remainder of the invoice is due prior to printing.
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If you have chosen to have me assemble the invitations (my recommended service), I will lovingly assemble, hand finish and pack each one ready for posting.
If you’d rather assemble yourself and make an evening of it, your invitation elements will come with instructions as well as a completed invitation to work from.
Your final invitations will be sent to you tracked and requiring a signature.
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If you’ve booked me for on the day stationery to create a cohesive aesthetic with your stationery, we will agree a date at which this will be discussed and designed - usually 6-8 weeks before the wedding.
Table plans usually run a bit last minute as you will have guests added and removed until the last minute. If the table plan is to be printed, the last printing and postage dates will be communicated to you.
If the table plan is handwritten, we have a bit of leeway!