Our services
Wedding Stationery Design
I create personalized suites of printed stationery that capture the overall feeling of your wedding. This will include wedding invitations of course, and usually many other coordinating details – if it can be designed, we will work together to visually make these items work together to set the tone of your wedding.
Wedding stationery includes but is never limited to:
Save the Dates
Menus
Place and Escort Cards
Seating Charts and Signage
Personalized cocktail napkins and linens
Light Projections
Personalized confections and favors
Welcome items for guests’ hotel arrival
As a graphic designer,
I will not limit you to previously created designs and ideas. You need not flip through albums of invitations chosen by many others, nor be limited to a library of set colors, materials or designs.
There are multiple ways to print, and you are probably most familiar with the digital and offset printing found in the day-to-day office copies, magazines and newspapers, and available online for holiday greetings and social parties. But there is a whole world of available print processes and combinations that allow you to create texture and elevate the quality of your invitations.
Our print capabilities include:
Engraving
Letterpress
Foil stamping
Screen printing
Etching
Giclee Fine Art printing
Laser- and Die-cutting
Finishing such as foil- and edge-painting, deckled or beveled edges, gold-leafing and dip-dying
My skills are based in graphic design and typography,
but 20+ years working in print allows me to expertly guide you through the merits of engraving, foil-stamping, letterpress and any combination of which, and the materials best used in conjunction to create a high-quality piece of art for your guests to enjoy from the moment they receive it until the day of your wedding.
Fine Art
Custom artwork is a truly unique way to personalize your wedding and may come in the form of an illustration, painting, watercolor, or calligraphy.
There are no square pegs being forced into round holes here.
If it is not in my skill-set, I am fortunate to have surrounded myself with a bevy of talented artists. As creative director, I am able to source the style that fits your aesthetic and incorporate that artwork with the typography, materials and print that we provide. In many cases, this also results in a truly one-of-a-kind piece for you to treasure as artwork in your home for years to come.
Addressing
Let us get those envelopes addressed – we can print them or we can have one of our skilled calligraphers hand scribe them for some serious “wow, I am going to open this immediately” factor.
This is not a task for the faint of heart.
It involves preparation, attention to detail and patience. Quite frankly, we kill it on this one! This is a multi-step process that we are happy to hold your hand through from beginning to end. Need help organizing your guest list? Check! Need help with formatting? Check! Have questions about etiquette and “how do I word this?” Checkity-check-check! We can even facilitate the transition of your guest list into a multi-use document for tracking your RSVP’s and organizing your seating arrangements when the time comes.
Fulfillment/Mailing
There is a skill involved in carefully assembling your invitation ensemble and getting them in the mail. It’s not exactly hard work, but it is meticulous and time-consuming. In many instances it involves a careful eye and diligent double-checking.
We have a three-step process that assures your invitations evolve from separate stacks of printed paper, into a collated parcel safely delivered to the USPS, perfectly and on time.
Step one is an analysis of the list – who gets what? Do they receive a rehearsal dinner or brunch insert? Are they from out-of-town and receive separate accommodations details?
Step two is a double check of the addresses, assigning each household a number and coordinating the RSVP cards to the master list.
We take this very seriously,
especially these days when couples invite different groups of guests to multiple weekend events and possibly send varying items from envelope to envelope.
Step three is done in tandem – one of my team assists me in reading the list, while we collate and double-check the contents being stuffed into the envelope. Finally, a third look at the guest list as we seal, confirm the correct postage, stamp and deliver to the post office. When possible, we consistently use the same post office – they allow us to hand-cancel our invitations, which cannot be expected at all post offices. Ours just happens to like us (and we bring them wine during the holidays ;)
Timelines
It’s our job to make sure each project is produced in enough notice so that your guests, and you, get enough notice. Of course your invitations need to be mailed before the wedding.
But do you know how early? And did you know that it greatly depends on when your venue needs a head count. And how long it takes to assign your attendees seating, and be able to organize and produce seating charts, place and escort cards?
Every timeline is unique and we help you navigate these logistics.
We’ll look at how many of your guests are traveling, and from how far. We’ll help you decide the information that is pertinent to include on save the dates well before your wedding. And thus, when to send your invitations so that guests have enough time to receive and respond. Most importantly, we will communicate clearly how long it takes to produce each item, whether it be engraved, or letterpressed, or being addressed by a calligrapher. Attention to a predetermined timeline not only keeps everyone on schedule, but also ensures that items are produced and fulfilled perfectly, without rush, and plenty of time for a discerning eye to catch and correct imperfections.
Postage
You can have control over the look of your postage and are not limited to the current offerings of the USPS. We have options for printing postage stamps that coordinate with your ephemera, or curating a collection of vintage/retired postage stamps to create an interesting color or story.
Although I enjoy when the post office releases their artistic homage
to whichever state or historical public figure is being celebrated this year, the designs do not always lend themselves to weddings. This is the icing on the cake. You have paid attention to every detail, and then to embellish the design with a clashing ‘Frogs of the Midwest’ or ‘American Great Generals’ stamp seems like a slow clap at the end of Bocelli’s Ave Maria.