Everything you need to know before we begin

Custom Invitations are for couples who want an entirely original design created around their wedding. Ready-to-Wed is our semi-custom collection, beginning with an established design and offering a more focused range of personalization at a lower starting investment. Wedding-Day Details can continue the visual story from your invitations or begin with a new direction created especially for the celebration.

You do not need to have every detail decided. A confirmed date and venue, an idea of the wedding paper you may need, and any inspiration you already have are enough to begin. That may include a planner’s design board, venue images, floral ideas, colors, fashion, interiors, or details that feel meaningful to you. From there, I’ll help you find the right place to start.

I’ll review your wedding details, the pieces you’re considering, and the timing of the project. From there, we’ll talk through the best way to work together, your ideas for the wedding, and the guest experience you want to create before I prepare a proposal for the project.

Custom Invitations are an entirely original design experience. We begin with the setting, atmosphere, colors, and meaningful details of your wedding, then develop the artwork, typography, paper, print methods, and finishing details specifically for your celebration. The visual story can begin with the save-the-date and continue through the invitation suite and into the wedding day.

Custom projects are often reserved about a year before the wedding, especially when save-the-dates, invitations, and wedding-day details will all be part of the project. Beginning early gives us time for original artwork, specialty printing, custom shapes, and more layered details.

Custom pricing depends on the number of pieces in the suite, quantity, paper selections, print methods, original artwork, custom shapes, and finishing details. As a guide, 100 three-piece Custom invitation suites currently begin around $2,800 with digital printing, $4,300 with letterpress, and $5,200 with letterpress and foil.

Your proposal will be created around the invitation suite and the guest experience you want to create.

Ready-to-Wed is our semi-custom collection. Each suite begins with an established design, then is personalized through the options available for that suite, which may include wording, colors, paper, print methods, envelopes, typography, and finishing details.

Ready-to-Wed begins with an established design and offers a more focused range of personalization than fully custom stationery. This allows for a lower starting investment and often a shorter timeline, while still including personal guidance, the finest papers and materials, and beautifully made wedding paper.

Personalization varies by suite. Depending on the design, you may be able to change wording, colors, paper, print methods, envelopes, typography, and finishing details. Original artwork, significant layout changes, or an entirely new design direction are part of the Custom Invitation experience.

Around six months before the wedding gives plenty of time for personalization, proofing, production, and mailing. Because the design is already established, Ready-to-Wed can often move on a shorter timeline than fully custom stationery.

Yes. I can create an original direction for the wedding day that feels connected to the setting, atmosphere, colors, and overall look of the celebration. The new pieces will sit beautifully alongside your invitations while remaining distinctly their own.

Wedding-day details may include ceremony programs, seating displays, escort cards, menus, place cards, table numbers, signage, linen bar pieces, wrapped surfaces, napkins, matchbooks, coasters, and larger custom installations. Each piece is created for the space where your guests will experience it and the part it plays in the overall look and feeling of the wedding.

It’s best to begin soon after your invitations are mailed, especially if the project includes custom signage, linen pieces, specialty printing, or larger installations. Guest names, menu selections, and final seating details can be added later. Starting early gives us time to plan each piece for the ceremony, reception, tables, and other spaces your guests will experience in person.

For larger pieces such as seating charts, escort displays, and custom signage, I most often coordinate directly with your wedding planning team so they have everything needed for installation on the wedding day. For select Hawaiʻi Island and Chicagoland celebrations, I can also provide installation when the piece or setting calls for it.

The paper is an important part of every invitation suite. Our standard stock is a beautiful 120 lb eggshell paper in white or ivory, with a soft texture and lovely weight in your hands. From there, we may use 100% cotton papers, richly colored stocks, specialty papers, handmade papers, or layered and duplexed pieces depending on the design and print method.

Envelopes are chosen with the same care, from classic neutrals to a wide range of colors, with options for custom liners, specialty printing, addressing, and other details that make the envelope part of the invitation experience from the moment it arrives.

Your wedding paper may include digital printing, letterpress, foil, embossing, sculpted embossing, engraving, white ink, or a combination of several methods.

Each creates a different look and feeling, from the soft impression of letterpress and the shine of foil to the dimension of embossing or the crisp detail of engraving. I’ll guide you toward the print methods that work best with the artwork, papers, and overall look of your wedding.

Yes. An invitation suite may pair letterpress with foil, digital printing with embossing, white ink with richly colored paper, or several methods across different pieces.

Combining print methods can add texture, depth, dimension, or emphasis to particular artwork or typography. I’ll help you choose the combination that works best for the design and the finished suite.

Not at all. You may already know that you love letterpress or handmade paper, or you may simply know how you want the invitation to feel when your guests open it.

I’ll guide you through the papers and print methods that suit the design, show you how the different choices affect color, texture, depth, and the finished look, and help you choose the combination that feels right for your wedding.

Wedding invitations are typically mailed 8–10 weeks before the wedding, with additional time often helpful for destination weddings or celebrations that require more travel planning.

We’ll work backward from your wedding date, RSVP deadline, and production schedule to establish the right mailing date, so you know when your guest list and final approvals will be needed.

Once your designs are approved, digital printing can take up to three weeks. More detailed printing and finishing, including letterpress, foil, embossing, custom shapes, and suites combining several methods, can take up to five weeks.

We’ll plan the design and approval timeline around the production methods you choose so your invitations are ready when you need them.

Yes. Guest addressing, return addressing, and envelope liners are included as standard in our invitation packages. Ribbons, wraps, wax seals, and other finishing details can be added depending on the suite.

Full assembly is included with Custom Invitations and can be removed if you prefer to assemble the suites yourself. Ready-to-Wed does not include assembly as standard, but it can be added to your order.

We’ll determine the postage your finished invitation suite requires based on its size, weight, shape, and thickness. You can choose standard postage or vintage stamps selected to complement the colors and visual story of the wedding.

If you purchase postage through us, assembled invitations can arrive stamped and ready to mail. For fully assembled suites, I recommend taking them directly to your local post office rather than placing them in a collection box, especially when they include specialty papers, layered details, or vintage postage.

Your invitation quantity is based on households, rather than your total guest count. Couples and families receiving one invitation together generally need one suite.

I recommend ordering a few extras for keepsakes, photography, last-minute additions, address changes, or anything that may come up after printing. We’ll review your quantity together before the order moves into production.

Additional invitations can usually be ordered, but it is much easier and more cost-effective to include a few extras in the original production run.

With print methods such as letterpress, foil, and embossing, a later reorder may require another press setup and production run, making a small quantity considerably more expensive per invitation. I’ll help you plan the original quantity with this in mind.

Yes. You do not need to arrive knowing exactly how everything should be worded.

I’ll guide you through names, hosting language, formal titles, reply details, wedding websites, dress codes, and other wording decisions that come with an invitation suite. We can also work through family circumstances or etiquette questions that do not fit neatly into a traditional example.

You’ll receive carefully prepared proofs showing the wording, layout, colors, and design details of your invitation suite. We’ll work through the revisions included with your service, and you’ll approve a final proof before anything moves into production.

Once the final proof is approved, changes may require additional production time or cost, so I’ll make sure you know exactly what to review before giving final approval.