RSVPs, announcements, menus, placecards, save the dates, maps, thank you notes- A lot goes into your wedding stationery! Since the invitation is the first impression your guests will receive of your special day, it is important to figure out what your style is and everything else will fall into place. Start looking early, save some images from your favorite blogs, and start meeting with some stationery artists.
Here is a short interview with some of our members:
1. Tell us a little bit about your history and how you got started.
Spilled Ink Press started out as a hobby, as I think many small businesses do! I was designing and making invitations for friends when many of my girlfriends were getting married… then it spread to coworkers… then it spread to friends of coworkers… and before you knew it, I was handing in my resignation at the day job and Tony and I have been doing it full-time ever since (going on 4 years now!).
2. What do you love about working with couples for their big day?
Definitely meeting all the brides and grooms and learning about how their tastes will be reflected into their big day. The invitations (and/or Save the Dates) are usually the first glimpse guests have at what kind of party they’ll be attending, it’s fun translating the vibe of the day and the couple into a graphic-paper format.
3. What is your most popular product/service, what makes your business unique?
Our most popular invitation is our pocket design. It’s simple, unique and has all the pieces of information that the couples’ guests need in one cute package. We set ourselves apart because we approach the invitation design (and pricing) from an all-inclusive standpoint. It’s not a bunch of pieces of a paper tossed into an envelope- it’s a comprehensive design- an invitation, a reception card, a map and accommodations card, and an RSVP. All of our invitations have these components. They need to work together and look fabulous as a whole, not as after-thoughts.
4. What details should the couple have figured out before meeting with you?
Generally when the couple comes to me they have their venue figured out, the day decided on, and they are starting to zero in on colors and the overall vibe of their big day. Often times we solidify that vision as the invitation design transforms, which is always fun! The couple shouldn’t be intimidated by the design process though, I’m here to help them with that. In the end, the invitations just need to be true to who they are, and that’s the easy part- I can do the rest!
5. What kind of questions should couples ask during their interview with you?
Aside from the fun stuff like design, I like to discuss a couple’s timeline and make sure we’re on the same page for when they should be mailing the invitations and how long we have to design. Everyone’s schedule is different, some couples come to me really early in the process and some come to me a bit later.
1. Tell us a little bit about your history and how you got started.
When my husband (iHub, also know around the shop and our house as “Minister of the Office Of Fun”) and I got married 5 years ago, I helped to design and assemble our invitations. I had them letterpress printed by a local printer, and knew when I saw them that I wanted to learn how to do it. I took several series of classes at Columbia in Chicago where I learned to work with cylinder presses, type, and plates, and also helped out up at the Platen Press Museum in Zion where Paul Aken taught me my platen press chops. I wouldn’t necessarily claim one particular moment of insight when I realized I wanted this to be my full-time job, but everything just sort of coalesced: my lifelong love of paper and desire to own a card shop, all my years experience with graphic design, my (apparently) genetic desire to be a business owner, and the fact that I love to get dirty and tinker with dangerous equipment. Although I did start out wanting to run the most sustainable business I could, I didn’t start out thinking I would get involved with wedding invitations. So far I have been pleasantly surprised by how cool and non-bridezilla-esque my clients have been.
2. What do you love about working with couples for their big day?
My clients are constantly pushing me to expand my design abilities. I’m not the sort of person who wakes up with five different ideas for cute letterpress note cards. I really need people to come to me with seemingly disparate ideas (turquoise and zebra stripes! safari and script! 60s and mustangs!) in order to get my design gears going and turn them into something cohesive and unique. As an introvert, the part of my business that I initially dreaded the most (meeting and talking with clients) has turned out to be the part that I enjoy the most – when they receive their finished pieces and exclaim “These came out even better than we thought they would!”
3. What is your most popular product/service, what makes your business unique?
Probably my Show Poster wedding invitations. Since a lot of my design skills came out of creating posters for my band’s shows back in New York, I’m able to translate that into really unique layouts for wedding invitations. People love the foldout poster style format with the perforated “RSVP ticket.”
4. What details should the couple have figured out before meeting with you?
Really the most important bits are the wedding date, a general idea of budget, and any ideas about colors, themes, imagery, and level of formality. As long as we can get a schedule worked out and a basic pricing structure, all the small details can just evolve with the custom design process.
5. What kind of questions should couples ask during their interview with you?
Assuming couples are interested in planning a sustainable event, they should ask any potential paper company about their stock papers and print methods. Asking specifically about recycled content, bleaching process, and ink components is a good place to start. We have a whole section on our website dedicated to eco terminology definitions (
http://www.tweedlepress.com/definitions/
) – it’s really important for couples to educate themselves about buzz words so they can tell if potential vendors really know what they’re talking about. Other things I usually like to discuss with potential clients are whether or not they have any specific scheduling requirements (like a destination wedding or other reason to send out invitations early), whether they are planning to send Save The Dates, if they think they will be needing any coordinating “Day Of” items such as programs, menus, or escort cards, and if they think they would need to see a “press proof” of their invitations before actual production (for couples that may be extremely picky about ink colors).
I love all of these but especially that last example. What gorgeous detail and amazing letterpress work! These are really lush.