Appointment
We start with a personal
appointment where you describe your vision of an ideal
wedding invitation ensemble. You may wish to bring a
copy of an invitation design you have seen or a concept
that you have to this meeting.
Choose
a design
Next
we will help you select from our available cardstock, a
color(s) and texture of paper for a custom invitation
or
you
may choose a design from one of our albums.
Choose
Font(s)
You
will need to decide on the font or a combination of
fonts to compliment your invitation style and your
personal
taste.
Choose
Ink Color(s)
We
will work with you to determine the appropriate ink
color for the invitation you have selected, whether it
is a
custom
order of an album selection.
Note: 2 standard color
printing requires an additional fee. Custom ink colors
or PMS choices are an additional
fee beyond the standard fee
with most of our suppliers.
Choose
an envelope liner if desired
If you
have decided that you would like an envelope liner you
will need to choose
from
either a solid color or we can also create a custom
monogram, photo, or motif liner to compliment your
invitation.
Determine the Quantity of Invitations Needed
A
general rule of thumb is to total the number of guests
and divide by 2, and add 25. (300 guests =
approx. 175 invitations)
Keep
in mind that the bride and groom and their parents
could come up with at least 2 more guests each
to add
to the list even once they think the list is complete.
Note: It is much less
expensive to order a few more invitations now, rather
than having to order more invitations
after your order has been
completed.
Write the Wedding Invitation
Wording
We
have over 20 years of experience in wedding invitation
etiquette. We help you through the entire wording
process:
choosing a response date, looking up the address of the
ceremony or reception if needed, helping with sticky
family
situations, helping you find the perfect wording you
match your taste and style.
Note: It is helpful if you
have ironed out the times for the ceremony and
reception, and have the correct spelling
of everyone’s names
for the invitation.
Wrapping Up Your Appointment
At the
end of your appointment we will have you sign a
contract with the details of your order outlined. At
this time you
will
end to put down a deposit of ½ of the amount of
your order.
Proofs- 3 step process
Step 1 - Pre-Proof
You will receive a pre-proof
by email, US mail, or fax. This will be a typed copy of
the wedding text that we
discussed at your
appointment. You will need to check over the wording,
times, dates, and spelling for all the
pieces of your order and
approve your pre-proof.
Step 2 - Formal Proofs
Next you will receive a
formal proof. It will be either a pdf file by email, or
a hard copy that is mailed or faxed.
This proof will be your
invitation wording in that font(s) you have chosen and
will show the outline of your
invitation for placement
purposes. Again, you will need to check these proofs
for wording, times, dates, and
spelling and make sure you
are happy with your font(s) and layout selection. We
suggest that you have
2-4 people look at your
proofs. Read it right to left and bottom to top. It is
very important to make any changes
or corrections at this time.
Step 3 – Approve your
Formal Proofs
This step is very important.
You must approve your proofs with your signature and
the date on each piece and
mail or fax them back to us.
Or you may approve them by email. Once you approve your
proofs the balance of
your order is due before
printing begins.
Order goes to Press
During this time, your order will
be in production. Album orders take from 2 to 21 days
to complete, depending on the company. Once your order
is completed, we will count and check over all the
pieces to make sure that the quality of the printing
and quantity of the order is correct.
Calligraphy
If you are using our computer
calligraphy service, we will provide you with an Excel
or Works spreadsheet setup along with a copy of our
addressing etiquette guidelines. You will be working on
this list before and during the production of your
invitations. We will give you a date for the list to be
completed, so that your envelopes can be completed as
soon as possible after your invitation order is
complete. Depending on the calligrapher’s
schedule this could take up to 2 weeks.
Maps/Direction/Accommodation Cards
Most of our clients have all this
information printed on one card if possible. This will
be much easier for your guests than having 2-3 pieces
of information to keep up with.
Map design, direction and
accommodation information are drawn and typeset. You
will be given formal proofs on this item as well.
Custom
orders
If
this component is part of a custom order, it will be
done with your Invitation Ensemble Formal Proofs so
that all of
the
order goes to press at one time. We print all the
pieces of custom orders on large pieces of cardstock.
This allows
for
one press run and provides some cost savings.
Album
orders
If you
have ordered an invitation from an album, we will
complete your maps while your invitation is being
completed
by our
supplier.
Order is ready for pick-up
When your entire order is
completed (invitations, calligraphy, maps, etc.) we
will call you to arrange a pick-up appointment. This
time frame is usually no more than 10 minutes and gives
us the opportunity to show you the final product. We
like to provide this time to you so that we may answer
any questions you might have.
One invitation ensemble is
assembled for you as an example of how to put them
together. Also, one set of your addressed envelopes
will be with your invitation ensemble for you review.
We do this so that you may see all the pieces of your
order right away and will not need to go through each
box.
Postage
We will have determined the
approximate weight of one of your invitation ensemble
so that you will have some idea as to how much postage
you will need to purchase. We suggest that you also
have it weighed again at the post office.
Note: To prevent machine canceling
which can tear and soil your outer envelopes, we
suggest that you have them hand-canceled. ALL MAIL is
machine handled, but not all mail has to be machine
post marked. You will need to ask your post office to
hand-cancel your envelopes.
