Bespoke Wedding Invitation Cards

People expend enormous amounts of time and energy into planning a wedding – from the venue selection to food, décor and flowers, and of course, whittling down the guestlist (more dancing cheek-to-cheek, less dining elbow-to-elbow). And seeing as the first point-of-contact that your guests have to the result of all this effort is the wedding invitation card, you want to make a good impression; to set the mood for one of the biggest days of your life.

A PapyPress design

Going with an invitation card design offered in a wedding package is a tempting option when you’re already up to your eyeballs in food tastings and floral options, but creating a bespoke wedding invitation can be a fun way to express your creativity and personalities as a couple.

Asia Tatler spoke to four studios in Singapore that specialise in bespoke stationery – PapyPress; Kartoe; Paper Tiger Press; and The Card Room – and we asked the all important question: where should one even begin?

“Read whatever wedding magazines you can get your hands on or surf the Internet, which is a treasure trove of ideas. Pick out the ones you like and after some time, you will realise that you are always drawn to a certain style or concept,” advises Corby Tan of PapyPress Bespoke Stationery, which offers letterpress, offset and digital printing.

Emily Loke of Paper Tiger Press, a dedicated letterpress studio, agrees: “As Plato said, know thyself! It’s great when clients come in armed to the teeth with colour charts, mood boards and fabric swatches, but none of that is really necessary for a consultation. It’s my job to figure out ways to translate clients’ personalities, love stories and/or sense of style into an aesthetic concept, and ultimately into a tangible and unique work of art.”

A Paper Tiger Press design

Consultations can last anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours, allowing clients to flesh out their ideas and designers to share their experience and technical knowledge.

“It is also an opportunity for me to show my portfolios and range of paper, then I will brief the clients with a wide array of technical information so they are informed and they can use this knowledge to better enhance their ideas,” says Wendy Tandy, principal designer of Kartoe, which specialises in luxury invitations and stationery.

A Kartoe design
 

Production can take as little as a week, up to six weeks, depending on the breadth of the stationery suite (should you want more than invitation cards) and complexity of designs, so factor that into your planning schedule.

Following the first consultation, the number of design interpretations offered differs from studio to studio, though two to three is the average. PapyPress chooses to distill the marriage of your vision with their creativity into a single interpretation, while Paper Tiger Press offers about six different options. From there, most studios offer three rounds of proofs, where you can make tweaks to the design and check over the text thoroughly, looking out for grammar and the spelling of names and addresses.

“I always advise my clients to either have a fresh set of eyes proofread their last draft, or to read it aloud slowly,” advises Loke. Tan also points out that couples should consider including their parents in the process, to avoid any disagreements after the final approval is given.

In terms of cost, all the studios charge a one-time design fee, which can vary depending on how elaborate the requested design is. Printing costs also differ depending on factors such as the type of paper used and complexity of the design, so take the prices below as more of a benchmark than an absolute figure.

Here’s where to go for bespoke wedding invitations and stationery:

PapyPress

Why: PapyPress believes in simplicity and letting the couple’s personalities shine through in the design. Their hands-on service has given some couples enough confidence to entrust PapyPress with labelling and sealing invitations to be sent out, without the couple having had to lay a finger on the cards
How: After discussing ideas with the client, Papypress allocates their energy into a single interpretation – hence they encourage being candid about your likes, dislikes, and ideas, no matter how over-the-top you might think they are
Design tip: “Asians often like to squeeze too much information into a single card. There's a reason why a traditional American/European wedding stationery suite includes a save-the-date, RSVP card, etc.”
Design fee: From $200
Printing fees: Starting from about $5 for 100 pieces
www.papypress.com

Kartoe

Why: Kartoe offers highly personalised service and a readiness to explore the use of unconventional materials (they’ve done printing on acrylic and even faux leather). They also offer the option of hand-drawn and watercolour paintings
How: Two to three design concepts are offered after a preliminary discussion, and once the client has picked one, details such as colours and fonts are fine-tuned over the course of up to three revisions
Design tip: “I always tell my clients not to limit themselves to whatever they have ever seen or received. Also I would love my clients to explore multiple printing methods in one single card.”
Design fee: From $750
Printing fees: The most basic printing for couture invitations (one colour offset printing) plus an envelope costs $1,500 for a set of 100
www.kartoe.com

Paper Tiger Press

Why: As a dedicated letterpress studio that does all its own printing, Paper Tiger Press is able to design for the art of letterpress, with a deep knowledge of what elements show up most beautifully on a finished print that’s a perfect balance between fine art and elegant design.
How: Following an in-depth style consultation, three to six design interpretations are proposed. After the client chooses their favourite, it is refined over the course of three rounds of proofs
Design tip: “I’d love to see more clients embracing the use of mixed prints and patterns, and moving away from the idea that everything has to match exactly.”
Design fee: From $250 for a suite (invitation card, save-the-date card, and response card)
Printing fees: Starting from anywhere between $3 to $12 per card, depending on quantity
www.papertigerpress.com

The Card Room

Why: If you’re not ready to plunge into creating a bespoke design from scratch, their step-by-step approach allows you to mix and match from a catalogue of designs, so you can create a customised card without having to pay a full design fee
How: Consultations are kept short, and a designer is assigned to each couple so that they have a point-of-contact throughout the design process. Once the design is agreed upon, three rounds of proofs are offered
Design tip: “Decide if your wedding will have a theme or a symbol that is significant, and if there’s a colour palette to follow.”
Design fee: $80
Printing fees: From $2 per card, based on a minimum quantity of 20 cards
www.thecardroom.com.sg

Photos: Courtesy of respective design studios