Custom Design by Paper Pod Designs

Stationery is often the only line of communication between you and your guests before, during, and after the event. Take the wedding save the date and invitation, for example. They set the tone for your wedding and often give your guests insights that you might not think of when you choose your stationery. Not only does it announce the who, what, and where, but your guests will also get a sense of your color scheme, how formal or informal the event is, and how they should dress.

The wedding day accessories, such as the ceremony programs, escort and place cards, table numbers, seating charts, menus, and favor containers all convey essential information to your guests as well.

But most importantly, social stationery should generate excitement and tell your story. Choose Paper Pod Designs and your custom designed wedding stationery suite, from save the date to thank you note, will express your personal style while engaging your guests and conveying the important details of your wedding celebration. 

Pricing

Custom designed stationery is unique to each wedding and each client, and as such, it is also unique in pricing. Pricing is based on the intricacy of the design, the types of paper, the styles of enclosures, the materials used, and the time involved in making each piece by hand.

You can use the following as a guideline for minimum pricing on 100 invitations, using stock (not custom) graphics:

An invitation suite that includes a pocket fold® enclosure, printed invitation, 2 information cards, a response card, a response envelope, and an outer envelope starts around $700 for 100.

An invitation suite that includes a backing layer behind a printed invitation, one info card, a response card, a response envelope, and an outer envelope starts around $500 for 100.

An invitation set that is a single flat card printed piece, a response card, a response envelope, and an outer envelope starts around $300 for 100.

Please keep in mind that these prices can vary greatly depending on the type of paper you choose. There are ways to trim costs such as using a response postcard, saving you on both postage and envelopes, and using less expensive papers and fewer layers and info cards or no enclosures.

Please see this page to find out more about different lines of ready-to-customize stationery that I offer online. Some of these lines have very affordable and stylish options if custom design isn't in your budget!

Process

Timeline

Save the Date: The design process should occur 8-10 months prior to your wedding date. You should mail save the dates 6-8 months before your wedding date. However, if you are having a lot of out of town guests, are getting married on a holiday weekend, or are having a destination wedding you should consider sending your save the dates up to a year in advance to give your guests plenty of time to secure arrangements.



Invitation: The design process should begin 6-8 months prior to your wedding date. You should mail your invitations 6-8 weeks before your wedding date. If you are mailing to international guests, consider mailing those about 10 weeks before your wedding date.



Accessories: After your invitations have been designed, you should begin formulating the designs for your ceremony programs, escort or place cards, seating charts, table numbers, menus, favor containers, favor tags, and thank you notes. While some of these accessories cannot be completed until just prior to the wedding, the design concepts should be in place about 2 months prior to your wedding date.

The Consultation

Whether you are starting with a save the date, or just jumping in to the invitation, we should have a design consultation via phone, Skype, email, or in person at my showroom. This consultation usually takes about an hour and will cover questions about your wedding plan and your style. These detailed questions are designed to help me create stationery that is perfectly suited to you and your wedding.


Please bring pictures (or have the web address) of your dress, your venue, the cake, and your flower choices; bridesmaid dress swatches; paper swatches; any sketches or pictures that inspire you… anything that would be helpful in creating the design of your stationery suite.



When meeting with me, you should know the following things:

1. What items you want to order. (Invitations, save the dates, programs, escort or place cards, seating charts, table numbers, menus, favor containers, favor tags, thank you notes, etc.)

2. An idea of how many of each item will you need? (Remember that you are ordering invitations per household, but other accessories per person. You will also want to order about 10% extra. )

3. Ideas on wording your invitation, the date, the venue address, host's names, the response date, the return address you will be using, etc. I do have sample wording to help you.

4. Your wedding stationery budget. This is important to know so that I don't waste your time quoting you an invitation suite that is unsuitable for your event and budget.

Your Proposal and Contract

After this consultation is complete, I will email you a proposal for all the items we have discussed, usually within 48 hours. This pdf file proposal will detail all of the materials, colors, delivery dates, and pricing.  You can make changes to this proposal before your order. Once we agree on the proposal, a contract will be written up and emailed to you for your signature. A non-refundable deposit of 50% of the proposal is due at this time. This initiates the design process for your stationery. The fun begins!

Design, Layout, and Typography

You will receive one to three designs via pdf file after your contract has been signed, depending on how specific we got in your consultation. Here is where we refine your design, colors, the layout, and your typography choices. You will receive revisions to your wording, typography, and layout via emailed pdf file. During these revisions, you should be looking out for typographical errors of any kind. You should provide feedback on these designs via email. This process should take no more than 5 revisions.



Please proof your suite very carefully! It is solely your responsibility to proofread your stationery for any type of errors. Once you have given written approval, any costs associated with reprints necessary because of an error that you missed will be 100% your responsibility. There are no exceptions to this.

Final Approval, Production, and Shipping

Once you give approval of the invitation suite, via email, your supplies will be ordered and the remainder of your balance will be due. No changes can be made after this time without possible additional costs. Production time depends on the complexity and quantity of your order, but you can expect it to take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks.



Your order will be shipped via UPS or FedEx Ground. Shipping costs of $15 will be added to your final bill unless otherwise negotiated. You can avoid shipping costs by picking up your order at my showroom if you are local to the Dayton area. You must notify me of this prior to your final bill. All orders shipped to an Ohio address or picked up in my showroom will have Ohio sales tax applied to the final bill.