CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT INVITATION CREATIONS, LLC?
To give you a little information about Invitation Creations, LLC, all of my work is custom. Custom work is my specialty. Custom is when we create your invitations from scratch. I like to infuse your personality, style and vision in your invitations. I also do “customized” invitations of Envelopments© designs and Invitation Creations, LLC designs only. I am an authorized dealer of Envelopments©. To customize is where a design already exists and we tweak just wording, colors and fonts. That choice is yours. I love creating something memorable, something no one else has and something not bound by limitations that most customized invitations have. I can create a custom graphic that will flow from their save-the-dates to their reception stationery to give it that consistency that sometimes can be hard to get with customized invitations – a branding of the event if you will. Special elements in certain events like destination weddings or multicultural events may have trouble finding a pre-designed invitation that fits their needs, I am their solution. Lastly, I bring personalized one-on-one attention that a large company cannot. I am a FULL TIME, full-service custom wedding Invitation designer, based in Atlanta, Georgia, serving the world. I respond to your questions, concerns or desires in a timely manner. I will always get back to you and you are always a priority for me. I always take time and sincere thought in designing your wedding invitations that represent you and your event. My invitations are also extremely unique…from one to another, meaning that they are custom to my couples, not to what I love or to what my tastes are. It’s not about me – it’s about you. I am not like other wedding vendors who might convince you that this is how it should be. I provide multiple hands-on samples for you to get a true vision of what your invitations will look like and not just a digital PDF. Though many stock samples are provided to me from paper companies I do not pass them off as samples of my design work. I don’t feel like that is a true representation of my work. I like to use them for inspiration. I only show examples of designs that I have created myself. Also, I don’t limit myself to artwork provided to me from my paper company, I search beyond that to find the perfect graphic that reflects your style, personality and event. I love what I do. I chose to leave my corporate job and do this full-time. This is not a hobby for me. I get excited about new projects, ideas and challenges clients ask of me. I love helping you create your custom invitations and I love amazing and delighting you and your guests! I get nervous during sample reviews, but I can’t help but look at your face when you see your invitations for the first time. My day gets so much better when you share with me the comments and excitement your guests have about your invitations. My name and reputation is in the products I create for you and I make sure you can feel my pride and passion in them. My clients will tell you that working with me means your designs will capture the essence of your wedding and your unique styles while providing exceptional quality with the utmost professionalism.
YOUR INVITATIONS LOOK EXPENSIVE. ARE THEY?
I am a custom stationer and all the papers I use are top notch. I do believe custom invitations are in a category all by themselves. Custom invites are specifically designed for you and just for you and not designed to sell to the masses. They are handmade, not homemade and ONE-OF-A-KIND. They are created to be a reflection of you and your event. Because almost every invitation I do is custom designed in some form or fashion, every price is different. If you have a budget, its probably best to let me in on it and I will be able to tell you what I can do and if I can’t, I will tell you that too. My invitations start at $5.00 per invitation but on average my paper invitations are $8-$14 per invitation. That usually includes some form of casing and 1-2 additional inserts and full assembly. It’s like one of the only recorded pieces of your wedding day. Did I mention that no one will have a design like it? I do believe there is nothing like opening a uniquely designed, hand-crafted, carefully detailed piece of mail. Honestly the price range varies so much, but there are ways to bring the cost down, e.g. assembling them or cutting them yourself. Of course, price will depend on quantity, papers selected, printing style, embellishments, complexity of the invite, etc. Each of my invitations are personally designed by me, individually printed and hand assembled. I do work hard to make sure you get the best possible VALUE for your money spent. When planning any size wedding, your time is the most valuable thing you have. By letting me focus on your invitations, you allow yourself time to focus on your relationship or other aspects of your wedding. Lastly, you will find true VALUE beyond the final result of invitations in your hands like trust, excitement, peace of mind, tailored attention and lastly feelings of pride to have something so unique and memorable for your special event.
DO YOU HAVE A STOREFRONT THAT I CAN VISIT?
I do have a showroom for you to come visit. It is by appointment only which allows me to focus on designing your beautiful and unique invitation. I welcome customers that are local to set up an in-person consultation. It’s a benefit to be able to see and feel my samples in person. I have worked with clients across the country as well as well as overseas without issues. After our initial meeting, I find that most of my customers enjoy communicating with me via email or phone so that response times are speedy.
DO YOU HAVE A MINIMUM ORDER OR MINIMUM DOLLAR AMOUNT?
Yes, I do. For save-the-dates or wedding invitations, my minimum dollar amount in expenditure is $350.00 not including stamps, taxes or shipping. For other events like holiday cards, birthday invitations, baby showers, christenings, moving announcements, etc. the minimum expenditure is $150.00 not including stamps, taxes or shipping.
WHAT IS A DESIGN FEE?
The design fee is the cost it takes in time to develop your one-of-a-kind design(s).
DO YOU OFFER ADDITIONAL SERVICES OR CONVENIENCES THAT I CAN ADD ON?
I am a full service invitation company which means I don’t just do wedding invitations, I can do save-the-dates, baby showers, moving announcements, milestone birthday or personal stationery. I also offer custom addressing, custom labeling, custom map creations, machine calligraphy, mailing and handling services. These services are all optional.
CAN I ORDER OTHER COORDINATING STATIONERY TO MATCH MY INVITATIONS?
I love branding a wedding with use of the same graphics, fonts and papers throughout your wedding stationery. Items like place cards, escort cards, rehearsal dinner invites, bridal luncheons, table cards, programs, thank you cards, or other stationery items are easily accommodated and typically designed and produced closer to the wedding date.
IVE ALREADY DESIGNED MY INVITATION, WILL YOU PRINT IT FOR ME?
Unfortunately, no. Printing in itself has a lot of issues and then not knowing the original desired colors or having to tweak print jobs to get the job printed correctly can be a big hurdle and thus this is the biggest reason I do not print pre-designed work. It’s more of an added benefit to my clients to handle all of those issues.
DO YOU PROOFREAD?
I do provide a proofreading guideline to all my clients, but it is your responsibility to proof everything during the approval process. It is best to have more than one set of eyes help with this. Any reprints necessary will be billed to you.
IF THERE IS AN EXISTING DESIGN I LIKE IN THE PORTFOLIO, CAN I SIMPLY MAKE SUBSTITUTIONS OR DO I NEED TO START FROM SCRATCH?
If there is a style in the portfolio that is calling your name, I can certianly begin there. Most of the designs on the website can be CUSTOMIZED to match your event styling and there is a savings in design hours. If the requested changes are more than moderate changes like colors, names and dates, I will be happy to discuss design parameters with you in order to meet your needs.
HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I PLAN FOR THE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF MY INVITATIONS?
Wedding or large events require a minimum of 8 weeks to design and produce. It’s best to meet as soon as possible. Timelines largely depends on complexity of design, design requirements, quantity and our existing production schedule. In your contract, details will be provided that clearly state design and production deadlines as well as guest lists and payment schedules. I recommend meeting 4-6 months before your wedding. Anything less than this can be accommodated on a case-by-case basis and may incur additional rush fees. Smaller events like baby showers and housewarmings do not require as much lead time but do depend on my existing production schedule.
HOW MANY INVITATIONS SHOULD I ORDER?
I always recommend you get together with all parties involved and get a definite count. Invitations are too costly to order 20 extra and then they go to waste. You don’t want too little and then have to pay additional for more. I usually suggest 10 more if your count is reliable.
CAN I CHANGE MY QUANTITIES?
I can accommodate increases in quantity without issue up to the point of purchasing materials. Once materials are purchased and production begins, additional charges may be incurred to cover materials which would be purchased outside of the initial bulk material order plus any rush fees for acquiring those materials. Decreasing quantities prior to the purchase of materials is not a problem though depending on your quantity can affect your price. If a decrease is necessary after production has started, you will assume all costs associated up to that point of development for the unnecessary quantity.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I EXPECT TO PAY FOR POSTAGE?
Postage varies by design, but it’s not unusual to pay the 2oz or 3oz rate. I highly recommend taking a finished invitation to the post office to be weighed and verify the correct amount of postage. This is included in our full service option.
WILL YOU DESIGN A CUSTOM STAMP FOR ME?
Yes.
WHEN IS FINAL PAYMENT DUE?
Final payment is due 7 days prior to completion of the project. Shipments will not be made until payments are received.
WHAT PAYMENT METHODS DO YOU ACCEPT?
I accept check, credit cards, money orders and cash.
I PURCHASED MY WEDDING STATIONERY FROM YOU BEFORE AND WANTED TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE FONT THAT WAS USED. CAN YOU PROVIDE THAT TO ME?
Unfortunately, no. Because of the nature of what I do, I have to protect my work from being copied. I have the right not to disclose the names of any of the fonts or artwork that are used in my creations. This also includes sending just the artwork elements from items, such as invitations, save-the-date, or any other stationery item created on your behalf.
I AM READY TO BEGIN THE PROCESS, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
Great! Give us a call at 404-946-8483 to set up your complimentary, get-to-know session!