Designed by Staccato’s owner, Kelly Harms, the images shown here are just an introduction to the paper possibilities! View the gallery for inspiration. If you find the perfect design, then we’re off to a great start! If you want to change colors, change patterns, combine elements, add or remove an embellishment, just ask! Love our style but want to start from scratch? Collaborate with Kelly for a truly unique design! It’s your wedding, shouldn’t you have the perfect invitation?
Pricing for custom design varies based on your package needs, materials selected, print method, complexity of design, and labor required. There is a minimum investment of $2000 for all custom stationery packages, and the majority of our clients spend between $2500 and $4000 on their custom invitations.
The Custom Design Process
Initial Consultation
Once you contact me indicating your interest in custom design, we’ll schedule a design consultation either in person in my Fairfax studio, or virtually. Prior to the appointment, you’ll complete an online “interview” that will collect some of the details of your special day. On this form you’ll be able to share things like your wedding’s color scheme, formality, theme, and even a link to your Pinterest board if you have one. With this information, I’ll be well prepared for our appointment with the swatches and samples most relevant to your project.
The initial consultation is generally a 1.5 to 2-hour appointment where we’ll talk about your wedding, style, and stationery preferences. While browsing our portfolio, we will establish the design aesthetic for your unique project and will plan an invitation suite that incorporates the colors, papers, and embellishments you choose.
>>>No need to meet?
If you’ve got a good idea of what you want and don’t need to meet, we can chat via e-mail at your convenience. We work with lots of long distance clients this way and are happy to mail paper swatches and samples as appropriate for your project. Besides the consultation, everything else about the process will work the same way.
Proposal & Booking
Following our consultation or email chat, I will put together a detailed proposal for the invitation package(s) we discussed. Depending on the complexity of your design, you can typically expect an email within 3 days. Our packages are completely customizable, so at this point if you’d like to make any changes, you can request that before accepting the proposal. If what I put together for you meets all of your needs, you’ll be able to book your project right online by reviewing the timeline and digitally signing your contract. A 50% deposit is required to reserve your project’s time slot on our production calendar, and the balance will be due 10 days before your scheduled pick-up or ship date.
Design
Upon receipt of your contract and deposit, you will be emailed a text submission form that will gather the details for me to begin the layout work for your invitation. This can be submitted at any time, but not later than 6 weeks ahead of your scheduled pick-up or ship date. If you submit your text early, I may, as our production schedule allows, be able to begin working on your design concepts early.
You will be emailed a design board which includes digital concepts that we had discussed, and we will update the design with your feedback (up to 5 design revisions) until you love it.
Proofing
Once the invitation design has been approved, we will move on to the inserts and envelopes to create proofs for the entire suite. You will receive digital proofs of every piece in your collection and you are solely responsible for the accuracy of all printed details including the spelling, date, time, and location details, and colors. 3 rounds of revisions are included in your custom design package. If you need to make a correction after the 4th proof, you will be charged a fee of $25 per item, per additional proof. Proofs must be approved no later than 4 weeks ahead of your scheduled pick-up or ship date.
Order Production
Once we have the go-ahead to print, the staff of Staccato is at our best! We’ll work our magic and get your order ready to impress! The balance from your quote and any additions made throughout the design process will be due 10 days prior to shipping or pickup, then just sit back, relax, and wait for fun of receiving your package!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Early Should I Book?
Because we book a limited number of ship dates per week, you’ll want to schedule as early as possible to ensure we have the availability to meet your needs. The schedule of available ship dates is typically available 8 months in advance. Know that you do not need to have all decisions finalized before reserving your spot on our production calendar as we will not begin production until about 6 weeks ahead of the project completion date.
Are the Invitations Fully Assembled?
Yes! The design elements are fully assembled with careful attention to every detail! Envelope stuffing, pocket stuffing (if applicable), stamping, and addressing are not automatically included, but these services are available upon request.
More Questions?
Kelly and the team at Staccato are here to help you through the entire stationery decision-making and ordering process! Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions at all.
