Frequently Asked Questions
Whenever I get asked a question more than a handful of times, I post them up here for clients new and yet to come. But if you don't see your question answered here, please ask away! I am an open book.
How does this all work?
It’s a really fun, creative process! I’m always up for collaborating with my clients, or I can offer to take the wheel if they need a more ‘hands off’ approach. I have worked with a lot of clients who have a strong, realized vision of what they want, but just as often a client comes to me who has no idea what they want or need in the slightest! (Which is TOTALLY normal, by the way.) That’s where I come in. We discuss your event and the type of product(s) you'd like me to create. I can source the materials we need, or if you are already working with another vendor or have certain materials you’d like to use, we can work with those instead. You'll have the coolest, most lovely, personal touch to your event that will be a keepsake for a lifetime.
To make printed items and invitations, Save the Dates, etc, I work with a printer company here in Manhattan, who I trust and we have a wonderful working relationship. They lay everything out based on my design. For more involved custom illustration and painting, I usually collaborate with the incredibly talented Tiffany. For graphics, Hannah! Or if your aesthetic leans to a näive style, I paint as well!
If you already have a stationer you like, or designs are already in motion for some of your paper goods, come to me for the calligraphy! I can offer my writing digitally (“spot calligraphy”) which your stationery designer can use, or I can address your envelopes.
How far out do I need to book you?
The sooner the better! For weddings, I recommend contacting me a year out for Save the Dates, and 2 months before you would like your invitations to go out. For day-of details, we can discuss those at the same time, or at least 9 weeks before your wedding. The more time the better, just to be sure that there is plenty of room and time to put your vision together. But if you are more last minute, have no fear. Reach out and we can try to make it work! For envelope addressing, booking me a month or 2 before you need to send out your envelopes is ideal, to make sure I can receive the envelopes on time, and you have plenty of time to gather your addresses. Once I start, I only need a week to complete, proofread, and finish them off. Consider certain times of year are busier than others, so the more time you can book in advance, the better!
What does a “custom invitation" really mean?
Custom invitations mean that everything is made for you, from scratch, top to bottom. Invitations that are custom made, just how you like them. Together, we pick the fonts, design the color palette, commission any artwork you want, pick the wording, the envelope colors, the size, and the calligraphy styles. A non-custom/semi-custom invitation would be using a template and plugging in your names and info, sometimes changing colors and parts of the design. I don’t offer any semi-custom designs, but I can refer you to people who do and I can still use my calligraphy for your designs and addressing your envelopes!
How do I send you my addresses?
Once we move forward, I will send you my ideal format for your addresses! You will receive a document with all of this information. Basically, I can work with Word, Pages, Excel, Google Docs, but I do ask for the addresses to be written vertically as opposed to horizontally across the page in columns. This makes for faster and more accurate reading, and protects me from making errors. I love the smell of Scotch Tape but cutting pages to fit together takes forever. International addresses always need to be written out EXACTLY how they should appear on the front of the envelope. (Different regions within countries, different types of housing: it all varies too much for me to be able to guess or even get one correct answer online. Since you know the guest, much safer for you to go straight to the source! Google Docs work for me, but I print out the list the first time you send it, and that’s the list I use going forward. If someone changes addresses, breaks up, or you realized you misspelled a name: totally fine! Stuff happens. Just let me know so I don't miss it!
Do you design custom invitations?
Heck yes. I love designing invitations! I work with you to suss out what you want, and then I take it to my graphic designer at the printer and to my artist Tiffany or Hannah, and we create the proof. Tiffany and Hannah are both incredible artists. Tiffany is the watercolor and sketch master and Hannah is the graphics guru. Tiffany and Hannah both do custom illustrations as well (@tiffwilley and @hrc_co respectively, on Instagram.) We design for foil stamping, letterpress, and digital/flat printing.
Do you print the invitations?
I have a couple of print shops here in NYC that I work with to print your designs. I also have several stationers I love to recommend to my clients who print in-house, and I can still be part of the process, giving them my handwriting for the final product, and addressing your envelopes. For an additional fee, I’m happy to go with you to the shops here in NYC or coordinate in your place, but most of the choices you make at the shop are fun and easy (feel the paper and see the foil color you want to use). Our design files give a very detailed road map for the printer to follow, so all you really have to do is approve their printed proof and give them the green light!
I want a custom crest or a map! How does that work?
Oh, those are my favs! In addition to myself, I have two other incredible artists that I work with and we can create these for you. I factor in their fees to my own, so you don’t need to pay for this separately. Before I build my quote, we will discuss the artwork you would like and I’ll add that in. Any time you see artwork on my website or Instagram, it’s done by myself, Tiffany, or Hannah. And the best part is, you can use these images for your programs, menus, and other day-of items down the road!
Can you copy the computer font that I used for my invitations?
I completely understand why I get asked this question from time to time. The short answer is: not really. I never think it ends up looking enough like a computer, that it's arguably a better idea not to make that the goal. However, I offer a bunch of writing styles and am confident in selecting a style that will work beautifully with your invitation’s fonts and styles, and that will be organic to my hand and special to the look of your invitation suite’s desired aesthetic. When the addressed envelope is the entrance for the entire invitation suite to follow within, the important thing is that it presents the entire package in the best way possible, and dictates what kind of wedding your guests will be coming to! All of this having been said, when applicable and natural in my handwriting, I can certainly look at the computer font you choose and ‘lean into it' a bit. Maybe it's changing how I do certain letters, or add more of a slant to the style I am doing, etc. But nothing handwritten will ever look entirely like a computer-generated font.
What are the parts to the invitation suite?
Great question! Check out my blog post on the parts of the invitation suite. Some elements are pretty standard, and some are totally optional.
Why do you need extra envelopes/place cards?
Alas, I am a mere mortal. I make mistakes! Sometimes it’s my brain, sometimes the ink has a mind of its own, sometimes my dog decides to bark at the doorbell and it causes my hand to fly up in the air in surprise. And other times, I just wish that letter was a little more to the right, and this way I can feel like I'm giving you the best work I can do. Spacing on surfaces both larger than usual or smaller, all have a bit of a learning curve. The additional materials allow me to get it just right. Separate from errors on my end, there can be mistakes discovered later on the list given to me, and we need to be sure we have spares to cover those errors as well! When I have room to make errors, I can go a lot faster, which gets you your pretty products even quicker!
Timing?
Custom Designing and Printing of Invitations/Save the Dates: I like to start designing 2 months before you would like to send them out. We want to chat a bit, design for a few weeks, send you proofs to adjust and approve. When we finally go to print, it can take up to 10 days, and then add on a few more to address the envelopes or to allow for everything to arrive to you in the mail, if we are working at a distance. If you are in the NYC area, I live in Queens on a quiet street, so drop-offs and pick-ups are totally easy!
Envelope Addressing: A need a couple of days to a week, depending on the time of year. I work pretty quickly once you have decided on your style and your addresses are in order.
If you are only interested in having me address your envelopes, that’s great! Just make sure that if you are having your return address printed onto the back of the envelopes, you get that done before I start addressing the front side. Or I can handwrite the return address on the back for an additional fee.
Day-of items: (i.e. place cards, escort cards, signage) Once I have your materials and know what we’re doing, I only need a week or so. Larger signage takes a couple of days, smaller tabletop signage only a day or two.
Giving as much notice as possible is always the sure way to get everything you want when you want it!
Can you write on this?
I can usually write on just about anything. I've written on everything from wood to sea glass to champagne bottles to mirrors to pumpkins to hangers to rocks. Certain materials, paper, and card stock lend themselves to different kinds of ink and writing utensils. I often advise my clients to think about their ideal finished product in terms of color and style, and I can advise the proper materials to make that happen! If I am doing your invitations, envelopes, escort cards, or anything else in large quantity where mistakes could not be wiped away, make sure you order at least 20% of the total quantity in extras material to account for error, last-minute additions, and changes.
Can the post office read that?
They can! Most people can, with no trouble. Postal machines can not always read everything, either because it’s been done in cursive, or even due to the ink color. When this happens, the envelope is put aside for a human to read. This is when 99% of your envelopes will make it to their destination! However, if the postal worker has trouble reading an address, this is when they will flip over your envelope and refer to your return address on the back! This is why I always advise you to have your return address be in printed, easy-to-read letters. Should you get an invitation back in the mail due to an issue with legibility (otherwise known as a “bounce back”) I use a spare envelope and make a new one! I may use a different style this time around so we can be sure it arrives. 1%-2% of invitations you send out may return to you. (More, if your friends have forgotten to tell you they moved to a new address…) Triple-checking the address list you send to me can also cut back on any addresses that are incorrect, which would be another reason the envelope would be returned to sender.
I always advise my clients to take their invitations to the post office and give them to an employee at the counter and ask for them to be hand canceled. This means a postal worker will stamp the invitations one by one (it’s pretty quick, and you can leave after they take them from you) rather than the envelopes getting thrown into a big machine where they will tumble around and get a little more beat up than they would otherwise.
Can I use your handwriting for parts/all of my invitations?
Of course! I can work with any stationer who designs custom invitations! I can give them my writing in the names and words you want (which I call "spot calligraphy") and they can take it from there! I love doing this. It makes the entire invitation suite feel like they are matching accessories!