Weddingbee

So, here’s a breakdown of how I did my invitations for those of you who asked. I’ll post more about the other paper goods (programs, etc.) I did in the same print run a bit later, as they get assembled.

To start, everything was designed in Adobe Illustrator CS2, which combines the means to draw graphics, such as the modern floral motif I created for the invites, with the capability to add text and do single-page layout work. This and Adobe InDesign are two programs I use daily at work and for most of my other projects as well.

Photoshop is also a powerful graphics program but has certain attributes that make it generally much less suited for any project with type (there’s an explanation for this and other differences between the programs, but it’s a little technical¢¢â€š¬¦ if you want it you can email me).

Once I had all of my designs completed and had the files set up appropriately for the press, I had to specify a paper, ink choice, and any other finishing touches. For the invite cards, I chose Eames Furniture 80lb. cover in Eames white. For the vellum envelopment ¢¢â€š¬…”wrap¢¢â€š¬? around the invite ¢¢â€š¬” it’s technically not an envelope — I chose UV/Ultra II 17lb. text in white. For labels I told the printer to use whatever standard uncoated white label stock they had. (These are both Neenah papers; full-service commercial printers should be able to get any Neenah or other well-known paper company’s offerings. Others I can think of off the top of my head: Fox River and Finch. Printers should have the swatchbooks for you to view; they are available for purchase online but unless you are a designer it’s not worth it to have. Tip: ask the printer for suggestions! Oftentimes they know the best options for the best price.)

Inks: I’ll wax a bit more technical to try to explain the process a little here. Most items that are full-color (ie. photographs) need to be printed with four colors, also called process or CMYK. Here, tiny microdots of 4 basic colors optically blend on the page so you see all the different colors in the image; this is also exactly how your home inkjuet printer works. This is the least expensive way to get many colors in your piece.

For my invite design, since it only had a few colors, having custom inks or ¢¢â€š¬…”spot¢¢â€š¬? inks was an option, albeit more pricey than process. I specified three colors for the cards (gold, aqua, and black) and saved money by only using two on the vellum (aqua and blue). The colors I used specifically were Pantone 550U for the aqua and Pantone 5353 for the gold (Pantone is a standard color-matching system used by designers). The only way to get a metallic color is to use a spot ink; you cannot get it with 4-color process. The main difference between using spots and process color? Spot inks provide a smoother, sharper look because there are no micro-dots as in CMYK, and the colors are a guaranteed match to the Pantone swatches specified.

So, once all this information and files were submitted, all I had to do was sit back and wait for a day for the proofs to come back for me to check out and approve, and then another week for the invites to be done. The project yielded all of the invite cards (flat, unsorted), the vellum wrap (flat), the different labels (return address for outer envelope, To:, return address for RSVP, calendar sticker), and some other items that I’ll share soon, all trimmed to size already. I paid an extra fee to get the last card perfed for the RSVP.

From that point, I had to poke all of the holes through the invite cards (pushpin on top of an old phone book), collate into the correct order, and then sew through about 4 times with gold thread from Joann’s. Then, I wrapped and folded a vellum piece around the stack, and stuck it into the outer envelope. Again, those envelopes were purchased from envelopemall: translucent Policy #10 open-end envelopes, 100 for $30, and were perfect the size for the completed invites. Ta-da!

*Some of you also asked if I did custom invites. I do freelance design on the side of my professional job, but how many outside projects I can do really depends on my schedule (which, until May, will be quite packed!). I will not overload myself and skimp on quality or thoroughness in realizing a functional, beautiful design solution. If you are interested, though, and your timing is flexible, please email me to see if we can work something out! I truly love design and if I can, I’d love to help you incorporate it in your wedding.

All images in post found through Google images.

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