Last month, I wrote about Corrie Feld’s Invite Couture blog where she provides “tips, techniques and ideas for brides starting their invitation creation process.” Today, she launched a redesign, now called Invite Couture Notebook. I caught up with Corrie to chat specifically about her invitation design business, Invite Couture.

Last year, as you were trying to have your self-designed wedding invitations printed, tell me about the difficult time you had with different boutique invitation shops in New York City.

I wouldn’t say the boutique shops were difficult, I just had a better than average understanding of the printing process as well as what’s involved with production so I more or less knew they were WAY over-inflating their pricing. In addition to running Invite Couture I’m also a full time Marketing Executive and have done a fair share of print and direct mail campaigns, so my knowledge from this proved to be an advantage for me. Overall I was shocked at what some places quoted me for just my invitations, especially considering I was bringing them a print ready design. All they had to do was print and produce it so I didn’t appreciate being nickel and dimed especially since I already did most of the hard work (design) for them. In the end after producing everything myself, I produced my save the dates, invitations (a pocket design with 3 insertion cards with ribbons and crystals), programs, menus, escort cards and table numbers for what most stationery boutiques quoted me for just my invitations.

Ultimately, how did you complete your invitations?

When working on my overall design I purposely designed my invitations with a black and white color scheme knowing in advance it would be the least expensive to produce. While at the boutique stationery shops, I took note of which brands of paper I preferred and from there found out where I could purchase the same paper online from a distributor. After selecting the stocks I wanted, I then did a lot of research and found a local printer that could work with the stock (of whom I still work with now and I love doing business with). Many of the thicker cardstocks, though inkjet compatible, look better when professionally printed, so I preferred to go this route instead of doing everything DIY. I ended up digital offset printing them and since I had chosen such a high quality cardstock, the invitations ended up looking much more expensive looking than they were to produce, which worked out great to say the least.

What was the response from your guests?

Most of my guests knew I went to art school and that I’m a graphic designer, so I think overall they more or less expected me to be involved somehow in the design of my stationery. Most were surprised to find out I actually produced them start to finish. When returning the RSVP’s, several guests even commented on how beautiful the invitations were which was a lovely compliment. What really surprised me was in the months after my wedding how many people held on to the invitations as keepsakes. I’d go to a friend or family member’s home to visit and they would still have the invitation on their desk or displayed on the fridge. I knew from there I might have a decent shot creating my own business designing invitations for others.

On your invitation design web site, InviteCouture.com, your pricing is very easy to understand. Why don’t you tell people about the pricing for design, materials, and assembly.

My mantra is I genuinely feel everyone deserves fantastic design, and to have beautifully designed stationery, it shouldn’t cost you a fortune. In efforts to appeal to as many brides (and other party hosts) as possible, I wanted to create design packages that would allow people to either just use Invite Couture to create a design for them and make it easy to print on their own using a DIY kit, or to have Invite Couture produce everything start to finish.

So with that in mind we created two design packages. Our Basic Design package was created for either budget brides or people throwing birthday parties, needing baby announcements, etc. It includes a single design concept with an hour of revisions for $150. Our Deluxe Package which is made for larger events includes 3 design concepts which can then be combined into a concept of your choosing with an hour of revisions for $300. Our hourly fee, which is used for any time needed outside of our provided packages or to design items like menus, programs, etc., is $75 an hour.

We also like to give our clients choices. One choice we give is to print and assemble the invitations yourself, in which case after your design is completed you are free to do what you want with the design we create for you. The next is to have Invite Couture print and produce the stationery for you and you can save money by assembling (affixing layered cardstocks, stuffing envelopes, etc) the stationery yourself. The third and final option is to have Invite Couture design, print, produce and assemble the entire project for you. Our assembly fees vary but start at $1 an invitation for basic assembly and $2 an invitation for deluxe assembly (which includes belly bands, crystals, etc). We also assemble programs for $1 each as well.

How has blogging enhanced your web site? What kinds of articles do you enjoy writing about?

To be honest I don’t feel I blog enough! I think I do okay with the time I have but overall my goal is to try to blog more often. I’ve really tried to make the Invite Couture blog both a place where we can showcase the design process of working with our clients and their finished designs, as well as a source for DIY brides creating their own invitations. It all comes back to my mantra of everyone, no matter your budget, deserving fantastic design. So if I can help someone find a great, free font online and show them how to load it into Microsoft Word so they can create a fantastic looking invitation on their own, I’ve accomplished my goal.

Tell me about the relationships you form with your clients from the original contact to your delivery of the final product and any feedback you might receive afterward.

Working with Invite Couture is a very personalized experience. Every design is made especially for the client, and we do not have any design catalogs for people to choose from. Depending on the event, for weddings it usually takes us at minimum 5 months to complete the process. For other stationery like birthday parties, we can usually turn the project around a bit quicker, maybe 2 months or so.

Especially when working with brides I’ll usually joke with them during the quote process that when you choose Invite Couture, it’s like having an additional “crafty” bridesmaid (or for regular parties, friend) at your disposal, but it’s the truth. I am always available to answer questions and give feedback and advice any time it is needed, whether they be an Invite Couture client or not. I remember how overwhelming the entire wedding planning process was for me, so brides especially appreciate that I know what it’s like to be in their shoes and know how to take some of the burden off of them. Your invitations are the first impression guests get of your event, so it’s one of the most important elements of planning the event and not one to take lightly. I am truly grateful I get to participate in this process and guide my clients along the way to making that first impression to their guests the most memorable they’ve ever seen. At Invite Couture we take great pride in what we do, and it shows in what we produce. A very recent client wrote us a testimonial where she noted her boyfriend described the invitations we made for them as “breathtaking”. Everyone deserves breathtaking design and we help make that happen, no matter your budget.

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Thanks to Corrie Feld for taking the time to participate in this interview.

Joshua Birch