Meet Rachel, a talented wedding stationery designer and owner of Lavender + Lace Design. Nestled in the picturesque town of Norwich, Ontario, Lavender + Lace Design has been offering graphic design and print services since 2015. Rachel designs one of a kind stationery pieces for her clients for weddings, birth announcements and events.

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HOW DID YOU BECOME A WEDDING STATIONERY DESIGNER AND START LAVENDER + LACE DESIGN?

Since the age of 12, I worked in a print shop and have always had a great passion towards graphic design. When I was 21 years old, the year of 2015, I knew that I wanted to pursue it further, therefore I started my own business. What a dream come true, here I am five years later, focusing mainly on custom wedding stationery, my greatest passion! I absolutely love working together with brides to create the invitation suite of their dreams.

1. WHY SHOULD BRIDES CHOOSE CUSTOM DESIGN OVER PURCHASING USING PRE-CREATED TEMPLATES?

Invitations should be unique & one-of-a kind, just like your wedding will be! There are SO many options for stationery and often I have brides coming for a consultation and feeling very overwhelmed. They usually have a lot of ideas but can’t visualize how it will look all together. That is what custom wedding stationery designers are here for. I take pride in the process, working together with you to bring your vision to life, from initial concept designs, through to material selection, printing options and even delivery. When purchasing a pre-created template you don’t have those one-on-one customer service benefits and custom design options.

2. EXPLAIN YOUR DESIGN PROCESS FOR YOUR WEDDING CLIENTS.

The design process starts with a consultation. We’ll discuss styles, paper types, envelopes, and other aspects of the project related to investment. One we have narrowed down the options, we’ll prep and approve a quote and begin the design work. We’ll start by creating a variety of digital design samples. These will be sent to the client via e-mail and based on the client’s feedback we’ll make adjustments as needed and create the final design files. As soon as the final proof has been approved, we will send them off to be printed and complete the production process (my favourite part!)

3. HOW MANY STYLES OF INVITATION SUITES EXIST AND WHICH ONE SHOULD BE USED FOR WHAT TYPE OF WEDDING?

When discussing options together with the bridal couple it is important for a stationery designer to know your wedding style. Is your wedding more casual and outdoorsy? Or is more classic + elegant? When opening up the invitation guests should get a feel of what your wedding day will be like. You may ask how can this be done? One way is to make sure the colour palette of your invitation matches the colours of your wedding. If your wedding is dusty blues and greens then your invitation should not be yellows and golds. Another idea is; if your wedding is more casual and outdoorsy, you could exclude formal titles on the invitation, add twine around the card. If your wedding is going to be classic + elegant you can add gold foil, laser cut details, silk ribbon, and in the wording, choose formal titles, elegant fonts etc.

4. WHAT SHOULD AN INVITATION CONSIST OF? (PIECES & INFORMATION)

There are main details that need to be included on an invitation.

• Names – Some couples include their parent’s names, if including the parent’s names then only your first / first and middle name need to be shown. If the parents name aren’t on the invitation then it is a good idea to add the couples last names, that way guests won’t be confused.
• What the celebration is for – An example of this is ‘request your presence at the celebration of their marriage’.
• Location – where will the wedding be taking place? Make sure to have both the ceremony and reception location listed. If the invitation is looking to busy, then you can add these extra details to a details card.
• When – what time is the ceremony and reception taking place? For a formal invitation I like to write out the wording (in the morning) or for a more casual invitation then I generally put a.m. or p.m.
• RSVP – most venues have a specific time in which they need to have the final numbers by. Therefore, it is beneficial to add a date in which they need to have RSVPed by. Depending on your budget, there are some options on how this can be done.
  • Include an email / phone number on the main invitation
  • Use a separate rsvp card with an email / phone number rsvp
  • Have a separate rsvp card with a printed rsvp envelope for your guests to mail back to you

5. WHAT SHOULD EVERY BRIDE KNOW ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS?

Start early! It is never too early to start the design process for your invitations. When creating custom stationery design I take great pride in the design process and if brides are last minute, it can make the whole process feel rushed. When designing I like to put a lot of time and effort into the product ensuring that my clients will receive digital proofs similar to what they envisioned. Invitations should be ordered five months before the wedding, so that they are ready to mail roughly eight weeks before the wedding.

6. WHAT SHOULD EVERY BRIDE ASK THEIR STATIONERY DESIGNER?

Brides need to know what type of style and character they have. I consider myself to have a minimal design style and I love any type of unique detail such as foil printing, letterpress, torn edges, wax seals and beautiful paper types! The wording, fonts, images used, colour scheme, this all should match in order to compliment the designs that I create, attracting specific clientele!

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SURPRISING THING YOU’VE LEARNED ON THIS JOURNEY & WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING A STATIONERY DESIGNER?

Throughout this journey, what has surprised me the most – is how much I’ve grown since I started out! And that is so satisfying to see, that hard work truly pays off! When I first started my business, I offered any type of design service (logos, brochures, Christmas cards, and the list goes on) and in the past years I have narrowed it down to mainly custom wedding stationery! It is so much fun working together with clients from start to finish. Starting with save-the-date cards and ending off with thank you cards and their wedding album! They also put so much trust in me and that is why I take so much pride in my work and am not satisfied unless they are satisfied! Seeing the finished product is what I love the most, each unique order, I will say it over and over again, it really is the best part!