When choosing bespoke wedding invitations, be sure to check the portfolio of both the wedding invitation designer and, if there is one, the company that will be printing your invitations. Discuss with potential designers and printers the cost of producing your invitations in the quantities that you need. Make sure that you give the creator of your bespoke wedding invitations enough lead time to create your invitations so that they can be mailed six to eight weeks before your wedding. Another factor to consider is the weight of your invitation package. If your designer uses heavy paper, your wedding invitation may be costly to mail.
Depending on the size and formality of your wedding, you may wish to send bespoke wedding invitations to your guests. These invitations differ significantly from standard invitations in that everything about them, down to the paper, can be customized to your preference. In fact, there are some designers of bespoke wedding invitations that can actually make the paper on which your invitations are written or printed. It is important, however, to ensure that the designer you choose is someone who is reputable and who is capable of creating a wedding invitation that you find aesthetically pleasing. Be sure to look over the designer's past work and ask for references.
When working with designers, ask about the amount of time they need to produce invitations in the quantity you desire. If you are having a very small wedding, the amount of time needed may not be an important issue, but if you plan a large wedding, bespoke wedding invitations may have to be ordered very early, as they can take a considerable amount of time to produce. If the designer is going to create a custom wedding invitation for you that will then be sent to a printer, be sure to investigate the printer's reputation as well as its time requirements.
After deciding on your designer and the invitations that you want, be sure to carefully review the invitation copy before giving it to the designer. This is particularly important if your designer will be doing the calligraphy by hand, as one mistake in your copy could ruin the entire batch of invitations. After receiving your invitations, check them carefully for errors. Then assemble an invitation and take it either to the post office or your work mail room and ask that it be weighed so that you know which stamp denomination to use when sending it to your guests.
