Custom invitations on a budget

Like the custom-designed monogram, custom invitations weren’t on my radar when I started thinking about our wedding stationery. We have a set invitation budget and I had originally planned to spend it on letterpressed or engraved invitations. I’ve seen too many do-it-yourself print-at-home invitations that were inexpensive..and looked it. Those invitations always make me sad. Of course, I’ve seen totally gorgeous DIY invites too, but being severely craft-challenged, I felt I should steer clear.

So I figured I’d choose a simple design off the shelf from an invitation company, and the fancy paper and printing would be the focus. But when I started working with Pier Gustafson on the monogram, he sent me some samples that were printed on an inkjet printer at a very reasonable price and looked great. Better than great—they looked AMAZING.

from snippet & ink

I realized I could either put our resources toward engraving or letterpress and give up a unique look and feel, or I could put the money toward custom design and print them myself, relying on Pier’s guidance on ink and paper so they won’t look chintzy. Guess which I picked? Put it this way: I can’t wait for the invitation printing and cropping and assembling madness to begin…not. But it will be worth it in the end!

The best part about the visit (besides the invitation mockups that I am SO excited about) was seeing Pier’s studio! It was like something out of a Dickens novel. Every inch of wall was covered with drawings, doodles, inspiration, half-finished monograms, and snippets of image and text. He has collections of antique typewriters and binoculars and other old dusty things.Gathered together, these anachronistic devices were as beautiful to me as a bouquet of flowers. I love old things, imperfect things, and things that “go” (but don’t match), and Pier is a man after my own heart. Check it out (sorry they’re so blurry; I took them on my iPhone):