Our inspiration comes from our clients. The first thing we do is listen. Tell us about your wedding plans, your courtship, your likes and dislikes. Are you a fan of mid-century design? Victoriana? Deco? Nouveau? We want your invitation to reflect who you are.
You’ll browse the ByHand samples and show us the invitations that appeal to you. We’ll talk about colors and stock options, letterpress versus digital printing. And we’ll talk about your budget and we’ll show you how to stay within it. Then we take all that we’ve learned into the studio.
The design process
At ByHand we know that as a couple you are unique. Your invitations will also be one of a kind, which is why you will find everything but plain ecru cards in our studio. We have papers from around the world, old and new photographs, unusual fabrics, and color samples, a library with hundreds of 18th and 19th century engravings, mid-century design books, botanical illustrations, drawings of sealife, vintage wallpaper books, print advertisements and product labels from 1900 though the 1980s, antique ribbons, sea glass, art supplies and a vase full of curly willow. The last item is there because the client wanted branches printed on her invitation. (By photographing the willow we were able to get a true image for the design process).
Willow branch Invitation
Willow branch RSVP
We pull from these resources and others to create the images that will make your invitation stand out. Font choices and layout follows. The client receives these preliminary designs by e-mail and tells us what works or doesn’t work. Usually this part goes quickly but sometimes it takes more back and forth. That is fine with us. We want our couples to get exactly what they want. And no matter how many changes are made, the price stays the same.
One hundred percent of our clients have told us they’re thrilled with the results. We are determined to keep that record.
Creative Consultation
We can arrange your project by web and phone or come for an in-house visit and let us show you our designs. Once we have a sense of your tastes and personality, we can begin the custom design process.
Design Timeline
The design process can take up to two weeks depending on the time of year and complexity of your job. We usually reserve at least 3 weeks for printing and assembling. We suggest that you plan to send your invitations six to eight weeks before a wedding and two to four weeks before a less formal occasion. Rush jobs can be offered for an additional cost.
Client Approval
ByHand will present in person or by email, in hi-res format, the invitation design for you to consider. Once the design has been perfected and agreed upon, we will issue you a price and a schedule for your project. A 50% deposit is required to begin the design process. Cancellations forfeit the initial 50% deposit. After hearing your thoughts, refinements are made and sent back to you for final digital proof approval before we send it to press. Two rounds of edits are included in the original estimate.
Payment Options
ByHand accepts cash, personal checks, Paypal
, Visa and Mastercard.
Answering a few questions
What is your lead time for creating wedding invitations?
Although we suggest that you allow at least 3 months for custom design and printing, we have created memorable invitation packages for couples in less time.
Do you print self-designed invitations?
We base our business on custom designed invitations. While we would love to invite your ideas and design for print, we do not print out-of-house designs.
What is your minimum invitation order?
For custom design invitations we require that you order a minimum of 50 invitations. Most of our brides send out an average of 100 invites.
How do you price your custom designs?
We begin with design first and foremost. It is how we have developed our business model. Your custom designed ByHand invitation is a reflection of your special day. We love designing fresh and unique solutions that fit our special customer base. If you desire letterpress printing, it is more costly than digital printing on average of 2 to 1 per invitation. The difference is in the details. Please refer to the Pricing tab for further detailed information.
Why is letterpress more expensive?
The quick and easy answer to this is the process. Letterpress invitations are the cream-de-la-cream of printing processes. The text and imagery is “deeply pressed” into the fiber of the stock. There is no substitute. Engraved invitations are also a traditional substitute for class and formality. Many mother of the brides, due to tradition, have requested an engraved invitation over the more popular letterpress. It is a traditional choice over a trendy one but we would not recommend one over the other. Both processes are similar.
How many colors can I have on my invitation?
That is clearly up to your budget. In fact, we have created a 4 color letterpress invitation that was truly one of the more beautiful pieces we have produced. It was costly though. Each color must have it’s own “plate”. The printing process is repeated for each individual color pass, hence the expense. Four color digital printing is only one pass on the press.
Do you offer return envelope address printing?
Letterpress invitation packages include envelope return address printing. Clear address labels and custom designed stamps are offered as an alternative solution for our digital packages.
