Following on from the Blog on the Marry Me In Tuscany's launch of their Tuscan Save the Date cards designed by Cards by Sophie, I asked Sophie if she would write a blog for me on some of the wonderful wedding stationary that she designs read on to discover what she has to say and have a look at some fabulous examples of her work:
Hello!
I’m Sophie and I set up my business Cards by Sophie in 2009. I started Cards by Sophie with the intention of being more creative while I was stuck in my day job, but that’s long since gone and I’ve been full time chief at CBS HQ for nearly a year now! I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life, but I absolutely love it all.
I’m based near Manchester but send my stationery out all over the UK, and to Europe and even the US too!
Here at Cards by Sophie we make wedding stationery, from save the dates and invitations to table plans, thank you cards, order of service and much more.
Save the dates are sent out once you’ve set your date, it’s often useful to let your guests know if it’s midweek, a popular summer date or of course abroad. These don’t have to match with the rest of your stationery at all, and colours can be up to you! How about using our special ‘Tuscan’ save the date we’ve created for MMIT to send to your guests?
There are many things to consider when choosing your stationery, from fonts and colour choices to card, designs and any added extras. We’re here to help you with all of that and make suggestions to fit your theme.
We have a standard range of designs available on our website, there are 18 to choose from, which includes both embellished and printed designs. There are many stationery items available, even the invitations alone can come in several different formats, standard card sizes, chequebook invitations (includes a perforated RSVP sheet and information sheet for all that extra information), and pocketfolds which are totally luxurious and include a RSVP and information card bundle wrapped in ribbon.
We also offer a bespoke service, where for a one off fee of £40 we design your ideal stationery. This fee covers all the research and several mock-ups that we will create for you to get your stationery just right. We like to get to know you, ask questions about your themes, colours and inspirations for your wedding day. We’ll then make some suggestions with photographs and emails, and then send two or three final mock ups to you to see everything in the flesh and make your decision. We’ll always ask about your budget so we make sure everything fits in within that.
As an example I’m going to focus on a recent order I completed, a ‘Bespoke Cards by Sophie’ design for a client who wanted an Italian Glamour theme. This can give you an idea of all of the various details you’d need to consider or could have for your invites!
It’s worth stating here that we’re very happy to alter colour schemes, fonts and wording to get it just right for you. The pink used in the examples below wasn’t a fuchsia pink, but an alternative hot pink because just the subtle difference between the two worked better for our client’s theme. We have access to lots of different shades of ribbons etc., so a swatch of fabric can really help us get it right for you. Don’t be worried about asking for an uncommon shade!
What do you think of when you are asked about Italian Glamour? Sophia Loren and Isabella Rossellini, lots of glam and sparkles? That’s exactly what we’ve tried to achieve here. With the added extra requirement of including an image of the Italian castle my clients are getting married at.
So we achieved this by using a photograph of the venue as a watermark in the background of the main invitation wording, with added small crystals to each corner. (Please note address details have been blurred out!)
We also came up with the fab idea of including an Italian phrase book! Perfect for your guests to try out at the wedding, from ordering a beer to buying train tickets to Florence! Again here we added a photograph of the castle with pink crystals on the front of the little phrase book. This, together with an information card and RSVP was wrapped in pink ribbon and tucked inside the pocketfold style invitation.
And what about the outside of the card? Well a matching pink ribbon, with gorgeous crystal embellishment, keeping the invitation sparkly inside and out. We’re really looking forward to the next stage later in the summer of making matching order of service, place cards and menus.
A completely different bespoke design shows you how different the stationery can be, this time a cheque book invitation, very simple but so stylish. There is just the hint of the client’s green theme inside with some selected words and details inside the invitation.
Wording can often be difficult to get right, particularly if you are getting married abroad. I remember the struggle I had to find something suitable for my own wedding, we were getting married abroad and having a party back at home a month later, it seemed impossible just to change the standard ‘wedding invitation’ on the front of each card. We’re happy to change anything! Once we receive an order we send out a form to get all of the wording, font and colour choices for your stationery.
Other things to consider that we can do for you are mini table plans, so if you’re getting married abroad you can take our A3 sized plans with you! Menus and place cards can also easily flat pack to take on the plane. (I carried my wedding dress half way across the world when I got married abroad, it’s certainly possible!). This means you can keep everything coordinated and match on your special day. Of course if you prefer we can arrange international postage to get your stationery right to your wedding planner or venue, hassle free, before the wedding.
Hopefully you’ll see the possibilities really are endless!
We hope this has been a useful insight into the options available, if you have any queries or to chat anything through please do get in touch, we love a challenge! Visit our website or you can email me at sophie@cardsbysophie.com for more information or you can check out our daily photos, inspiration and offers on our facebook page.