Dragonfly Couture Stationery

Here at the Wedding Stationery Gallery we receive lots of samples of wedding stationery from companies who want us to write about their products and with no offence intended to these suppliers, I am often left uninspired and quite frankly bored!  So I was very pleased to receive a beautiful bundle of wedding invitations from Dragonfly Couture Stationery that encompassed not only unique designs, but quality and style as well. 

My favourite design is this Chequebook style wedding invitation which is absolutely perfect if you want to have extra information such as accomodation, directions and wedding list information all neatly in one invitation without making it look muddled and messy.  The invitation has six pages that are separated by tissue interleaves, the front title page, the invitation, a perforated RSVP and three information pages.  The front title page has a protective clear plastic cover and there is a  pearlescent back board to give it a lovely quality feel.  Prices for the Chequebook invitations start at £5.95 each which since it includes the RSVP with printed reply envelope and the additional information sheets is pretty good value for such unique invitations.   As well as these stunning invitations Dragonfly Couture Stationery also have a range of Letterpress designs, digitally printed designs that use environmentally friendly soya inks and pocket invitations.

Lilac Rose Tree by Paper Hello

When wedding stationery suppliers talk about their designs being bespoke or customisable then that usually means that they come in different colours or maybe even let you add the bride and groom’s name on the front.  Paper Hello have taken the concept to a new level and I was impressed at the attention to detail that they extend to their customers.

The design above is called Rose Tree and, yes, you can have a different colour theme (A rather fetching duck egg alternative viewable on the Paper Hello site transforms this design into a traditional English country house style reminiscent of a 1950′s inspired Cath Kidston creation).  The bride and grooms names too can of course be changed (The only Kiki I know sang that infamous duet with Elton John).  That’s where most wedding suppliers would draw a line on customisation.  After all, changing the colour or standard text of a design can usually achieved with a few clicks of the mouse.    Now, how about changing the two characters so that they look more like the bride and groom or what about the mode of transport…. horse and carriage perhaps rather than bicycle ?  What about the card itself ?  How about an A6 Postcard style rather than the square format shown.  These are the types of changes that Paper Hello invite you to make when they talk about bespoke wedding stationery.  There are extra charges to be made for having your stationery so personal to you but with base prices starting at just £1.99 per invitation there is plenty of room for manoeuvre for such a personal service.

Orchid wedding stationery is hard to find, but something really unique that isn’t a small paper or silk flower stuck on a card is even harder to find.  These Orchid wedding invitations from Spunsilk are not cheap, but they come in a gorgeous silk box, wrapped in tissue, with a postal box and RSVP included in the £10.95 price.  You can change the silk backing and they will do their best to match your orchid colour as well.  Not only will your guests be wowed by a really stunning wedding invitation, but they will be able to keep the box and flowers as a lovely keepsake after the wedding.

Acushla Creations certainly have a very dramatic home page to their website.  The image looks like it should belong in the Tate Modern and the spiel that goes alongside promises ‘a new era’ in wedding invitation design.  It certainly captured my attention in the audience and I could’nt wait to delve into the rest of the site to see some examples of their work.  Read the following excerpt and see if you get the same feeling of anticipation ?

No more set typefaces or colours. No more chintzy designs and clichéd wording. We don’t do faceless generic cards – we develop bespoke, chic and conceptual wedding stationery to express your personalities and wedding themes to their fullest. Whether it be Moulin Rouge, fantasy winter wonderland, bohemian chic or Victorian elegance, we are here to turn those initial sparks of inspiration into a raging inferno.

Can they deliver what they promise or are they setting themselves up for a big fall?  I’ll show some of their designs in a minute so you can decide for yourself but first I should point out that Acushla Creations liken themselves more to a graphic design company than your traditional wedding stationer.  Their designs are very bespoke and I imagine that the purchasing experience would be very fluid and more like buying an advertising campaign from a design agency than leafing through a traditional book of standard designs in John Lewis.  You get a free initial consultation with Acushla where you can talk through your likes and dislikes, your own ideas and styles of invitation that you like.  If that goes well it will cost you just £30 for a selection of design concepts with price detail.

Of course, if you were looking to purchase bespoke wedding stationery you would first want to see some examples of their work.  Their case studies are a bit thin on the ground at the moment but I am sure these will be added to as their client list grows.  From what I did see I have to say I was suitably impressed and I will keeping my eye on the site to see if they can keep the originality and style quality going in their continuing case studies.  With their offer of a free intital consultation it is certainly worth seeing what this company can deliver.

Example 1 – Cartography invitation for a couples love of the outdoors

Example 2 – Honeymoon Destinations Table Plan

Example 3 – Oriental Style wedding with Origami Lotus Flower