Photo credit: Ken Tan Photo

Have questions?

We have answers!

We’ve put together a list of some of our most frequently asked questions. Just click on your question to the right to see the corresponding answer

When should I contact you for invitation designing?

Couples can start getting in touch with us as soon as the ring is dropped! This way we can start to brand their event right from the beginning! However, we do recommend that they come to their design consultation with a basic vision of their wedding.

If couples are coming for day-of stationery design,—for example menus, place cards and seating charts—the base design can be completed months before the wedding date, and the final names provided a month prior to the event date.

What if I don’t live in Edmonton? Can we still work together?

Absolutely! We offer both in-person consultations at our office as well as online consultations via Skype. This allows us to work together whether you are in Calgary, Vancouver, New York, Berlin or even Calcutta!

If you are from outside of Edmonton, we do recommend that you choose a consultation date at least 1.5 weeks in advance so we can get a sample pack sent to you.

When should I send out my invitations?

There is certainly no “one size fits all” answer to this question. We believe that when the invitations will be sent out is determined by a combination of the stationer, the couple and the overall concept of the wedding.

The longest timeline would be required for destination weddings, where guests will need to know well in advance to make vacation and travel arrangements. Providing guests as much time as possible in this case can be very helpful, and influence the number of people who can attend the wedding.

In this case, we would recommend sending out save-the-dates as soon as the wedding date is known.

Invitations should be sent out 4-6 months prior to the wedding. This allows for 3-5 months for guests to reply, and still leaves one month to round up outstanding replies, provide the caterer with final numbers and dietary concerns, and provide the stationer with details for day-of stationery.

When do you start designing my stationery?

The stationery process is broken into 2 parts: pre-booking and booking.

Pre-booking involves a discovery call, a consultation, and a quote (based on the specs discussed at the consultation) provided by Wedding Design by Anika.

Booking involves the acceptance of the quote by completing these three things:
• paying the down payment
• signing the contract for the order
• providing any additional information required to start the design process

The design process does NOT begin at the time the quote is sent out. Delays in booking the order may mean that we are no longer available to start the design job as initially set out, or that we no longer have availability for that date. Delays may also mean and may mean that specific materials required for the job may not be accessible in time or for the same price. The agreed-upon in-hand date may also need to be pushed further out to accommodate design and production time. We will not order any materials or start on any portion of the design until the order is booked.

How long will it take for my order to be produced?

It’s important to remember that custom stationery takes time to design and produce. We want your stationery to be perfect for you, so we will put in that time to get the “just right” feeling.

Couples should budget between 3-8 weeks for their custom stationery to be designed and printed. The actual timeline is determined by the printing method(s), availability of materials, and the amount of assembly time required to design, approve, and produce the entire invitation suite. Working backwards from when they would like to send the invitations out, couples can use that information to determine when to start the design process.

If you have any questions regarding timelines that work for your event, please reach out to us at hello@weddingdesignbyanika.com.

Do I need to buy a whole wedding invitation suite?

Not at all! Different couples have different needs, budgets and timelines. We are happy to provide couples with full invitations suites, as well as any individual pieces that they may require.

How many invitations should I order?

It’s important to know that each guest does not require their own invitation. Etiquette calls for one per household unless a child living there is 18+. This means couples/families would receive one and families with an adult child/children at home would receive one additional copy per adult child.

We recommend adding a few extra copies to your order to accommodate any additional guests, keepsakes and mail-returns. Our base equation is your total number of invited guests, divided by two, and then add on 10-15%.

So, if you have 150 guests that will be invited, 150/2 + 10% = approx. 83-86 copies.

What is the minimum quantity I can order?

When we do custom designs, we work with a number that’s right for you! Our orders range anywhere from 10 – 350+ pieces.

An important note to remember: the fewer items you order, the higher the per-item cost will be. The average Wedding Design by Anika custom design couple invests between $1,500 and $3,000 CAD for invitations and between $950 and $3,500 CAD for custom day-of stationery (signage, menus, etc.).

How much do your custom designs cost?

The average Wedding Design by Anika custom design couple invests between $1,500 and $3,000 CAD for invitations and between $950 and $3,500 CAD for custom day-of stationery (signage, menus, etc.). Our custom design prices vary depending on quantities, materials, design time and printing processes selected by the client.

Standard invitation suites consist of a flat invitation, invitation envelope, rsvp card and rsvp envelope. Any additional pieces that you require for your suite generally add 20-35% per item to the standard invitation price.

What are the different printing methods you offer?

We are able to offer our clients a wide range of printing options, from classic digital printing, to foil and letterpress.

Each printing method comes with it’s own setup and base prices, and we work with our clients to recommend and provide the best printing solution for their individual needs.

What are the differences between printing methods?

A sample list of what is available includes:

DIGITAL PRINTING:

the most common and cost effective form of printing today. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK) inks are mixed together using tiny ink droplets to create a wide digital printing spectrum.
Due to the printer’s use of CMYK inks in percentage forms, slight colour differences may be noticed between runs, paper types, and when different printers are used.

FOILING:

requires the creation of a stamp like object that we call a foiling “plate”. This plate has a base price of $250 to create, and the cost per stamp is determined by size and detail.
This plate is then heated and used to “stamp” a foiling film onto the paper stock.

LETTERPRESS:

is very similar to foiling in it’s need for a creation of a letterpress plate.
However, instead of heat pressing a foil film onto the paper, thin quantities of ink are rolled onto the plate before it is pressed onto the paper.

Due to the natural indent that letterpress provides, thicker cardstocks are required for these jobs, which increases their production costs.

UV INK:

is required for printing done on non-paper media like acrylic and glass. Due to the fact that many non-paper media do not have an “absorption rate”, inks tend to dry differently on these substrates. If the incorrect inks are used, smearing will occur.

UV printing sets a specific ink using an ultraviolet light, much like the UV light used to set gel nail sets.

WHITE INK:

ink, in general, is a coloured, but transparent liquid. Because our base papers tend to be white, we are able to print around areas of text, creating the illusion of “white text”.

However, for printing on dark backgrounds, or clear substrates, the transparent properties of the ink will make any printing either less visible, or not visible at all. A thick, whiteout-like ink is then required to act as a blocker/base to either create that white text look, or allow the text on your clear acrylic to stand out.

Do you offer guest addressing services?

We certainly do! If you wish to let us take care of the addressing for you, we will send you an excel spreadsheet to input addresses, and we take it from there!

I have something specific in mind. Can you help?

We love coming up with ultra unique design solutions for our couples, and would love to help you with yours!

With our extensive printing knowledge, we know how to make things one-of-a-kind! Your imagination and budget are our only limits!

I’m thinking about booking a discovery call. What can I expect?

We understand that this is many couples’ first time experiencing this type of printing, and understand that it can be a bit daunting. So, we strive to turn a trip to the unknown into a fun journey.

We strive to be open and honest with regard to costs and printing possibilities. We also don’t want to waste your time if we are not a good fit for your needs. To help us determine if we could be a good fit, we begin the process with the completion of a 15-minute, complimentary discovery call. Since custom stationery is not within every couple’s budget or timeline, in this call, we will explore your budget, your vision, and your timeline to see how our services can meet your unique needs.

If our design services can be tailored to meet your needs, we will ask you to fill out a pre-consultation form. Once that form has been submitted, we will schedule a one-hour consultation either in person or on video chat, to work out the specifics of the stationery you require.

Based on the information gathered at the consultation, you will be provided with a quote for stationery items that we discussed.