To DIY or not to DIY?

As a stationery designer, I often hear brides at fayres saying that they'll be 'DIYing' their invites, instead of having them done professionally.
With the average wedding costing around £20,000, it's not surprising that over the last few years more and more brides are choosing DIY Stationery to cut costs.

But before you dash out to the nearest craft store, I'd just like to point out some of the reasons why you might want to consider professional stationery instead:


1. DIY will take longer than you think
As well as costing thousands of pounds, weddings take many hours, days and weeks to organise - apparently, the average wedding will take 250 hours to plan!
With the addition of creating your own stationery, you can expect to add at least another full weekend to this, plus the time it takes to source materials and design your stationery. Is this time that would be better spent elsewhere?

If you are thinking of enlisting the help of your bridesmaids and friends whilst enjoying a glass of wine, we advise against it. If your friends aren't as fussy as you would like them to be, or the embellishments get wonky after a glass too many, you'll end up having to redo them - adding more cost to your stationery.

2. You need to have a creative mind
Coming up with a beautiful design is no easy task, especially when you have to recreate it another 199 times to complete the set!
It's easy to copy off other designers, but you have to bear in mind that all designs (regardless of who created them) are protected by copyright. Plagiarism is taken very seriously in the design world, and infringement of copyright is highly likely to lead to prosecution - which will cost you an awful lot more than it would have done to have the company make the stationery for you!
No one wants stationery that looks like a bad copy of a design your friends may recognise anyway.

3. Card stock and embellishments don't come cheap!
Professional wedding stationers spend a long time sourcing the best suppliers at the best prices, as well having trade accounts and ordering in huge quantities to lower costs. Buying your card, ribbon, crystals and other supplies from local craft stores or Hobbycraft will cost considerably more than trade prices - often 2 or 3 times the price. You will also need to buy extra to cover mistakes, printing errors etc.

4. Do you have suitable design software?
And we don't mean Microsoft Word! Professional designers have access to software which is usually too expensive to purchase for a one time use. Designing your invites in MS Word is very limiting, and won't give the finish of a professional design program. You will also need to be ready to do many many test prints before you get an acceptable result.

5. First impressions count!
Your stationery reflects the look and feel of your special day, and is the first thing your guests will see. Whilst it can be rewarding to create something unique for your special day, it can also be disappointing if your invites don't turn out quite as you expected. Be prepared to admit defeat if all is not going to plan, rather than send out something you aren't happy with.

6. We are here to help!
Take advantage of the advice available from wedding suppliers. We understand that all weddings are different, and people have different budgets. So whether your budget is £50,000 or £5,000, there is no harm in asking what is available for the money you have to spend. Quite often with wedding stationery, we can make changes to the design to make something that seemed too expensive at first, a lot more manageable. Making simple changes such as the size of the card, or the type of ribbon can have a dramatic effect on the price. Why not tell us what you're looking for, and we'll try to help make it fit your budget?

We hope this information will help you make an informed decision when it comes to ordering your stationery. If you have any questions at all, do please get in touch.

Paul Kenton - Artist

I came across this talented artist through my local art store, Rennies, and fell in love with these paintings! I would love to have one of these on my bedroom wall.

My favourite things about this artist:
1. He paints cityscapes, including Paris and New York - 2 of my favourite places!
2. He's got an unusual scribbley style!
3. His use of colour is amazing

Check out his website for more amazing city art: www.paulkenton.com

Images from www.renniesgallery.co.uk

Bespoke Thank You Cards...

We've been busy in the studio creating a set of gorgeous Thank You cards for a client's wedding party. The design is 'Glamour' in aubergine, and features a sparkling deep purple Swarovski crystal heart pendant. The heart is attached to a silver plated pendant bail, and can be removed from the card and put on a chain afterwards. A gift and a greeting card all rolled into one - You can't get THAT from Hallmark!!

Redesign...

Today I'm working on the website. I decided it needed a bit of a redesign!
It's a bit tedious though, so I'm doing it a bit at a time. I'm hoping to do 2 or 3 pages a day, so it's not so daunting!
Until then, the old website will be in use, so you can still view the wedding designs.
I'll let you know when the new one goes live! :)
Gem x

Recommend a Friend!

Have you already ordered your stationery with us?
Why not tell your friends? As a special thank you, we'll give you £15 so you can treat yourself to something nice!

As a double bonus, your friend will get 10% off their order!

Get your friend to quote your name when they place their order for over £200 with us, and we'll send you a cheque within 7 days.
This offer is exclusively available to past and present customers of Gem Occasions.

My first blog!

I'm totally new to this blogging lark, so I'm still trying to grasp how it all works!
Hopefully when I get to grips with it I'll be updating on a weekly basis, so please keep coming back and see what fabulous new stuff we have to offer!

And if any of you have photos of your stationery (wedding or otherwise) in use, we'd love to see! It would be great to feature you on the blog :)