ELEGANT CUSTOM INVITATIONS IS 5!!!!! Plus Special offer

I'm so excited and feel so blessed; ELEGANT CUSTOM INVITATIONS IS 5!!!!! WOOHOO!!!
This company was birthed from my love for beautiful paper, typography and gorgeous stationery. A while after the company started, I made the tough decision to quit corporate America and embark on this amazing journey fulltime. Even though it was a scary decision at the time, I'm glad I took the risk to do something I LOVE AND ENJOY DOING; I have never looked back!
Over the past years, we have had the pleasure of working with many fabulous brides, celebrants and of course, awesome wedding professionals. We have grown, learnt so much (and still learning) and come a long way in a short while. I thank God for the beautiful brides/colleagues/friends who keep challenging us each year and for His many blessings in this industry. I look forward to many more creative and fulfilling years ahead!!!

In celebration of our 5th year anniversary, we have a special offer for you....


Offer applies only to new custom invitation clients who make a deposit and sign an agreement between now and December 31, 2011. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Discount applies only to invitations of $500 or more. Not valid for use on existing custom invitation projects or for other stationery like ceremony programs, tablecards, escort cards. Please contact us at info@myelegant-invitations.com or (713)408-9407 for more details.

November Weddings!

The holidays are here!!! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday with friends, families and loved ones. We have a few of our clients getting married this weekend; congratulations to them - Cindy & James, Priscilla & John, Nina & Teinbo and Gisele & Beto. We wish you guys a happy married life.

I have very exciting news to share but we'd have to wait till December for it :). Please stay tuned.


Priscilla and John Pocket Cards
I met with Priscilla and her Mom several months ago for Priscilla's destination wedding. She loved the idea of Layered Flatcard with a Satin Ribbon but she also wanted to have a pocket for her enclosures. So, I came up with the idea of incorporating a pocketcard while maintaining the original look of the Layered Flatcard. And of course, I always love the look of Black and Red. Priscilla & John were married this weekend in Puerto Rico.

Below is the Front and Back of the invitations. The pocket is on the back to keep the enclosure cards together.



Nancy and KC Wedding Invitations
When I met Nancy & KC, it was pretty close to the target date for sending out their invitations. So we had to work fairly quickly through the design and production phases. She's a pretty laid back bride and was very easy to work with. I particularly love the colors and damask look of Nancy & KC's wedding invitations. The couple were married last weekend at the fabulous Bell Tower on 34th. Her invitation was Folded Card with a Satin Ribbon embellishment.

Front of the Invitation


Inside the Invitation



Nina and Teinbo Catalog Invitations
One of the biggest compliments our clients give us is referrals. I have worked with almost all the weddings in this family and was pleased to receive a phonecall from the Groom's sister requesting invitations for her brother's wedding. I'd worked on 2 of her other brother's weddings in the past year and a half. I received the phonecall less than 2 months to the wedding date. Due to the time constraints, especially since the wedding was taking place in Nigeria, I advised it best to choose an invitation from our Catalogs. I recommended a few options and they trusted my judgement without even seeing the invitations. Below is the invitation chosen. This is from the Carlson Craft catalog. I always tell clients who choose to go the catalog route, be open minded and think about ways to customize the invitations to make it your own. This invitation comes with Black Ribbon but you can always buy your own ribbon and tie. You can view the original invitation here. As always our Carlson Craft Catalog invitations are on a 10% discount.



Cindy and James Wedding Invitations
You may remember my post on the making of Cindy & James' wedding invitations here. In addition to the invitations, we also created the Wedding Reception Seating Chart. Seating Charts are used in place of escort cards. It shows the guest what table they are to be seated at the Reception.

Trifold with Satin Ribbon and Rhinestone accents


The Seating Chart


We're off to another crazy week ahead. Do enjoy the rest of the Holiday shopping weekend!

Erin & Peter Pocket Invitations and Boarding Pass Save the dates

Hello Friends!
I hope you had a great weekend! This is an exciting month for us as we prepare for the holidays. But moreso as we prepare for the 2012 Wedding Season (phew!)
Below are some invitations we created some months ago....enjoy

Erin and Peter
Erin was one of those brides that knew what she wanted; which made the process easy. She was also an easy going bride and oh, her mom is so sweet. When they came by the week of the wedding to pick up the ceremony programs, her mom said to me, "you were one of the easiest vendors we've had to work with during this process" That always makes my heart melt :)! Anyways, Erin and Peter were married a couple of weekends ago and the fabulous Bell Tower on 34th. Her color scheme was Black and Red (love those colors btw!)

The invitations were Pocketstyle


We accented them with a satin ribbon to bring in some color


The enclosures - showing off the beautiful raised print


The Ceremony Programs were Layered Style accented with a Satin Ribbon as well.



Brooke and Jeff (Save the date booklets)
Brooke and Jeff are such a sweet couple. I love it when couples attend consultations together and you can totally see the chemistry between them. They are friends with one of our past clients. Because they're having a Tropical themed Destination Wedding in Hawaii next year, Brooke wanted the Save the dates to mimic the old boarding pass booklets. Without further ado, here's what we came up with. [and the couple loved them!]

The cover of the booklet with the hibiscus flowers


We had 4 insert pages for the Travel Information, Hotel Accommodation and Schedule of Events.




Sarah's Sweet 16
Sarah's mom lives in New York so the design process was done mostly via email and telephone. She was throwing a Peacock Themed Sweet 16 for her daughter and wanted a Peacock feather to be incorporated into the invitations. The celebration took place last weekend in New York.

The invitation was a Layered Flatcard with a Satin Ribbon and Peacock feather accent


The peacock feather was also incorporated into the print on the Response cards



That's all for now... I hope you have a safe and productive week ahead!

Kelley & DuJuan Silk Pad Wedding Invitations and more

Hello Everyone!
Happy New Month!!!! It's unbelievable that we're already in November. I've been a little behind on blogging as October was an incredibly busy month.
I'd wanted to blog about these invitations since we produced them back in June. I met Kelley and her lovely mom several times at different places. First we met at the January Bridal Extravaganza, then we met again at the Bell Tower Open House in February. Afterwards she came in with her mom. I didn't hear back from her for a bit and we met again at the Houston Bride's Evening of Bridal Luxury in March. Kelley was very specific on what she wanted. She wanted to make a statement with her wedding invitations. And she wanted the silk pads. I totally love her wedding invitations. Kelley and DuJuan were married last weekend at the oh-so-gorgeous Bell Tower on 34th. Enjoy...

The Silk Pads with the Pearl Brooches


The Silk Pads with the Pearl Brooches


The Silk Pads were placed neatly into Box mailers


The RSVP cards


Box Mailers all ready to go!



Tekara and Chris
Tekara and Chris were guests of one of my past clients - The Agrawals. She received the wedding invitation and totally fell in love with it. So she requested the stationer's information from the Agrawals and contacted us for a consultation. Tekara has to be one of my sweetest brides till date. The couple were wed in a private ceremony in Hawaii. A week after the ceremony, they hosted a wedding reception in Amarillo, Texas. Below is the stationery we created for their big day.

Gatefold Style Invitations


Inside the invitations


Layered Flatcard Tablecards


Tent Escort Cards with Brown and Crystal rhinestones indicating the guests meal choice.


Single Panel Signature Drinks card. Tekara chose to place these in frames


Folded Thank you notes with the couple's monogram



Julia and Michael Stationery
I blogged about the Wedding Invitations and accessories we created for Julia & Michael's wedding. You can view the post here.

The couple had a Fiesta themed wedding celebration after their honeymoon. So we created a custom patterned backing for the invitations.


For Julia's Thank you note, she wanted to carry on the layering style from her other stationery. So we added a copper backing to the Flatcard. We created a married monogram for the couple. All items were completed in Raised print.



Amber and Daniel
I met with Amber, Daniel and Amber's Parents very early in the year (probably January). She was having a wedding on the Yacht and she wanted to incorporate a textured cardstock to her invitations. We came up with the idea of also incorporating the yacht watermark on the invitations as well. The bride loved the invitations and we were happy with the outcome as well. Amber and Daniel were married on October 1st in League City, Texas.

Folded Card with Textured backing



That's all folks! Enjoy the rest of the week...

Do you really custom make these?! (The making of a Custom Invitation)

Hi Everyone,
Hope you're having a great weekend!
I always get asked if we really make the custom invitations by hand and the answer is "Yes". For our custom invitations, we begin the process with the design (which is done in-house), before moving into production (also done in-house).

A while ago, a friend and colleague of mine suggested I write a blog on producing custom invitations. Due to the craziness of the wedding season, the last thing I had time for was taking pictures before, during and after production. There just isn't time to do that. As we were about to begin producing the invitations below, I remembered his suggestion and made a conscious effort to take pictures each step of the way. This is actually a fairly simple production line. There are more intricate/time consuming steps for other invitation styles. I hope to do another post shortly on another style.

So, here's a little behind-the-scenes look at our production. Every custom invitation process begins with the design/proofing phase. Below are the design proofs (not shown are the invitation & rsvp envelopes because they have our client's address:)) This invitation is a bit unique because it was done in 2 languages - Vietnamese and English. In addition, the American Invitation wording etiquette and order names are slightly different.

All the cardstock (Invitation layers, RSVP cards, Reception cards and Front Tabs)have been "raised" printed, cut and ready to begin.


The ribbon is then cut and ready to be "blinged up"


The first phase is to embellish the invitation layers with the ribbon and Rhinestone accents


The cut ribbon strips are embellished


The embellished ribbon is mounted onto the invitations


Cindy chose a z-card style invitation. The invitation layers are then mounted onto the Z-cards


The Reception cards are mounted onto the inner flap of the Z-card


Finally, the front tabs are attached to the front of the Z-cards


Voila! Completed Invitations!


Hope you enjoyed the post. Do have a lovely weekend!

Our Couture Silk Products

Our Couture Invitations are our high end custom invitations that are created using gorgeous and high quality embellishments. At Elegant Custom Invitations, our Silk invitation boxes are constructed from wood - not cardboard. In addition, we offer 100% hand woven pure silk or a lower priced faux silk for all of our silk products. Both include wood construction and premium grade padding that is thicker to provide a more luxurious look. The padding is included in all of the usual places and the sides of the inside of each box as well. They are truly heirloom quality. You know your family and friends will receive a special gift from your event that will last a lifetime!


Premium Gate Silk Box


Premium Silk Pad


Silk Gate Folio


Silk Pad

There are many overseas box manufacturers advertising that they sell "silk" invitation boxes of "exceptional quality" for a price of $10 - including shipping. These boxes are made with polyester. In addition, you get a significant bill for import duties & taxes into the US that is not included in their pricing. This should be factored in when comparing pricing. In addition to using polyester fabric, they use a thin cardboard as the base of the invitation box construction, and a thin layer of foam padding on the outside top of the box, and the inside bottom of the box. It is important to note that there are different levels of quality and craftsmanship.

When shopping around for your silk invitation boxes, be sure to obtain all important details and ask the right questions. Here is a list of questions that you can ask:
1. Is the fabric 100% pure hand woven silk?
2. What are your boxes constructed from?
3. What thickness of padding do you use and where specifically is it used?
4. How much extra will it cost me in import duties & taxes to import the silk boxes into the US?

For more information on our Couture Invitations, please visit the Couture section of our website.

Photo credit: Rhphotoarts for Elegant Custom Invitations

Internship position at Elegant Custom Invitations

Hi Everyone!
We're looking for a creative and outgoing intern for Fall 2011 and Spring 2012. If you (or someone you know) are interested in working in our creative, fast-paced and exciting studio, please email your resume to jobs@myelegant-invitations.com.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the week!

Top 5 Wedding Invitation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them!

Whether you're having your wedding invitations custom designed or ordering from a catalog, purchasing invitations can be a detailed process. Between the timing, cost calculations and diction, it's hard not to lose track of something and make a mistake. Below are five things you definitely want to avoid:

1. Have Realistic Budget Expectations
Avoid the wedding invitation "sticker shock" with proper planning and research. Before you get your heart set on the "perfect" invitation, determine your estimated number of guests as well as your bottom-line budget. Also, don't forget to consider the cost of postage and any additional stationery you may need (such as thank-you notes, programs, menu cards etc) when making calculations. Most newly engaged brides are unaware of how much wedding stationery cost. Check out my post here on having realistic expectations for invitations.

2. Don't Procrastinate!
A very common mistake in the wedding invitation process is not allowing enough time to choose, purchase AND print the stationery. Wedding invitations should be mailed six to eight weeks in advance, and production often takes up to 4 weeks for custom invitations and 5 - 7 business days for catalog invitations. So when should you order them? We say no less than six months just to play it safe. You will also avoid last minute stress and rush fees by planning ahead.

3. Order the Correct Quantity
When placing your order, be sure to account for late additions to the wedding, lost invites and keepsakes. It's generally suggested that you order 10-15% more invites than you think you need. Quick tip: Avoid ordering too many invitations by organizing your guest list by couple and family rather than individually. There are so many guest list tools available on the internet eg. The Knot, GetMarried etc. Ordering fewer invitations can result in unnecessary stress and more money to get additional quantities. In most cases, it costs more to order invitations in smaller quantities than it does to order them in bulk. And it is almost inevitable that you would have last minute guest additions, lost invitations or forgotten guests. Make sure to start on your guest list early and order extra invitations.

4. Avoid Typos
Proofread, proofread, proofread! Ask your family members and friends to read over your invitation proof a gazillion times, and even when they have given you the thumbs up, look over it one more time. How embarrassing would it be to send out an invitation with your mother-in-law's name spelled incorrectly? (Can you say mortifying times ten?!?)

5. Use the Right Postage
This one seems like a no-brainer, but don't assume your invitations require the standard postage amount. Compile one complete invitation including any enclosures, and take it down to your local post office to have it weighed before placing postage on the envelope. You should also ask the post office about any upcoming postage increases as you may need to buy the Forever Stamp, which is good no matter how many increases are made through the U.S. Postal Service.

I hope this helps you as we prepare for the 2012 wedding season.

Detail credit: GetMarried.com and Elegant Custom Invitations

Exciting Updates

Hi everyone!
Happy Monday morning! I hope you had a wonderful weekend...

In more exciting news!!!! We received an invitation to join the Style Me Pretty Texas Weddings prestigious network of vendors! Style Me Pretty, an industry leading wedding website, receives over 12 million pageviews a month (and counting!). The Texas site provides SMP readers with gorgeous local weddings and content that is specific to the Texas area. This is an exclusive invitation so we are definitely honored to have been asked and we love Style Me Pretty!

Check out our post on the blog! (Click on image below)



Shop Catalog Invitations Online
I am happy to announce that we have partnered with eInvite to bring you more fabulous wedding stationery. You can now shop from the Checkerboard collection directly online. Click here to view the collection.
If you're in the Houston area and would prefer to stop by the studio, we have a few of the albums to look through in the office studio.

Do enjoy your week!

New Website, Julia & Michael etc

Hello Friends!
I hope you had a great weekend! The last few weeks have been busy in the studio; meeting new 2012 brides and working on existing projects for 2011 - 2012 brides.

Several weeks ago, we delivered some Couture Invitations. Below is a sneak peek at the Silk Invitation Pads with Pearl Rhinestone Brooches. More to come on these after the wedding.

Silk Invitation Pads


Completed Invitations in Boxes ready to go!

The New Website is up!
I am excited to announce that our new website launched earlier this month. Check it out

http://www.elegantcustominvitations.com/


Julia & Michael
Sometimes, we work with brides for a year for all their wedding stationery. Julia is one of those brides. I met Julia and Michael with her fabulous wedding planner, Alia Rdissi with Belle of the Ball. Michael's mom immediately loved the diagonal pocketfold and the couple loved it as well. They were such a lovely couple to work with and I was pleased with the way the stationery turned out. Below are some of the stationery we created for them. I say some because we're also creating invitations for a Mexican Themed after-wedding party the couple is throwing for guests most of whom could not attend their small wedding. I'll be blogging those after the event :).
Julia & Michael were married last weekend at Second Baptist Church with the reception at the lovely Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa. I received a text message from Alia the night of the wedding..."I have to say these were the prettiest programs I've done...ranks in the top 2. everything was gorgeous...including Julia of course. Thank you for all you did Christiana!"


Wedding Invitation was a Square Pocket with a Satin Ribbon accent. We used textured cardstock for all the printed materials to keep with Julia's rustic feel.



Inside the Invitation with the Enclosure cards neatly tucked in the Pocket



Tea Length Layered Flatcard Menu cards



I particularly loved these programs. I always like when brides entrust us to create something different for them and that was the case with Julia.



The tent Escort cards



Layered Flatcard Tablecards


Microsoft MGX Awards Dinner
For a second year in a row, we were contacted to create invitations for Microsoft MGX VIP Awards Dinner. The dinner was held late July in Denver, Colorado. Below are the invitations.


Layered Flatcard with Satin Ribbon and Pearl accent


The invitations were presented to the recipients in Boxes

Okay, that's all folks...have a great and productive week!