About
Our Story…
About Us
Invitations by Design is a custom invitation company, specializing in wedding invitations and accessories. Founded in 2008 and our studio is located in downtown Geneva, Illinois along the Fox River.
We offer a first class, full-service experience that makes the process of designing and ordering your invitations fun and stress free. We provide everything from engagement announcements, shower invitations, save the dates, wedding or event invitations, place cards, programs, menus, favors, welcome letters/baskets and thank you notes. We have designers that will combine your vision and their creative design background to get exactly the look that you want. We offer an extensive selection of printing options including digital printing (plus digital white, silver and gold), letterpress, engraving, thermography, blind embossing/deposing or foil stamping.
Our Founder
Tara Vanderheyden founded Invitations by Design back in 2008. Over the years the company has evolved with her creativity and passion to create unique and beautiful invitations. She started off making pocket folders by hand in her basement for her small client list.
Now Invitations by Design has hundreds of paper and pocket folder options. With a wide range of printing options and mediums the product line has expanded significantly. New options like acrylic and custom silk boxes make for really unique invitations.
Tara’s passion is in creating custom designs for clients to present guests with the perfect invitation.
No matter what your vision for your wedding day or special event is, we hope to be your partner in making beautiful and memorable invitations and paper accessories. We look forward to working with you to help make your event special!
How Custom Invitations Work
Invitation Preparation Checklist
Please review the checklist before meeting with one of our invitations specialists to see if you’re ready to start the invitation process.
Event Date
Have you finalized a date yet?
Once you have a date, we recommend you start meeting with us 7-13 months ahead for save the dates and 6 – 8 months ahead for wedding invitations.
Venue
Do you have a location for the wedding & reception?
Your invitations set the tone for your wedding and gives your guests a glimpse of what to expect. Having a confirmed location will help you pull together the overall look you want for the wedding day.
Colors and/or Theme
Have you locked in on a color scheme or theme yet?
When ordering custom invitations, every little detail is chosen to reflect you and your vision. Having a clear color scheme or theme is necessary to help start the process. Your invitations should clearly announce the type of event you want and having a color scheme in mind will help convey the overall tone or mood of the event.
Answer “yes!” to all the above questions? You are ready to start the invitation ordering process!
Wedding Stationery Timeline
When to meet and start ordering all your paper goods:
6-8 Months Ahead
Order Invitations
We recommend setting up an appointment to meet with one of our invitation specialists 6-8 months in advance. This allows ample time to create a custom sample and finalize all the details included in your invite! Invitations are sent 8-10 weeks prior to the big day. Response dates are typically set up for 4 weeks prior to the wedding.
7-13 Months Ahead
Order & Send Save the Dates
Save the dates are typically sent 6 – 12 months prior to the big day. They give your guests advanced notice of your wedding date and time to make any necessary travel arrangements.
1-3 Months Ahead
Order Day of Items
Programs, place cards, table numbers, welcome letters, favors
and any other additional day of pieces should be ordered 1-3 months
in advance. We also recommend ordering your thank you notes at this time so you have them accessible and ready to send!
Outside Those Suggested Timeline Dates?
No need to worry! At Invitations by Design, we create a custom time line of approval and deadline dates for you to ensure your project stays on track.
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