Full custom is for couples looking for a completely original suite, designed specifically for their celebration, from the ground up, no templates.
Created specifically for each individual couple, these suites are entirely new and fresh. The intention for all of our custom work is to reflect the story of the couple we are creating for so that their paper goods are a seamless prelude to their celebration and anchor the design experience day of. We love the opportunity to help set the tone and express our clients’ wedding vision on paper.
We work with a limited number of custom clients per season, booking between 10 and 15 weddings annually (capped at 2 per month) so we can focus deeply on every part of the process with our couples and their event planners.
We are happy to start by providing a preliminary estimate to all new custom inquiries reflecting the cards needed, quantity, and any potential embellishments you might be interested in. Our pricing isn’t a secret and we’re here to help guide you on what options will be available within your paper budget. This is just a starting point and can be updated and refined at any point along the way.
After a review, we love connect with a phone consultation, either with the couple or their event planner/designer. We want to learn about you! This is when we discuss your overall wedding aesthetic and talk through specific must haves for your design. Looking for a custom monogram? Love beautiful typography? Dying to introduce some non-traditional materials into your suite? Share it all. This is why we love what we do. We want to take the raw ideas you have and turn them into something tangible and beautifully specific to your love story.
During this call we will also walk you through our design process and answer any questions you have about what to expect when working with our team.
If after our call you decide you’d like to move forward, there are a couple quick steps to secure your date on our calendar. We will send over a pdf of our Custom Design Agreement for your review and signature. The agreement outlines the full terms of our design work. We also require a 20% design retainer based on the invitation suite estimate total. This will be applied toward the final invitation suite balance and can be paid online via a payment link we share.
Once those two steps are complete, you are officially booked on our calendar and we are all in for designing your dream suite!
We cannot hold space until these two steps are completed and we typically book at least 75% of our dates before the year starts. If custom is for you, book early.
After we have a more defined sense of your design preferences and style, we move on to proofing! This is where the magic happens.
We pull inspiration from our conversations about your aesthetic, images you have shared through Pinterest or a design deck created by your planner, and the tangible details you may have already finalized for your celebration, like venue, rentals, and floral.
The initial proof will start with three original concepts, integrating different elements to create distinct looks for your invitation suite (or save the date). Proofs are designed to scale and include any embellishments we discussed, like wraps, custom postage, liners, wax seals, etc.
After your initial proof review, we will either make any edits and adjustments needed until the design is perfect and ready for print, or we will present three new concepts for review.
Once a final proof is approved, we will send along an itemized invoice and a payment link for review. Your original design retainer will be applied to your invitation suite balance. Production begins as soon as payment has been received. This is the part where ideas and paper dreams become real!
Our production timeline varies for every order, based on the complexity of the suite. Our team will always estimate a completion date after proofing, but a standard estimate is 3-4 weeks.
Aerialist grew from my lifelong love of paper (I was a journal hoarder my entire childhood) and deep fascination with letterpress printing after a random intro course taken for elective credits in college.
We started our company a few years later while I was in my first year of law school. Design quickly took over as my passion project while law transitioned to more of a hobby. After graduating (over 10 years ago!), working with couples to tell their love stories through paper became my full-time dream job.
I like to think of myself as a versatile designer. There are certain styles I naturally gravitate to, but my first love is the pull of creating something original and fresh. I thrive on design challenges and I love sourcing just the right elements to create a paper experience for our clients to share with their guests.
A little more about me...Favorite House Design: Laszlo · Favorite Color: shades of gray · Favorite Book: Love in the Time of Cholera · Favorite Movie: Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version) · Favorite Music: Christmas music starting October 1st, otherwise anything with chill melodies · Drink of Choice: a whole milk latte from Badfish Coffee · Next Place I Want to Visit: Iceland · Can't Live Without: snuggles from my two boys · Favorite font: Mirande · Lucky Number: 9 · Dream Job When I Was Little: President · Something Random About Me: I’ve known my husband and business partner, Craig, since kindergarten · On Saturday, you can usually find me: Adventuring with my boys, celebrating with our big family, or sneaking in a quick read.