Alaun by Design

I knew that I didn't want to spend a lot of money on the paper products. They all get thrown away anyway, right?. Alaun's prices are unbeatable, and Merissa's service is excellent. She made all of my requested changes and got everything out to me just in time. And get this: all the inserts were already IN the invites! And she'll customize for you: flushed right, centered, bold, different font, etc.

I heard about the alaunbydesign.com website from other brides. Excited by their designs and affordability, I decided to pick the "Dreamy" Collection pocketfold invitation. A positive for these invites: everything is customizable from the colors, to the font, to the ribbon. It was really fun to create my own invitation. I ordered a sample and was pleased at how professional it looked.

However, when I received my invitations, I was disappointed at the quality of the invitations. I ordered a pocketfold invitation and the inside of the invite had two different layers of cardstock. Many of the invitations were coming apart, as they were shoddily held together by small pieces of double sided tape only. I was terrified that more invitations would fall apart when I mailed them out, so I spent hours added more tape and fixing the placement of the cardstock, which looked sloppy on most of the invitations.

Also, the outer envelope had my parents address printed on the back flap. Normally this looks classy, but they used a very large font that looked almost comical. It took up most of the back flap of the large, outer envelope. When I called to complain, I was treated rudely by the staff and reminded that I signed the contract. I ended up buying my own envelopes that matched and printing them on my own computer.

In the end, the invitations looked decent thanks to my repair work. I wish I had spent the extra money to go through a real printer.

I found this vendor via The Knot message boards. They are actually located in Nebraska but I found it pretty easy to work with them despite the distance. Their website features many invitation designs and I think you can also design your own for a small fee. I chose one of their existing designs. I didn't have time to get a sample of the invite so they just sent me samples of the materials they would use so I could make sure I chose the right colors for everything. The invitations turned out beautifully. The only thing I will say is to make sure you keep records of everything you tell them (if you talk with them maybe follow up with an email detailing your phone call). There were some discrepancies in my order but it all worked out in the end. They also did programs and table signs for me and they were gorgeous. All in all a good vendor.

I really wanted pocketfold invitations, but I didn't want to spend a fortune for them, so Alaun by Design provided the perfect solution. I ordered the "Dreamy" invitation, and they were both affordable and gorgeous. I most likely will be ordering my programs from them as well to save myself the grief of trying to do it myself! If you are looking for affordable elegance, Alaun by Design is a great vendor.

While at times Alaun by Design was frustrating to work with, overall the extra effort is worth it for the quality and prices. Hands down, Alaun by Design was the most reasonable stationary vendor (without looking cheap)that I found. One note of caution is to be sure to order early! Due to a supply issue, my invitations were late and there wasn't much assistance offered to me by Alaun (or an apology). That said, I ordered my invitations, programs and menus from them, and everything looked beautiful. Merissa worked with me to custom design my invites and programs, and I was very pleased with the end products.