The Amyverse: The bespoke wedding stationery process

The Amyverse

Owner: Amy Goble

Est. 2018 West Sussex (UK wide shipping)

Instagram: @amyverse︱Facebook︱www.theamyverse.com︱Shop

Photos: @jessicabevanphoto

Tell us a bit about what you do...

I am a modern calligrapher and illustrator and I specialise in bespoke wedding stationery. I run my business The Amyverse, which I decided to call The Amyverse because it is my universe. Designing and creating is my world, and I love to share my passion for this with the couples that I work with. As a self-confessed calligraphy addict, I love to use my hand-lettered calligraphy in my designs. I have drawn for as long as I can remember so being able to include personal illustrations in my stationery is something I love. I love to draw wedding venues in particular, they are such special places so I take a lot of time and care to create an illustration they will be proud to show to their guests. Many couples often chose to get a print for their first (paper) wedding anniversary.

What makes your service unique?

I pride myself on designing wedding stationery that is bespoke and individual to the couples. I take time to learn about their relationship and wedding day so that I can create them the wedding stationery that they have been dreaming of and that reflects them as a couple and their vision for their wedding day. The invitations set the tone for the day and get the guests imagining what the celebration will be like, so I take a lot of time and care to make them something special that will wow their guests. With all my stationery, I then create on the day pieces such as signage, table plans, orders of service and place cards that perfectly match the invitations so that all the details of the day work perfectly together.

As the service I offer is bespoke, I take a limited number of couples to ensure I give their stationery the love and care it deserves. 

Why should I consider bespoke wedding stationery?

You spend such a long time planning your special day and how it will reflect you as a couple. Your invitations are your guests first insight into the day and this is where you can really build excitement. In a world where most of our life is digital, the excitement of a letter in the post addressed in calligraphy with a wax seal on the back is sure to be met with some excitement. Each invitation suite is unique to that couple, I encourage my couples to be part of that creative process and share ideas and themes so that I can create the stationery that they have been imagining. Custom invitations allow me to include unique illustrations such as venue illustrations, portraits of the couple and the exact flowers that will be decorating their venue.

Invitations and your matching wedding stationery are such a special keepsake after the day. Beautiful hand-lettered calligraphy place cards make your guests feel special as they sit down to your wedding breakfast. It shows you have thought about them and taken the time to get them something made just for them. These always get taken home by guests! I have a couple of my previous clients who have made ‘The Amyverse Shrines’ (their words not mine) where they have framed and displayed all their special pieces from the day. These are pieces you have carefully chosen and they are one of a kind.

Bespoke stationery is more affordable than you might think. I can make recommendations on design and paper based on your budget.

The bespoke stationery process...

Once a couple has booked The Amyverse for their stationery, I offer them a free design consultation where we go through all the details and discuss their vision for their wedding. This is also a lovely chance to get to know each other. I am lucky that as a stationer, I am often one of the first suppliers involved and I will often work with them even after the wedding for their thank you cards. We have a look at their pintrest boards and any inspiration they have saved so that I can get a feel for their wedding. We discuss any themes and colour scheme. I also make recommendations for complementary colours to work with the colour palette. We spend a lot of time talking about the design and I will mock up rough layouts for the pieces so that I am ready to start designing. We also spend a lot of time talking about paper. I love paper (probably a bit too much) but there are so many amazing choices. I will make recommendations based on the style the couple are going for, their budget and what I think will work best with their colour scheme and design. The consultation is also where I share my recommended suppliers, I have a network of suppliers that I love to work with and I know will do a fantastic job for my couples.

After the consultation, my favourite part happens - the creating. I love to send my couples sneak peaks as I start working on their bespoke stationery. If they have ordered a venue portrait or custom illustration, I like to send photos as I go along so that they can see it take shape and it builds the excitement. The calligraphy is hand-lettered for the couples so it is truly one of a kind. I can do different styles of calligraphy. Modern calligraphy is very flexible so it can be quite traditional for a more formal wedding or it can be really bouncy and bold for a modern wedding. Again, I like to make recommendations based on the design and inspiration for the wedding to make sure it is exactly what the couples imagine for their stationery.

Ahead of any designs going to print, I send a digital proof. I love this part, the emails I get back always make me smile.

Once the invitations are printed and assembled, I might add finishing touches such as bespoke wax seals or calligraphy envelopes.

Finally, the invitations are ready to be sent and I can begin working on the on-the-day pieces. 

How did you get into the wedding industry?

I absolutely love weddings. I love the whole day and get so excited about love. The Amyverse happened as a result of my own wedding. I had always loved painting and as a kid I dreamed of being an artist. I studied a foundation diploma at St Martins, University of the Arts London, but I decided to do something that I thought was more sensible at the time and studied psychology at Royal Holloway and pursued a career in education. Luckily, I met my husband Mike, or Mr Amyverse as I like to call him and it was when we were planning our own wedding the creative side of me started to come back out again. I designed our own invitations and it made me realise how much I missed drawing and creating. After our wedding, I was asked to create the wedding stationery for one of good friends and suddenly The Amyverse happened.

What is your favourite part of your job?

There is lots of admin behind running a small business so I always get very excited when it is time to create a new design. There is nothing I love more than spending the day drawing all the details and creating the hand-lettered calligraphy that will be incorporated into the stationery. One of my favourite jobs is creating calligraphy place cards. I love to light a scented candle, stick on one of my favourite podcasts and get lost in creating the place cards. Calligraphy takes a lot of time and concentration and it is lovely to zone out from the world and just focus on creating something beautiful.

Another one of my favourite parts of running The Amyverse is when the invites are collected. Although I work with couples across the UK, for local couples I encourage them to collect their invites and have a cup of tea with me while we have a chat about their on the day pieces. The squeal of excitement as they see their invitations in the flesh for the first time makes me feel amazing. I love that part so much. Hours of work goes into creating each piece and so it is wonderful to see their smile.

Tell us about any wedding trends we should look out for...

I am passionate about reducing waste and sustainability. As a small business it is important to do as much as I can to minimise my impact on the environment. I absolutely love working with recycled papers, I love the unique textures they add to the stationery. Weddings produce huge amounts of waste, so it is important to me that I can offer a more sustainable option for stationery. My favourite thing about using recycled paper is that I love knowing that I can turn waste into something beautiful and special. All my designs can be printed onto beautiful card made from recycled materials and all my designs are fully recyclable. I also love to work with recycled acrylic which is perfect for place cards, table numbers and signage.

Best piece of advice for couples currently planning their wedding...

The best piece of advice is something my dear nan said to me as I was planning my wedding. She said ‘make your marriage a honeymoon’ and that has always stuck with me. As wonderful your wedding day is, it is the first very important step in the rest of your lives together. Take time to laugh, enjoy the small things and celebrate your relationship. Sadly, both my nan and my grandad passed away before my wedding day and her and my grandad were married for nearly 67 years. They never stopped laughing together and the way my grandad looked at my nan is something I will never forget.

Tell us about any other wedding services you offer...

I have just started offering cake toppers which I am really excited about. This was initially a request from Lauren for her would-be-wedding day and I am now very proud to sell them on my Etsy shop. They are created on acrylic and feature hand-lettered calligraphy. They make a lovely little keepsake too.

I am always developing and expanding my range and I hope next year to also offer a semi-custom set of designs which can be personalised with hand-lettered calligraphy. This will allow me to work with more couples which is something I am really excited about.

I would like to offer a 10% discount for wedding stationery and 15% off my Etsy shop with the code FROMBRIDESWITHLOVE.

From Brides (and Amy), With Love xo