Learn

Assembling your suite

Eleven steps from a clean table to the mailbox. Or skip all of it: we assemble, stamp and mail for you.

Before you start

• A clean, dry table and clean hands; no lotion, no coffee.
• Everything unboxed and counted: invitations, enclosures, RSVP cards and envelopes, liners, bands, seals, outer envelopes, stamps. Order ten to fifteen percent extra.
• One finished example assembled first and photographed; every other one copies it.
• About a minute per suite with two people. A hundred suites is an evening.

The steps

1. Invitation face up. It is the bottom of the stack and the largest piece.
2. Vellum overlay, if you have one. Laid on the invitation; attached with a band, ribbon or a single seal at the top, never glued.
3. Reception card. Face up, on top, smaller than the invitation.
4. Other enclosures. Details, accommodations, then any smaller cards; each smaller card on top of the larger, all face up.
5. RSVP card tucked under the flap of its envelope. The RSVP envelope, printed with your address and stamped, goes on top of the stack with the card under its flap, face up.
6. Belly band or ribbon. Around the whole stack, seam at the back. Fold the band crisply; tie ribbon once and trim.
7. Guest address checked. The outer envelope is already printed or lettered; match it to the guest list as you go.
8. Into the envelope. Stack slides in with the printed face toward the back flap, so the invitation is the first thing seen when the flap opens. Liner stays put.
9. Seal. Moisten lightly or use a glue stick; a wax seal goes on after the envelope is closed.
10. Return address. Already on the back flap; check it is not hidden by the seal.
11. Weigh one, stamp all, mail. Hand them to a clerk and ask for hand-cancelling to protect the seals.

Problems to avoid

• Too few. Reprints weeks later never match the first run exactly. Order extra up front.
• Crooked bands. Score a guide on a scrap card and fold every band against it.
• Warped cards. Keep boxes flat and away from humidity until assembly day.
• Smudged ink. Raised ink and foil are set when they ship; flat ink likes a day in the box before handling.
• Wrong order. Smallest on top. If the RSVP envelope ends up under the invitation, the guest never sees it.
• Postage. Square, thick or wax-sealed envelopes carry a surcharge; weigh one finished suite first.

Questions

Keep going