Crisp blacks and whites with diamante and crystals

We’re just love adding a bit of sparkle – diamanté or Swarovski crystals. Here we feature Chic with a round diamanté buckle, Capture with crystals and Chic with a heart diamanté buckle.

Gold for your wedding stationery

Here, we feature Monogram, Vintage and Twinkle designs in soft, luminous gold – all of these can be customised to your exact specifications!

Subtle silver touches to your wedding stationery

Silver is beautiful on its own, or with a touch of colour, crystals or diamanté. Here we feature Monogram, Heart and Amour.

If you’re looking for something a little different, be inspired by our spring and summer colours.

First stage: Order Save the Date cards as soon as possible after you have fixed your wedding date: usually at least 9 months to a year before your wedding. These cards are a great idea if your wedding is at a popular holiday time or mid-week – make sure your most important guests aren’t busy elsewhere. Don’t worry too much about colours at this stage – just choose something you love. You can coordinate later!

Second stage: Order Invitations, RSVPs and pocketfolds. We recommend sending out invitations at least 2 months prior to the wedding. You’ll also need to allow enough time for your stationer to make the items (we ask for 4-6 weeks). Once you’ve found a design you like, choose a colour theme. Your stationer should send out a proof showing all of your details in your chosen colours. This way you’ll be sure all the details are correct before the order is completed. Consider having Pocketfolds; they contain not only the invitation but an RSVP and information card for details of hotels, directions etc. tucked inside – we love making life simple!

Third stage: Order on the day items. You can do this much nearer the wedding.  These items include menus; order of service; place cards; table cards; table plan – anything that will be used on the big day itself! We suggest making on the day items to match your invitations to follow your theme through. We know how long it takes sometimes to finalise things such as details with the vicar, caterer and your final guest list. We usually request wording for order of service and menus around 8 weeks before the wedding and details for table plans, place cards, table cards, etc. 4 weeks prior to the wedding.

Fourth stage: Order favour boxes and thank you cards. You can actually order these at the same time as any of the previous steps – many of our clients have purchased these at the same time as the invitations! Leave the thank you card inserts blank if you want to write your own message, or we have some standard examples that you could try out. Both thank you cards and favour boxes can match the rest of your stationery too.

It is easy to order in several stages, meaning minimal fuss and the chance to evenly spread payments before your wedding! If you prefer to order everything at once, your stationer may provide the items in stages: we prepare your order in two batches – the first batch includes the invitations and RSVPs, the second includes all of the ‘on the day’ items. Of course, we give you plenty of reminders as to when we need your information!

Having set out our suggested timescales, we realise that it’s not always possible to stick to them. Don’t worry – we can often help out if you’ve got a tight timescale. Just ask us for advice, we love to help!

The invitations are the first key step to setting the tone and the first glimpse into the wedding day for your guests, so you need to decide whether you’re going for something traditional or modern, and the colours involved. Think about the sort of clothes you love, your ideal décor, and the place where you are getting married.  Many of my brides have chosen ribbon colours to match the bridesmaids’ dresses by sending a swatch of fabric in, some examples are below.

Pearl place card

Vogue table plan

Chic invitation

The fonts you use on your stationery can also set the scene really well, we offer a choice of fonts from a modern ‘Century Gothic’ to a traditional ‘Edwardian Script’. We also have some non standard fonts available, in fact we’ve got a big new list for 2011!

Look at how the difference in colours and fonts can completely alter the design – these table plans are using the same Pearl design!

Pearl table plan

Pearl table plan

Remember your ‘on the day’ stationery (these are items to be used on the wedding day e.g. menus) can match in with your invitations, so you may wish to use the same colours and fonts again here. You could be alternative like one of my couples, they chose the Allure design, but had three different combinations of their cream, dark purple and lilac colour scheme. They apparently had so many comments on the day about how alternative this was and how lovely it all looked! See what they did below.

Allure menu

Allure order of service

Allure table plan

Colours that have been particularly popular in 2010 for us are hot pink, deep purple and monochrome. There are so many different shades out there, one of the ribbon manufacturers we use has 52 colours alone, so why not try us out to match a shade for you?

Heart table card

Capture order of day

I had a recent request for a Wedgwood blue ribbon – and managed to match it!

Please do contact us if you need any further information or examples.

Cards by Sophie will be one of the exhibitors attending, we’re ready to show you some fantastic wedding stationery!

Event City Wedding Show 10th & 11th March

With free parking and lots of goodies and freebies to give away you’ll have a great day looking around.

Doors open at 10am on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th March, so pop along with your friends!

Cards by Sophie are at Stand No 13, we’ll be running a fantastic competition, with goody bags on offer and a show discount if you place your order on the day. We’ve got our full range of stationery on offer so you can browse to your heart’s content.

We offer full personalisation of any item, so you can have the ultimate flexibility of changing the font, colour or wording.

Ask us if you have any queries, the Cards by Sophie team of Sophie, Richard, Danielle and Andrea will be happy to help!

See you on the 10th/11th March!

First of all we have our new luxury range, consisting of 4 designs, Florence, Siena, Venice and Verona. Each of these comes with a textured presentation box in the price to protect the design when you send it to your guests. Have a look at the pictures below!

We also have a few other designs ready, that were recently launched at our wedding fair in Harrogate in September. These are Brigitte, Imagine, Love is Sweet and Marie. Hope you like them all!

You can order samples from just £1. Or go straight to our online shop to get ordering!

Any feedback, feel free to contact us.

Sophie x

Our new Platinum pocketfold

We’ll be showing our new ranges of wedding stationery including our fabulous new pocket fold designs. We’ll have our on the day items beautifully displayed and you’ll have the chance to order your favourite design or a sample. We’ll be there to help you decide and to walk you through the options we offer – we can match your wedding colours or help you choose. We’re also offering £40 off any orders over £250 if you place an order at the show.

Anyone ordering on the day will receive one of our great goody bags created with the support of our favourite suppliers. We’ve a special thank you to Cakes by Beth who is creating some amazing cookies for the goody bag.

The prize

• Two tickets to the show
• Personal consultation at the show with Sophie worth £75 to help you plan your wedding stationery
• Either: Stationery for your top table in your chosen design; 50 thank you cards or 50 save the date cards
• A gorgeous goody bag

If you’re not able to attend the show, you’ll receive one of our exquisite guest books instead of the personal consultation.

Five runners up will receive a goody bag.

We’re looking forward to meeting you at the show! Pop by and mention you read about us on the blog.

Our new Brigitte Design

How to win Cards by Sophie stationery

For a chance to win:

1. Follow us on Twitter @cardsbysophie or like our Facebook page.

2. Choose your favourite design and let us know why you’d like to win it on the form below.

***THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED***

Tell us a little about your business and what inspired you to set it up

After years of being a frustrated creative working as an IT Trainer in the City, I decided to leave the humdrum life and follow my passion. After re-training, Lily and May was born, focusing on wedding design. I am really inspired by creating individual designs for each wedding and love the challenge of ensuring each wedding reflects the style and personality of the Bride and Groom.

How do you like to work with your clients?

I begin by meeting with the couple so that we can discuss themes and styles and start to formulate an idea of the types of flowers they would like to use. I like to keep in close contact with the couple throughout the months leading up to the wedding where sometimes we continue to throw ideas into the pot!

Lily and May flowers

When do you ask your brides to think about her wedding flowers?

I would always suggest considering the style of your flowers once you have a good idea of the theme and colours for your day (and of course Cards by Sophie can help here!)  It is preferable for the bride to have a firm decision of the type of dress they are choosing as it can be difficult to suggest bouquets if this has not been considered.

Why is dressing the venue so important? What difference do coordinated items make?

Coordinating items and dressing the venue is extremely important as it ‘set the scene’ for the day and can completely transform a venue. I get great satisfaction from walking into a venue and seeing it transform just by using flowers!

If budgets are tight, what are the top 3 items you think a bride should definitely go for?

Try and think of areas that will be photographed or look under dressed, I would consider the following as high on the list:

• Bridal Flowers
• Groom’s Buttonhole
• Top Table Arrangement

Sweet Avalanche Rose and Purple Hydrangea Door Wreath

What questions should brides ask their florist if they’re not lucky enough to having you working with them?

Always ask to see photos of their previous work. Ensure you ask which flowers are in season on your wedding day and how many weddings the florist will book on any given day. If you can, make sure you have some face to face-to-time with the florist as it’s important to feel comfortable and confident in their skills.

How do you manage to switch off?

The simple answer to that is I don’t! I think most people who run their own business would say the same. However nothing beats going out for dinner with friends, then I am likely to switch off, even if only for a few hours!

Bouquet for a client with a black and white theme - we also did their on the day stationery!

Table plan we did for the same wedding!

What’s your current favourite Cards Sophie’s Designs?

I love the Rosa design, I think it’s that vintage twist I am drawn to!

Spicy purples for your wedding stationery

We just love these spicy purples. Designs features are Allure, Petal and Rosa. We can find the exact purple of your dreams!

Warm reds for your wedding stationery

These warm reds suit so many different venue styles, but we’re thinking of sumptuous, elegant settings for our Monogram, Chic and Vintage designs. Remember you can change the fonts, buckles, flower and ribbon colours as desired!

Rich cappuccino and dark coffee colours

Rich cappuccino and dark coffee colours are elegant and sophisticated. Here we feature Monogram, Vogue with two contrasting ribbons and Pearl on a bronze shimmer pocketfold.

These are just a few of the designs and colours we offer, remember, we are always here to help you choose! Why not check out our spring and summer colour suggestions too?

Tell us a about your business and what inspired you to set it up?

I have had quite an entrepreneurial upbringing as both of my parents have their own businesses and they have enjoyed much success. So I suppose that has rubbed off on me and I have always wanted to run my own business. In my early twenties I started to get a little restless in my job and wanted a career change but I knew I wanted something I could build from scratch. So I did my training with the Institute of Professional Wedding Planners and slowly but surely began to create Bliss Weddings. In May 2010 Bliss Weddings was officially created and is one of my proudest moments.

My aim is to provide an affordable service to the couples who really need the help of a wedding planner. There is a lot of stigma attached to what I do and people think it is only reserved for the rich and famous or large, extravagant weddings. This is not the case, I believe that it is the down to earth couple who go out to work all week, run a house and look after the children that deserve my services and my packages are priced with this in mind.

In January 2011 the Bliss Weddings Academy was formed and I offer Wedding Planning Workshops to Brides who need a little help in the right direction (Sophie: such a great idea!)  It is a fantastic way to learn from the professionals. All the documents you receive as based upon those I use when planning a wedding and the inspiration boards have been created mostly around North West companies so that they are useful as possible.

How do you like to work with your clients?

I like to help them create a day that is as individual as them. First of all I like to get to know them as a couple and get to know them as the people their family and friends love. It’s lovely to find out about the proposal and their journey together so far.

A Wedding Planner is a supplier but it isn’t that simple. I don’t just turn up on the day and carry out my duties. I can be booked before anything else and I will have helped them source everything there on the day itself. It really is much more than a business relationship, overtime it does turn into a friendship. I am the one who they run too in a crisis, I am the one they call when they find THE Dress and it is just so lovely for it to be this way.

Why are on the day items so important?

I am a stickler for detail and for me personally everything needs to match. Having co-ordinated items just completes ‘the look’ of the day and although your guests won’t notice you will and you will be sat at the top table looking around the room knowing that each and every aspect of your plans has come together perfectly. Perfection is a difficult thing to achieve but attention to detail is key so that you don’t look back and think ‘gosh I should have chose x’

What are the top 3 items on the day items you think a bride should choose?

My top 3 items if you’re keeping an eye on the budget are:

• Favours ‒ they inject colour into the table. If you are having white or ivory linen you need to bring your tables to life.
• Place Cards ‒ you need these to stop a free for all on the tables! Your guests will be able to find their seats with ease and they create an elegant look to the room. I think it just finishes the tables off nicely.
• Table Cards ‒ your guests need to know which table to go to but more importantly you can have fun with naming the tables. You can name them after something significant to you and your partner or just express your personalities and the quirky side to you.  A Wedding can become quite a formal affair and the wedding breakfast is the time when your guests can start to relax so it is your job to create that kind of atmosphere.

How do you manage to switch off?

Switch off? I live and breathe weddings! I constantly have my Blackberry in my hand so if I am not emailing or texting a bride I am on the hunt for a supplier or a particular wedding cake design. When I do allow myself a little break I love spending time with my other half and my family. I love going to the cinema, reading books and listening to my iPod. I also have a little problem with magazines ‒ I can’t stop buying them, I just love celebrity gossip and looking at all the clothes I can’t afford. Wedding Magazines are my down fall though, I just can’t resist. Every issue delivered to my door before it’s out in store.

What’s your current favourite Cards by Sophie design?

Oh no don’t make me choose! I do love all the designs but my 2 favourites are Chic in the pocket fold ‒ I just think it is lovely how everything is tied together inside. Capture is my other favourite in the cheque book style and one of my brides has just ordered these and they are stunning ‒ thank you Sophie.

The recent Capture design in turquoise we completed for a client of Katie's

My clients love the quality of the cards as well as the design. They all comment on how well made and how reasonably priced they are. I have to leave them until last because I know that they won’t want to look all my other portfolios… but they do say leave the best until last.

Tell me more

If you’re getting married between October 2011 and March 2012 you have to chance to win your wedding photography: a full-day’s photography from award winning Blue Lights Photography including a designer album of your choice from Album Epoca. A prize worth over £1200!

Blue Lights Photography based in Barnsley is run by Adele, an Award Winning Wedding Photographer who covers the Yorkshire area and beyond. Adele specialises in making images to treasure forever. Adele was Bridal Magazine’s Photographer of the Year 2010 and was a finalist for a Wedding Ideas award within her first year of business. You can be sure of a great service.

Why did Adele dream up the competition?

Adele believes that everyone should have images to treasure forever. Most people who get married in the winter months do so because they love the idea of a beautiful winter wedding but also because their budget may not stretch to an ‘in-season’ wedding. “Couples might drop the idea of having a professional photographer or go for someone they can afford rather than want. So I set up the competition for a couple to win an amazing £1200 of photography including an album – no more budget worries!”

What could I win?

The prize is worth over £1200, and includes a full-day photography from award winning Blue Lights Photography and a 10×10 ten-spread Italian Designer Album of choice from Album Epoca.

Blue Lights Photography’s full-day photography also includes the following:

• Pre-wedding consultations and pre-wedding photoshoot
• Venue visit with Bride and Groom
• DVD slideshow of pre-wedding photoshoot and wedding
• 20 photocards for thank yous
• Travel expenses included up to 50-mile radius of Barnsley, UK
• Online web gallery access and 100 postcards with details on how to access the album for guests.

How do I enter?

To enter visit Bluelight Photography competition or send an  email with your names, wedding date and venue, and why you should win. Terms and conditions of entry are on the Bluelight Photography website.

When can I enter?

The Competition is open from 1st May 2011 to 11:59pm on 30th June 2011 when 3 people will be shortlisted.

How will the winners be chosen?

The shortlist of 3 will be made by a panel of people including past and current brides, media contacts and of course Adele from Blue Lights Photography. The shortlist will be announced and then we will ask people to VOTE for their favourite on the Blue Lights Photography Blog. The winner – the person with the most votes – will be announced on 1st August 2011. We will be checking for multiple entries from the same address!

What happens next?

The winner’s name will be published and announced in the local press. We will also work with online wedding blogs and websites to promote the pre-wedding photoshoot and the wedding itself after the Bride and Groom have seen the images.