Loved by Coco… Paperknots {Award-Winning Luxury Wedding Stationery}

Paperknots, founded by purveyor of stylish paper goods Lisa Butler, recently won the much coveted National Wedding Industry Award for Best Wedding Stationery 2015.

This beautiful design company offers house collections and a fully bespoke design service, both suited to the modern couple seeking something luxe, charmingly stylish and with unexpected details to wow their guests.

As Lisa rightly points out, there’s something rather special about receiving pretty paper through the letterbox and what better way to get people excited about their post than by receiving a beautiful wedding invitation! So come and take a peek inside the Paperknots studio, glimpse Lisa’s beautiful designs and read her top tips for choosing your wedding stationery & designer…

Lisa: Hello lovely Coco readers I’m Lisa, a mocha drinking, stripe-wearing, globe-trotting, graphic designing purveyor of unique and stylish paper goods and I run a small business called Paperknots. I have a big place in my heart for Paris and am rather partial to an espresso martini, coral nail polish, sushi and good old-fashioned paper post.

My company ‘Paperknots’ is based in London and is an award winning luxury stationery and design studio. Although Paperknots was born in 2012 I’ve loved everything to do with paper and design for as long as I can remember. As a child I always had an endless array of pens and pencils and lots of pretty sketch books, which I’d spend hours filling with drawings and ideas.

As I grew older my obsession developed into a weakness for beautiful packaging design – I’m such a sucker for buying things simply for how they are presented! I took my degree in Packaging Design and my subsequent first job was as a Packaging Designer. I then moved into Graphic Design progressing up to Design Manager during my ten years in commercial design companies before setting up Paperknots.

Top Row and Bottom Row: Images by Sarah Hannam Photography. Middle Row: Image by CKB Photography. Styling by Louise Beukes Styling.

My career history and fascination with the subject probably gives you a good understanding of where my love for wedding stationery comes from. For me, a charmingly presented wedding invitation should be a beautiful gift in itself. I also love the fact that an invite sets the tone, mood and first insights into someone’s big day.

I’m very lucky to be one of those people that genuinely loves what I do and gets excited about what each new day may bring. I think one of the best things about my job is the versatility – because I offer bespoke stationery as well as the off-the-peg collections, each brief is different from the last and I love getting my hands on new ideas and seeing them come to life for each couple.

Image by Daffodil Waves Photography.

My Brand

Although versatility is key to my business I believe my own personal brand style is going to appeal to the modern couple seeking something luxe, charmingly stylish and with unexpected details to wow their guests. I’m a firm believer in ‘it’s the little things that count’ and imagine Paperknots’ customers similarly appreciate these little extra touches.

Paperknots offers both house collections and a fully bespoke design service. The house collections are designed to suit various styles of wedding so that there is a good selection for couples to choose from – you’ll find something for all tastes from contemporary to classic, rustic to romantic or even something just a little bit quirky. Nearly all of the designs are semi-customisable so that invitations can be tailored to every wedding. This can be anything from personal monograms to hand-drawn wedding maps.

Images by Anneli Marinovich. Styling by Louise Beukes Styling.

The bespoke service is perfect for the couple that are looking for the next level of detail. This option means their wedding stationery is designed entirely from scratch and is crammed with exquisite touches to truly reflect them and their wedding. I’ve worked with all types of customers from couples who have considered every last detail to those who don’t even know where to begin and I’ve loved them all!

My Advice

Here at Paperknots I believe there’s something rather special about receiving pretty paper through the letterbox. And what better way to get people excited about their post than by receiving a beautiful wedding invitation!

A wedding is one of the most exciting adventures a couple can experience – I completely share the enthusiasm of a newly engaged couple and strive to ensure that my part in their journey towards the big day is a fun and exciting one. That said, I understand that something you may know nothing or little about can be a daunting task and so I wanted to share some little bits of advice that may help you get started…

Top Row: Image by CKB Photography. Middle and Bottom Row: Images by Sarah Hannam Photography. Styling by Louise Beukes Styling.

• Firstly research your options. It sounds obvious but I think picking the right stationer is key and can change your whole experience of the process from being a just another ‘chore’ on your wedding ‘to-do’ list to something you’ll actually enjoy and get excited about (I’ve had newly self-proclaimed ‘paper-geeks’ develop from their stationery experience with me – honestly!). And remember you are most likely to deal with your stationer at two separate times of your wedding planning journey as most clients return at a later date for on-the-day items, so it’s important you enjoy it the first time around.

• When deciding which stationery company to go with it’s obviously important to look at their portfolio – does their style suit what you are looking for and just as importantly, do they fall within your budget…? It’s all very well finding a designer you love who offers beautiful stationery with ‘all the trimmings’ but costs have to come into it. Most websites will list their basic pricing structures, which should give you a good indication of costs before you’ve even enquired – but do make sure you clarify this with a full quote from the stationer when you contact them, just to ensure you haven’t misread anything.

Second Row Right: Image by Lola Rose Photography. All other Images by Hannah McClune Photography.

• So, lovely designer found, costs within budget and you’re almost ready to begin. My next tip before starting the process would be to order a sample – photography is a very clever thing and although the photographs all may look stunning, there’s nothing quite like seeing the product in the flesh. This way you’ll get a true representation of the colours, cardstocks, sizing and overall quality of the product. Would you feel proud to send this out to your wedding guests…? Remember it’s the very first glimpse they’ll get into your big day and so you want to create the right impression.

• If you are happy with everything from here, your designer will take you through their design process – I’m sure we all have our own little ways of working. Be clear with the items you require – for example with my wedding suites you can pick and choose the items desired to suit your needs and budget. Will you want little extras such as address labels or maybe envelope liners…? And don’t forget to have numbers in mind too – remember with stationery your numbers are not the same as the number of guests as most invites are addressed to couples or families, reducing the quantities. Have a date in mind for when you’d like your invites to go out by, does the designer have studio availability to accommodate your timings – and allow plenty of time for print, assembly and delivery.

I hope those little tips are of use and if there’s anything not covered I’m sure your designer will happily chat you through any other concerns you may have, or feel free to drop any questions in the comments box and I’ll do my best to help you with those.

Happy posting days ahead!

Image by Sarah Hannam Photography. Styling by Louise Beukes Styling.

It’s easy to see why Lisa walked away with her glittering award isn’t it…?

If you want to find out more about Paperknots unique designs then you can contact Lisa here. Or pop across to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for a dose of daily Paperknots pretty!

Lots of love…