Melissa Nyssen, a designer and graphic artist, fashions her wedding invitations business with an eye on modern trends and a nod to the traditional past; providing the modern bride with affordable elegance and unique designs. An advocate of green and sustainable living long before it was the latest craze, her cards are made from high quality recycled and tree-free papers, the premium envelopes and stock have always been made from 100% recycled content.
Having grown up in a house of creativity, as the daughter of an artist, Melissa left the corporate world and began her own graphics business in 1991. After crafting wedding invitations for her sister, cousin and friends, she went online with her website in 1996, offering custom invitations with quick delivery. Seeing the demand for a reasonably priced alternative, she parlayed the do-it-yourself idea into today’s Formal-Invitations.com, offering hundreds of color and texture combinations inspired by current fashions, bridal trends and nature itself.
Reaching beyond the cheap quality found in craft and office supply stores and using heavyweight backgrounds layered with a overlay that is easy to print, these invitations provide quality and personalized beauty with affordability — invitations that only look expensive. Using an artist’s eye, she offers timeless vintage prints or modern clean lines, keepsake embellishments and other add-ons that give dimension and texture to echo the rich themes of today’s creative wedding choices. Cool metallics, petal papers, solid saturated colors or soft harmonious tones — there is a look available for each person’s preference.
Addressing the practical side and noting that feeding individual tiny sheets, found in most invitation kits, through a printer is extremely frustrating, Melissa found a simpler way to print on standard size 8.5×11 sheets and then cut them to proper size; the website offers step by step instructions with video and photos to take guesswork and anxiety out of the mix. Innovations such as this, plus unique elegant motifs that are up to the minute or borrowed from tradition set Formal-Invitations.com apart from the generic options offered in office supply stores and mass marketers. Bride’s and InStyle magazines as well as the Style channel have featured and recommended these distinctive boutique invitations. A true designing woman, Melissa Nyssen is thrilled to provide today’s bride or event planner with the elements that dreams are made of.
Frequently asked questions
When will I receive my order? How much is shipping?
Shipping for our premium invitation supplies is provided via USPS Priority Mail and price is based on weight and location, Shipping is free for supply orders over $35.
Can I use my ink jet/laser printer with your papers?
Our vellum overlay paper is made for ink jet and laser printers. Printing on 65# and 80# cover stock is not guaranteed by the mills, though most have no problem. We recommend using a laser printer or copier as most inkjet ink is not waterproof, though you can buy water resistant ink or use an inkjet spray fixative. Our background cards are generally too thick to print with inkjet or laser printers.
How many overlays do I need for my invitations?
Order one overlay per invitation, our 4.25×5.5 overlays are sold uncut in standard 8.5×11 sheets for ease of printing,as small precut sheets would be very difficult to setup, feed and print correctly. Each 8.5×11 sheet will provide four 4.25×5.5 overlays using our free wedding invitation templates. We will calculate the amount of sheets you will receive, for example if you order 25 overlays, you will receive (7) 8.5×11 sheets, if you order 100 overlays, you will receive (25) 8.5×11 sheets.
Do you offer reply cards and reception cards?
We offer pre-printed reply cards, please note wording cannot be changed with these cards–you can create your own cards with our blank 8.5×11 cover stock.
What is the postage required to mail invitations?
We recommend bringing a sample of the invitations with the cards to the post office to determine the postage required. If the handmade cards are used, the weight could vary for each card and we recommend having the post office calculate postage for each invitation. Hand stamping and processing is recommended.
Do you offer thank you cards or wedding programs?
You can make thank you’s with our background cards or cover stock (cut in half to make 3.5×5 cards) to fit inside our reply envelopes. The background cards can be folded to 3.5×5 booklets with a vellum insert and tied shut with a ribbon to make beautiful wedding programs.
How many supplies should I order?
Count the number of actual invitations you need to mail out, not the number of guests–it is also wise to order an additional 25 for extras, as our stock frequently changes.
What is your return policy?
Unused packs of wedding invitations supplies may be returned for a refund within 30 days of the invoice date (samples and shipping are not refundable). All items must be returned in original packaging with a copy of the invoice in a box. We cannot accept partial or used packs of supplies or items returned in an envelope, as they could be damaged during transit. Returns should be shipped to Formal-Invitations.com at 900 59th Street, Downers Grove IL 60516. We recommend using tracking and insurance, please do not send via certified or registered mail–the post office will not deliver these, and due to time constraints we are not able to travel to the post office for pickups. Please allow 30 days to receive your refund via check.
Is your site secure?
Our site is secured by Comodo offering the highest level of encryption and security possible. This means you can rest assured that communications between your browser and this site’s web servers are private and secure.
Do you have any distributors?
Some of our invitations are also sold on Etsy.com, in addition to this website.
Contact Information
We are able to offer premium wedding invitations at an affordable price because we do not have the expenses of a retail storefront or offer printed catalogues. We also offer customer service via e-mail, to keep our prices as low as possible. Our hours are 9-5 (cst) Monday to Thursday and 9-noon on Fridays. Our primary email address is info@formal-invitations.com.
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