Real Custom Invitations

Real Card Studio specializes in high-quality, handcrafted invitations. “We make invitations that look handcrafted, but not handmade,” said Mary Beth Maines, co-founder of Real Card Studio. She and Rachel Brandzeo started the company five years ago.

Real Card Studio offers unique designs at every price point and for every occasion including birthdays, weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and corporate events. The company uses ribbon, hand stitching, letterpress, calligraphy, foil and more to make its creations. “We do everything by hand, including tying bows and coloring,” Mary Beth said.

The staff of six takes extra care to make sure that every calligraphy stroke and fabric bow are the same from card number one to number 1264. Mary Beth explained that one project took two people five days to hand color. “It was fun until about day three. That’s a lot of coloring.” But despite the hand cramps, Mary Beth went on to say that all the hard work is worth it. “There’s something special about being a part of the happiest days of people’s lives.”

The results are eye-catching designs to say the least. They have caught the eyes of George H.W. Bush, Melissa Etheridge, Faith Hill, Geraldo Rivera, CeCe Winans and even “Friends.”

When choosing an invitation, Mary Beth advises to use sample books as just a starting point. “The only limits are budget and imagination.” She also said to think through the entire event at once. “If a bride wants hand lettering for the invitations, she should consider the same for thank you notes, favors, menus and save-the-date cards. Thinking through the entire event means she could develop a theme and reduce expenses overall.” But Mary Beth did caution that the event doesn’t have to exactly match an invitation. “There’s nothing that says if a bride loves a chocolate brown invitation that she must have a brown wedding.”

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