Bespoke design for your guests’ first impression to their last.
Niru & Baku is delighted to work with a limited number of couples per year on custom invitation and event detail design for weddings and events.
The custom design process is for someone who is excited to establish a cohesive look for an immersive guest experience. Niru & Baku designs and produces details such as save-the-dates, invitations and event details to ensure a fully branded event.
Our favorite way to work is via your wedding planner so that all details can be considered and schedules move at an efficient pace.
Our Standard
We delight in the traditional process of fine paper printing and finishing. Every formal invitation is printed on 100% cotton paper in a luxurious double-thick 220# weight that is proudly made in Dalton, Massachusetts. We partner with multiple mills who make beautifully pigmented papers in the United States and Europe to find the perfect color and texture to complement your project.
Invitations are printed using archival digital presses for flat printing and antique cast iron presses for letterpress and foil. Depending on the project, we also use vendors who laser cut, die cut and edge bevel and paint to achieve gorgeous results. We love using letterpress and foil on the main invitation and flat printing the rest of the suite to achieve a cohesive look but save on printing costs.
All printing and fine finishing is done in the United States by our trusted and talented partners.
FLAT PRINTING
Flat printing (also known as digital offset) is done with an archival digital press. This type of printing allows us to print unlimited colors in one pass. As the name suggests, there is no impression. This is the most economical of the three processes.
LETTERPRESS PRINTING
This type of printing is done on an antique press. The design is made into a photo polymer printing plate which is inked and then pressed into the paper. This process prints one color per plate. The process of pressing the plate into the paper produces a deep impression.
FOIL PRINTING
Foil printing is also printed on an antique press. The design is made into a metal printing plate which is pressed into the paper with foil leaf in between. This process prints one foil per plate. The foil is opaque and can be shiny metallic, which allows for legible printing on highly pigmented and dark paper.
THE CUSTOM INVITATION DESIGN PROCESS
Hello
It’s nice to meet you! We will have a quick chat on the phone or via email regarding the celebration you’re planning, your guest count and your guest reply preference. After our conversation, an estimate will be calculated showing price options for various printing methods and presented to you along with a production schedule.
If you say, “Yes!” we will initiate an invoice for 50% of your chosen option as a deposit to hold your spot on our custom design calendar for the year.
Design
We will be in touch with you to schedule a call with you and your event planner. On this call we encourage you to bring along anything you think would be helpful such as color swatches, inspiration photos, mood boards that you may have already shared with your other vendors, venue details and preferred wording.
A design mood board will be prepared and shared with you to establish an overall visual graphic style. Upon your approval, we will begin the design process and work on three separate directions for you based on the approved mood board.
Refine
The first round is presented at a second scheduled meeting with yourself and your planner with more refined paper and printing selections that relate to our proposed designs. We will refine the design together over three rounds until it is perfect.
A final design proof will be delivered to you for your final sign-off. Your balance is recalculated according to the approved design and is due at this time.
Press & Ship
Your balance for printing must be paid in full before the press is commissioned. All printing and production will be handled by our trusted and talented vendors in the United States.
Please allow 3 weeks after the printer is commissioned to expect an email from us detailing your shipping options. Upon confirmation and payment, your order will be delivered to you pre-addressed and ready-to-assemble.
We will be in touch again 6 weeks before your wedding date to get your event details estimated, designed, produced and delivered before your celebration begins.
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The design and production timeline for custom invitations is 10-12 weeks before your desired mailing date. We deliver your invitations about a week in advance of your mailing date to give you ample time to assemble, address (or commission a calligrapher to address) and mail. All our stationery is proudly printed and finished in the U.S.
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Your invitation mailing date is typically 4-6 weeks before your event date. If many of your guests are traveling for your event, we suggest sending your invitation 6-8 weeks in advance of your event date.
For Save-the-Dates, your mailing date is typically 6-9 months before your event date.
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Please contact us to begin the custom design process for your event 5-6 months before your event date if you have already sent out your Save the Dates.
If you have not sent them out yet and plan to with us, please contact us shortly after you set your date and venue. Shorter timelines can be accommodated on a case-by-case basis.
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We are so happy you love our work! Generally, we will not reproduce past work from real weddings because in many cases, the artwork for custom designs have been commissioned by fine artists and illustrators with usage granted for that event only. We would rather use our time with you to design something original and completely tailored to your specific celebration.
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Event details are things like weekend itineraries, food and beverage signage, directional signage, cocktail napkins and bar accessories, ceremony programs, escort cards, table numbers and dinner menus.
Printed information such as shuttle schedules, event timings and allergen and dietary notes offer your guests comfort during your multi-day event.
We also have designed and produced details to enhance experiential planning to fully integrate the concept with the overall event design.
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Yes! Please contact us at least 4 months before your wedding to get estimates for your event details based on projected guest counts and any experiential planning that has been completed.
We are delighted to work directly with your wedding planners and event decorators to ensure all on-site graphics coordinate.
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Opening orders begin at $4,000 and minimum quantity is 50 sets of invitations. For a wedding of 250 guests over three days, our clients spend on average $10,000-$18,000 for all stationery, graphic design and event details.
All printing and fine finishing for our stationery and event details is proudly done in the United States by our trusted and talented vendors to assure quality and ensure critical timelines are met.
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We do! We will work with couples who opt to design and deploy a digital invitation and collect responses via a dedicated designed website. We will then work with them to design printed materials to coordinate for their event details.
Full service custom digital invitations, deployment, guest management and website design begin at $2,450. We invite you to contact us to learn more.
OUR MOST FREQUENTLY ORDERED EVENT DETAILS
To Welcome
TOTE BAG
WEEKEND ITINERARY
TREAT PACKAGING
MENDHI / SANGEET FOOD SIGNS
MENDHI / SANGEET BAR MENUS
To Wed
BARAAT REFRESHMENT SIGNS
CEREMONY PROGRAMS
RESERVED SEATING CARDS
SHAGUN ENVELOPES
VOW BOOKS
To Toast
COCKTAIL NAPKINS
DRINK ACCESSORIES
BAR & COCKTAIL MENUS
PASSED HORS-D’OEUVRE SIGNS
ESCORT CARDS
To Feast
PLACE CARDS
DINNER MENU
TABLE NUMBERS
FAVOR PACKAGING
DESSERT TABLE SIGNS
Why do event details at all?
To be brief: guest comfort. We believe an event is elevated when the guest’s comfort is taken into account. Welcoming them with a detailed itinerary and guiding them through your planned events is a wonderful way for you to communicate a lot of critical information in one handy spot. Presenting food and beverages with labels and signs is elevated when guests understand what they’re eating and —more importantly — that they can enjoy it safely.
DINNER MENUS & FOOD STATIONS
Details such as menus and dish labels help the guest understand what they’re about to enjoy and also help the waitstaff and bartenders with identifying dishes and drinks.
It also can communicate important information such as allergens and ingredients. In the case of live stations at the reception, it can also help with guest flow.
BAR SIGNS & COCKTAIL NAPKINS
This is a great opportunity to get personal with specialty cocktail names and designs personal to you as a couple.
Maybe you share a beloved pet that you’d like to honor, maybe you have inside jokes with your besties. A napkin is great place to inject some personality.
EVENT ITINERARIES
Nothing beats a printed event schedule when it comes to making sure your guests have all the information they need to celebrate with you. Things like custom venue maps, shuttle schedules, Baraat locations and after party information are important things for guests to know about and are often confirmed closer to your date.
