It was in The Ring's chat forums that we first heard brides talk about Scribes' Nook as if it was some sort of do-it-yourself invitations goldmine right here in the heart of K-W. After more recommendations than any one company could fairly hope for, this little stationery shop with big ideas seems to be winning out with brides over all of today's major craft and business supply stores. The Ring met with Jan Herzog, the Owner of Scribes' Nook, and her daughter Jen, to find out why.

Jan attributes the popularity of Scribes' Nook to their selection of anything and everything you need to make your own unique invitations, programs, save the date cards, and any other wedding stationery you could hope for. "We have everything you need except the postage stamps!" she told us. It's more than that though... Jan and Jen add that personality that you look for in a small shop. It's that same type of personality that draws you to small shops on downtown streets on a Saturday morning, and it's probably got a lot to do with the reason brides are talking about them. Scribes' Nook is where you will find tons of new ideas, everything you need to bring them to life, instructions on how to do it yourself (even if you've never really been inclined to be 'crafty' before), and as an added bonus, you'll find yourself saving money on your wedding.

History in the community

Scribes' Nook started its seventeen year history at the St. Jacobs Market as a stamp booth. With a focus in mind and a great idea that proved successful, Jan and her daughter Jen began perfecting the art of stamping. Things expanded quickly and twelve years ago, Scribes' Nook relocated to their Waterloo location on King Street. With room to grow, they did.

Now, Scribes' Nook offers classes on card making and rubber stamping and carry a large inventory of papers, envelopes, stamps and more accessories than we even knew existed. The perfect place for the creative, do-it-herself bride, Scribes' Nook has helped all types of brides with custom designing their own stationery. With a little advice and guidance, brides are loving the option of cutting costs while getting exactly what they want.

Setting the style tone

Your wedding invitations are often the very first impression that your guests receive for the style & vision of wedding that you are planning. Just like the dress you choose, the flowers you carry and the style of your hair, your invitations are a reflection of you and your fiancé as a couple. Some people can find invitations that they love from pre-made samples, but some are not as lucky. Even though taking on the task of making your own invitations involves more work, it is also far more rewarding and can be a great time to enlist the help of that wonderful wedding party of yours. Make it a fun family and friends job, but be careful that the people you ask to help will do as good of a job as you would, or else you'll end up redoing their work.

Although it may seem daunting, Jan explained to us that the process is not nearly as difficult or costly as many people think it is. One of the ways that Scribes' Nook makes the invitation process simple is by supplying paper that is cut to fit your printer. You won't need any fancy card printing programs to go from a stack of paper to your finished invitations. When you choose your supplies, Jan and Jen will explain in simple terms how to set up your computer to print perfectly, and this will save you money in the end with no wasted paper or bad print jobs.

What's in store

At Scribes' Nook you'll find a huge selection of standard rubber stamps, custom stamps (do the artwork and they produce it for you), handmade and specialty paper in every colour imaginable, envelopes, pens, embossing (raised) services, cutting services and so much more. Jan and her daughters scour every supplier possible to find what their customers want, "We get our paper from all over. We pick the best of the best to provide our customers with only the top quality and selection that we love."

You won't find the run-of-the-mill boxed paper sets at Scribes' Nook - you know the ones that virtually everyone uses to 'custom' design their own invitations. Jan & Jen told us, "You want to send your guests the message of elegance at a lesser cost." The options you have at Scribes' Nook are truly unique and truly custom. You can choose to make 71 invitations and not have to purchase a box of 100, and you can choose the butter yellow handmade paper, rather than having to choose between ivory or white. You can also pick and choose your pieces at Scribes' Nook. If you just need envelopes of a certain size and colour, they've got an extensive selection to choose from.

You may also find two adorable Scottish Terriers, Kiara and Nessie (photo, right) who man the store with the ladies at Scribes' Nook!

The best tools

Beyond an amazing selection of paper and accessories, brides come to Scribes' Nook for their wealth of knowledge and experience. With so many brides wanting a more hands-on approach to invitations, thank you cards and other aspects of their weddings, Jan explains that, "our knowledge is our best tool." Jan and Jen have seen many brides through the process of choosing, designing, assembling and sending wedding stationery. There are numerous samples on display throughout the store to use as examples, or just as inspiration so that even if you've never done anything 'crafty' before, this is definitely something that you can handle with some guidance from the experts at Scribes' Nook.

A creative start

Sometimes a starting place is the hardest part of tackling a job like making your own invitations. First, make sure you have all of the information you need to start your invitations - venues, timing, date, all vendors confirmed. If you have an idea that you'd like to envision, or a style you'd like to duplicate - that's great! Jan and Jen will be able to show you exactly what you'll need to make your invites and give you a price quote on what it will cost. If you're stuck for an idea or overwhelmed by the whole process... don't stress! That's what the experts are for. With years of experience, they can help you decide on the look of your invites, as well as wording, theme, colours, shapes and so much more. They'll be able to let you know which paper won't get stuck in your printer, what size of envelope needs extra postage, and the many ways to fold an invitation. They can even do up a sample invitation with you, so that when you go home to complete the rest of them, you have a guide to do the rest from. This way, you'll know exactly what your idea looks like and you have a reference point to do each of the others with.

DIY packages & more

At Scribes' Nook, you have the option of a Do It Yourself Invitations packages, Half & Half packages, and Full Service packages.

The DIY package is pretty self explanatory, but with the Half & Half package, Scribes' Nook will do the printing and prep work, and you do the assembly. And with the Full Service package they'll do everything for you (you just have to pick out the materials you want). They'll even mail the invitations if you'd like. "We'll do what you don't want to do, says Jan. "Tell us what you need and we'll take care of it for you." This package is ideal for the busy bride who wants custom invitations but wants someone else to take care of everything from stuffing to stamping.

It's all in the numbers

Jan suggests that if you are considering doing your own invitations, you should start looking into your options at least six months to a year in advance. This will give you time to figure out exactly what you want and gather all the materials you'll need. Ideally, you should start making the invites about four months before the wedding, just to be sure that you'll get them out in time. Scribes' Nook suggests mailing your invitations eight weeks before the big day - and up to a year (but most often six months) ahead if you are sending Save the Dates. Jan also has great advice for quantity of materials - you will only need invites for about 60% of the number of people you are inviting. Only one invitation is needed per household and many invitations are 'plus one'. For example, if you are inviting 150 people, you'll need to make approximately 90 invitations.

Budgeting for creativity

Jan explained that your pricing will depend on the type of paper used and how detailed or extravagant you want your stationery to be. The extras you want to go with will often determine the price. Generally speaking you can spend an average of $3.00 to $5.00 per invitation set (invitation, reply card, two envelopes), including supplies, or they can design an invitation to meet your budget. If you are looking to do a complete set of invitations, programs, favour cards and thank you cards, you can spend upwards of $6.00 per set with all the bells and whistles. With so many options, you'll easily find something within your price and style range.

Expert dos & don'ts

• Do send your save the date cards as far in advance as possible, particularly if you’re having a destination wedding.
• Don't mix your themes/styles. There should be continuity in the style and theme from your "save the date" cards to your invitations and your reply cards to your thank you cards.
• Do include bar details on your invitations whether it's cash bar, toonie and loonie bar or open bar, because it's not only fiscally responsible, it’s just plain responsible. And you should tell your guests if the bar is pay per use so they can be sure to have money with them.
• Don't use perforated reply cards. They can look ragged if they don’t come apart easily. And some of your guests will feel uncomfortable sending their information back without the security of an envelope.
• Do be specific as to who is invited. If you're inviting children say “and family” or list their names. If not, the phrase “adult reception” should suffice.
• Don't use double envelopes if you can avoid it. Think green.
• Do feel free to hand deliver your invitations - this saves on postage costs and adds a personal touch.
• Don't forget to stamp all of your reply envelopes.
• Do use clear labels or a stamp for addressing envelopes.
• Don't send out your invitations by email, it isn't the most reliable method. A "snail mail" invitation is a social gesture. And most people will use the invitation for reference (directions, time, address, etcetera) so it will be printed anyway. However, you can use email to follow up on replies that you haven’t received yet.
• Do order your invitations six months before your wedding (nine months if you’re sending them overseas). Any earlier and details may change or they may be damaged when you store them at home.

Details, details, details

• Jan suggests looking into your invitation options 6 months to 1 year before the wedding, and working on them about 4 months ahead (5 months if you have a summer wedding) - giving you enough time to mail them out about 8 weeks in advance of the big day.
• It's best to come to Scribes' Nook when you have certain details in place - such as dates, times and locations. That way you can get started on your invitations right away.
• To figure out how many invitations you'll need, take your number of invited guests and multiply it by 60% (or 0.6).
• You can design your own invitations at Scribes' Nook for only $3.00 per set, or up to $6 or more for a complete set of stationery with all the extras.

In other words...

"Thank you so much for all your time and effort, patience and creativity with my wedding crafts! They all turned out so beautifully, from invitations to place cards, bulletins to thank yous! It was wonderful to have such a great team of caring, patient and creative people to work with. Thank you! The wedding was everything we dreamed of and more." - Maria & Chris

"Nick and I would like to thank you for all the help you ALWAYS give us when we visit your store. We are SO pleased with our invitations, reply cards and the rest of our stationery. We simply wanted to express our gratitude!" - Lynn

"Thank you for assisting us with our dual language invitations! It was awesome to see our vision and our colours come together. Your step by step lesson on how to build our invitations including embossing made everything run smoothly. They all turned out great, from invitations to RSVP's to thank you's! Your team of creative, kind, outgoing people were wonderful to work with. Thank you!" - Kristen & Philip