Rejoice, fellow stationery lovers! This week we are talking to another of our very favourite wedding suppliers: Knots & Kisses. Nikki is a true delight to be around and her passion and creative power a force to be reckoned with. Wonderfully, she also got married at Coombe Trenchard in May 2017 and we will always remember her day as one of our all time favourite weddings to take place at Coombe Trenchard. Excitingly, this year Nikki has also started to offer a styling service alongside her stunning stationery; and as you can see from her wedding pictures in the following blog post, no-one does styling like Knots & Kisses!
How would you describe your business?
At Knots & Kisses my aim is to provide fun, creative and luxurious stationery and weddings that reflect people’s true character.
I have been designing wedding invitations and stationery since 2009 and have also this year added Wedding Design & Styling to what I offer. Perfect for those couples who know themselves and who they are but aren’t sure how to express that in terms of colour, style and pulling a whole look together.
What is your favourite thing about being involved in the wedding industry?
For me there are two amazing sides to being in the wedding industry and make it just the best industry to work in! Firstly, getting to chat to excited, in love, happy couples is such a joy … couple’s enthusiasm for their weddings can be so infectious and it’s such a happy place to work!
Secondly, the amazing fellow suppliers I get to work with on a regular basis. Despite many contrary reports the wedding industry is an incredibly supportive place, full of small businesses who are totally passionate about what they do, incredibly creative and super friendly!
Can you describe Coombe Trenchard in three words?
Stylish, relaxed, beautiful
What aspect of your stationery do you feel best fits Coombe Trenchard?
The great thing about Coombe Trenchard is it’s mix of historic character but also flexibility to adapt to any of its couple’s styles. This is exactly where I try to position my stationery – I love colour and echoes of the past, along with luxurious finishes and stylish touches. Most of all though I like my stationery to be relaxed reflect the character of the couple getting married which is exactly what Coombe Trenchard is so amazing at!
What colours/styles do you see being a big hit in 2018?
I’m definitely seeing a turn towards darker colours and more luxurious finishes. Interiors currently are all about dark greys, blues and greens with highlights of metallics and I see this filtering even more into the wedding industry. There is definitely less of an issue now than a few years ago with not going for your typical ‘pastel’ wedding scheme – so it’s great that couples are being brave and bolder with their colours.
I also see lots more velvet and silks being used.
Rustic elements will still be popular but a more ‘modern rustic’ with simple wood finishes rather than the hessian and lace look of a few years ago.
What advice would you give to bridal couples looking for their perfect wedding stationery?
Take a good look around at a few websites and at fairs first. Get a sense of how much the styles and finishes you really like and have been adding to your Pinterest board are really going to cost. Be fully aware of the average costs of quality finishes and only then set yourself a budget for your wedding stationery.
Unfortunately, many of the ‘estimates’ and ‘average budgets’ laid out in magazines and articles still massively underestimate the cost of beautiful stationery so my advice would be to not allocate your budget based on what a magazine says but on what you actually love will cost. You can then make an educated decision as to whether you can afford what you really would like or if you need to look again at the finishes you are going for.
Also, be you with your wedding stationery! Have fun with it and make sure it reflects you as a couple.
When do you advise sending out Save The Dates and Invitations?
As a general rule of thumb, I would advise sending out Save the Dates 9 months to a year before your wedding and invitations 3-4 months before your wedding … but that really is a guide.
Every wedding is individual and you know your guests better than anyone else. If you have lots of people coming from abroad or who need to book accommodation and holidays well in advance then you may consider increasing those timescales. Take into consideration what time of year you are getting married – if it’s during term time, if it’s a particularly popular date. I got married on a May bank holiday so actually sent out Save the Dates 14 months in advance and invitations 6 months in advance to be sure.
What do you feel is imperative to making stand-out stationery for your clients?
My main aim is to provide really good quality and beautiful finishes. I think it’s important to my clients that the feel of the stationery is beautiful as well as the look. All of my stationery and invitations is also hand finished in the studio by myself or an assistant so there is a personal touch that goes into everything.
I also think it’s important to be flexible. As I mentioned every wedding is different so I don’t set templates and force people to have the wording that I think they should have on their wedding invitations. Each set of stationery is unique to the couple.
Finally, what excites you most about your job?
The variety! It’s amazing to wake up each morning and know that there will be so many different unique weddings to work on … and being a small part of what many people describe as the most important day of their lives is incredibly special!
Thank you so much for talking to us Nikki, we look forward to more tea & biscuits at Coombe Trenchard soon! You can find out more about Knots & Kisses on the website, or re-live more of Nikki & Ant's Big Day via the Love My Dress post here.
All images by Clare Kinchin Photography