to begin the ordering process

Once you've browsed through our collection and bespoke galleries and found a few favorites, order your simple or deluxe samples. You'll see the quality of our printing processes, from the beauty of our hand-pulled letterpress work to the crisp elegance of offset lithography. It will also give you the opportunity to feel the weight and quality of our papers. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express for sample orders. Up to $40 in sample orders (not including the shipping costs) will be credited to your stationery order if you choose to order invitations from us. Samples are sent via USPS Priority Mail, generally arriving in your hands in two to three days from the time your order is placed.

If you'll be working with us to create a bespoke invitation suite, your first step will be an initial consultation, and the process will be slightly different than if you were to order from the collection. To request your phone or in-person consultation with a designer, email or call the studio at 773 878 4475, and we'll set up a convenient appointment date and time. Full details on the bespoke ordering process may be found here.

If you've chosen to order one of our +weddings collection suites, you'll want to explore all the options which will make the suite utterly your own. From our large typeface menu to our ink color palette and paper color options and upgrades, your choices will make your invitation suite perfectly unique to your wedding.

When you're ready to place the order for your wedding stationery, head to the ordering page. Here, you may download our PDF order form, which may be faxed or mailed back to us. The form will allow you to write in all of your special instructions, quantities, and which options you've chosen for your suite. If you'd prefer to place your order by phone, we'd be happy to take down the details. Simply call the studio at 773 878 4475.

Once we've received your order form or phone request, we will take that information and put together a contract for you, which will be emailed to you in PDF format. After reviewing contract and policies (you can also view our policies online), you'll sign and return the contract by fax or mail along with your 50% non-refundable deposit. Once we've received your contract and deposit, we begin to create your stationery suite.

Your suite will be designed according to the preferences outlined in your contract, and you will receive an initial proof of your stationery suite in PDF format. You may indicate up to two rounds of change requests to this initial proof at no charge. After two rounds of change requests have been performed, additional change requests incur a fee of $75 each.

A Proof Copy, or final digital proof, will be issued as the last step before production begins. After you've reviewed this Proof Copy thoroughly, you will sign and date the proof, faxing or mailing it back to us. Upon receipt of the Proof Copy, we'll get your stationery suite into production.

From approval, stationery suites take from 2 to 4 weeks (offset lithography) or 4 to 6 weeks (letterpress and engraving).

When the suite is finished, we carefully check every piece of your suite to ensure that each card, envelope, and sash is perfect before wrapping and boxing everything up to protect it during shipping. For such important cargo, we find that FedEx is the best carrier. Our standard shipping method is FedEx Ground, although you may choose to upgrade to 2-day Service or Overnight Priority if you need shipping expedited. Expedited shipping costs vary by order, and are charged according to your situation. We will advise you on the approximate expedited shipping cost when your stationery is complete.

The day your order is shipped, we will charge the balance of your invoice.

a few notes on the proof copy

Once you've had a chance to look over the design of each piece of your suite in the initial digital proofs, requested any changes that need to be made, and reviewed those changes, we issue the Proof Copy. This is the last step before we begin the process of production. While the colors in your Proof Copy will appear somewhat different on your monitor than in a printed piece (every monitor shows color slightly differently, based on its settings, size, and age), you'll see where each color will appear, how the layout of each piece will appear, and how your text will appear in the type styles, colors and paper colors you've chosen.

This is a good opportunity to have a fresh set of eyes double (or triple!) check all of the text on each piece of your suite, from the spelling of your names to the zip code of your return address. When you sign and date this Proof Copy, you are accepting the design, paper, ink color(s), text and illustrations as they appear in the Proof Copy. Should you find an error, and have already requested two prior change requests, a $75 fee will be incurred for any further changes. (Note: If the mistake is caused by our error, it will be corrected without charge.) After you have signed and dated the Proof Copy and sent it back to us, further change requests will impact your delivery/shipping date and may incur further expense.

proofreading your stationery
It is up to you to ensure that your stationery suite is completely proofread; we use the text that you send to us, word for word, including any misspellings or typos that might be in the original text. We often suggest to our clients that they have at least 2 people proofread each piece of their stationery suite for typographical errors (typos) and misspellings prior to signing and dating the Proof Copy. Girl Metro, Inc, is not responsible for typographical or spelling errors, and we will not offer a refund for mistakes of this nature on final printed pieces. Should you find such an error on your printed pieces, we must charge you for reprinting. Naturally, we don't want this situation to happen to you; this is why we put so much emphasis on the Proof Copy step of the process - it is the last chance to discover such errors before real cost and stress begin to accrue.

timing + turnaround

Although we always suggest ordering sooner rather than later, below you'll find the typical turnaround times for our stationery suites:

offset lithography: a total of 3 to 5 weeks
letterpress or engraving : a total of 5 to 7 weeks

If you find that you're in the midst of an invitation emergency, please call us as soon as possible and we will do our utmost to help. Rush orders incur an additional cost of 50% of the order, and may not be an option for every suite. Once we have the details of your situation, we will make suggestions based on your needs.

shipping

Damaged invitations are our worst nightmare, so we take the utmost care in preparing them for shipping. We wrap our invitation suites in pure white tissue, then expertly pack them to prevent damage during shipping. Despite our care, we are realists, however, and we insure each order with our preferred carrier, FedEx, for its full value. We recommend that your invitations be shipped to a location where there will be someone present during the day to sign for the package.

If catastrophe occurs, and your invitations arrive damaged in some way by the carrier, please contact us immediately upon their arrival and we will take steps to remedy the situation.

payment information

When you return your contract and place your order, we request a 50% non-refundable deposit. The remaining amount of your invoice is due the day your order is shipped, and will be charged to the same card unless you request otherwise. There are several options for payment. Girl Metro, Inc. accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. All are accepted in U.S. funds only. All new orders will begin processing after the clearance of funds.

taxes

All orders shipped to destinations within the borders of the state of Illinois are subject to current state tax.