Author: jksdesigns

As most of you know from reading our “about us” page (which I’m assuming all of you have by now!), J, K, and S all met working at a printing company, Merlin Printing. With that comes a ton of perks. We have access to some of the best, and most unique machines in the business to make your cards, decorations, invitations and accessories as cool and different as can be! Take these thank you cards as an example! 

The center of the card is a piece of thick maroon paper, side one is the thank you message printed on white paper, side two, a piece of pink paper is mounted, and on top of that, the photo is mounted. At only 3.5 x 5 these little thank you cards already pack a punch with the layering technique. But so many people layer, how can you stand out?! 

Bring on the digital die cutter!

With the use of the digital die cutter, we can cut almost any shape out of paper, totally custom! This can be used for anything from custom shaped favor tags, cool shaped invites, All-In-One invitations, envelope liners or intricate pocket designs! In this case of these thank you cards, we used it to bring more depth to the layers. On the thank you message side, the words “thank you” were cut from the white paper, to reveal the maroon layer through the white, rather than simply printing the words

And don’t you think that cut out piece was left for trash! We then, very carefully, mounted that thank you on the photo side! For a total 5 layer design! 

Paired with a metallic gold custom printed envelope, this thank you card is full of texture, depth, and all around fun! 

Contact JKS Designs now (don’t wait another second!) to start planning your custom die-cut pieces today!

-S

Another week – another JKS blog post! Today we’re talking about the steps you can take to prepare for your JKS order! Be it save the dates, invitations, seating cards, signage or favors, the steps below can all be done prior to your design consultation – so by the time you sit down with us you’ll have all the info we need to create the perfect package for your big day!

Step One – Determine a Quantity!

This can be done in numerous ways – but our favorite is with a spreadsheet (this will come in handy when it comes time to print your invitation envelopes!) We have some template Excel sheets that we send to our couples (depending on what they’re ordering,) that look like this:

Setting up your spreadsheets this way from the get go will save you lots of time retyping things down the road.

Step Two – Setting a budget!

Sit down with your fiance and discuss what you’d like to spend on your order. This varies from couple to couple and can sometimes be hard to determine. We often have couples tell us they “have no idea” how much invitations or extras cost. All of our packages are tailored custom to our couples, and we can work with (almost,) any budget! If you come to us with a number, we’ll create packages for you based on that number. Setting a budget prior to your design consultation is SO helpful when it comes time for us to quote your package!

Quick story for you – one of our JKS couples put together all the pieces they need for their invite package on an online site and the total cost for the package was OVER $7,000.00. They were so nervous about cost when they came to meet with us, but we sat down and discussed their needs, and provided them with a ton of money saving options. At the end of the day their package from us included ALL of the pieces they included in their quote from the online company – PLUS custom design , RSVP stamps, and assembly for a fraction of the price!

Step Three – Start thinking inspiration!

This is often the most difficult part of the process for many couples. Think of it this way: when you think about your wedding day, what do you picture? Do you want an elegant black tie affair, or a casual fun vibe? Your wedding invitation and decor is your chance to convey this message to your guests. Planning an invitation that matches your vision for your big day is our specialty! Knowing your wedding theme, color scheme, and even floral arrangements can be very helpful for us as we begin the design process!

& there you have it! Three steps to make all your ordering from JKS a total breeze! Remember to follow us on social media to ensure you’re up to date on all the latest and greatest info from JKS!

-J

On September 23 we took part in our third Bridal Expo over at the Huntington Hilton in Melville! Not only did we bring our customized pads and pens as giveaways, but we also handed out our infamous cheat sheet to all the brides we met that evening!

For this showcase we ran a special promo for the brides. Take a picture using our JKS branded cut out frame and photo props & share it on social media to receive a coupon for $20 off your first package. Check out the pics below to see how much fun we had!

Look for us at our next showcase, which will be at East Wind on Sunday, February 23 from 11 am – 3pm. As always keep checking our social media pages and our website for all of our up to date JKS news!

-K

Thanks for checking in and reading the latest JKS blog post! We think you’re going to love this one, as we’re sharing some of our most valuable information – the JKS Wedding Stationery Cheat Sheet! Usually you have to set up a meeting with us or find us at a showcase to get your hands on one of these – but we’re feeling generous this week and wanted to share it with everyone! & Don’t forget – we have a showcase coming up this Monday 9/23/19 in Melville – all the info can be found on our Instagram & Facebook pages (which I’m sure you’re already following!)

On this cheat sheet we compiled some frequently asked questions, and insider tips regarding wedding stationery. Covering everything from when to start thinking about designs, to when to meet with us – we think you’ll find this cheat sheet super helpful during your wedding planning process! Check it out below!

If you want even more information from us OR have a question that you think would be a good addition to this cheat sheet – feel free to contact us! We’d love to hear your feedback and opinions and update our cheat sheet to be as current and informative as possible!

Til next time!

-J

Picture this- Your friend is getting married! She is going on and on about her decorations, theme, her dress, venue, etc. and mentions her CUSTOM INVITATIONS! How cool you think! “Yeah” —your friend says— “I got them online, all I had to do is pick a design, change my colors, add my information in, and I got a totally custom invite!”  

WRONG!

So many people use the words custom and customize interchangeably.  But very few people realize there is a difference.  Especially in an art based industry.  At JKS designs, we do all custom work.  That means, we design for YOU.  We have a sample book for reference, but those are somebody else’s custom designs we made for them.  Think of it this way… If you decide you want a custom-made wedding dress what do you do?

You don’t go buy a finished wedding dress, remove the embellishments, and put a different embellishment on. That is customizing an already made dress! You would instead, buy the fabric, buy the beads, the lace, the jewels, and bring them to a custom dress maker, who would then build the dress from the bottom up!

Let’s apply the same concept to wedding invitations.

You look for a custom invitation and find an online-based site! Everything looks great, and it is time to customize. You choose an invite, change your name, date location etc, and make the purple flowers red to match your theme! Boom! You’re done with your “custom” invite. 

Except that is isn’t custom.  Another 100, 1000, maybe even more, have the same invitation as you with just a slight variation, if any!

Now, you make your appointment with JKS Designs! You sit down, you look at our book and your invitation starts as a blank slate.

We talk, we get to know you, your theme, your colors and your dress.  It is like you are chatting with a friend.  By the end of the meeting, we know you, we know what you want.  And just like that dressmaker, we build.  From the bottom up!

Now, you leave with a one of a kind invitation.  Plus the opportunity to mix and match and make changes on the numerous options you get to chose from! Catered to you and only you, no one else will have it, it is totally CUSTOM. Keep this in mind and take it with you when planning your wedding, do you want to stand out? Or just be like hundreds of others.

Book your appointment, and stand out with a custom invitation from JKS Designs!

-S 

Our first Summer as a company has officially come to an end – and boy it was a busy one! We’ve been hard at work producing multiple invite packages for weddings and birthdays, as well as tons of fun extras. For today’s post we wanted to feature some insight into the production of the wooden welcome sign we posted on our social media yesterday. Don’t worry we’ll include the pic if you haven’t followed us on social media yet (but seriously what are you waiting for?!)

A welcome sign is a perfect added decor item for people to see either as they enter your reception area. They can be printed with names & the date, your wedding hash tag, or even a thank you message to your guests. There are tons of options for materials, shapes and sizes & this sign was particularly beautiful bc it was printed on actual wood!

To get started we had to purchase a piece of wood. Picking out the perfect piece is a crucial step! We had to ensure that there were no imperfections in the wood that would show on the finished product. Then we had to cut the wood to size – another crucial step! Our printer would not be able to print on a piece of material that didn’t exactly match the specifications of our design file – so making sure the wood was the exact right size is very important.

Next step – stain! We wanted to make sure we picked the perfect color to contrast the design of the sign, and go with the aesthetic of the rest of the items we produced for this wedding. See below for the team checking that the board was evenly stained on all sides. We only had stain on our hands (and feet & legs – sorry Sam,) for about a day so this was a major success!

The final step – PRINT! This step is particularly stressful for us. If something goes wrong during the print stage, we’d have to start from scratch. Luckily we have the most amazing printer who knocked it out of the park with no trouble! And finally the welcome sign was complete. All of our hard work came together and we were so proud of how it turned out. We were so excited to deliver this beauty to the couple – and we hope they loved it just as much as we did!

Stay tuned for more from the JKS team as we continue to provide high quality, custom designs and printed goods for all kinds of events!

-J

Last night we participated in our 2nd Long Island Bridal Expo showcase at the Uniondale Marriott. We are beyond grateful to all the couples who took some time to visit our booth. The only thing we love more than what we do, is sharing what we do with others! Seeing positive reactions from couples & vendors really makes us feel great about the work that we’ve been doing. Check out the pics below for some showcase highlights!

We’re always planning our next big move – so keep checking our social media pages, and our website for the latest and greatest news from JKS! And remember – a share, comment, like, or even a recommendation to a friend or family member means the world to us 🙂

-J

Good Morning Everyone! Time again for another blog post featuring a party we worked on. This is a big one! From the minute you walked in, to the minute you left, JKS was all over this party!

Our latest social media post featured the totally custom bridal party proposal gifts – complete with tumblers for the groomsmen, stemless wine glasses for the bridesmaids (with CUSTOM vinyl lettering with everyone’s name and title,) cork picture holders & mounted photos of the bridal party with the future bride or groom, and our personal favorite item – personalized key chains! How awesome are these? Each key chain was a design specific to that bridal party member. Check out this one! We designed, printed, and assembled these key chains and we LOVE them (we’re definitely NOT biased 😉 )

Here’s a gallery with photos of all the work we did for this party (including the invitation and envelope!) Let us know what you think & don’t forget to follow us on social media to see all our party features!

-J

If you’re following us on social media (which I highly recommend you do,) then you’re sure to have seen our recent posts featuring the blue floral designs we used for the wonderful JKS couple Megan & Bryan, which took place in early May at Duck Walk Vineyard in Southold, NY!

Working with this couple was such a treat! From their save the date card featuring a custom coaster & her rustic bridal shower invites, all the way to their wedding invitations & decor they had fun ideas that we LOVED creating. We hope they had the most amazing wedding day and wish them a lifetime of love and happiness!

Check out this gallery to see the full suite of products we provided for this awesome couple!

We’re so happy to share this amazing experience with everyone!! Wish us luck at our upcoming bridal showcase which is this Wednesday, May 22nd! We are so excited to share all of our hard work with you all and look forward to meeting a ton of local couples!!

-J

We only have one word to describe the last 15 days – WOW!! We are still overwhelmed by the amazingly positive reaction we’ve received since our launch. We are so grateful for each and every person that has shared or liked our social media posts, checked out our website, or placed an order!

“I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down.”

Abraham Lincoln

I read this quote recently, and after embarking on this new adventure, I couldn’t relate to it more. All of this positive momentum is serving as the best motivation ever & we’re channeling it into some really big and exciting things! The future of JKS is a bright one, and that’s thanks to all of you! Thanks for tagging along for the ride!

-J