“Exquisite stationery is part art, part science,” says Emilie Dulles, Owner of Dulles Designs Exquisite Stationery in Charleston, South Carolina. Perhaps one of the most thoughtful, graceful and well-articulated wedding professionals we’ve ever met, Emilie is the epitome of Southern Charm. The kind drawn from generations of elegant ladies who not only know their way around a social event, they delight in the role of hostess and neighbor. Even if the neighborhood they live in is a global one. But don’t let us convince you, Emilie can do that very well all on her own.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  TELL US ABOUT EMILIE DULLES DESIGNS, WHAT DO YOU DO?

{EMILIE DULLES, DULLES DESIGNS}:  Exquisite Stationery was founded by my family in Switzerland over 20 years ago, moving to Manhattan and Charleston, South Carolina since. I’ve been mastering the arts of stationery, etiquette, guest list management, and printing since the age of nine. On a day-to-day basis, what I do is design and produce classic and fresh invitations incorporating the best materials and color palettes. The process is thoroughly creative, meticulous, gracious, and fun.

A wedding is representation of many facets of a personality and family culture. It is essential to have a rapport with and understanding of our clients to give them the highest level of service and most enjoyable experience. Which comes together in a stunning wedding stationery suite to memorialize their celebration.

We get to know our clients throughout the entire design and revision process. Clients also convey their aesthetic by the event gifts they may give. As well as how they design their home. Or where their favorite travel destinations are.

WHEN DID YOU START TO FALL IN LOVE WITH PAPER, CALLIGRAPHY AND STATIONERY? 

After graduating from Princeton, I moved to Charleston and have since developed an incredible appreciation for the significance of commemorating rites of passage and celebrations. I love to customize elegant and traditional stationery suites, with a twist. Beautiful stationery and hand penning of messages are part of a palatable and sensory experience, akin to drinking wine from a crystal glass.  And then when you throw in the creative perspective, the stationery process is part puzzle part painting.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU CATCH YOUR BREAK IN THE WEDDING INDUSTRY? 

I worked full time for seven years, and have solely owned the company for three years. Having over twenty years in the industry, I have access to and know the best resources to transform my bride’s vision into a tangible tone-setting invitation. Every awed guest maintains our word-of-mouth credibility.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MATERIALS TO WORK WITH?

I just love thick stock, edging or beveling, and patterned linings. I believe that the quality of our materials from papers to printing processes to hand calligraphy speak for themselves and don’t require any unnecessary fanfare. When you receive a 6-ply invitation you have a sensory reaction that sets the tone for a luxurious celebration.

DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL CLIENT.

A Dulles Designs ideal client enjoys entertaining and takes stationery very seriously. Obviously paper and printing are a complex science. Our ideal clients trust our experience and recommendations. We use a 1-page parameters and policies guide that gives families a mini MBA in stationery projects, so we are all on the same page.

ARE YOUR BRIDES LOCAL OR FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY/WORLD?

Our experience managing international weddings, the guest lists, and all the logistical communications of a strict seating-chart event is considerable. I speak multiple languages and serve multi-cultural clients and events on a regular basis.

Domestically, we have brides traveling from all over the east coast, from Boston to the Caribbean as well as from other major cities across the nation.  Our Charleston weddings tend to be for destination brides, so we are experienced in working remotely.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE WHEN WORKING WITH AN OUT-OF-TOWN OR OVERSEAS CLIENT?

Modern technology and ten years of working with destination and overseas clients have fine-tuned our process to a tee. Each step of the execution is precise and organized. Yet packages can get held up in customs or clients can be vacationing with limited access to email, so we have to build contingencies into each project. I travel to New York, Palm Beach, DC, and Europe on occasion, and am able to meet with most clients face to face at the onset of a project.

WEDDING INVITATIONS OFTEN SET THE TONE FOR THE BIG DAY. HOW DOES DULLES DESIGNS WORK WITH A COUPLE TO CREATE THEIR INVITATION DESIGN?  HOW DO YOU DETERMINE AN AESTHETIC?

They absolutely do. It is best to have a vision for the space and palette of the celebration to create the most tone setting and enticing stationer suite. To that end I made the conscious decision to collaborate with more top planners to integrate their signature color palettes, textures, and subtle details via our stationery suites. We interpret and incorporate the various elements that will define the look and feel of the wedding and taking into account the couple’s taste. Setting that tone perfectly is part of my expert skill set.

Although there are modern and interesting ways to create the perfect wedding invitation, clients historically choose Dulles for our experience in international protocol, formal entertaining and dining etiquette, and calligraphy.

Our meticulous system of helping manage wedding communications via expert stationery design is part of what our clients and planners enjoy logistically. There’s something wonderful about an invitation that is beautiful in its content and meaningful in its message.

HOW DOES THE WEDDING STATIONERY IMPACT THE DESIGN AESTHETIC OF THE EVENT ITSELF? DO THE ELEMENTS OF THE INVITATION SUITE INSPIRE THE EVENT, OR VICE VERSA? 

Pending budget and timing, paper can do many things these days, be it folded, glued, die-cut, embossed, beveled, duplexed, hand painted, blind stamped with a pattern, or deckled. Aesthetic is a process, a familiarity, and a deliberate translation, ideally what the event means to the host and attendees. The challenge is timing.

In my view, we are able to dramatically improve the aesthetic when we are able to proactively collaborate with everyone involved: the bride and groom, the planner, the family –– even the florist and the caterer. This integration allows Dulles Designs to create more relevance into the overall aesthetic of each stationery suite. The subtle details we gather such as texture, a metallic color, an emblem, even menu compatibility can elegantly tie an event together nicely.

WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR BRIDES AND GROOMS TO KNOW OR HAVE WITH THEM BEFORE A DESIGN CONSULTATION? 

Dulles is known for our expertise in color, font, and overall style translation. As the selecting of materials, actual sizes, and precise text is discussed, aesthetics emerge. It is always helpful to have your guests’ addresses compiled in an electronic format, etc.

HOW SOON DO BRIDES AND GROOMS NEED TO START PLANNING AND WORKING ON THEIR WEDDING INVITATIONS AND COLLATERAL?

Nine to twelve months is an ideal planning window, mainly because so many final details are determined by the stationery decision and response process: Save-the-date, formal invitation, reply dates –– and then logistical communications on-site.

The planning time of weddings seems to have shrunken in certain part of the country, so we offer standard and rush production times to accommodate each client’s needs and timeline. We’ve saved a few brides and grooms with 90 days to go, but they had to do exactly as we directed, and decide quickly without revisions or changes. This scenario is not ideal for the bride and groom who want to have creative input in each aspect of their wedding planning.

WHERE DO YOU STAND WHEN IT COMES TO ETIQUETTE, FORMAL AND TRADITIONAL? OR IS IT NOT AS IMPORTANT ANYMORE?

Etiquette is one of our main areas of expertise –– and style, etiquette, and timeless design are deeply important to me.  Yet I view etiquette as an organic and amorphous set of guidelines for gracious living, which must evolve over time and to realistically take into account the social situations in which we now interact. Instead of placing etiquette on a rigid pedestal that constrains people, I encourage our brides to adapt some of the traditional moirés to the actual circumstances of their family and cultural settings, so that we may layout a plan.

My role is not to impose or restrict with etiquette, bur rather to guide and consult as to the best plan of elegant action. When you view etiquette in this light, you realize that it makes sense for a couple to word their invitation one way for a ceremony held in a religious building and another for a secular venue.

I have an academic background and passion for the printed word, and so producing old school, hand-calligraphy, double-enveloped, hand-canceled mail is enjoyable for me. I truly love the hand-produced work that I do.

“Thank you note” suites are a huge part of our business. Couples are ecstatic to continue announcing their marriage via formal correspondence stock –– especially to distant friends and colleagues who could not attend the wedding. I’m so fortunate to create life-long working and friendly relationships with so many of my brides. Over time they turn to us for their annual holiday cards, calling cards, birth announcements, anniversary parties, and other luxury stationery projects. We keep dies, artwork, color and font preferences on file, so clients can order via e-mail from anywhere with minimal effort.

Work with a professional who will take the time to meet or consult one-on-one. I go through a well-organized and explanatory series of steps to help reduce the options and hone in on what is a critical part of the design and invitation specifics. There are endless options these days, but if you know your style and focus on the important aspects of the process, then your priorities will become clearer and you will feel confident in the decisions you make.

It is also key to remember that custom printing and hand calligraphy are part art, part science, we can measure and control most variables, but there can be perceived color variations between printing processes and materials. The same PMS ink code will look different if you letterpress your save the dates and engrave your invitations and that is just a reality of the realms of physical production parameters.

Dulles makes sure that everything coordinates and looks intentional so that each invitation suite has a cohesive feel and conveys the style and organization prior to the event all of which are great ways to get your guests excited for a distinctive celebration.

 The beach. A golf course.  Sharing a meal with friends. At the Junior League of Charleston. Watching rugby with Baron.

THANKS EMILIE! WHAT A WONDERFUL INTERVIEW, WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR TIME AS WE KNOW HOW BUSY YOU ARE THIS TIME OF YEAR.