THE NOVELIST
noun, a person who writes novels, an innovator (in thought or belief), or someone who favours novelty
Derivative of novel, from Italian novella "short story, new story, or news," or French novelle or nouvelle; and
from Latin novella "new things" plural or feminine form of novellus, "new, young, recent," diminutive of novus "new".
Came to mean "one of the short stories in a collection" or "long prose fiction narrative or tale," replacing a type of work which had previously been called a romance.
Few art forms tell a great love story as profoundly, poetically and life-alteringly as a novel…and few pleasures compare to that of spending an afternoon, day, or succession of days, with one in hand. Taking its inspiration from classic book covers, elegant serifs, and that timeless marriage of black ink on shades of white paper, the elements in this collection tell a love story of their own. Bold, moving, unexpected, memorable…through intentional folds, captivating layouts, and measured moments of white space, your story unfolds — one that is sure to intrigue, delight, and stir the imaginations of your guests, friends and family, and give them a pleasure to have and to hold…and to fold, and unfold.
The Novelist was our first ever collection, and it was as inspired by novels and stories as it was driven by the desire to create something truly novel, new. Something that hadn’t been seen or done before…a departure from the humble 5x7 or 6x9 inch formats we all know too well…a farewell to centered lines of flowing script, an audacious re-imagination of how one might read and interact with an invitation altogether. Like all great novels, it develops slowly, offers moments of surprise, and leaves you (or your guests, in this case) excited for more.
Collection aesthetic | Dramatic and unexpected
Defining design elements | Folds and large stylized typography
Quick Links:
INVITATIONS
Format | Ceremony Invitation 210x400mm folded to 210x100mm (approx. 8.5x16in folded to 8.5x4in), , various formats for additional inserts
Paper | Lightly textured soft ivory 270gsm
Print | Letterpress, with optional foil-stamped accents, and blind embossing or debossing on RSVP and other inserts
Envelope | Luxurious heavyweight envelopes with twill (ribbed) texture, available in five colors - ivory, nude, light grey, charcoal grey, and black
Design & Print Customization | Option to change paper and ink colors, add vellum overlays with quotes, lyrics, illustrations, or patterns.
Inserts available | Rehearsal Dinner and Brunch invitations, RSVP cards and envelopes, Weekend Details, Itineraries, Website URL inserts for online RSVPs.
You are part of my existence, part of myself.
You have been in every line
I have ever read.
Charles Dickens
SAVE THE DATES
Format | 210x300mm folded to 210x100mm (approx. 8x12in folded to 8x4in)
Paper | Lightly textured soft ivory 270gsm
Print | Screen-printed. double sided
Envelope | Luxurious heavyweight envelopes with twill (ribbed) texture, available in five colors - ivory, nude, light grey, charcoal grey, and black
Design & Print Customization | Option to change ink colors
As he read, I fell in love
The way you fall asleep: slowly,
and then all at once.
John Green
DAY OF STATIONERY
Elements | Reception and rehearsal dinner menus, bar and cocktail menus, ceremony programs or weekend itineraries, seating charts and way-finding signage, welcome letters, thank you cards.
Format | Wide variety of formats, papers, and print techniques available.
Our day of stationery pieces tend to be a little more customized as we work closely with you and your planners, designers and stylists to tailor layouts and formats to your event concept and venue styling. Ceremony programs can range from a short sweet post-card to a hand-stitched booklet, welcome letters can sometimes be handwritten, and seating charts can be acrylic decals applied to a large vintage mirror, printed on billowy linen fabric, applied to a rack of wine bottles or whatever else you have in mind. We usually provide rough estimates for these elements and then talk through your ideas in more detail closer to the wedding date. We have to add that you don’t necessarily have to stick to the same collection all the way through to your wedding day…so feel free to explore our other collections and bring some new tricks to the party.
THE NOVELIST WEBSITE
In the year of our tenth anniversary, we are proud to finally introduce custom wedding websites and bring Love on Paper to internet land. Available in the style of each of our stationery collections, our websites feature sophisticated typographic layouts in our signature styles to match your save the dates, invitation suites and day-of paper goods. Our comprehensive, sophisticated and personalized design service aims to keep things as easy and breezy as possible for you, whilst ensuring that your correspondence with your guests is aesthetically consistent and highly intentional throughout your planning process.
Ideally, you’ll have had or arranged for a professional engagement shoot to provide us with high resolution image content to use on the site, but if you don’t have any or prefer not to use photographs, we have developed beautiful typographic layouts where the letterforms and colors can do the talking. We also have a library of beautiful stock imagery and AI-created artwork, including photographs, graphics, and patterns we can creatively use as design elements in lieu of more traditional smiley, hand-holding portraits. As with our printed stationery design process, our service includes guidance on wording and creative writing to ensure your written content is clear and concise, visually striking, and sets the right tone for your celebration, whether you’re keeping things light and modern, or more reserved and traditional.
Available pages or sections include:
Home | Invitation Details | Weekend Itinerary | Travel & Accommodation Details | Online RSVP Form | Image Gallery | Gift Registry
Optional password protection and email address if required.
The service & design fee includes:
Domain registration & hosting (one year) | Template & color palette customization | Guidance on wording & creative writing | Content updates leading up to the celebration | RSVP Responses in a Google Spreadsheet
When enquiring, please provide as much detail as possible on the content sections and functionality you’ll need, as well as what you have in terms of image content (photographs of you and/or the venue) that you’d like to use.
Our Style Notes
The venue Obviously a library would be fitting, but a museum works too
The season Fall | The palette Black and white, forever and ever.
Designers Christian Dior, Victoire Vermeulen, Kamperett | Looks Pleats, tiny buttons, subtle embroidery details
Must-have accessory The Grace Box from Mark Cross (inspired by Grace Kelly on the set of Rear Window).
Cute ceremony idea Novels on everyone’s seat, recovered in hand-made paper.
The honeymoon Wandering around Paris or Florence.
The quote:
And then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes
and then he asked me would I yes and his heart was going like mad
and yes I said yes I will yes.
— James Joyce
The letter
My delightful, my love, my life….You turn my life into something light, amazing, rainbowed—you put a glint of happiness on everything—always different: sometimes you can be smoky-pink, downy, sometimes dark, winged—and I don’t know when I love your eyes more—when they are open or shut.
— Vladimir Nabokov, to Vera
Image Credits: Dress by Victoire Vermeulen | Light table styling by Artis Paris & Yoann et Marco | Moody table by Colin King | White dress by Carolina Herrera | Black dress by Saint Laurent | All stationery by The Letterist
ADDITIONAL LINKS & inspiration
On The Journal
See a collaboration with Taylor & Porter and The Fall Bride featuring pieces from The Novelist collection.
To find out more about why you might want to choose folded invitations, read our folded wedding invitations blog.
On Pinterest
See our pins for The Novelist collection including fashion, florals, desserts, and more.
On Instagram
Watch a reel of our beautiful large format linen seating chart from The Novelist collection.
Learn more about the process | See what clients have said about working with us | Back to All Collections
Please note that some of these images are digital renders and some are photographs of print samples - they do not always reflect the full range of paper textures, colors and print techniques available. We will share more options with you during the customization process and can mail you selected print samples upon request.