Invitations are an integral part of all events, because they provide a glimpse into the occurrences that a specific occasion would entail. Essentially, the designed invitations act as the first look for guests to gain an insight to the whole milieu of an event. We had a conversation with the happily married couple who own Pop The Question, an incredible company based in Italy that crafted the gorgeous invitations for the prestigious Planners Xtraordinaire Show.
Tell us about yourself and your incredible company. Where did it all start?
It all started with a terrible idea and an astonishing surprise! We had a design studio that did a lot of digital work but what we really loved was art on paper. The magic that happens when you take a blank piece of paper and transform it, colour it and make it into something completely different was too strong a temptation for the both of us.
When we decided to get married, that’s when the seemingly terribly idea surfaced. Nicola wanted to make pop-up invitations for our guests. I had imagined something more traditional but when the pop-up invitations were printed, glued and ready to post, I felt that something incredible was created. I told Nicola, my future husband that I was wrong and he was right, and thus we began building our brand, named Pop The Question.
What is the most unique invitation you have designed?
The most unique invitation we designed was for Philip Morris. We thought it might be fun to make a pop-up card that generates fire. Like any good challenge, we were passionate about seeing it through to the end. We managed to create and patent a structure within a pop-up card that contained a matchstick. When you opened the card, the match struck and voilà, we had fire! Like all things too good to be true, there was a ‘but’ and it wasn’t a cigarette (pun intended!). For obvious safety concerns, we never did get the go-ahead for that particular project but it was undeniably both unique and fun.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
If you look at everything through creative eyes, hungry for something new, you will find inspiration all around you. When working on a specific project, we first get to know who our client is, what is important to them, what they love and what makes them tick, just like an actor would study a new character’s role. Consequently, we begin to draw inspiration from everything around us as if we’ve put on a pair of glasses, as we view everything around us in relation to what we’re working on. We pay close attention to our surroundings, everyone we encounter, the way things move, including the shapes and forms and shadows created by objects. If we ever feel stuck and find the need to be inspired, sometimes all it takes is to get out and go for a walk to instill some great new and fresh ideas.
Are there any particular trends in stationery that are popular at the moment?
What trends do you see being popular in 2019?
Pop-ups of course! We’re currently receiving many requests from corporate clients wanting to produce original invites or promotional material for events but also a surprising number of weddings too! After Chiara Ferragni and Fedez launched the trend with an unforgettable pop-up invitation for their wedding this summer, pop-up wedding invites have been all the rage! As for the more modest weddings, we are still very much in love with minimalistic designs combined with delicate floral designs, calligraphy and wax seals. It’s all in the details and going the extra mile with an added personal touch!
How far in advance would you advise someone to start sourcing invitations for special events?
It can vary, depending on the number of invites needed or the complexity of the invitation. If you are ordering from our e-commerce, we guarantee that it would be available 10 days from client approval. If you are interested in standard sized invitations with bespoke artwork and graphical designs, you can expect it to take approximately 1-3 weeks from start to shipping date. However, if you are looking for something much more intricate that requires paper engineering as well as graphics and artwork, ideally 1-2 months allows us enough time to really create something spectacular and unique in order to cater specifically to your needs.
What is your favourite colour combination to use when designing wedding invitations?
We are still very much in love with soft subdued colour palettes of blush or nude, pearl grey and off whites but also really love the boldness of dark blues, charcoal grey and burgundy with gold accents for city or winter weddings.
What are some of the factors that played a pivotal role in the invitation and menu design process for the Planners Xtraordinaire show?
There were three events to represent within the invitation and each one had a specific theme and colour palette that were all very different from one another, so our biggest challenge was to represent all the three varied themes in a way that they spoke to one another and maintain continuity. We managed to do so, by choosing only two fonts, one script and one sans serif and incorporated only those two scripts throughout all the invitations.
What is your company’s philosophy when working with opulent events, such as the Planners Xtraordinaire Show?
It’s a great opportunity for exploration and experimentation, to push ourselves to do things we’ve never done before so with every request, every modification, every detail, we put as much passion into it as we can because with each job we do, it’s a journey and we never know where it will lead us towards.
How would you describe your experience of working as the invitations design partner for the luxurious Planners Xtraordinaire Show?
The Planners Xtraordinaire show team were wonderful to work with. The event itself was inspiring and energising. It was the first time we attended a conference of this kind and we found it to be an incredible opportunity for networking, giving us a real opportunity to build relationships with people who share similar interests as our company. We are very experienced in the creation of invitations for events but very rarely have the opportunity to attend events as such, so this was particularly fun.
All photographs courtesy: ManiSol Wedding and @popthequestion.it
