British Luxury Brand Smythson, Has Launched A Bespoke Wedding Stationery Service And You Will Love It

We think of luxury as ephemeral. Styles come and go, but what matters most is the ‘now’, what is hip in this particular moment in time. So it seems odd that Smythson, the 130-year-old brand—a pioneer of luxury leather and stationery manufacturing—has chosen to launch its bespoke personalised wedding stationery service that allows customers to choose the perfect wedding card for that key milestone in their lives.

The process is time-consuming, but it is a far cry from the time Frank Smythson founded his namesake label in 1887. His idea was to create the world’s first practical, lightweight, portable diary, which now has a distinctive, strong, and durable, floppy leather binding, virtually unchanged since the 1900s. Since then, the brand has served the likes of famed personalities—from Grace Kelly, Katharine Hepburn, to Sir Winston Churchill—and today, that legacy continues.

“We endeavour to make the ordinary extraordinary and the everyday timeless,” says Ruth Baxter, the brand’s bespoke stationery manager. “A wedding is a truly cherished occasion so it is an integral part of the service and experience that our stationery consultants offer,” she adds. Engraving stationery requires years and years of expertise but it is something that the company takes great pride in. With a raised finish, remarkable sharpness of line, and an intense depth of colour, Smythson’s cards can be identified by the indentation on the back leaflet, making it hard to replicate.

“We combine a varied range of traditional,  decorative finishes, such as hand-painted borders or fully tissue-lined envelopes,” says Baxter, about the brand’s overarching aesthetic that is the perfect melting pot of British-ness and elegance. Much like the famed cerulean colour that became a cult phenomenon (thanks to the film The Devil Wears Prada), Smythson’s Nile Blue colour has also been of much significance since the 1900s. Discussing Frank Smythson’s consummate globetrotting experiences, Baxter tells us, “The introduction of our iconic Nile Blue colour was inspired by one of Frank’s journeys to Egypt. Now, a distinctive globe and feather watermark can be found on every pale blue page ensuring its authenticity.”

Smythson mills its own range of watermarked papers in the United Kingdom and the absence of cotton or linen in the wood pulp makes it an ideal canvas for fountain pen lovers. With the brand’s special wedding offerings, Ruth says, “Our wedding stationery service is not restricted to the invitations alone. From menu and place cards to orders of service and thank you notes, Smythson will ensure that every single piece of stationery for your wedding day leaves a lasting impression.” Until 2007, the brand was one of the eight surviving companies in the UK to hold four Royal Warrants simultaneously, with three still in hand. With a prime focus on exceptional craftsmanship, Smythson’s in-house workers possess skills—such as gilding and tissue-lining every single envelope by hand—that have been passed down from generation to generation since 1887.

Talking about India as a market for luxury and wedding goods, Ruth tells us, “The most elaborate stationery we have ever produced was for the Maharajas of India during the 1920s and ’30s. Hand-bordered paper was intricately engraved with personal monograms in gold and silver, and decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays.” She adds, “This exquisite work firmly established us as the world’s foremost purveyors of personalised stationery, a legacy that still lives on to this day.” 2018 marks an exciting chapter for the company as last month Smythson announced the appointment of a new creative director, Luc Goidadin. Will he be able to mine on the rich archives and expand the classic British brand’s global presence? Only time will tell.

Correction: March 9, 2018

An earlier version of this article stated that Smythson is a '160-year-old brand.' The brand is 130 years old and not 160.

All images: courtesy.