Mac and Murphy’s Liz Macpherson and Ami Murphy want to get to know you. In fact, they ask the engaged couple to swing by their downtown stationery store a full nine months before their wedding date for a little chat. Macpherson and Murphy want to know all the deets: how you and your future spouse met, how you got engaged, where the ceremony and reception will be held, how many people you’re going to invite. “We just try and get a really good idea for their personality and aesthetic,” Murphy explains. “Then we dive into looking at samples and just looking at the actual tactile invitations to find out what their personal style is.”
These days, letterpress is still very trendy for invitations, and the shop has also been doing a lot of gold and silver foil work and envelope liners. The Spring Street store (which is just steps away from Sugar Bakeshop) stocks invitations from local companies Studio R, Sideshow Press, Sixpence Press, and 42 Pressed, plus national ones like Smock Paper, Cheree Berry, Elum, and Pistachio Press. Mac and Murphy can do custom work too.
While it’s important for couples to look through magazines and blogs for inspiration before they come in to Mac and Murphy, it’s just as important to present a general idea for budget, which will help Macpherson and Murphy carve out a realistic plan. “[Picking out invitations] is typically not something that anybody has ever done before — people have hired bands or they’ve hired caterers, but they’ve probably never done an invitation on this level,” Murphy says. “There’s nothing worse than designing your dream invitation and then you can’t actually have it produced.”
Stay cool. Support City Paper.
City Paper has been bringing the best news, food, arts, music and event coverage to the Holy City since 1997. Support our continued efforts to highlight the best of Charleston with a one-time donation or become a member of the City Paper Club.