Puneet Gupta On What Makes The Perfect Wedding Invite

Whether it’s a multi-decked, intricately designed box filled with dry fruits or an eco-friendly, paperless invite with enticing graphics, a wedding invitation is instrumental in setting the first impression in the minds of wedding attendees and delivering an essence as to what to expect from the festivities in the coming days. Well, aside from giving information about the wedding of course!

Designing a perfect wedding invite is an art form and Puneet Gupta seems to have mastered it. With his brand Puneet Gupta Invitations, the creative genius has managed to carve a niche in the burgeoning wedding market as a force to be reckoned with.

Established in 2008, Punnet Gupta Invitations has become one of the most sought-after names in the country for luxury invites, weddings and otherwise, furthering the designer’s passion for design and creativity. His work has also been featured in TV shows and movies like Made In Heaven and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.

Now, the designer is gearing up to showcase his work at the upcoming FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend. In a conversation with Manifest, the wedding invite designer gives us a sneak peek into his journey, the evolution of his brand over the years, how sustainability has impacted the business of designing wedding invitations and more…

In Conversation With Puneet Gupta

Manifest: What inspired you to take up designing wedding invitations as a career?

Puneet Gupta: I have always been a creatively inclined child since my boyhood days. I enjoyed making greeting cards for all my loved ones during the festivities.  I graduated from the National Institute Of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Delhi as a gold medallist and started designing invitations for fashion shows Slowly, I found solace in designing invites and in 2008 I decided this is what is my real calling and that's how the idea of Puneet Gupta Invitations was conceived.

M: Can you throw some light on the brand and its journey?

PG: When I started almost two decades back the first collection featured a woven blend of richly printed soft fabrics with intricate embroidery. Sadly, the collection did not do well and I was defeated. I started my journey when people were reluctant to spend money on wedding invitations and people only saw them as cards featuring details. But luckily as the idea of the big fat Indian wedding began to gain momentum, my business picked up. I have always been devotedly passionate about designing and I have also written a book titled Invitation Trend book which addresses factors necessary while designing wedding invitations that explain textures, fabrics, weaves and colour palettes.

M: What goes on behind the scenes of creating the perfect invite?

PG: The secret of the craft lies with our artisans. Sadly skilled labourers do not get their due recognition in the Indian scenario. I try to contemporise Indian craftsmanship. I have created bridal trousseau trunks that feature zardozi, gotta patti, chikankari, ikkat, pochampalli, and jadau work in my designs, as I wanted to generate more income opportunities for skilled labourers. Even while I was designing for the Amazon Prime original Made in Heaven, the trousseau trunks had an element of demography, geography and culture, where the wedding happened. Moreover, we also create Mehndi Gotta pompom cones, which are a must-have this shaadi season.

M: Can you share some of the most unique briefs given to you by any client?

PG: One of the clients I was designing for wanted to use pure silver, which appealed to me immensely, also once, we were asked to implement the digital print of a groom’s image on the trousseau trunk, for which we had to photograph the groom and then encrust it onto the trunk.

M: What are the latest trends in wedding invite designs that will be everywhere this season?

PG: I have always been a fan of sustainable wedding invites because as much as we love the fun and frolic of weddings, we must remain mindful of our actions. Even while we designed Ali Fazal and Richa Chadda’s wedding invite, which went viral minutes after the couple hit publish, we were careful about our choices.  The designing of the wedding invite forms the core, as presentation remains one of the important factors in our industry. One trend that has bounced back is the extravagant wedding invite trend, which primarily includes huge-size trunks carrying layers of premium assortments. Another trend that is going nowhere is the trend of personalisation.

M: Can you give us a sneak peek of what we can expect at the FDCI Manifest Wedding Weekend?

PG: This year we are bringing in a mix of trends. One will see variations of the classic temple invitations, hand-painted invites, and utility invites. These are a few collections that we wish to showcase.