About Us

Whimsique (pronounced whim-zeek) is an experiential design studio recognized for creating one-of-a-kind invitations and stationery.  We believe in a world of limitless possibilities and that there is no concept too wild to explore.  Our designs are more than stationery; they are a playful, elevated and whimsical experience that seamlessly translate the essence of our clients into unique hand crafted and designed pieces that are made just for them.

Since our inception in 2009, we have earned a reputation from clients, planners and the media for our stylish and imaginative designs, as well as unsurpassed service and personalized process. While we are located along the coast of Southern California , we have happy clients all over the United States. And although we’ve been in business for more than a decade and have a rewarding history and expansive portfolio as a result, it’s our future we are most excited about.

Whimsique’s work has been featured in some of the wedding industry’s most distinguished national and local publications including Martha Stewart Weddings, Inside Weddings, Style Me Pretty, The Knot, Exquisite Weddings Magazine, Carats and Cake, San Diego Style Weddings, Ceremony Magazine, and  Aisle Planner.

To understand your unique requirements, personality, and distinctive style, Whimsíque conducts complimentary consultations ( both in person or remotely) by appointment only. Your invitation suite is then custom designed to bring your vision to life with as many adjustments as necessary until you are completely in love with it. Each piece is carefully handcrafted using the finest papers, embellishments, and materials. Options are endless and include letterpress, embossing, laser cut, foil printing, flat printing, acrylic, wood, silk boxes and just about anything else.

See our work

Meet the Owner

Melissa Ward
Founder/Creative Director

Melissa grew up in San Diego and received a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from San Diego State University. After graduating, she worked in the non-profit sector as a graphic designer and event planner. Eventually, Melissa moved on to Corporate America to become the art director of a large baby toy and baby gear company. She designed everything from logos and packaging to toys and products but missed the excitement and creativity involved in creating unforgettable events.

Outside of her corporate job, Melissa frequently utilized her talents to design invitations and stationery at the request of friends and family. But it wasn’t until she got married that she realized how valuable a good vendor is in the process of planning a wedding. This fresh perspective coupled with her passion for design, events and people ultimately led her to start Whimsíque in 2009 while continuing to work full time as a Senior Graphic Designer. Two years later, Whimsíque’s success enabled her to pursue her passion wholeheartedly and she’s been immersed in weddings and working with wonderful couples and other talented vendors ever since.

Melissa, her husband and their two children live in a beach cottage in a dreamy part of San Diego. When she’s not designing fabulous invites you can find her with her nose in a book and latte in hand or off with her family seeking adventures in all corners of the world.

What our clients are saying

Melissa & Whimsique was absolutely the right choice~ for our wedding that was hosted over 3 days, Whimsique developed a beautiful trifold with custom drawings that brought to life our welcome event wedding event and farewell brunch! The watercolor design across all of our stationary showcases the overall colors of our event and was a very classy design. Working with a pro like Melissa makes things so much easier and we received a ton of compliments on our invitation. So much so that we asked her to design our thank you cards as well! Thank you Melissa~ we loved working with you!!

Catherine O.

Melissa and the Whimsique team truly went above and beyond for our special day. Melissa not only designed our amazing invitations & save the dates, she also did all the wedding stationery and paper goods such as food&drink menus, table signs, programs, wooden signs, etc and last but not least, our cathedral style wedding altar! ALL of them exceeded my husband and I's expectations! Melissa helped me bring color to my ideas and knew where to steer me when I was having a hard time explaining my vision or changes to a design. All her designs and works are things we will cherish forever and played the GREATEST role in making our wedding uniquely ours and us! We can't rave enough about the whole process and finished products! If I could leave pictures of it all, I would! Stunning!

Courtney S.

Beyond amazing! Melissa is so talented and her stationery is beyond fabulous! I cannot say enough good things about working with her on my menus, table numbers, my invitations and signage. The invitations set the entire vibe for my whole wedding. She is so talented! I am in awe of her work! Thank you!

Dana (San Diego, CA)

Whimsique did our wedding invitations for our wedding on May 9, 2015. Melissa is OUTSTANDING at what she does. I would say these invitations are HANDS DOWN the best you will find in San Diego. They are a bit on the pricier side, but totally worth it if it's in your budget. They are so classy and glamorous. My husband was worried they'd be a little too feminine, but Melissa worked and worked and WORKED on them with me (on the design, colors and wording) until it was exactly what we wanted. Not to mention, she was the best vendor out of all the vendors for my wedding to respond to my (many) emails. This is where you need to get your wedding invitations done if you are getting married in San Diego!

Erika (San Diego, CA)

Melissa was genuine, warm, patient and super creative with our invites, save the dates and escort cards. Time and time again we have received compliments!! Many of our family and friends stated these were the best invitations they have ever received. Fantastic quality....just gorgeous! And super unique!

Laura

Melissa was unbelievable! I would highly recommend her for anyone looking for wedding invitations, or stationary. So many of our guests have commented on how gorgeous and incredible the invitations are. But Melissa was even more impressive than the finished product. She had a huge selection of completed invitations to get ideas rolling for ours. She was very informative as far as what works well with other things and what does not. She was open to collaborating with us and our suggestions, and made countless changes to the invitations until we were 100% happy, always using our input and giving us exactly what we wanted. Best of all, she answered every single email promptly, including late at night and during the weekends. Being in the industry myself, customer service is a huge deal to me, and she went above and beyond. Cannot speak highly enough of how great Melissa was/is. Everybody, and I mean everybody, should use her for their wedding invitations and stationary needs.

Lindsay (San Diego, CA)