Bride-to-be horrified that the doily borders of her custom-made wedding invitations don't match

A bride-to-be from Dallas, Texas, is warning others to get every detail of their wedding planning purchases in writing after she says a horrifying mix-up with her invitations left her without options. Natalie DeGraffenreid is 38 days from saying "I do," but the biggest source of worry isn't the big day - it's the invitations. DeGraffenreid hired Arlington-based Art by Ellie to create the custom design, and said she was drawn to an invitation with a doily design . She placed her order in early January; paid her $500 deposit; signed the company's contract; and waited for delivery. Then came problems.



DeGraffenreid said at first, only half of the invitations she had ordered were ready. And then staff at Art by Ellie told her there weren't enough of the same style of doilies for the entire order. "When she e-mailed me a few days later and said she didn't have the same pattern - that she was ordering a new one - she said it was 'different.' I didn't know how different," DeGraffenreid said. There were two patterns in one order for a disappointed customer. "It matters to me. I'm the bride, and I'm the one that paid for it," DeGraffenreid said. She believes Art by Ellie didn't hold up its end of the deal, so she has not yet paid the rest of her bill.

DeGraffenreid says she contacted the company asking for a sign of good faith, like a refund or discount, but was told by the owner that a full refund would not be an option and that full payment is now overdue. Lauren Heymann owns the nearly six-year-old stationery firm, which has many other happy customers across North Texas. Heymann said: "I'm very sorry she [DeGraffenreid] is so upset about the doilies, and I have tried to think of every way possible to rectify the situation." Heymann says she has offered DeGraffenreid some kind of refund, but the bride-to-be refutes that.



She says instead, Heymann reminded her of what wasn't in her contract. "'We are not under contract for a guaranteed specific delivery date, a specific envelope, or a specific doily pattern with your contract,'" DeGraffenreid says Heymann said in an email. "That means she could give me whatever she wanted... and she did," said DeGraffenreid. An attorney representing Art by Ellie contacted DeGraffenreid this week demanding full payment of the rest of her bill, with the hope of avoiding any future legal action. DeGraffenreid says she's not sure how to proceed, but she does have a warning for other brides: Get the envelope, the ink... every detail of any order in whatever contract you sign. "Hopefully you will not go through what I went through," she said.