The Dandelion Patch

I went in for my wedding– I needed signs made for tables, and signs made for the donations we had done. I also ordered cups with our names and wedding dates.
There was a hiccup when the delivery of cups didn’t arrive– they immediately rushed another set. The first set arrived the day the second set showed up– and they gave me the extra cups for free. The proofs of the table designs were great– and prompt– and I found them very personable and friendly. I do miss the old Vienna store– this one is dedicated to all things invitations, paper, photo cards, and announcements. For the comments about price– remember that is set by the vendors— not the Patch… Crane paper isn’t cheap ladies. I definitely recommend this place !

Where to start… I think the easiest way to put it is RUN! Spend your money elsewhere.
Given the price point they operate at, you would think they have a better understanding of the product they sell. Especially when it comes to the markers/​pens you should not use to address the envelopes with, since certain kinds of ink won’t sink in due to the paper finish.
Here’s the kicker… 10% off a future purchase to make up for it?! Puh-​lease! They will never get another dime from us, especially after leaving a message to speak with the owner and never getting a call back.
Buyer beware!!!

I saw a wedding invitation on Pinterest that I wanted to replicate and went to Dandelion Patch. The initial meeting went very well but when I saw the online proof it was clear that there was a disconnect. After multiple rounds of edits the invitations came in and were an eyesore. The invitations were exceptionally large, the font was very light/​hard to read and the envelopes were too small to fit the invitation in. Needless to say I went into panic mode. I will give Dandelion Patch credit in that they ultimately fixed everything at no additional charge but I learned some valuable lessons along the way which I will share with others:
— Do not fall in love with an invitation you find on Pinterest. Trying to replicate something you have never held in your hand is a recipe for disaster.
— Order your invitations early. I waited until January to order invitations for a April 30^th wedding and that was a mistake. I did not have enough time to order Letterpress which was the style I loved the most and the condensed timeframe really allowed no time for errors which unfortunately happened.
— If you have time request a physical proof. I had to approve my proof online. Initially when I saw the proof I thought the font looked too light. I mentioned this and was told it was because it was a digital print. Still to this day I cannot stand the lightness of the font used. There is not enough contrast between the paper and my font color.
— I purchased lined envelopes. The envelopes were only lined on the flap and back where the recipient address goes. You could see the C&D through the front of the envelope (see picture) which also drove me crazy but we were out of time since I wanted to mail the invitations out on March 1^st. If you pay for lined envelopes clarify what is lined. I assumed it meant the whole envelope and was clearly mistaken.
— The invitations I chose (Kleinfeld brand) had to be ordered in increments of 25. My invitations cost about $ 750 per 25 before calligraphy and postage. Before falling in love with an invitation see if other brands offer smaller increments. I needed 3 more invitations than I ordered but I was not going to pay another $ 750 for 3 cards which would have left me with 22 extras.
— Proof everything carefully. If you get an online proof cut out every section of the card to see how it cascades. The spacing can be adjusted and even brush strokes on the font can be made thicker.

I follow The Dandelion Patch on instagram and was so excited to make our invitations here. My experience was not the best. I really, really wanted to love them… but the gorgeous invites I saw online were not matching up to what was discussed with me in person. First of all, the person I originally wanted to work with left the company. Another person took over for her and she wasn’t as upbeat or excited. I did not get the sense that the staff were experts on invitation design. Then that staff member left and I worked with someone else. Everyone was nice. However, I was looking for an expert. It seemed more like they were trying hurry my order along. Lastly, the invitations came very late. There was a miscommunication (i.e. no one told us the best format to use) and the store claimed there was nothing they could do. When your paying an expert to help you with something you expect expert service. I called the manufacturer myself and they were willing to help me out. The truth is I could have gone to one of their competitors and received a better deal and received the same product. The invitation did turn out beautifully, but they were not made by Dandelion Patch.

Was great until you closed Reston with no warning. Came 20 miles special to get a card for my fiancées birthday because the selection was always heartfelt.
Oh well. I’m not from the area so I’m not going out of my way to a different location when Reston was already out of the way.

Lindsay was absolutely WONDERFUL! I highly recommend the Dandelion Patch Vienna! Lindsay made my dream invitations come to life! She was absolutely incredible. My Mom and I went in to meet with Lindsay and she listened to our wants and needs and then she found THE perfect invitation for us. She made the experience very smooth. I went in thinking that I had an idea of what I wanted my invitation to look like, but I was not able to express it in words. Lindsay was able to take that dream and make it a reality.
I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the Dandelion Patch and Lindsay! She is top notch and can make your wedding invitations come to life flawlessly!
Thank you Lindsay– our invitations are perfect and people are constantly telling us how beautiful they are!

Let me start off by saying I’m an absolute sucker for cute paper goods. I mean how can you not be? Notecards, stationary, return address labels, I love it all. It’s hard for me to forgo forking over my savings for the stuff.
I found this little gem in my quest for invitations for my upcoming wedding in September. I began my search at another of my favorites, the Paper Source in the Mosaic District. I live in the area so both places are pretty convenient. A nice girl there helped me look through all the books and priced out some of my favs. But something was just missing.
I remembered seeing the little shop once on my way down Vienna’s historic Church Street, probably on my way to pick up some Church Street pizza (another awesome Vienna establishment). I figured it couldn’t hurt to just make an appointment and see what it was all about.
I had a wonderfully pleasant experience. Ali was awesome! She’s a lax girl with a fun, bubbly personality that just really made my wedding invitation experience a fun, personal one — not some stressful chore. She sat with me patiently as we went through book after book of invitations, sharing her expertise and explaining all the different types of printing (flat printing, thermography, etc). Even though I love invitations I’m a relative novice about the ins and outs. I just know what I like/​what looks good! After I picked my invites, I went back a second time to order them. Ali helped me with the invitation wording and etiquette side of things, which was really reassuring. She made sure I got a 10% discount on my invitations since I ordered 6 months in advance of my wedding. She’s since been transferred to the Georgetown location which is a bummer, but they’re lucky to have her!
The other Dandelion Patch ladies are sweet too. I just picked up my invites from them today and they look exactly as I pictured. They’re perfect! I can’t wait to address them and send them out, and I’ll definitely be back to order my wedding ceremony programs and maybe some other day of paper. As much as I love the Paper Source I’m so glad I got my invites at the Dandelion Patch. It feels good to support a local business rather than a nationwide chain. I felt that the Dandelion Patch had way more of a selection, everything was so custom and unique. I found a design that I feel uniquely captures my fiancé and my personal style at a affordable price.
Besides invitations, they have adorable gifts too. The next time you need a unique gift for a girlfriend, for a housewarming, for a college graduate, etc. — stop in! You won’t be disappointed!

First off, let me stay I agreed with another reviewer that this place is way overpriced. I asked a sales person how much a custom card would cost, she gave me a range from $ 3 to $ 5,000 PER CARD. Who spends $ 5,000 on a card? The first thought that popped into my fiancé was it is made out of gold or something…
Anyways if that price range is okay to you then you should consider this place. From what I saw, they had binders after binders of selection that filled two walls of shelves. But for me, I felt the money is better spent elsewhere since most people throw out the invitations anyway.

I went in late on a Monday afternoon to browse wedding invitations and get a sense of prices, and Erin was working that night. Despite the fact that we didn’t have an appointment (probably annoying), she was really sweet, informative, and patient. She wasn’t pushy and gave us space to look over all of the options, but stayed nearby for follow-​up questions. It is on the pricier side, but that is expected for any stationary store. You pay for the hand holding and followup that you wouldn’t receive when ordering invites online.
Dandelion Patch also has lots of cute last minute hostess or shower gifts!

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS EXPERIENCE! Everyone was so patient and caring about our needs. We ordered everything through them and we couldn’t be any happier. I would recommend The Dandelion Patch to anyone!

The CEO wrote us and apologized profusely. While she admitted we suffered terrible service, she did explain that she had pulled her more experienced staff from Vienna to help open up new stores and that is why no one was responsive to our order. We waited weeks for a small refund for an overpayment to appear but it never arrived. When we notified the CEO of this she refunded our entire purchase price, which we did receive, and we are grateful. I wish it had been a better experience but the refund certainly helps soothe the bad feelings. Once time has passed I may be willing to give this business another chance.

The Dandelion Patch now has an outlet in Tyson’s Corner. Located just North of Route 7 in the same corporate office park as the Shamshiry Express.

Maybe this is the type place you go only when you have weeks of time to wait around for proofs and actual invites…
After being promised an invite proof in two days (took four) and after paying for RUSH printing (didn’t happen) I was made to DRIVE to Vienna, Va for invites that should have been ready for pickup in Georgetown. Evidently all printing happens in Vienna and the company driver quit. What an inconvenience.
Also, I had to correct the invite proofs TWICE due to careless errors.
The one star I’ve given Dandelion Patch is for the fact that the invite is attractive. However, there was only one option for the type of party I was throwing…
This company needs to figure out a way to have same day turnaround. And, when this isn’t possible, MAKE SURE the customer is satisfied by giving them a large discount for their inconvenience. There is no doubt in my mind that an employee in the Vienna store could have driven these invites to Georgetown.
For someone looking to open an invitation or letterpress company, Washington, D.C. is looking like a good market.

Yes, it’s a beautiful store with a great inventory. Yes, it’s a local chain and I love that part too. But their prices are higher than other places for the exact same items and they require you to get a proof on all items – at your own expense ($ 10 – 15 I believe) no matter how simple the order. And to top it off, items only arrive in the quoted timeframe about 50% of the time. Most recently, an ink refill for my return address stamp was promised in two days. It’s now been over a week and they’re telling me it will be another three days. This is not the first time it’s happened here, I can’t imagine it will be the last.

The shop is VERY overpriced.
This was my first time ever ordering invites so I was very dependent on their help. I worked with Catie, a very sweet and helpful manager, and picked out my invites very quickly. I was told that I would receive proofs shortly. I paid the huge bill in full at that point. After I paid, the associates were difficult to get a hold of and I had to badger them to forward my proofs.
If I could go back, I would pay tons less and order my wedding invites online as most of my friends have done. Dandelion Patch basically becomes the middleman between you and an online company that sends them proofs. I say cut them out and go directly to the online company.
I loved my invites once they were finally finished, but they weren’t worth the incredibly high prices I paid.

LOVE LOVE LOVE The ladies from the patch. Especially Lindsay and Caitie. They were the most helpful and patient pair that I have ever encountered. You definitely have to be willing to spend a little bit of money, so if your budget is less than $ 1000, it probably will be near impossible to expect to have something exactly to your liking. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love their invites and how much I love the ladies there! Never a bad moment :) My fiancé and I will be returning to do any and all kinds of stationary projects with them even after our wedding!!!

A fantastic experience from the moment I walked in to the day I got my invites in the mail (yesterday!). went in late April to pick out wedding invites (I strongly recommend making an appointment and going on a weekday. it was a Monday and they were pretty busy, I cant imagine a Saturday afternoon!).
I had a custom illustration I wanted to incorporate in my invite, and after going over a bunch of options, we ended up creating a new invite inspired by one in their books (by Spark). They kept in good communication during the proof process (went through 3 or 4) and now have my invites here with plenty of time to construct them and send them off to the calligrapher! Highly recommended!

I had high expectations for this place, based on the good reviews and their web site. I made an appointment during the day of a holiday since I had the day off and thought it would be easier to go during the week. I guess others thought the same because it was crowded and seemed understaffed. When I entered the store, one woman asked me what my last name was and I told her, and then she said «Not that it matters.» (because it was busy and every consultant was already working with someone) The consultant I ended up working with told me that they had a lot of walk-​ins and that they didn’t think they would be so busy on the holiday and therefore didn’t call in additional staff. Well, that’s fine — but the fact is that I made an appointment ahead of time, but I had to wait on those who had just walked in.
I didn’t mind waiting a few minutes, and I filled out the paperwork to give them an idea of what I was looking for (wedding invitations). I included my budget, and after the woman asked me how important it was (I said it was important), she essentially blew me off. She told me that she might have one book I could look at. The way she said it out loud was extremely rude and I felt embarrassed in front of the other women who were looking at apparently extravagant stationery.
I know I came in clueless and maybe my budgeted amount was laughable, but no one took the time to explain to me why they do cost so much, what I could do to reduce the cost (i.e. different style of envelope, no liners, etc). I feel the service was really poor with the exception of the consultant I worked mostly with who brought several different books for me to look at after I told her more of what I was looking for.
I’m giving them 2 stars because the place was very nice, but the customer service and attitude left me with a bad taste in my mouth. They do seem to know what they are doing, but I felt like you have to fit into their «mold» in order to feel welcomed.

So, around 6 months ago I was tasked with throwing a bridal shower for my best friend. Being thrifty *cough* (cheap) I decided to order my invitations online from some discount invite store. Well 3 weeks later guess who had no invitations and a party fast approaching? THIS GIRL. I was in a panic. I started calling every place listed in the phone book begging for a rush print job on some obscure invitation pattern. Everyone turned me down, laughing. Except the Dandelion Patch. They were AMAZING from start to finish, and did not charge me a single penny for the rush print job. They even emailed me a pdf of the final print design and called me minutes later to discuss any edits. The entire thing actually ended up costing less than if I did everything online.
That experience alone won me over. I have since returned to shop from their unique gift selection– they really do have some great personalization ideas… I will be returning soon to do some holiday shopping.
One thing I was a bit disappointed with was the selection of pre-​printed cards for wedding/​bridal/​engagement. They had a TON of everything else, those were just a bit lacking.
Like others have mentioned, the staff here is great, everyone is so happy to help, and are very patient as you go «ooh can i see that one? oh how much is this?» They even were kind enough to transport an item that they only had in stock in their Reston store so I didn’t have to travel all the way out there.
Great business, highly recommend!

I went the Dandelion Patch for my wedding invites. I found them through Davids Bridal. When I went on a Saturday they were extremely busy but someone did assist me. I picked out my invites and paid alot of money for them. They told me they were going to send a proof. It would take 4 – 6 weeks to get my invitations. 4 weeks went by and I decided to call them since I hadn’t heard anything. They never even placed my order! She said I never approved the proof. Well, I never got the email. Don’t you think they would have thought it shouldn’t take 4 weeks for someone to decide about their proof. They never even followed up with me to see if I got the email. They said they could expedite the shipping. It is casuing me a major headache for something so important for a bride. I am not impressed at all with their service. Not only that they said I «fell through the cracks.» Even more, they messed up in production saying they couldn’t do engraving on the invitation i picked out! How do you not know this when selling to your customer? My invites are pushed back another week! The sad thing is that the MANAGER is the one who is messing up. I spoke with the Owner who then offered free meny cards to make up for the mistake. She was very understadning. Overall though, the amount I spent just wans’t worth the headache.

While I was planning my wedding I logged so many hours at the Dandelion Patch that it started to feel like I worked there. Of course, this was my fault — not theirs. The Dandelion Patch carries all the major wedding invitation distributors, and I found myself lost (in a fun way) in a sea of choices. I literally camped out there for hours on several occasions. And yes, it was embarrassing when I realized that I was on a first name basis with the 8 people who work there!
The staff at The Dandelion Patch was wonderful. I worked with a lot of vendors for my wedding, and I understand how critical it is to work with competent, pleasant people. The women at the Dandelion Patch were up to the task — and they were helpful and patient — never pushy.
I ordered all of my wedding stationery from the Dandelion Patch. They have options across a range of prices and styles and I always felt they were trying to help me find what I wanted.
On the retail side of things, the store stocks lots of gifts — household goods that can be personalized, Vera Bradley bags, assorted things of that nature.

Goog for Stationary and Invitation ordering.

Forget peering through those huge invitation books at the department store. The Dandelion Path has the best selection of invites and stationary in the area. I am a paper whore, and when I found out that my girl Vera Wang was making stationary, I looked everywhere to find it. I should have known it was at the Path. For you paper trueists, they carry William Arthur and Cranes, too. Whatever the occasion: baby shower, wedding shower, wedding, baby announcement– this is the store to pick it out.
They also carry some really cute gifts here. Embellished spa towels, monogram ed soap and deluxe wooden cutting boards are just some of the items the Patch carries.
If you’re behind on your holiday cards (like me) they can make a photo greeting card for you in no time!