grab a copy of you and your wedding!
4th October 2011 | Posted in press by emmajo
I just couldn’t wait to see this month’s issue of You & Your Wedding on the shelves and it’s finally here! I am absolutely thrilled to see Emma Jo part of the beautiful black and white reception feature showcasing our Rosalind and Victoria Collections. As well as our stationery, the November/December issue is full of inspiration, advice and give aways so grab a copy quick!
Feature includes –
As well as a coordinating black and white striped envelope liner
tips when ordering your wedding stationery
3rd October 2011 | Posted in info by emmajo
I help provide advice when ordering stationery everyday and there are a few questions I get asked most often so I thought it would be good to share with you a few hints and tips when ordering your wedding stationery.
Start the stationery process as soon as you can, ideally as soon as you have booked the venue. Avoid any stress and rush charges and give yourself time to choose inks and check proofs. If you looking at commissioning bespoke stationery, think about the design and theme of your invites and any coordinating stationery you would like. A great starting point is to gather imagery, swatches as well as your ideas, these details you provide really make your stationery special and personal.
When should you send out your invitations? Aim to send out your invites 6 weeks to 3 months before the wedding so I recommend starting the ordering process at least 2 months prior to this.
Not sure when to set your reply date? This may depend on your caterers and other vendors but I recommend setting it one month before your wedding. This will give you plenty of time to follow up any late responses and really helps to finalise any remaining items like table plans and personalised place cards earlier. Giving yourself this extra time will prevent any unnecessary stress close to the big day.
If you are sending out Save the Dates look to do this 6 – 9 months before the wedding or even earlier if you are having a destination wedding. Save the Dates are a great idea if the wedding falls on a holiday period or mid week to give your guests plenty of time to arrange their plans.
When deciding on numbers work on the basis of one invite per family or couple not person and include any family and friends that you know won’t be able to attend but would appreciate receiving an invitation.
Top Tip: Order an extra 10 to 20 invitation sets for any last minute guest list changes, this also allows for any addressing mistakes. It’s cost effective to order these now, reordering a small number of items at a later date can be really expensive.
Remember colour resolution can vary drastically between computers and electronic proofs should be used as a guide only. If there is a particular colour you would like I always recommend sending a swatch in the post. This hard copy can then be matched to an ink as closely as possible.
Would love a two colour letterpress design but on a tight budget? There are plenty of options to tailor your stationery requirements to suite all budgets. Choose two colours for the main invitations and just one colour for all coordinating items or print your stationery in one colour and include envelope liners to add an additional colour.
I hope these little tips help to make ordering your stationery easy and as stress free as possible!
Tagged with wedding stationery
21st July 2011 | Posted in emma jo brides by emmajo
I have been very excited about this post for some time now and I am delighted to finally show everyone! I have previously featured Lucia and Anil’s wedding stationery before and it was such a pleasure to design their stationery, so I was very excited when Lucia sent me some of their wedding photos recently. I don’t often get to see our stationery on the actual day, in situ, so it is always a delight when I get a peek at the photos, especially for such a beautiful wedding as Lucia and Anil’s!
This has to be my favourite photo, it’s absolutley stunning!
Lucia has been very kind in not only sharing her lovely photographs but also a little insight into her wedding choices, thoughts and ideas. Here is what she had to say…
The Dress
My dress is called Kristene and is by Claire Pettibone, a US designer which specialises in romantic dresses with a whimsical, vintage look. The dress has Victorian style embroidery and is lined with ivory silk charmeuse. I loved the sweetheart neckline, sheer back and cap sleeves though my favourite feature was the heart shaped train!
The shoes are by Rachel Simpson.
I bought both the dress and the shoes at The White Closet in West Didsbury, Manchester, a vintage-inspired bridal boutique owned by the lovely Nikki Jackson. The White Closet girls (Nikki, Eve and Emma) are so helpful and the shop and dresses are just stunning.
The Venue
We got married in the East Wing at Ripley Castle near Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The castle is set in the picturesque village of Ripley in the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, surrounded by beautiful gardens and next to a lake. Our photographer Andy Sutcliffe really made the most of the beautiful setting by taking some fantastic pitures! We liked the relaxed feel of the venue – it felt elegant and special yet not too grand or opulent. Both the room where our ceremony took place and the one where we had the wedding breakfast and evening reception have beautiful exposed beam ceilings.
The castle florist, Val, put together some beautiful flower arrangements with a “gathered”, country feel. I told her I wanted the flowers to feel “garden-y” and lose, almost like wild flowers which is exactly what she did! She mainly used creams and greens in the reception arrangements but included a few amnesia roses with a dusty pink colour which add a vintage touch. Val also made the bride’s bouquet which had fluffy ivory roses, peonies and lilly of the valley.
The Music
For the civil ceremony we had a harpist – the very talented Ruby Paul which created an intimate and romantic atmosphere.
During the drinks reception and the wedding breakfast Matt and Annabel from Vintage 78 dj played original 78rpm shellac discs on 1930’s Gramophone players. They set up in the garden for the drinks reception and later on in the main hall for the meal. Both of their sets looked great with their picnic style gramophones with pop up lids and other quirky, vintage accessories – and they sounded even better! One of my favourite memories from the day was sipping champagne in the sunshine and mingling with our guests while listening to the vintage records!
The Wedding Cake
Our wedding cake was not a wedding cake as such but rather a tower of vanilla, lemon and white chocolate cupcakes by Mama Doreen’s in Harrogate. They were yummy and such a hit with the guests!
Favours and Sweets
We got married on the Easter bank holiday so wanted the holiday to feature somehow in our wedding. We therefore asked Cakes by Lynette to make some egg shaped biscuits as favours. These were covered in icing with a beautiful bird design and had a little tag wishing guests a Happy Easter.
After the meal a table with a “sweets station” was set up near the bar. This had pretty glass jars with retro sweets like wham bars, as well as jelly beans and mini chocolate eggs. We bought mini scoops and little paper bags (which we decorated with vintage stickers bought from etsy.com) for guests to help themselves.
Guest Book
Just a couple of weeks before the wedding we still had not made a decision whether we wanted a guest book or not – I’m so glad we decided to have one in the end as it is such a lovely keepsake of the day! We knew we wanted something slightly different so decided to have a photo guest book. We placed a polaroid camera (with lots of spare film!) next to the book and asked guests to have their picture taken. We bought some self adhesive cards resembling old luggage tags and postcards for the guests to write their messages on and asked them to stick these next to their picture on the book.
Emma Jo designed these lovely signs with the instructions.
Guest Cards
I bought a vintage birdcage from ebay for guests to place their cards in. Next to it we had pictures from the weddings or our parents and grandparents which added a really nice personal touch.
Stationery
We loved every item of stationery that Emma Jo designed – from the elegant letter press invitations to the Venice themed vintage table plan (every table had the name of a Venice landmark – our favourite city and the place where we got engaged!). If I had to chose I’d say the orders of service were my favourite item; these were held together by black and white baker’s twine (Emma’s idea!).
“My favourite part of day was looking around and seeing all of my friends and family under one roof (including some who travelled a long way to come to the wedding!). It may sound like a cliche but we felt incredibly lucky to have so many people who we love share our day with us!”
Dress – Claire Pettibone
Shoes – Rachel Simpson
both bought at The White Closet
Venue – Ripley Castle
Photography – Andy Sutcliffe
Music – Vintage 78 dj
Wedding Cake – Mama Doreen
Favours – Cakes by Lynette
Stationery – Emma Jo
Thank you so much Lucia and Anil for sharing your beautiful day, it was an absolute honour to design and print your wedding stationery.
Emma x
