Monday 7 October 2013

Charlotte Balbier Wedding Diary.... Stationary

wedding stationery
Working with fabric all day every day, it's not surprising that I'd describe myself as a touchy-feely kind of person. It's not just dresses though, I can't resist fabulous stationery either - I love the texture, feel, look and even smell of a good luxury print, so it was probably a bigger deal for me than the average bride!

Before I even started my search for wedding stationery, I already knew the kind of thing I was looking for. I wanted something utterly feminine and super romantic but which still felt chic and classic, with a modern edge - a lot to ask I know, and a tough challenge for any stationery designer! Sure, I was open to ideas but being a creative person myself, I admit I had very set ideas about what I liked and more importantly, what I didn't.

When I first started thinking about my Save The Dates and invitations a few months ago, I was initially drawn to some designs from Hello Lucky, as their pink invites are gorgeous and felt very 'me' - I really did love so much of their work but I felt myself thinking 'I wish it had something more like this…' or 'I love this but perhaps with a different…' so it was back to the drawing board for me.
At this point I started to worry that my 'stationery wishlist' just wasn't compatible with the designs out there. I fell in love with the idea of having gold glitter incorporated into our print, but after chatting with Teddy about the delicacy of it, I had visions of the glitter falling off in transit and guests receiving bald invites - so that was the end of that. Another problem came when deciding on the background colour. Pink is my favourite hue but our wedding (shock horror) is only having subtle hints of pink and I don't want to give guests the wrong idea about our colour theme. To cut a long story short, I just didn't know where I could find a design to match the kind I'd been dreaming up in my head and was pretty much convinced I would have to commission a bespoke design which would be a lot more work and a bigger chunk of budget.
wedding stationery
Happily, which I'm sure you B2Bs are discovering too, suppliers in the wedding industry usually have the best knowledge of other great businesses catering for brides, and so when I explained my stationery woes to my wedding photographer Polly Alexandre, she instantly had a person in mind who might be able to help…

How right she was! Polly recommended Rose and Ruby Paper Co and as soon as I set eyes on Rose’s new portfolio of designs, it was love at first sight. As I looked through the different options, I found the design, colour and style I'd been forever dreaming of. How's that for luck? If I'm completely honest, I was still drawn to the idea of a bespoke design from Rose, as I love the idea of our wedding being completely unique, but I have always said don’t mess with perfection, so we decided on one of Rose's existing designs with no changes at all.

Soon after I confirmed my chosen design with Rose, a gorgeous pastel-pink box arrived at Balbier HQ, delicately wrapped in sweet spotty paper and gold ribbon. Since it was the week of Valentine's Day, there was much excitement that it might be a romantic present for one of our employees, but I was actually the lucky one! I opened the box and there was Rose's stationery design mocked up with our wedding date and details. There was invitations, envelopes, Save The Dates and a few other surprises. Rose’s attention to detail and obvious love of all things creative, feminine and luxurious was apparent and I knew I had made the right decision with Rose and Ruby Paper Co.

Now that we've sent the confirmed names and addresses of our guest list through to Ruby, I can officially say our save the dates are in production, and it all feels very real now!

As I'm writing this blog post, I can't help thinking of something Rose said to me as we discussed my stationery for the first time. She was so right when she gushed that stationery is often the first glimpse of your impending big day that the wedding guests see, and is crucial in building the excitement, for both the couple and their friends and family. It was so lovely to hear that she was as excited as I was about setting the flavour of my wedding and thinking up special touches to help Teddy and I tell our love story on our big day. I can't wait!

Until next time,
Love Charlotte xxx
Check out Rose's designs for yourself at roseandrubypaperco.com

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