Pretty Gocco-ed Things

For the longest time I told myself that we would not have letterpress invitations, even though I love letterpress printing. I once had a fleeting dream to go back to school for book arts, but then decided I couldn’t stomach the tuition for art school. I chose library school instead. Books are still involved, but unfortunately no presses or ink or double-sided tape for me. [Random geeky fact un-related to weddings, did you know there is such a profession as a book arts librarian?]

Unfortunately, once I made my design in one color, it was almost like I was asking for it. I saw how it would look from an offset printer, and all I could think was “wow, this would look so better in letterpress.” DUH MO! Of course it would look better in letterpress, everything looks better in letterpress! You know you want it: the paper is spongey, the ink is richer, it looks amazing framed. Just do it.

About a month ago I made thank you cards. Lots and lots of them. With lined envelopes, of course. I love sending paper cards. Writing them feels a little decadent, and opening the mailbox to a pretty envelope makes my day. Some of my friends send wonderful mail, so I have a set standard already.

In November EAD held a DIY contest, and E. encouraged me to enter my invitations, still in progress. Oh sure, I said, If I finish them soon! E., I totally did not finish them soon. Ladies- (And gentlemen? If you include DJ and one brother) I finished printing the maps on July 17, the night before we mailed them. Expert procrastinator. Hey E., can I enter now??

I’m sure you’ve all been on the edges of your computer chairs waiting to see our final invitations! Well, I hate to disappoint, but they’re not quite ready for prime time. To be honest, Nick and I have had little time to work on them lately, what with showers and parties.

How do girls getting married in just over a month spend their weekend? Crafting, of course! I’ve been working on a lot of easy but time consuming projects this weekend. Table name signs, escort cards, M’s wedding gift, and a mock up of our ceremony programs so I can start trimming down the stock for the covers and laying out pages in InDesign. Am I the only one who gets really really excited to see something working out as planned? Consider me really excited right now. I’m in love with how this mock up program turned out!

Parrott Design Studio is one of my favorite invitation studios.  Sarah Parrott (the designer and namesake behind Parrott Design Studio) specializes in custom letterpress and screenprinted invitations and stationery.  Sarah has a lovely design style that incorporates vintage graphics and floral imagery – I literally “ooh” and “aah” over each new project that she posts on her blog and website:

Last we chatted I told you about my reluctance to take the Gocco out of its perfectly packed box. But it had to be done. So I spent many hours reading tips on Weddingbee and right here on EAD. I watched videos on YouTube, and I found a very detailed tutorial on Flickr.

Last Friday I traveled to my parents’ house with a Gocco, a Xyron, an embosser, 8 lbs. of paper, and a whole lot of anticipation!

Cyd and Nole were both in a Gocco mood today so I thought I’d join in!  Angelique created these absolutely fabulous Gocco save the dates – she printed on wood laminate cards and encased them in gorgeous fabric pouches.

I love letterpress, but wedding budgets don’t always allow for letterpress or engraved invitations, particularly in today’s difficult economic environment.  For brides still seeking custom invitations, the Gocco (or now the Yudu!) can be an excellent, and more economical, alternative.  Some brides choose to go the DIY route, but for brides who don’t feel comfortable DIYing, there are a few invitation studios that specialize in Gocco-printed invitations.

Yesterday was my birthday and after a long search, I finally found and purchased a Gocco as my birthday gift to myself. I’ve basically been on the fence about purchasing a Gocco for a year at this point and naturally, by the time I realized just how much I wanted one they were completely sold out basically everywhere. Oops! Oh well, after some sleuthing and a shout out on my blog and some great tips from my readers, I found one and it is supposed to ship today. Hooray! So in the spirit of all things Gocco, I thought I’d share some of my favorite Gocco inspiration.

As promised, here are a few more of our favorite DIY details from our wedding. As I mentioned yesterday, going the DIY route was a great way to personalize our wedding. Menus, programs, and custom coasters aren’t new ideas for a wedding, but because my husband and I were able to do them ourselves, each one of these details helped to make our wedding a true reflection of us as a couple.

We are so pleased to welcome the girls from Louella Court to EAD today for our next Advice From the Pros segment!  Louella Press and Two Paperdolls are sister companies specializing in retail stationery and custom designs, respectively.  They are based just outside Philadelphia.

Samantha submitted an absolutely beautiful Gocco invitation set!

Every wedding invitation seems to have a map in it, which I think is a great idea. If it’s functional, it’s a printout from Google Maps. Or it’s art, like Laura Hooper’s maps.

The RSVP packets have been received by the guests so now I can do the big reveal!

My favorite thing so far has been working on the invitations. I know that they’re just paper and will be circular filed by nearly everyone. But the invitations ended up being weirdly important to me in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

Katie created beautiful thank you notes using recycled cardstock and her gocco!

Continuing today’s theme of favors, I thought today I’d talk a little bit about using CDs in your event. There are a variety of ways you can incorporate CDs – as favors, in the OOT baskets for guests to place their photos on and mail back to you, in your invitations or STDs, or as little presents for those people who helped to make your day special.

I left all of you hanging on the “more to come” from yesterday’s post.  We had a freak storm hit Birmingham late last evening and were without power until this morning.