Brighten up your swimwear with your favourite pantone colour

Everyday at GG Print we are surrounded by Pantone swatches to choose the appropriate colour of your desire. Whilst ambling through the back streets of Saint-Tropez yesterday, I came across a fantastic beachwear shop.  5 styles of swimming trunks (4 for men, 1 for men & women) in 30 different Pantone colours.  My favourite has to be the "Tangerine Tango - vivacious, appealing, enticing", that says it all...

Want to satisfy your sugar kick? Try...Upcakes

Last Friday, Jenna Zoe (the creator and founder of Upcakes) swung by to collect some labels we made for her. We pinned her down for a quick gossip to find out how her business was going. She said the demand for home made wheat-free / gluten-free cakes was higher than ever. It’s so easy to hit that all time sugar low at 4pm in the office and just crave a snickers so why not choose a healthier option that is free from wheat, dairy, sugar and eggs for your colleagues? We particularly love the Upcakes Choc Bites in the GG Print office.  

Fed up of trying to piece a jigsaw together on your bedroom floor?

Collating guests' details An important step in arranging one's wedding stationery is creating a database of your guests' details, such as their email and home addresses. Follow this link, and find an easy and stress free way to create your database: www.postable.com

Seating plans can provide a tough task when planning for your Big Day. We highly recommend using this website: www.toptableplanner.com - a fantastic, dynamic site, which allows you to input your guests and switch their placement easily. 

Above are some photographs of a client's wedding, where we helped create a London theme for their rehearsal dinner, including a personalised tube map seating plan and itinerary.

Mr Darcy takes a dip...

Yesterday for 3 hours only, down the road from our studio in Albert Mews, a 12ft sculpture emerged from the Serpentine of Jane Austen's Mr Darcy, resembling Colin Firth's iconic wet shirt scene. 'Pride and Prejudice' was a favourite story of mine growing up. When I received my new born King Charles Spaniel 4 years ago, I thought it only appropriate to name him after the aloof, romantic hero the Bennett sisters adore. 

GG Print's Top Wedding Tips

So...you've set the date, and now need to let your friends know.

 Follow these little tips and you'll be one step closer to saying "I do".

1. Budget:  don’t blow it all in one go!        

A wedding stationery set usually contains:

Save the date cards / Engagement invitations / Ceremony & Reception invitations (with reply cards & information sheets) / Order of service / Menus / Placement cards / Escort cards or a table plan / Thank you cards.

*information sheets can include contact details for the ‘Big Day’, directions to the church/venue, & accommodation, taxi or gift list info. If abroad some local knowledge is also useful (e.g. restaurants, sightseeing spots or hair and beauty).

2. Quantities:  keep a few spare.

     Always order extras in case of last minute additions or calligraphy mistakes as the set up of the machines is costly.  N.B some of your friends will be in couples thereby only needing 1 invitation!

3. Timings:  avoid a last minute rush.

We advise sending out invitations 2 months before, and if the venue is abroad or a lot of the guests are coming from abroad, then 3 months before.  It generally takes 2 weeks to print.  The design process takes a little longer, so leave a few weeks for that. 

4. Calligraphy:  allow time.

As a guideline, to inscribe names & addresses on 100 invitations / envelopes, our in-house calligrapher roughly takes around 7-10 working days.  If you are not using a calligrapher, always have spares in case of any handwriting mistakes. 

5. Order of service:  keep it mini.

     We love using a small size (A6 or a little larger) so that your guests can take this small memento away with them. Your order of service will be in sets of 4 pages; so if you need to fill up a page, a quotation or poem is a nice idea.

6. Thank you cards:  2 for the price of 1?

A fun idea is to have a photo of the happy couple on the front.  Any leftovers can always be used for Christmas cards as well. 

7. Directions:  keep it old school and personal.

Most people nowadays rely on satellite navigation, so don’t forget to write clearly a postcode of the venue or church. Also, why not have our illustrator create a unique map?

Personalised Pet Stationery

Have you ever wanted your pooch on your paper? GG Print offers an exclusive chance to have your darling four-legged friend immortalised on your stationery.

My beloved Mr Darcy has been hand-illustrated and printed on to beautiful ivory thick card with matching burgundy tissue lined envelopes. These specially made personal note cards are created from original photographs of your pet and then sketched by our in-house illustrator, Pip. This is a brilliant stocking filler or present.

4th July Celebrations

On Thursday, I popped by a 4th July Barbeque at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, hosted by one of our clients. The gardens had been transformed into heavenly fun by the well-established catering company 'Rocket'. The bbq chic theme consisted of a candy floss bicycle, an American sweet store, delicious juices and hamburgers, superhero face-painting, an ice cream van...the list goes on! The glorious weather and beautiful setting was an ideal way for the couple to entertain their guests before the madness of their wedding began.

Our wonderful in-house illustrator, Pip, gave a little hint of the festivities in the invitation we produced . See below the different stages of how she got to the finished product.