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Advice From the Pros: Louella Court

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.

louella press

EAD: What is the single best piece of advice you can give to brides and grooms as they begin to plan their event?

LC: whether you’ve got big plans or small ones for your wedding, give yourself until the week before the big day to get everything done. At that point, let go of any details that you didn’t have time for and let yourself relax. For lots of you, friends and family will be in town, so make plans to be with them or spend some solo time soaking it all in. When the time comes to walk down the aisle you’ll feel stress-free (or at least less stressed) and over time those moments will be more memorable than any wedding day details you might have planned.

EAD: If budget is limited and there was one item that you advise splurging on, what would that be?

LC: When it comes to paper products, I would definitely splurge on the invitation. If you’re trying to cut costs, a postcard or a free wedding website can be used in lieu of expensive save-the-dates, and so many “day of” items are DIY friendly. But your invitation will be your reminder of the wedding for years, not to mention that it previews the big day for all of your guests.

EAD: Do you have any inside tips for cost cutting?

LC: When ordering your wedding stationery, be sure that you’ve ordered enough invitations for all of your guests and a handful of extras. I always recommend order extra envelopes as well if you’re going to be printing the addresses yourself or having them calligraphed. The reason for this is that if you run out of invitations and have to order more, they will be far more expensive the second time around since most of the cost is in the set-up of the printing.

EAD: You’ve clearly been exposed to a lot of weddings – what details do you tend to remember?

LC: We are loving the fact that more and more couples are coming in looking for invitations that incorporate pattern. Whether it’s an interesting cut-out, blind letterpress or an engraved screen, we’re getting more opportunities to use new patterns to add a twist to an invitation suite.

And as far as trends that we wish never happened there are just two words; “Electric Slide.”

EAD: What are your favorite sources of wedding inspiration (other than EAD of course!)?

LC: We’re so lucky to be constantly inspired by the new ideas that our clients approach us with. They might bring a tear out from a travel magazine to inspire the colors for a destination wedding, or a vintage piece of lace from a wedding dress to tie into the invite. Whatever it is, our clients’ ideas keep us on our toes and help us to always be coming up with fresh designs!

You may recognize one of the LC members – Brooke, Mrs Cupcakefrom Weddingbee.  In the spirit of our DIY month, Brooke shared one of her favorite wedding projects with us, her custom napkins!

Brooke used her gocco to print fun facts about herself and her husband on cocktail napkins.  Gocco ink is great for this because it is a non-toxic oil-based ink and therefore does not run or smudge when exposed to water.  This is such a unique and easy idea that can be incorporated into any wedding or event.  Here are some pictures of Brooke’s awesome handiwork!

custom gocco napkins

gocco napkins

Thanks so much to the Louella Court gals for sharing your expertise and creative DIY project with us!

E.