If you’re up to date on your Gloam goings on, then you’ll know we launched our modern wedding stationery collections a couple of weeks ago (and if you’re not, please don’t worry – it’s not like there’s not been other stuff going on…) Either way, we’re just grateful to have you here now and up to speed. 

 

 

Our in-house modern wedding stationery collections are a continuation of our love affair with Jessica, our designer. In the early days, she was a Gloam (then The Little White Cow) bride; and since then we’ve loved working with her so much that we wanted to show off her talents properly. So, if you’re looking for modern wedding stationery and think Gloam might be the answer, we thought who better to run you through the process than Jessica herself? 

 

modern wedding stationery

 

Here’s a Q&A with the designer extraordinaire herself, talking you through how the collections work – what they are, their inspiration, how they can be customised, and when you should be thinking about getting them sorted…

 

 

We know it’s a bit like picking your favourite child, but if you had to pick a fave, which is your fave of the 5 suites you designed? 

 

Tough question! I love them all for different reasons – and I often look at them as part of a bigger picture with so many styling opportunities when they’re carried through to the wedding day, so there’s lots about all of them that excites me. Each collection is like a little journey that becomes richer as the couple’s wedding planning develops, and more of their ideas and taste are explored. If I had to pick though, it would be modern classic – that’s closest to my personal taste for monochrome and minimal design.

 

 

What was it like designing the suites? What inspired them?

 

The design process was really reflective – I’ve been working with Gloam and their couples for many years now, so it started with a retrospective of past work, and identifying themes and trends that are at the heart of everything we do. We wanted to create modern wedding stationery that was really inclusive, and embodied Gloam’s ethos for recognising we’re all different, yet is also guiding so the process isn’t totally overwhelming.  From there, it was like imagining I was working with 5 different couples to create their dream stationery. The shoot for showing off the designs felt like creating 5 micro weddings, and demonstrated just how versatile stationery can be, and how small design choices can really make your day feel personal.

 

modern wedding stationery

 

Like everything here at Gloam, there’s different levels of flexibility built into our modern wedding stationery, so that they can suit a range of couples’ situations. Please can you explain the difference between customised stationery and fully bespoke stationery, to help couples work out which they want?

 

There’s quite a fine line between customised and bespoke, but ultimately the main difference is that customised gives you a starting point, and bespoke is starting totally from scratch. For lots of people, especially those that don’t consider themselves naturally creative or visual, they will often say “I know what I like when I see it”. And so the customisable collection allows people a glimpse at the end result first, but is then tailored to suit their exact requirements. 

It takes away that ‘blank page’ fear too that can be a hurdle when getting started. Because each couple will have slightly different wording, different choices of colour and finish, each result ends up totally different, which ends up making it feel bespoke. For couples that have strong ideas and vision, or totally unique style, bespoke is an opportunity to make those ideas come to life. I love trying out new materials, and geeking out over new font pairings. So bespoke designs are the way to go for couples that want something totally different.

 

modern wedding stationery

 

So when you say customised – which bits of each collection can you customise?

 

The foundation of each design suite is the font collection. These have been carefully chosen to create the right vibe, and have been paired perfectly to work together to create flexible designs. Everything else is totally customisable. You can play with colour to bring in your chosen palette, from your papers & envelopes, to your signage boards. You can play with texture and finish, from organic papers to velvety finishes. And for that luxe feel, we can add metallic foil to your designs. 

 

If you’re also working with a Gloam stylist for your wedding, we’ll pull inspo from your style plan to compliment one another and make suggestions that we think would bring through your personal style. Are you all about those metallic accessories? Great, let’s add in touches of gold. Do you love a paired back earthy vibe? Let’s ramp up textures and play with tactile papers and materials. Does colour bring you joy? Let’s make your designs pop with splashes of your favourite shades. The content of your stationery will also customise the designs. Beyond your own names and date, we’ll recommend layouts based on the amount and kind of info you’d like to share with your guests, whether it’s minimal or maximal.  We can also create custom maps or illustrations to add into your designs. 

 

 

Ok, role play time: say we’re a couple, and we want to get some Gloam stationery. What timeline do you recommend we work to?

 

At the moment, timelines are a bit trickier than usual. With so many last minute changes to guidelines, it can really throw off the most organised couples out there. As a general rule though, I think getting started about 6 weeks before you want to send your invites, or 6 weeks before your wedding day for the on the day items. This means you’re close enough to have firm ideas and know what you want and need, and not long enough that you keep changing your mind as new trends emerge, and it doesn’t drag the process out too long either. 

 

It’s really good practice to start collecting addresses as soon as you can, so you have those ready for sending out your invites on schedule. It’s also good to check with your caterers when they need meal choices back by, if relevant, so you can factor this into your rsvp. Those pesky table plans often take longer than you expect too, so pencilling in some time in advance to go over that together really helps to prevent it being a last minute and stressful task. There’s no time like the present for collecting inspiration and curating those Pinterest boards either! 

 

modern wedding stationery

 

What’s your favourite bit about working with modern wedding stationery?

 

I’m a details focused person, so having the chance to zone in on those little finishing touches that make things feel special and personal is really rewarding. I love seeing the designs go from on screen, to off screen, and come to life as real, tangible items in gorgeous papers and materials. It’s such a treat creating something that’s going to be a part of such an important day, and that often becomes a keepsake thereafter. 

 

modern wedding stationery

 

You can see why we love her, can’t you?! What a gem! If you want to see more about the suites, please head here – and if you want to kickstart the process of designing your own modern wedding stationery, please head here to get in touch with Jessica.

 

Photographs – Claire Fleck

Venue – Guardswell Farm 

Stationery and styling – Gloam