Good morning, paper lovers!  Samantha & Whitney here from Gus & Ruby Letterpress. We have the immense privilege of guest blogging on the Oh So Beautiful Paper blog this week and we are just delighted to be here. To start things off, today we’re thrilled to bring to you a chic, nautical invitation suite that we’ve been squirreling away for a few months. This custom suite was crafted for an absolutely too-cute-for-words couple, Anneke & Austin, in need of wedding stationery for their Maine-coast nuptials.

Knowing that A&A wanted to feature the seaside location of their wedding venue, we set about crafting a suite that was both nautical, personal and playful but still classic, elegant and timeless.

To set the tone on all pieces, we paired classic typesetting, stunning hand calligraphy by Elizabeth Porcher Jones and a preppy palette of navy and pink and letterpress printed everything on thick, textural cotton. Navy edge painting and a blind-printed compass on the back of the extra-thick invitation added subtle pops to the clean design. Nautical pennants (burgees), hand-illustration and color backing papers pulled even more nautical elements into the reply and reception cards.

And, what really put the suite over the edge was the custom hand-sewn belly band made of recycled sail cloth that held all the pieces together. Each band was cut out of a piece of sail (previously used on a boat!) and sewn all by hand, and hand-cut monogram burgees were tied to striped twine around the band as a finishing touch.  The deep navy envelopes popped with stunning white calligraphy and featured custom nautical chart envelope liners as an added surprise for guests as they opened the suite.

The end result was an invitation suite (and then accompanying day-of pieces) that perfectly reflected the classic Maine wedding of this beautiful and lovely couple. See more photos of the Anneke & Austin suite (including the super fun poster-style save the date) HERE.

Design and Letterpress Printing: Gus & Ruby Letterpress

Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones

Gus & Ruby Letterpress is a member of the Designer Rolodex – check out more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Brea McDonald Photography for Gus & Ruby Letterpress