Wedding Vow Books - A Perfect Heirloom

I am excited to announce custom printed wedding vow books in my shop! And of course they are all vintage-inspired. Writing your own wedding vows is a lovely way to tell your partner how you feel about them. It seals the deal forever and wedding vow books make great little heirloom gifts to cherish for years to come. I so wish I had known about vow booklets when I got married. I have a crumpled piece of notebook paper with my notes scratched all over and they are barely legible. When you purchase vow books from Gilded Swan Paperie, you receive two customizable booklets with velvety soft covers than can be printed with your choice of gold foil, silver foil or rose gold foil. Or no foil at all. I do not have a color chart because the sky is the limit with your choice of background colors too.

Order Vow Booklets from my Etsy Shop here

Writing your wedding vows does not have to be an arduous task. Honestly, how do you write your love, hope, dreams etc. about your loved one in a few short words? It's your time to be creative-- to write your own narrative and show your guests what's really behind your relationship. I found a template on Brides.com that starts with these basic points:

* Make sure to say "I love you."

* Tell your partner you will always be there for them.

* Share a personal story or two.

* Make promises.

* Acknowledge the support from others.

That's just a place to start. At the end of the day, the vows are yours and yours alone. They don't have to follow any rules or reasoning. They can be poems, song lyrics, lists, or phrases. It's all up to you.

When you do write your great work, jot them down neatly in a vow book. You'll be able to pull them out to remind yourselves and your offspring why you got hitched in the first place. Make sure to have your photographer shoot your vow books on your wedding day too-- they make great still life photos for your album-- much better than a napkin or a crumpled piece of paper.

Gilded Swan Paperie's Great Gatsby Inspired Wedding Vow Books

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Gilded Swan featured in Marjorie Magazine

I am delighted to be featured in Marjorie Magazine this week! I am not one for putting "myself out there", but this article says it all!

In a time like now, we dream of days far off to beautiful moments that we’ll celebrate with our loved ones close. And for when we’re all ready to gather for these precious moments to come, there’s no better joy than making the announcement with a beautiful memento like an invitation. We were lucky to discover the array of glamorous and classic stationery from Gilded Swan Paperie, based in Los Angeles and founded by Julie Fisher, a former graphic designer for Hollywood studios like Fox, Disney, and Warner Bros. 12 years into her career, she realized her true passions for vintage papery.

“I realized I never wanted to be a cog in the corporate wheel again,” Julie tells us, “so I merged my love for antique paper with graphic design and started my own studio. My passion for vintage calling cards and handwritten notes inspired me to set up my Gilded Swan shop on Etsy. I filled it with social stationery and business cards from the 1800s – 1950’s.” Fate would have it that one of her own friends was getting married during this time, and she rose to the occasion, giving her a suite that would go down in Gilded Swan’s history asThe Godfrey design. “[Julie’s friend] said, ‘I don’t want pretty type on white paper. I want color and drama!'”

Creating and researching to build on her array of designs is only one pleasure of this business; the other half is reveling in the memories that fuel Julie’s creativity, such as those with her grandmother, from watching classic films together to her love of gold. “She painted everything in her home gold so it would look like a fancy house from an old Bette Davis movie,” she reminisces, revealing also that this gilding gives name to her shop, too. “Gold is such a lovely accent! Swans are so elegant and beautiful, and they stay together for life… something I hope my wedding clients will do.” 

Her designs are a true sign of hope, evoking the past to remind recipients (or its senders) that beautiful things are meant to be, and meant to last forever. And so it seems fitting that such beautiful stationery should be used so widely for momentous occasions like a wedding, with not a second to waste in perfecting the final results. Julie references her ever-growing collection of vintage paper for inspiration, collected since she was little, or recently found at local markets on the weekend and ranging from old postcards to unique pieces like sheet music or flourish from an old candy box. As she creates, she prefers to have something classic on the TV, usually Turner Movie Classics, or on occasion a film more whimsical like Wes Anderson’sThe Grand Budapest Hotel. She finds herself happily in a “vintage zone,” and in the face of 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic, time is a plenty for experimenting on new designs. “When you are stuck at home for weeks on end, you can rely on your creativity to get you through!” she muses. “I have also just launched a brand new line of photo albums and guest books based on my designs.”

Narrowing it down to her own particular favorites, Julie declares there’s simply not one color palette, nor era, that she can speak for. Instead, she adores the “in-between” eras, in history where the decades transitioned from one to another– while most think of decades as stuffed into a single aesthetic, such a jump from say, Art Nouveau to Art Deco to Mid-Century was not overnight. Stuffing these aesthetics into one look or interest is also uncommon for the eye of Julie’s clients, who might translate Art Nouveau well into their bohemian wedding or classic garden party. Celestial themes also remain a classic,  with glittering stars and the glowing moon that Julie observes translates romantically “to just about every couple in some way.”

So as we start thinking towards the future soirees or festivities we’ll be hosting, the simplest act of making an announcement sets the bar for a much-needed time to gather, and what better than Gilded Swan stationery to assist? Creating a lovely first impression starts with the invitation, but for Julie, it truly is a lasting one, too.

“So what is left? Your darling spouse of course, wedding rings and your photos. Not much else- nothing tangible. And that is why you need a printed save the date and wedding invitation. Printing to me is so special- it’s such a beautiful form of communication, and your wedding day should never be something that ends up in a junk mail folder or thrown in the recycling because it looks like a xerox. When you celebrate your Golden anniversary in 50 years, imagine pulling out your gorgeous invitations. The colors and tactile nature will remind you of that phenomenal day.” 

Some might think paper is delicate, easy to toss, but its fragility is quite fitting to remind us the best things in life are fleeting. They are also unique to your life alone, and especially your vision of a beautiful moment to come– Julie’s work aptly displays classic finery that in the end, is best for a happy time unlike any other part of your life. For a celebration of a lifetime, Gilded Swan is a testament to standing out in the 21st Century by taking the classic route, and making it your own.

Marjorie Magazine: Born in the wrong decade, but oh-so right for now!

Photography: @peterson.design.photo

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Come Fly with Me...

This wedding was featured on the theknot.com this week! I met Joe and Adam two years ago as I worked the ticket counter and behind the scenes at the Pan Am Experience. One of my best friends from childhood owns a full-sized vintage Pan Am 747 jet. I have been art directing and designing everything from the carpet and wallpaper to the signage, tickets, and paper goods for the Pan Am Experience. Once onboard, passengers are treated to a night of authentic first-class dining, fashion shows, photo ops, and entertainment. Adam and Joe are avid fans and collectors of Pan Am. They hired the fabulous Los Angeles-based wedding planner Holly Gray from Anything But Gray Events to design and plan their wedding. Flying Pan American Airlines was the epitome of glamour and was the foremost iconic airline in history... and so we incorporated just those features into Adam and Joe's wedding.

We started with an engagement shoot on the airplane and then moved on to the wedding day. Visuals by Arpit shot the entire affair in his bold and colorful style. I went for a mid-century modern feel in the paper goods highlighting Pan Am's historic Super Jet Blue, Galaxy Gold, and Pan Am Teal colors. The invitation suite featured our authentically replicated Pan American ticket jackets to house the entire suite. The invitations were printed on my luxurious triple-thick museum matte board to give them a modern twist on the mid-century modern aesthetic. Corresponding items like details and reply cards pushed the vintage aviation vibe as well. I created a little wooshing airplane mark that emblazoned most of the paper goods.

The ceremony was truly astounding at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Holly and the Paper Moon Shoppe designed a gigantic photo backdrop of a 747 jet soaring above the clouds. Victoria and Christopher can custom design and build any backdrop that you can imagine. They also shoot and print photos of your guests right on the spot as well. 

I created the escort cards to embody the vintage bag tags Pan American Airways gave to their customers. Large city codes in navy, gold and teal marked the entryway and corresponded to the table number cards and matched the round menus for each guest. I designed the wedding programs based on the actual safety instruction pamphlets that sat in the original seat back pockets of Pan Am airplanes. They were filled with the wedding party information, memorials, Jewish traditions and fun historical facts about Pan American. The “safety” programs made for a fun and memorable keepsake for guests. Check out a few of the fabulous photos of this mid century modern vintage aviation wedding below!

Adam and Joe - photo by Visuals by Arpit

Venue/Catering/Bar: Skirball Cultural Center / @skirball_la

Planner/Designer: Anything But Gray Events / @anythingbutgrayevents 

Photography: Visuals by Arpit / @visualsbyarpit

Paper Goods & Signage: Gilded Swan Paperie / @gildenswanpaperie

DJ: Señor Amor / @thesenoramor

Backdrop & Photobooth: Paper Moon Shoppe / @papermoonshoppe

Lighting and Chuppah: Lights for Nights  / @lightsfornights 

Florals: Flower Duet / @flowerduetla

Cake: Susie Cakes / @susiecakesbakery 

Pan Am Rentals & Flight Attendants: The Pan Am Experience / @panamexperience 

Lounge: Town and Country Rentals / @tacer_losangeles

Male Grooming & Beauty: Betsy diFrancesca / @betsybmu 

Suits: Friar Tux / @friartux 

Napkins: For Your Party @foryourparty 

Grooms: @jgoldca & @agreensfo 

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