Vendor Advice and Trends - Samantha Finigan from Gus & Ruby Letterpress

Samantha and Whitney from Gus & Ruby Letterpress are passionate about their work and really care about the bride and groom's experience when it comes - not only to picking out their venue or attire - but paper products. Many times, the experience of picking out invitations is overlooked as many brides find themselves just sitting down at a table flipping through multiple binders and not speaking with anyone until they've come up with a decision. But with Samantha and Whitney, the experience is personalized for each couple and advise brides to make sure it's an important and meaningful part of planning a wedding.

image by emilie inc.


And as we were talking with Samantha about their shop in Portsmouth (with Whitney in the background :)), she shared with us some tips she gives couples when choosing paper products for their occasion. See what she has to say...


-This goes for any vendor you choose; be sure to work with people you like and fully trust. Choose someone who will be a good advocate for what you want and really care about how the end product turns out. The vendor you choose should be open to constant communication; comfortable enough to call at anytime because we're here to be your resource for information.

-When thinking about your invitations; make it personal. We're starting to see a trend with brides moving away from extravagance and more into an intimate feel and style where the whole experience is carefully crafted. The bride and groom are making a huge commitment, and the decisions that they make and the work that we do should reflect their life together. Working with vendors to craft that experience, whether it's choosing colors, wording, or helping the to create a letterpress cut of the location where they're getting married, personalizes their moments together.

-Take your time figuring things out and go with what your gut tells you to go with. Often times, we see brides over-think things, either because family members or friends are giving input on what to do or brides think about what others want to see. Always go with how your heart feels--it's your day.

images above by emilie inc.

Vendor Spotlight: Gus & Ruby Letterpress

We had a great conversation with Samantha from Gus & Ruby Letterpress yesterday, and if you're looking for a relaxing and intimate experience, you must stop in! While their shop is absolutely adorable, the love for the work that they do truly shows. Oh, and the pups are so adorable!

images above by Emilie Inc.



Company: Gus & Ruby Letterpress
Owners: Samantha Finigan and Whitney Swaffield
Store Location: Portsmouth, NH
Phone: 603.319.1717
Website: www.gusandruby.com
Blog: www.gusandruby.com/blog.html

You can also check them out on Facebook and Twitter!

Number of Years in Business: Whitney and I combined, for about 4 or 5 years. Whitney and I together for Gus & Ruby, about 2 years now.

Pricing Information: A full suite of invitations (for about 100 people) generally runs between $800-$2,500. Each couple is different and we adapt to any budget - large or small.

What makes us stand out in our industry? First, we are both very passionate about weddings and feel that every part of planning a wedding is really important and special - not just when a bride is picking out her dress. So when a bride or couple comes in, we give them a glass of champagne and sit them down to chat. And we don't just chat about what they're looking for in paper products, but the whole wedding! We really want to get to know our clients to visualize their dream wedding. Each moment and experience should be as amazing and memory-filled as finding that perfect dress. Second, is our custom designing and the vendors that we work with; we carry vendors that others don't have and represent the best of the best. We like to meet with the vendors to make sure it's a quality product; something we can stand by.

What do we like to do in our spare time? We don't have too much spare time, but I've been an equestrian since I was little so I truly enjoy riding. And for Whitney, well she's an incredible skier and field hockey player (skiing and playing field hockey for Plymouth State College). We're both very close to our families, so spending time with them is really important to us and we love to bake and spend time hiking with our pups!

What charity are we supporting and why? The ASPCA. We figured it was most appropriate since our dogs are a big part of our business--I mean it's named after them! It's so cute because one is like 10 lbs and the other is like 50lbs...and they're so in love :)

Check out some of their invitations!

images above by Emilie Inc.