How I Started Jules & Joy Gifts

This year marks my second year as an entrepreneur. I remember the desire to venture into business came while working as a marketing executive in Sydney.

Training in Australia
In 2014, I worked for a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) that specializes in renewable energy home products. Since it was a startup, I needed to take on multiple roles –not just marketing and advertising, but also business development– while managing an offshore call center.

After one tiring day, my thoughts drifted to an imaginary company where I got to be the CEO. I thought to myself: How rewarding would it be if I could channel all my efforts at work into something that’s my own!

In retrospect, I was actually being trained in business while working for someone else without me realizing it.

The Move
A year later, my husband was offered a promising job on the other side of the globe. Newly married, we moved to Vancouver in the spring of 2015 to start afresh. While my husband had a blossoming career, I became an unemployed housewife. I didn’t mind having a rest from corporate work, and in the midst of rearranging furniture and doing laundry, my creative mind started to work.

My business plans were still blurry then, and it wasn’t until I took up calligraphy workshops that the idea of Jules & Joy Gifts began to unfold. Practicing calligraphy inspired me to create personalized wedding gifts that would later on become my very first best sellers!

Jules & Joy Personalized Calligraphy Gft Tags

Jules & Joy Gifts Calligraphy Tags

Making it Legit
Fast forward to several months later, I was a ball of nerves as I registered my business name and designed my very own logo! Small Business BC became my best friend. I went to their seminars and finance workshops to learn about profits and margins.

Taking the plunge to be an entrepreneur without proper training and guidance seemed like I was feeling my way in the dark, but experience is truly the best teacher.

Those couple of years of groping and playing by ear taught me a few things about business, the market, and how to make my ideas work. I’m just a home business or a micro-enterprise, as what they call it, but I’m learning, growing, and enjoying this opportunity to create.

Things to Do After He Proposed

Congratulations and welcome to the hitched club!

Go on and pop the bubbly, because the first thing you should do is to bask in the joy of being promoted from mere girlfriend to THE ONE and only fiancée.

fiancee shirt

Photo from Etsy

When your heartbeat has finally gone down to its normal rate, here is a list of things to do to after you got engaged.

1. Set a wedding date.

This is very important to do before anything else, because it allows you to determine necessary details for the rest of the items on your to-do list.

Some things to think about:

  • Do you want a summer, winter, autumn or a spring wedding?
  • Do you want a longer or shorter engagement?
  • Do you want the date to be easily remembered? (i.e. 8-18-18)
  • Is your wedding officiant available on that date?

Set your chosen date but also be open to the possibility that you may need to move it depending on certain factors later on.

 2. Inform family and close friends and prepare for forever.

Take this opportunity to show off the bling to your babes! Share your happiness to everyone close to you and have an open ear for their tips and pieces of advice. It may also be a good idea to seek pre-marital counsel from older married couples or from professionals. Keep in mind that your wedding is a one-day affair but marriage is a life-time commitment. So don’t just prepare for the wedding day but prepare for forever.

 

wedding rings photography

Photo by Macy Yap

3. Plan a budget and stick to it.

Or not. =D Budgeting for a wedding is such a tricky matter to discuss and things can get out of hand pretty fast. Make sure you take time to sit down with your partner to set priorities and manage expectations.

Some things to consider:

  • What do you want to happen on your wedding day?
  • What are the major elements that should be allocated more funds into?
  • How many people do you want to invite?
  • Do you want to hire a coordinator or do you prefer DIY?

Most often than not, there will be unexpected expenses along the way so it’s better to save some funds for those things, too.

Wedding Saving Funds

4. Book the venue.

After you have (more or less) finalized the budget, it’s time to scout for a place to celebrate. The location can be anywhere – at a hotel, on a yacht, in your backyard or at the community church. Any place can be dressed up to be as dandy, as romantic, and as elegant as a wedding should be.

Some things to consider:

  • Do you want to be indoor or outdoor?
  • What theme or look are you after?
  • Are there ample spaces for a photo shoot after the ceremony?
  • Is it accessible to all your guests?
rustic wedding theme

Photo from Union Hill

5. Finalize the entourage list.

Now that you said yes to your man, it’s time for another proposal- not to another bride but to your future bridesmaids and groomsmen! Go on and ask the question “Will you be my…?” Say it with gifts or organize a pamper session with your besties.

groomsmen gifts

Personalized Bridesmaid and Groomsmen Gifts from Etsy

6. Go hunting for the dress.

Now ladies, do not make this a stressful occasion. It can be a fun moment you and your mom, sisters, and/or bridesmaids can bond over with. Look for inspiration in magazines, on social media, and even your mom’s closet. Not all body shapes are the same though, so it’s important to try every cut you’re eyeing on before saying yes to that dress.

Some things to ask yourself:

  • Are you into classic or avant-garde?
  • Will you dance with it or change into something else?
  • Will it look good with a long veil or a headdress?
  • Do you have time and budget for major alterations?

7. Send e-invites and save the dates.

Once all the major items on your wedding list have been ticked off, it’s time to tell everybody else. There are so many ways you can inform your guests about your upcoming wedding. You can create a Facebook page or send e-invites or even a video clip if you want to save trees and cost.

Some things to note:

  • Send save the dates as soon as you locked in your wedding date and booked the venue.
  • This is not a formal invite so make sure you put a note that the real invitation will follow.
  • Not everyone gets a save the date; 1 household = 1 save the date (and invitation).
Wedding Save the Date

Save the Date Cards from the Roche Shop

Yes, there are still more things to do after this list but you can then breathe and relax a bit, for you have already accomplished the major tasks. Don’t do everything on your own; remember to ask help and get input from your future groom as well.

May the road be smooth and beautiful to your happy ever after!
Xx

Thanksgiving Gifts in Autumn

Who doesn’t love fall? The warm colors, the shiny pumpkins, the orange-red maple trees, and the slight chill in the evening air will always make autumn my favorite season of all. This season is also about celebrations and giving thanks, and what better way to say thank you than by giving- our time or a part of ourselves to others?

For thanksgiving, we curated some of our autumn-themed items that comfort, delight, and express gratitude.

Adding fall produce to your gift baskets adds freshness and a pop of color.

Thank You Gifts

 

custom thank you gifts

Go creative with your personalized message.

Thanksgiving Gift Box

 

personalized bridesmaid gifts

Say thank you and mean it.

Thanksgiving Gift Basket

What to Put in Your Wedding Day Emergency Kits

The season of wedding has begun! And since summertime is fast approaching, a lot of couples prefer to get married overseas, near the beach, or just somewhere far and unfamiliar. Most brides and grooms take care of their out-of-town guests by providing a welcome bag that will refresh and help them get through a day of traveling and recover from a jet lag.

Here are some ideas on what to include in your wedding survival kit from Jules & Joy.

Welcome Gift Basket/Bridesmaid’s Tote
Pack a drink, some small snacks like protein bars, and candy for your entourage and guests who are visiting from overseas. Include a small handwritten thank-you or welcome note to show how you appreciate their effort of traveling just to be at your wedding.

wedding welcome gift

bridesmaids survival kit

Relax & Recover Hangover Kit
Treat your groomsmen and bridesmaids extra special by giving them emergency/hangover kits. Weddings always come with plenty of food and booze. Get your squad to celebrate without all the hassle and well prepared for possible next-day hangover. Include antacid and headache pills, mints, wet wipes, and safety pins to ease all uncomfortable situations.

bridesmaids hangover kit
groomsmen hangover kit

Jules & Joy can put together your guests or bridesmaids and groomsmen’s hangover kits, which include personalized labels based on your wedding colours and theme.

Contact us for more information.

groomsmen hangover kit favours

personalized emergency kit bridesmaids favors

 

 

Wedding Calligraphy and Hand Lettering

What make weddings even more beautiful, aside from the love and memories shared, are the details and personal touches added into each visual setting. The bride and groom are obviously the center of attention but the family and guests are always treated extra special. For intimate weddings, welcoming your guests into the dinner table with their very own name cards will take their breath away. Jules and Joy is now offering personalized lettering and calligraphy services, as well as paper products that can be personalized according to your wedding theme.

Wedding Envelopes

wedding black envelopes with names

Wedding Invitation Envelopes Black with White Calligraphy for Names and Address

kraft envelopes wedding

Personalized Hand-lettered Kraft Envelopes for Wedding Invites

Escort and Place Cards

Table Place Cards / Wedding Escort Cards

Gift Tags

calligraphy gift tags

Personalized Gift Tags with Calligraphy

wedding calligraphy tags

Personalized Kraft Gift Tags with Calligraphy

Personalized Coasters

personalied marble coasters

Personalized Favors / Marble Coasters

 

 

Personalize Your Gifts with Labels

Personalizing gifts simply causes the giver to exercise an extra ounce of thoughtfulness and creativity.  And no matter how big or how small a gift is, seeing your name on it makes it extra special.

We’ve made a list of our best-selling wedding gifts that were personalized. May these give you some ideas on how you can personalize your own.

Proposal Gifts
Gather some of the favorite things of your soon to be best man or maid of honour and pop the question!

will you be my maid of honour gift

Maid of Honour pretty in pink Gift Basket

Will you be my best man gift

Will you be my Best Man Gift Basket of Whiskey, Cuban Cigar, and Shot Glass

Whisky and Champagne
One of the most popular gifts for your bride tribe or groom squad is the bubbly. What is better than celebrating with a good ole Jack Daniel’s whisky or a French champagne?

Personalized Moet label

Bridesmaid’s Personalized Champagne

personalized whisky labels

Personalize your whisky bottles.

Hangover Kit
Of course, whenever there’s alcohol, there will always be a not-so-pleasant-feeling the next day (to some, at least). For out of town weddings, be the hostess with the mostest by providing your wedding guests and entourage with emergency and hangover kits.

groomsmen hangover kit

Groomsmen’s Hangover Kit

bridesmaids emergency kit

Personalized Emergency Kits for Bridesmaids

Groomsmen Socks
Funky, identical socks make for a fun photo shoot!

wedding socks

Photo by Millie Holloman

Groomsmen sock labels

Funky Socks with personalized labels

For more ideas on personalized gifts, check out our Etsy store. Xx

 

 

Tips on How To Give Meaningful Gifts

When you find yourself not knowing how and what to give, just remember these simple pieces of advice.

Wedding welcome gifts

1. Gift what you love.
Get something you would love to receive yourself. In almost all cases, whatever you value yourself is what others would find worthy, too.

Groomsmen wedding gift

2. Make it personal.
There are so many ways to personalize – by engraving gifts with names or monograms & customizing labels and prints.

Groomsmen socks with personalized labelsJack Daniel whiskey custom labels

3. Hand write messages. 
Nothing beats good old handwritten letters that come from the heart.

Personalized gift tags calligraphy

Gifting Ideas for the Bride and Groom

Giving gifts to a couple getting married can be quite challenging. This time, you don’t just think about two gifts for two persons but you need to think of a gift/s both persons would enjoy.

Bride and groom kissing under veil

Photo from BridalMusings

Here are some tips we picked up from experience.

Make it His & Hers
Matching, personalized gifts never go old. They are cute, fun and will always bring smiles to newlyweds. Pick some practical items that the couple can use at home or while traveling. Some of our favorites are hubby and wifey matching shirts, his and hers luggage tags, engraved wooden board, bed pillows and his and hers coffee mugs with funny anecdotes.

his and hers personalized wedding gifts

His & Hers Gift Ideas

Wedding Gift Mr & Mrs Ring Dish

Mr & Mrs ceramic ring dish to hold the couple’s wedding bands

Contribute to their Honeymoon
Why not get the tab for the couple’s flight to their honeymoon destination? This would require letting the couple know in advance that you plan to give them the tickets as a gift so they would not double-book themselves. If this is too much for your budget, you can instead go for a gift basket that includes items they can use in their honeymoon.

Elegant gift for newlyweds

Gift Basket for Newly Married

Honeymoon Gift Basket with a few essentials: Fragrance Bag, Love Soap, Aromatic Candle, Bath Salts

Encourage Making Memories
Help the newlyweds prepare for their new life together through gifts that would encourage them to make lasting memories- non-expensive items that would require more interaction between husband and wife. They can be a devotional book on love and marriage, redeemable love coupons to spice up the relationship, or even board games to play on date nights.

couple gifts making memories

Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages book, Redeemable Love Coupons, Date Night Board Games

wedding cookies bride and groom

Jules & Joy includes bride and groom customized cookies in its wedding gift basket

These gifts not only would solidify the newlyweds’ official role as Mr & Mrs but hopefully would also keep the romance alive long after the wedding day.

Need some custom gifts for your friends about to tie the knot? Consult with us!

To His Manness: Gifts for Our Dads, Best Man and Groomsmen

We’ll be honest – when we began curating gifts for Jules & Joy, we only had the ladies in mind most of the time. We were mostly just conceptualizing the best bridesmaids’ kit or that customized beauty gift box for brides and their mothers. Not until we started receiving custom orders for groomsmen and best men gifts that we realized that hey, men need some boxes of tlc too! :p

best man gift

The best gift for your best man

groomsmen gifts

In time for father’s day, we also collected some neat items that our own fathers and the dads in our lives will be glad to keep in their man caves!
father's day gifts

personalized fathers day gifts

Personalized Father’s Day Gifts:

  • Good ol’ Whisky
  • Stainless Steel Beer Mug
  • Personalized Leather Luggage Tag
  • Engraved Pen
  • Monogrammed Argyle Socks

gift for dad

man cave items

 

Happy father’s day to all the awesome and strong daddies out there! Xx

Refreshment & Reinforcement: Thoughtful Gifts for Your Bridesmaids on Your Wedding Day

Your bridesmaids will help you shine your brightest and be your most relaxed and beautiful on your wedding day. They will be running around the venue and be your gofers throughout the day. They will be always on the lookout for any wrinkle on your dress or a tear ready to roll down your face. They will be your cheerleaders, ready to crack jokes and make light of what could be a very emotion-charged event.

Bride and bridesmaids 1

Photo from weddingsonline

Show them how much you appreciate their friendship and their presence on your big day. Thank your ladies with R&R gifts that will come in handy and make the day such a breeze.
Here is a collection of some gift items that your bridesmaids will be thrilled to receive.

bridesmaids tote with flowers

A customized tote (or a shirt) will make their “duty” as bridesmaids more official. 🙂

For out of town weddings, give out beauty products and some snacks the night before the big day so your ladies wake up looking refreshed and energized.

Bridesmaid's wedding kit

It’s always a good idea to throw in a necessity kit in case of emergencies and those ooops moments.

Bridesmaid emergency kit

Wedding day emergency kit with bobby pins, Band-aids, headache pills, mints, wet wipes and hair tie

bridesmaids custom gifts tote bag

If totes are not your thing, a simple nice box will also do. Collect a few of your favorite things like this temp tattoo…
And don’t forget to include the bubbly too!

bridesmaids gift box

If you want to go for something more personal and fancy, some options are customized robes, monogrammed bracelets, and Instax cameras, sleeping eye mask and a floral corsage.

bridesmaids custom gifts 2

Suitable for the fun-loving and feminine bridesmaids, these gifts are not only useful and refreshing but also instagram-worthy! 😉