I love what I do. I get to be involved in creating dream stationery for wonderful couples.  But as Uncle Ben said in Spiderman “with great power comes great responsibility.” (Lol- my inner nerd is showing… I know!)  Some couples come up with the coolest ideas, but they scare me! Enter Emily and Jeremiah. 

Emily contacted me and said they were having a Wizard of Oz/Native American themed wedding.  What a cool idea! As you can imagine they could not find an invitation to match this fusion theme. Enter you friendly neighborhood custom stationery designer!  My excitement to be involved was quickly followed by “can I do this?”

Luckily, Emily had an extremely specific idea of what she was looking for, so she was able to tell me and guide me along this collaboration.  The colors, what she wanted included, even the font type.  I love when I send a design to a client and the response is “Yes!”  Even “yes but…” is a great response.  Knowing we are on the same page is so rewarding.

Emily drew a dreamcatcher that was being used in other elements of their wedding and she wanted it included in the invitations.  More of that “can I do this?” panic began to set in.  But I was ready for the challenge and I was determined to get it right.  I jumped in and started to digitally recreate her drawing.

Throughout this process I sent dozens of emails to Emily asking what she liked and what she wanted changed.  I may have bordered on annoying!  But I tell all my clients at the beginning of the process to always be honest.  I want my clients to get the perfect design so if it isn’t perfect please tell me.  I can keep making changes.  If I am way off on your design vision, please tell me and don’t worry about hurting my feelings.  Emily took my word on that and always told me what needed changed.  The color shades were difficult to get perfect, but we got there.  I would rather send a design 100 times to get it right than have a couple feel like they must settle with the first one.

Once the invitation was done we moved on to the info card.  They were having a camping weekend wedding so there was a lot of information for their guests as well as a map.  My process is to do the invitation and then use the elements to make the matching pieces.  Emily decided she wanted the dream catcher and the yellow brick road on the information card as well.  It tied the card together nicely in a suite.

While this theme was out of the box, I was so happy I took on the challenge.  In the end, I was proud of the finished product and Emily and Jeremiah were happy.  What more could I ask for?!

Keywords: wedding, wedding invitation, RSVP card, wedding theme, Wizard of Oz wedding, Native American wedding, custom wedding invitation design

On average, couples hire 13 wedding vendors for their wedding according to Wedding Wire.  Thankfully most of these relationships end up perfect for the couple but there are always a few exceptions.  Disappointments tend to happen when a couple hires a “vendor” but not a “professional.” 
 
So how can you know you are hiring a professional?  Here are some tips to spot a professional:
 

1. They will have invested in their business- You get what you pay for.  If a vendor has not invested in a website, learning their craft, equipment, business cards or a contract (the good ones are always paid for) then they are not a professional.  Nothing is free, including building a professional business.
   
2. They have a website- Not just a Facebook or Instagram page.  Those are important and also necessary for a professional but they will have a paid website.  They are investing in their online presence.  It will also be a website where they pay for a domain name and not a free website where they have the hosting site in their domain name.  A website is very basic and a very small fee in order to have a professional online presence.  Would you trust any other business if they didn’t have a website?  Probably not.
3. They have a contract- And it will be long!  We live in a country that requires a lot of legal jargon to cover both the client and the business.  A professional will have a very extensive contract to do just that.  It will include provisions about payment, what you can expect, what they expect from you in order to complete what they were hired for, cancellation policies for both parties, and will have spots for both the client and business to sign.  If a vendor doesn’t have a contract… run.  There is nothing to hold them legally responsible to do what you paid them for.
4. They are connected- They are connected to other professionals in the area.  A wedding vendor that no one has heard of can be worse than one everyone tells you to avoid.  It means that they are just starting out (not a bad thing… we all started somewhere but it means they are not a professional yet) or they haven’t been booked at weddings where other professionals are.  A professional will be attending networking events to get to know people in the wedding industry and to build referral relationships.  Networking takes a long time to get to know people and a professional will have put in the work to be connected to build credibility with other professionals.
   
5. You saw them at a wedding show- This is another example of wedding professionals investing in their business.  It is not cheap to exhibit at a wedding show.  So, at a wedding show you will find wedding professionals.
   
6. They amaze you with their knowledge- They are experts.  They know more about the service they offer than the Average Joe. I am a stationer and I know more than one person should know about card stock and postage.  Honestly… ask me anything.  Design decisions can affect how much it costs to mail your invitations.  As a professional I need to know those rules so that I can best serve my clients.  An expert will not only answer your questions with ease but also knows answers to questions you didn’t know to ask. 
   

 
Be sure to hire a professional for your wedding.  Like the saying goes “If you think it is expensive to hire a professional, just wait until you hire an amateur.” 
 
Keywords: wedding, wedding professional, wedding vendor, wedding pro, hiring a wedding professional