WEBVTT
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Welcome back to episode five of Let's Plan Your Wedding.
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Today we have a guest, our dear friend and colleague Lisa Wyatt, owner of Mark Harris Stationers in Newton, Massachusetts.
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We're talking all things, invitations, and printed materials with Lisa.
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What you actually need, what you can skip, how to manage your printed materials budget, the postage conversation nobody warns you about, and the etiquette mistakes that keep Lisa up at night.
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Stay for the dress code rant.
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It's worth it.
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I'm Abby.
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And I'm Tamar.
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And this is Let's Plan Your Wedding, the podcast where we are your wedding planners, and every episode is a planning meeting just between us.
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When you subscribe online at Let's Plan Podcast.com, you'll get access to our exclusive show notes, timelines, budgets, and all the wedding planning templates we use with our own clients.
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And if you have questions, submit them directly on the site and we'll get right back to you.
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So pop in your earbuds, step into our podcast office, and we'll take care of the rest.
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Okay.
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Are we ready?
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Let's plan your wedding.
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Hi, listeners.
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We'd like to introduce you to our friend and colleague, Lisa Wyatt, owner of Mark Harris Stationers in Newton, Massachusetts.
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And we'd love to have a conversation with Lisa about printed materials, wedding invitation suites, and everything you need to know about all the printed materials that you're going to need for your wedding, which are very important.
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Yeah.
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Welcome, Lisa.
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Thank you.
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Would you want to tell us a little bit, just give us like a little bit about your background, how you got into the business, what the business has been.
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Sure, sure, sure.
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So well, the business has changed, which is another conversation altogether.
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But I was an art history major in college.
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And after that, I went to work for Bloomingdales through the Bloomingdales training program in New York City.
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And from there, let's in case you want my whole history.
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This is the most coveted job out of college ever, wasn't it?
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That Bloomingdales was a good thing.
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It was actually a great job.
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And I basically just like wandered into the interview on campus and then ended up there.
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So amazing.
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It was a little bit of dumb luck.
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So anyway, from there I worked for Ms and I worked for Mes for a few years.
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And then I moved to Boston from New York.
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And I missed retail and I missed working.
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And so I ended up buying into a existing stationery store, which had been there for a long time.
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And then that was in a mall and retail was it was a different era of retail in the sense that people still went and bought invitations that you filled out and things like that and paper goods, which really, as you know, isn't the case anymore because of the online options.
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And so now I only do custom work and that's where I am now.
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And wait, were you married by the time you started your business?
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This this business, a stationary business?
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Yes.
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Yeah, I actually had four kids at that time.
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Oh and I was married.
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I guess those things aren't don't have to go together.
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I think they're very relative.
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But I was I was married with kids.
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I thought Linda was looking for the connection.
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I was the OG connection between yourself and Linda.
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Yes, because I think people are connected in such a great way.
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Yes.
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Well, yes.
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I had the most fabulous wedding planner.
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And actually, even back then, which is dating me, but even back then, I felt that all of these kinds of details related to a wedding make the wedding.
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I mean, obviously the most important thing are the people getting married and the ceremony, but second to that is experience of your guests and the everybody who is there to celebrate with you and share that experience with you.
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And the paper goods are a huge part of that, but all the details that you know event planners provide make an enormous difference.
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Tell us a little bit about your typical process with a client who is or is not working with an event planner.
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So I'll start with working with clients who are working with event planners because it is quite a different process because I am usually approached by the event planner, not by the client themselves, which has pluses and minuses.
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What are the pluses and minuses?
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So the pluses are there's like a middleman between me and the client.
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And so a lot of the work is done for me.
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Not that I mind doing the work, but you know, when you're meeting with a client who has no, there's so many options now.
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Like when I got married, you had a cream colored invitation engraved in black, and that was the invit, that was sort of like the gold standard.
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Now people want watercolor and they want a custom crest and they want, you know, ombre.
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There's just so many options now, and the rules have changed for what is appropriate and what's acceptable.
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So when a client comes in who is not working with an event planner and let's say has not done a lot of research on their own, it's it's it takes a while to to boil down what they want and the sort of look or the vibe that they want to can't think of the word, like transmit.
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Emulate that they no, that they want to like convey.
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Yes.
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It's a formal wedding, they want a very traditional look.
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They're doing a very, I don't know, gilded age look.
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Someone just came to me with that.
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This is this is what my client wants.
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And so like a lot of the work of trying to figure out what someone wants has already been done.
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And so it it shortens the process for me.
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It's more work for the event planner.
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Yeah.
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But I mean, you know, but that's what event planners do, right?
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Because they're, they're, they're looking at a holistic, they're looking at every piece of a wedding and how it relates to each other, right?
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So it's fluid and it's cohesive and it's, you know, everything just flows beautifully and speaks to each other.
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Whereas a client who's not working with an event planner, they're just thinking about the invitation at this point.
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So it takes longer to figure out what they want.
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However, nowadays with Pinterest, I do have those clients who come and they have a Pinterest board, and that is super helpful.
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People don't realize how they are attracted to the same thing over and over again.
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Like they think all the photos they send me are really different.
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But I can look at it, I can scan it, and I'm like, again, I know exactly what this is.
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I get exactly what you want, I get exactly where you're going and I know what you want.
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So I guess I would say if you're not working with an event planner, which you know, a lot of people aren't, if having a Pinterest board or a mood board, or I even have gotten received decks from people, design decks from clients, having that is hugely helpful and cuts down on a lot of time trying to like, you know, dig up and figure out what it is.
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What are you trying to tell people, right?
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Are you trying to tell people that they're supposed to wear a gown or trying to tell people this is going to be, you know, like a barefoot wedding on the beach?
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What are you trying to tell people?
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And an invitation actually does that.
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It says a lot.
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It's information, right?
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We always tell clients that the first piece of printed material that a guest receives, a save the date or an invitation, sets the tone for the entire celebration.
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Absolutely.
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It it there's so much information that comes with that piece of paper.
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You're giving your guest information on what to expect.
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Can we talk about timeline a little bit and what clients should know about the timing of the process?
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How long does it typically take for you?
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And again, let's talk about clients that are not working with event planners.
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From the first meeting to the final proof being approved, what is the typical time that that takes for you to do?
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And then also how far in advance should people really be ordering their invitations at this point?
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So the bottom line is the earlier the better, right?
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Like once you have your information, I know that's not exactly what you're asking for.
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Yeah, no, it is though.
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But I would say that once you have your information, I know the information is not changing, go.
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Yeah.
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Because, you know, it's it's things, there are unexpected hiccups always in everything.
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And especially with something like invitations, anything printed, there are so many.
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If you haven't done it, it sounds crazy, but there are so many balls in the air, and there's so many details, and there are so many opportunities for errors and changes and and things like that.
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So I would say the earlier the better, because you want to give yourself time to catch something in a proof that you don't like or catch something in your proof that you didn't notice before.
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I mean, I can't tell you how many times Massachusetts has been spelled wrong and approved.
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And you don't even see it because you've looked at it until like the last iteration.
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And it's like, oh my God, right?
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Like, and so, you know, the more time you have to look at things, the more the time you have to have other sets of eyes on things, the better.
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But actual timeline wise, which I think was what you're asking me, is I would start a year in advance.
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Wow.
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But planning, I mean, planning, because I think you want to start, you don't want to be, I don't know, rushing is a nightmare.
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It's so hard to get things done when you're trying to do things quickly and do them well when you're trying to do them quickly.
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And this is the type of thing that takes time.
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It's also an additional cost, which many people don't think about.
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But if you're not adhering to the printer's timeline, there are costs incurred with that.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And also, I don't know because I'm not an event planner, but I feel like it's one of the few elements of a wedding that actually you do have to plan.
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Save the dates go about six to nine months before if you're doing a printed save the dates.
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A lot of people do electronic save the dates now.
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I will say one thing I have noticed in the past few years post-COVID is that people are sending save the dates out much earlier and they're asking for responses back to wedding invitations much earlier, which at first I really pushed back against, but it seems to be accepted practice now.
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Lisa, when you mentioned that there are multiple pieces to consider, what would you say are the major elements in an in a printed invitation suite?
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The most important pieces are obviously the invitation, right?
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The you know, date, time, place, uh, who's hosting, right?
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That's always an issue.
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The other thing about starting early is you would be surprised how uh complicated and somewhat emotional and uh challenging wording for a wedding invitation is because it's extremely personal and intimate and it's a lot all coded, right?
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There are codes.
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So you know, who's hosting, right, right, is really who's paying.
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And that's always a tricky subject, especially when there are you know, the bride's parents are divorced or the groom's parents are divorced, or everyone, both, you know, both sets of the parents are divorced, and who's paying and you know, whose name comes first, and there are a lot of issues you don't think about before you emotional triggers.
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Emotional triggers, and it's complicated, right?
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I mean, this person's paying, they want their name first.
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There are a lot of egos involved, I guess, when it comes to a wedding invitation.
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And so it that also takes time to uh smooth out.
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We talk about that a lot.
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Yeah.
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That there are that you really need to think about setting expectation before you even start the planning process because there's so much emotion involved in planning.
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And here's a great example of how those emotions can be triggered at the very outset.
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Biggest fight my mom and I got in was during the invitation process from our wedding because my parents were actively getting divorced at the time, and my mom was living in Florida, and my dad was living in the house that we grew up in.
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And I wanted the return envelope to have the address of where I grew up, and she wanted it to be at her new address in Florida, and it was like a huge emotional fight.
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That is exact that is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.
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I've had people who haven't had one wanted to have one parent's name on the invitation because they have a complicated relationship, which actually, wording-wise, which is not what we're talking about, but that is why a lot of people use the together with their families.
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Uh so sometimes when there's a complicated family situation, that's a great choice for you to say, you know, together with their families, bride and groom invite you to share in the celebration of their wedding because some people just don't want to deal with it, right?
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And I get that.
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And it's it's sometimes just easier to cross it all out and just focus on the bride and the groom and not on the extraneous people.
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Totally.
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Not really extraneous, their family, but you know what I'm saying?
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What is it?
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No, totally.
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I think one of the things that we see our clients having trouble with is actually the physical composition of their guest list.
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So it's about getting it into a spreadsheet and getting all the addresses in.
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What any advice that you have about or what is like the best way for someone to manage their actual guest list to get it to somebody like you to get to print?
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It's the worst part.
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It's the worst part, right?
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Yeah.
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You know, if you're doing an electronic save the date now, there I just received an electronic save the date for my niece's wedding.
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And there was a prompt to write in your address, your mailing address.
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And I think that it probably populates into an Excel spreadsheet.
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I would guess.
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I don't know.
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And I could ask her, but that's one way to do it because I know people don't have people's addresses anymore because they all they text and and and email, whatever, and nobody knows where anybody lives.
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So, like unless you're our age.
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Right.
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Right.
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And so so I think that the best thing to do, I mean, I would I would organize it with an Excel spreadsheet.
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And I think that it's something I would also start early.
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Yeah.
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Because it's just tracking people down and getting their addresses and things is a pain.
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So if you know you're sending printed invitations, it's never too early to start.
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I mean, if you're just engaged, start gathering names and addresses because it'll just make your life easier in the long run to have that document.
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And you're gonna need it later.
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You're gonna need it for your thank you notes, you're gonna need it for like future holiday cars, you're gonna need it for everything else.
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Gifts, everything.
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Yeah, Abby and I said in our first episode, the first thing you literally, the first two things you do is talk about what you want your bottom line to be and then compose your guest list.
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Absolutely.
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It's the only right.
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Like you cannot even begin until you have those two things exactly right.
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Lisa, let me ask you one thing.
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You I'm going back to the electronic invitation.
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Is that a price consideration for people who and I I don't know the answer, it's not a trick question.
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If someone comes to you and they're not using a planner and they have real cost issues for the wedding, would you advise them to do an electronic invitation?
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And is that something that you would handle for them?
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I have sort of a visceral reaction to wedding invitations being electronic, but I should say that people are doing it all the time.
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And it's changed my business.
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So printed invitations uh has become a luxury business.
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And when I started doing it, it was not a luxury business.
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It was you had a wedding invitation and maybe you had a really inexpensive wedding invitation, right?
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Maybe you had a very simple wedding invitation, didn't cost a lot of money.
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Now people are instead of doing an inexpensive printed invitation, they're doing an electronic invitation.
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And so now I would say that a lot of the work that I do is is more elaborate.
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But to answer your question, Linda, I mean, I sort of pride myself, honestly, on being able to provide a beautiful, elegant, printed invitation for somebody who wants it.
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But that said, you know, they start at, you know, to do a simple invitation, really.
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You're looking at at least$1,000.
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Yeah.
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For and that's that's a simple invitation.
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But it can be elegant and it can be understated and it can be lovely.
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It's just paper's expensive.
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The printing process is expensive depending on the printing process you choose.
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I mean, you know, obviously that's again a whole other conversation because you can do anything from letterpress to engraving to flat printing.
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Flat printing is obviously the least expensive.
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So there are ways of doing it, but it's gonna be more expensive than doing electronic innovation.
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If a client is on a limited budget, what would you suggest they focus on in terms of printed materials?
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Because when we talk about an invitation suite, we're talking about a save the date, an invitation, place cards, seating cards, a wedding program, a menu card, a welcome letter that that might be attached to a gift bag in your hotel room, a gift tag that goes on a favor at the end of the night, that right, the bar signs, cocktails, right?
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All of the printed materials that might be representative of the design that you create for the initial mailing.
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If a client is on a limited budget, which of these items do you think they should focus on?
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And which do you think are ancillary or can be managed at home?
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That's easy.
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So you'd want an invitation.
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I think to save money, you do an email RSVP.
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I'd rather have a printed invitation with an email RSVP than no invitation at all.
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So I would do that.
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Great idea.
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Right?
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I wouldn't lie.
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It kills me to say this.
00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:15.519
I wouldn't line the envelopes.
00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:17.119
Oh my gosh.
00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:17.920
Yes.
00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:23.279
So I, you know, it feels like naked to me without a liner, but that is a place I would I would save money.
00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.680
And then when I said email RSVP, what I meant was a website.
00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:36.640
Because if you have a website and I don't like them on the main invitation, I really would counsel you to spend the money on an additional card, which is not that expensive.
00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:37.599
You can flat print it.
00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:42.240
We've done them, just even envelum to put in with the invitation card.
00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.279
Because then a website can save you a lot of money, right?
00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:56.160
Because you don't have to include, let's say, a directions card or a reply card or an information card or an accommodations card, you know, weekend events, everything can be on the website.
00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:04.079
So you can really get away with a card and a smaller card if you really have to put the website on the invitation.
00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:07.519
You can, you can handwrite your guests' addresses.
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:12.240
If you have a friend, let's say, with good handwriting, again, that's what the liner thing.
00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:16.880
It feels like, but look, you know what if you have a friend with great handwriting, big deal.
00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:17.839
Right.
00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:18.079
Yes.
00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.160
It's saving a few hundred dollars easily.
00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:27.279
I mean, for you for machine calligraphy, and it's saving a lot on hand calligraphy, whichever route you were planning on taking.
00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:34.640
And then as far as other items, I think all you'd really need probably on top of that are escort cards.
00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:35.200
Yeah.
00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:36.480
And table numbers.
00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:38.240
But a lot of venues have table numbers.
00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:42.559
Something you don't need that a lot of people are doing now, and everyone's doing it.
00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:48.559
Every week I print these, and I feel like it's a waste of money, are welcome signs.
00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.960
And I'm telling you, I print at least one a week.
00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.880
Welcome to the wedding of, you know, Michelle and Chris.
00:18:57.039 --> 00:18:58.720
Like, don't people know what wedding they're at?
00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.519
Like, they're like, oh, Michelle and Chris.
00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:02.079
Oh, good.
00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:03.200
Okay, I'm at the right wedding.
00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:03.519
Right.
00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:13.440
I mean, I don't understand that trend, but it seems to be here to stay for a while anyway, judging by my clients, you know, which is for me it's bar signage.
00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:19.359
I just I I know it's Tamar's favorite, and I'm like, this is the stupidest thing ever.
00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.480
I want a Paloma.
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.880
I don't care if it's Pamela's Paloma.
00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:25.440
I just want a Paloma at the bar.
00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:32.000
I don't feel like that's another really popular thing because then people want to like personalize bar signage.
00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:32.880
It drives me crazy.
00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:33.440
Right.
00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:38.319
So, you know, that said, there's some budgets that I would say, let's do an electronic invitation.
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:40.720
But I have done some electronic invitations.
00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:44.720
I don't mind, but I was surprised it's a it's time consuming.
00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:48.000
I've not said I imagine and your time is money.
00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:48.319
Yeah.
00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:52.960
And your graphic design work is also money.
00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:59.440
So our experience is that anytime anyone's hired someone to do an electronic anything, it could be a save the date or invitation, doesn't matter.
00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:04.400
But your design, the design fees alone get up toward a thousand dollars sometimes.
00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:09.519
Yes, it depends on who you're, you know, but if you're working with a real invitation professional, you're very important.
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:20.160
I when I've done electronic invitations, I take it as seriously as I do a printed invitation, in that I'm not just using like a template from paperless posts and and filling it in.
00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:24.480
I feel like I'm really designing it so it reflects the vision of the event.
00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.480
And it takes a long time.
00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:39.359
But if you're a creative person, or again, if you have a creative friend who's willing to work with you and do, you know, create, I will say paperless posts, and I shouldn't be plugging paperless posts because A, I'm not getting any kickbacks from them and B, it takes away from my own business.
00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:48.400
But if you're willing to put the work in, you can choose fonts, you can choose colors, you can choose, you can really design something that is memorable.
00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:49.519
Yes, and and lovely.
00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:53.839
And you're not gonna hold it in your hand, but you can personalize it so it doesn't look generic.
00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:55.440
And I think that's the most important thing.
00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:02.400
And, you know, grab your friend who's good at it and have them help you with it, and you can really create something that'll be beautiful.
00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:08.799
You know, if that's something, if invitations are not in your budget, then I think that's a great second choice.
00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:09.200
Yes.
00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:11.839
Can you share with us a cautionary tale?
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:22.720
A an invitation that didn't arrive on time, a something that just like kept you up at night that you had to solve for that was completely unexpected.
00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:24.480
I have a few hundred of them.
00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:39.359
During COVID, when shipping was slow, a couple of times I had seating charts not make it, and we had to scramble to and really like like just, you know, overnight, or I want to say it was that day, get place cards done.
00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:45.279
I drove them to the bride's aunt who was leaving on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard that afternoon to the wedding.
00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:48.000
So they're definitely I have a lot of stories of a last minute.
00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:50.799
So yeah, those kinds of situations are crazy.
00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:58.160
It's also why it's important to pick great vendors because vendors like you want someone who's gonna pull through for you five hours before your event if you really need them to.
00:21:58.319 --> 00:21:58.799
Let me tell you something.
00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.759
I've spent so much time chasing.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:12.880
UPS trucks around Newton because I feel like, you know, when things are running late and has to get there, and I'm like, I literally have driven around looking for that UPS truck because I know it's on there and my client needs it and I have to get it today.
00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:16.559
And so that sort of like circles back to the starting early kind of thing.
00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:17.839
But sometimes it can't be helped.
00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:18.079
Right.
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:19.519
Changes are made and whatnot.
00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:20.880
And so things are last minute.
00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:24.160
But I would say that the more time you can give yourself, the better.
00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:25.279
But things happen.
00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:29.359
Sometimes reply cards come in and they don't fit in the reply envelope.
00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:35.200
And, you know, one thing I've learned from my own mistakes is you have to check everything first.
00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:36.480
You can't assume everything.
00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:49.039
You receive something, even if you order invitations from somebody online or whatnot, because I do have people come to me and they order them online, they left another box and suddenly they open them up and they're like, this is unreadable or whatever it is, right?
00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:50.880
And then they're like, Can you print me something?
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:54.079
You know, because sometimes online invitations, you don't really know what you're getting.
00:22:54.319 --> 00:23:00.240
And so, like the RSVB card, which you will remember well, I assumed that it would fit.
00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:00.880
Why wouldn't it?
00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:04.240
This never happened to me in 15 years that a reply card hasn't fit in a reply envelope.
00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:06.319
But you can't assume it will, right?
00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:08.640
Every suite is different and new.
00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:11.599
And so nothing's a carbon copy of one another.
00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:12.960
So you have to always double check.
00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:15.839
And I would say open anything you receive the moment you get it.
00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:16.000
Yeah.
00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.559
Make sure everything's there, make sure that everything's correct.
00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:20.079
So you have time to correct it.
00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:23.759
Can you speak for a bit about postage?
00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.599
I think it's like more of a conversation than you would just had a thing with postage.
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:28.079
Yeah.
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.160
I have like PTSD from postage.
00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:31.039
Okay.
00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:34.240
It's like more complex than you would ever imagine.
00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:40.240
One thing to know, and this sounds like common sense, but people seem to always be shocked.
00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:46.640
If you order a heavy, large or odd-shaped invitation, it will be expensive to mail.
00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:47.039
Yes.
00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:57.359
That's something that you think people would know, but they are always shocked that it requires extra postage invitation, but also the reply card card.
00:23:57.680 --> 00:23:57.839
Yes.
00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:00.400
Well, the Rye Card envelope generally is a forever stamp.
00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:01.119
Almost always.
00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:02.799
Because it's a three by five.
00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:04.640
There's nothing in it besides a card.
00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:05.039
Okay.
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:07.039
This just happened to me on Friday.
00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:07.279
Yeah.
00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:09.599
Because somebody ordered a beautiful invitation.
00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:10.400
It was very thick.
00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:11.279
It was very long.
00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:15.440
It was kind of an odd size because the envelope was custom, custom made.
00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:17.039
And I brought it to the post office.
00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:22.000
And the post office said, Oh, you're going to need like individual tracking for each envelope.
00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:23.039
And I was like, no, you're not.
00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:24.319
I mail things like every week.
00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:26.240
You do not need individual tracking.
00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:28.400
And they said, Oh, well, actually, you know what?
00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:31.359
Also, the post office is questionable these days.
00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:32.640
I always go to like two or three of them.
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:35.759
So they, oh, actually, maybe you can get away with$2.75.
00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:36.960
I'm like, that's not right either.
00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:38.400
Like I know this is$275.
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:40.640
So anyway, they tell me it's like that's a regular invitation.
00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:43.680
So they tell me it's like$7 or$7.25.
00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:47.759
And so I have to do the most risk adverse thing for my clients.
00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:48.160
Okay.
00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:49.839
So I'm not taking a chance on your behalf.
00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:51.200
I'm not going to say, like, you know what?
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:52.319
We'll do the$275.
00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:54.000
I'm going to cross my fingers and see how it goes.
00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:56.799
And you get all your invitations back and you call me crying.
00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:58.240
Like that's not going to happen.
00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:03.519
So I bought the$7 and 25 cent stamps for the 170 invitations.
00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:05.599
And we stamped them all.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:07.519
And my client wanted to pick them up.
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.240
She wanted to mail them herself because she had an AMIB list.
00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:13.119
She was very upset about the cost of the postage.
00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.200
And the invitation$1,000 worth of postage.
00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:17.039
The invitation itself was very expensive.
00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:22.880
So it's not as if the invitation was$1,000 and she spent$1,000 on postage, but I think she also didn't like the optics of it.
00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:24.000
These days, right?
00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:28.000
You're getting an invitation and someone's spending$7.25 on postage.
00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:30.799
It didn't look how she wanted it to look.
00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:35.920
And so anyway, that was unpleasant.
00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:37.359
I mean, she loved the invitation.
00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:44.400
It was great, but it was awkward for me and unpleasant because I can't shoulder that risk.
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:44.960
Right.
00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:48.799
And I would I would counsel my client also not to take a risk on postage.
00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:56.559
If you bother spending months working on invitation, making it beautiful, making exactly what you want, you do not want them returned to you in the mail.
00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:56.960
Totally.
00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:58.640
So do you know how nudgy I am?
00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:06.640
I typically will go to two different post offices and have them weighed and make sure that the post office person tells me that they're the same that it's the same stamp.
00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:08.319
I measure it's a little too much.
00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:08.880
I measured.
00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:16.720
I mean, I is there a way that you can price something out prior to and give someone an estimate of what it would be?
00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:20.240
Because once you have once you're at the post office, it's a done deal.
00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:24.319
So I mean you could take like a sample of yours and away it if you want.
00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:31.119
But I would say, you know, for people who are watching their budget invitation-wise, just do a standard size.
00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:31.599
Right.
00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:35.519
Five by seven, five and a half by seven or three quarters.
00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:39.920
Do a standard size invitation because at the most you're going to need a two-ounce stamp.
00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:41.039
That's great advice.
00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:48.400
You know, once you're getting into the territory of thicker, wider, custom, you're spending a lot on postage.
00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:55.039
So, you know, I I feel like that would be, you know, a nice A7 card, A8 card, done.
00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:56.079
Amazing.
00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:05.519
Actually, this is boring, but just so people know about like paperweight, because if you are looking online or whether you're not, what is the minimum paperweight that you like to see up for a wedding invitation?
00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:09.920
I wouldn't want to print an invitation less than really like 100, 110 pound.
00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:10.400
Great.
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:11.119
That's helpful.
00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:18.240
I know that doesn't make sense to people listening, but if you all of a sudden start researching paper, the the weight is a very quick and easy thing to find.
00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:18.720
Yeah.
00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:26.640
You know, I can speak to the fact that over 50 years later, I still look at my wedding invitation and think it's beautiful.
00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:27.119
Yeah.
00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:31.039
And that's the only piece of my wedding that is left.
00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:36.720
I have all the pieces of the wedding in the envelope, beautifully colligraphed.
00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:40.799
And I I look at it, I say, yeah, this is really beautiful.
00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:42.799
So I think that's it's memorabilia.
00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:44.319
I have a mind, I have mine framed.
00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:46.480
I mean, I remember going to order it.
00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:47.759
I went to Dempsey and Carol.
00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:50.559
I was living in New York City, and I went with my mom.
00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:58.880
And I, although I made a I don't want to say it was a mistake on my wedding invitation, because it really is not a mistake, because you know, it's not a legal document, your invitation.
00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:00.559
So actually, that's a question I get a lot about wording.
00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:03.279
Also, there are like you did try and pivotal to that.
00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:08.960
Yeah, there's traditional wording and there's wording that is etiquette-wise acceptable, but you know, it isn't a legal document.
00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:10.160
So you have creative license.
00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:10.480
Yeah.
00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:10.799
Right.
00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:14.240
But I was living in New York City, and in New York City, it's very fashionable.
00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:18.480
It's still when you send an invitation, people just have New York City.
00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:18.720
Yes.
00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:19.039
Right.
00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:20.240
You were gonna say that.
00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:21.359
They don't write New York, New York.
00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:21.759
Right.
00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:22.079
Right.
00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:24.240
So I found I thought that was very chic.
00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:24.559
Yeah.
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:31.359
And I was getting married here in Boston, and so I just put Boston, not Boston, Massachusetts.
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:35.359
Well, you see, there's only one New York City, and there's only one Washington, D.C.
00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:41.680
But there's a Boston in I think Kansas, and there are other Bostons, and you're really not supposed to do that.
00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:45.359
I mean, I don't think anybody would have noticed or cared, but I do.
00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:50.400
But I I was young and I thought I was being very cool and chic.
00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:50.559
Yeah.
00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:53.920
And actually it looked really city is the center of the New York.
00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:54.559
Exactly.
00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:54.799
Exactly.
00:28:55.200 --> 00:29:00.880
A hotel, if you were married in a hotel, has two outposts within the same city.
00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:07.200
So to have written hotel Boston is very confusing to a guest.
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:08.400
It's not specific enough.
00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:09.359
Absolutely.
00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:09.759
Yeah.
00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:12.079
So I look back and wish I thought it out.
00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:14.960
But at the time, whatever, I thought I was being very uncool.
00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:19.759
And, you know, I would thought I was like a trendsetter when really I was, you know, off base.
00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:20.880
Oh good.
00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:24.480
We all look back at our own weddings and we're like, what was that decision?
00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:24.799
I know.
00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:27.920
I also still wish I'd worn a long veil, but that's another story.
00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:28.559
I know.
00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:28.799
I know.
00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:29.200
I wish.
00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:30.160
I would have chosen.
00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:30.640
Anyway.
00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:37.039
Can I ask etiquette-wise, what are some major things that you see people do that are completely wrong?
00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:39.359
Oh, one of my favorite questions.
00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:45.680
So one of my biggest pet peeves is when I receive an invitation, either electronic or printed.
00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:48.960
I mean, you know, it doesn't matter because it's wrong both times.
00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:53.359
People write please RSVP.
00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:59.920
So RSVP stands for responde si vuplay, reply please.
00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:03.440
So you're essentially you're saying uh please reply, please.
00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:08.640
And it makes me crazy because it also seems like you don't know what RSVP means, right?
00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:10.240
RSVP does not mean reply.
00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:11.359
It means reply, please.
00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:15.920
And so that is something I wish I feel like it makes me crazy when I receive something like that.
00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:16.799
So that's one.
00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:18.799
And also this one is debatable.
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:20.559
It's very common these days.
00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:25.759
And I have a whole spiel about this that I say to every client and they never listen to me.
00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:32.000
But I'm a big believer if you're putting a dress code on your invitation to be clear.
00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:37.599
Because the whole idea of a dress code is to be helpful for your guest, to know what to wear.
00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:37.920
Yes.
00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:38.240
Right?
00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:41.680
And so and to also why are you putting it on the invitation if it's not helpful?
00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:45.839
So if it's black tie, say black tie.
00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:46.960
Yes, say black tie.
00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:47.279
Okay.
00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:49.359
Black tie optional, why bother?
00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:50.640
It's like wear it or don't.
00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:51.440
You know what I mean?
00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:52.079
Like we don't care.
00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:56.480
If you want, if you have the option to wear a black tuxedo or don't wear a tuxedo, we don't care.
00:30:56.799 --> 00:31:00.880
Black tie optional was like the groom's gonna be in a tux, but everyone can do what they want to do.
00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:05.680
It was sort of the indicator that like if you want to wear a tux, the groom will be in a tux, but I never stayed.
00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:06.480
I don't get it either.
00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:10.160
My assumption was always if you own a tuxedo, wear it.
00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:10.799
Wear it.
00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:14.000
And if you don't, a dark suit is acceptable.
00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:15.920
But I am with you wholeheartedly.
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:17.279
Oh no, a dark suit is acceptable.
00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:20.960
And invited, or they it's not helpful to the guests.
00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:21.920
That's my point.
00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.279
It's just not helpful, so don't bother.
00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:23.599
Right.
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:26.799
So it's like just either say black tie or don't.
00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:29.119
Festive attire, what's festive attire?
00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:32.079
I like when people say no jacket, no tie, if it's casual.
00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:34.799
I think that's helpful, or jacket, no tie.
00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:37.519
I feel like you need to give people real direction.
00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:41.839
Saying something like, I don't know, you know, festive, summer.
00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:44.000
Yeah, or like you know, like festive cocktail.
00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:44.880
Summer chic.
00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:45.200
Right.
00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:46.880
Like that's subjective, right?
00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:51.119
Maybe I think one thing, what I think is summer chic might not be what you think is summer chic.
00:31:51.279 --> 00:31:53.359
And so you're like, in summer I wear white.
00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:53.920
How about now?
00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:54.160
Right.
00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:55.279
Like me now.
00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:57.839
If it matters to you what people wear, you need to be clear.
00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:00.480
So that's my other big pet pet pee.
00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:04.720
But honestly, I give this spiel to every bride, and they're like, okay, thanks.
00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:06.960
And they're like, black tie optional.
00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:08.319
Yeah.
00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:09.039
Yeah.
00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:10.400
This is incredible.
00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:16.000
Honestly, I mean, and I'm not saying this, like, there is almost nothing I'm gonna have to edit about this last 15 minutes.
00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:17.440
It was so good.
00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:18.480
Like so good.
00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:19.759
Beyond so good.
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:22.240
I didn't really have so much to say about invitations.
00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:23.039
I have like more to say.
00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:24.559
I could sit here for two hours and talk about invitations.
00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:26.160
Well, then maybe we'll have a second session.
00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:29.920
I totally would because there are so many nuances.
00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:30.720
Let's do it.
00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:31.839
Let's have a second session.
00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:35.680
And it's weird because invitations are loaded.
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:38.400
It's like what I was saying about the emotional aspect of it.
00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:45.519
And that like the there's like power struggles, and there's there's so much that go into it that I think that I feel like a social worker half of the time.
00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:45.839
Yeah.
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:47.519
And you know, and I'm sure you do too.
00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:48.400
Welcome to our office.
00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:48.720
Yeah.
00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:49.680
So I mean, I'd be happy to.
00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:51.119
I, as you can see, I enjoy talking about it.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:52.480
Honestly, so let's run.
00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:53.039
We'll do it again.
00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:53.759
We'll do it again.
00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:54.319
Lisa for sure.
00:32:54.880 --> 00:32:54.960
Great.
00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:55.599
Thank you.
00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:56.000
Okay.
00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:58.720
Well, this was everything.
00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:09.200
Thank you, Lisa, for being here and for being so honest, so genuinely, warmly, and wonderfully opinionated about all things paper and printed materials.
00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:15.119
If anyone listening wants to work with Lisa, you can find Mark Harris Stationers in Newton, Massachusetts.
00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:16.400
Tell her we sent you.
00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:19.279
So here's what we want you to walk away with today.
00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:22.079
Your invitation is the first impression of your wedding.
00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:26.799
It tells your guests what to expect, what to wear, and how much you care about the details.
00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:28.960
Start earlier than you think you need to.
00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:34.880
And for the love of all things, it's RSVP, not please RSVP.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:37.599
And here's your homework.
00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:39.759
If you haven't already, this is the worst.
00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:42.400
I am defeated by this.
00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:44.400
Right?
00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:45.839
Here's the homework, guys.
00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:47.920
We're sorry, but you got to do this at some point.
00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:49.119
Start your guest list.
00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:49.759
Here we are.
00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:52.640
Start your guest list address and the spreadsheet this week.
00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:57.039
Even 10 addresses, five, whatever pacing you need to do.
00:33:58.079 --> 00:33:59.359
It's easy to get the names down.
00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:00.880
It's easy to make your guest list.
00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:04.000
Populating their addresses, my God, good luck.
00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:08.960
If you haven't already, go to let'splanpodcast.com and download our Let's Plan workbook.
00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:13.440
This is where you're going to find your guest list spreadsheet template.
00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:17.519
Everything Lisa walked us through today laid out so you can check it off as you go.
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:22.639
Download it, share it with who's ever helping you manage this, and go get those addresses.
00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:37.840
Next time we're diving into design, how to find vendors, how to vet them, what questions to ask them, and which design decisions are worth every penny versus which elements you can absolutely live without.
00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:38.960
We have opinions.
00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:42.320
Shocker! Strong ones.
00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:50.159
And as always, subscribe wherever you listen, leave us a review, it genuinely helps, and follow us on Instagram at Let's Plan Podcast.
00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:54.880
Send us your questions online at Let's Planpodcast.com and we will get right back to you.
00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:57.920
And remember, it's just RSVP.
00:34:58.079 --> 00:34:59.599
We'll see you next time.
00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.760
This podcast is for entertainment only.
00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:08.400
The Let's Plan Your Wedding podcast assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:17.039
It is produced by AGTF LLC in a separate capacity and is provided as is with no guarantees of accuracy, completeness, or usefulness.
00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:21.039
The podcast is for informational, private, and non commercial use only.
00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:26.719
Reproduction, modification, or redistribution without AGTF LLC's consent is prohibited.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.879
Welcome back to episode five of Let's Plan Your Wedding.
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:10.320
Today we have a guest, our dear friend and colleague Lisa Wyatt, owner of Mark Harris Stationers in Newton, Massachusetts.
00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:14.800
We're talking all things, invitations, and printed materials with Lisa.
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:26.239
What you actually need, what you can skip, how to manage your printed materials budget, the postage conversation nobody warns you about, and the etiquette mistakes that keep Lisa up at night.
00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:28.079
Stay for the dress code rant.
00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:29.120
It's worth it.
00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:30.079
I'm Abby.
00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:31.359
And I'm Tamar.
00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:38.399
And this is Let's Plan Your Wedding, the podcast where we are your wedding planners, and every episode is a planning meeting just between us.
00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:48.640
When you subscribe online at Let's Plan Podcast.com, you'll get access to our exclusive show notes, timelines, budgets, and all the wedding planning templates we use with our own clients.
00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:52.640
And if you have questions, submit them directly on the site and we'll get right back to you.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:57.679
So pop in your earbuds, step into our podcast office, and we'll take care of the rest.
00:00:57.840 --> 00:00:58.159
Okay.
00:00:58.479 --> 00:00:59.359
Are we ready?
00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:01.439
Let's plan your wedding.
00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:06.000
Hi, listeners.
00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:15.040
We'd like to introduce you to our friend and colleague, Lisa Wyatt, owner of Mark Harris Stationers in Newton, Massachusetts.
00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:28.959
And we'd love to have a conversation with Lisa about printed materials, wedding invitation suites, and everything you need to know about all the printed materials that you're going to need for your wedding, which are very important.
00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:29.599
Yeah.
00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:30.879
Welcome, Lisa.
00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:31.439
Thank you.
00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:36.879
Would you want to tell us a little bit, just give us like a little bit about your background, how you got into the business, what the business has been.
00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:37.760
Sure, sure, sure.
00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:41.200
So well, the business has changed, which is another conversation altogether.
00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:43.439
But I was an art history major in college.
00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:49.920
And after that, I went to work for Bloomingdales through the Bloomingdales training program in New York City.
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.400
And from there, let's in case you want my whole history.
00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.280
This is the most coveted job out of college ever, wasn't it?
00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:56.480
That Bloomingdales was a good thing.
00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:57.599
It was actually a great job.
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:02.640
And I basically just like wandered into the interview on campus and then ended up there.
00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:03.840
So amazing.
00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:06.000
It was a little bit of dumb luck.
00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:10.719
So anyway, from there I worked for Ms and I worked for Mes for a few years.
00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:12.879
And then I moved to Boston from New York.
00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:15.919
And I missed retail and I missed working.
00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:22.800
And so I ended up buying into a existing stationery store, which had been there for a long time.
00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:38.400
And then that was in a mall and retail was it was a different era of retail in the sense that people still went and bought invitations that you filled out and things like that and paper goods, which really, as you know, isn't the case anymore because of the online options.
00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:41.919
And so now I only do custom work and that's where I am now.
00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:45.759
And wait, were you married by the time you started your business?
00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:47.840
This this business, a stationary business?
00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:48.240
Yes.
00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:50.080
Yeah, I actually had four kids at that time.
00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:51.840
Oh and I was married.
00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:53.840
I guess those things aren't don't have to go together.
00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:55.439
I think they're very relative.
00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:57.120
But I was I was married with kids.
00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.439
I thought Linda was looking for the connection.
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:04.319
I was the OG connection between yourself and Linda.
00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:07.919
Yes, because I think people are connected in such a great way.
00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:08.560
Yes.
00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:09.599
Well, yes.
00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.560
I had the most fabulous wedding planner.
00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:23.680
And actually, even back then, which is dating me, but even back then, I felt that all of these kinds of details related to a wedding make the wedding.
00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:37.120
I mean, obviously the most important thing are the people getting married and the ceremony, but second to that is experience of your guests and the everybody who is there to celebrate with you and share that experience with you.
00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:44.319
And the paper goods are a huge part of that, but all the details that you know event planners provide make an enormous difference.
00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:51.919
Tell us a little bit about your typical process with a client who is or is not working with an event planner.
00:03:52.240 --> 00:04:05.840
So I'll start with working with clients who are working with event planners because it is quite a different process because I am usually approached by the event planner, not by the client themselves, which has pluses and minuses.
00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:07.759
What are the pluses and minuses?
00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.400
So the pluses are there's like a middleman between me and the client.
00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:15.120
And so a lot of the work is done for me.
00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:22.319
Not that I mind doing the work, but you know, when you're meeting with a client who has no, there's so many options now.
00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:29.680
Like when I got married, you had a cream colored invitation engraved in black, and that was the invit, that was sort of like the gold standard.
00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:36.720
Now people want watercolor and they want a custom crest and they want, you know, ombre.
00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:43.120
There's just so many options now, and the rules have changed for what is appropriate and what's acceptable.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:05:02.639
So when a client comes in who is not working with an event planner and let's say has not done a lot of research on their own, it's it's it takes a while to to boil down what they want and the sort of look or the vibe that they want to can't think of the word, like transmit.
00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:05.600
Emulate that they no, that they want to like convey.
00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:06.879
Yes.
00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:25.120
It's a formal wedding, they want a very traditional look.
00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.079
They're doing a very, I don't know, gilded age look.
00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:29.279
Someone just came to me with that.
00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:30.959
This is this is what my client wants.
00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:38.240
And so like a lot of the work of trying to figure out what someone wants has already been done.
00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:40.800
And so it it shortens the process for me.
00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:42.639
It's more work for the event planner.
00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:43.839
Yeah.
00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:45.920
But I mean, you know, but that's what event planners do, right?
00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:52.480
Because they're, they're, they're looking at a holistic, they're looking at every piece of a wedding and how it relates to each other, right?
00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:59.439
So it's fluid and it's cohesive and it's, you know, everything just flows beautifully and speaks to each other.
00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:04.399
Whereas a client who's not working with an event planner, they're just thinking about the invitation at this point.
00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.800
So it takes longer to figure out what they want.
00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:14.959
However, nowadays with Pinterest, I do have those clients who come and they have a Pinterest board, and that is super helpful.
00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:19.680
People don't realize how they are attracted to the same thing over and over again.
00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:23.279
Like they think all the photos they send me are really different.
00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.879
But I can look at it, I can scan it, and I'm like, again, I know exactly what this is.
00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:31.040
I get exactly what you want, I get exactly where you're going and I know what you want.
00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:53.439
So I guess I would say if you're not working with an event planner, which you know, a lot of people aren't, if having a Pinterest board or a mood board, or I even have gotten received decks from people, design decks from clients, having that is hugely helpful and cuts down on a lot of time trying to like, you know, dig up and figure out what it is.
00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:55.040
What are you trying to tell people, right?
00:06:55.120 --> 00:07:00.160
Are you trying to tell people that they're supposed to wear a gown or trying to tell people this is going to be, you know, like a barefoot wedding on the beach?
00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:01.519
What are you trying to tell people?
00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:05.199
And an invitation actually does that.
00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:06.079
It says a lot.
00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:07.120
It's information, right?
00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:16.720
We always tell clients that the first piece of printed material that a guest receives, a save the date or an invitation, sets the tone for the entire celebration.
00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:17.600
Absolutely.
00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.879
It it there's so much information that comes with that piece of paper.
00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.160
You're giving your guest information on what to expect.
00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:29.680
Can we talk about timeline a little bit and what clients should know about the timing of the process?
00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:31.920
How long does it typically take for you?
00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:35.040
And again, let's talk about clients that are not working with event planners.
00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:41.600
From the first meeting to the final proof being approved, what is the typical time that that takes for you to do?
00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:45.920
And then also how far in advance should people really be ordering their invitations at this point?
00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:48.240
So the bottom line is the earlier the better, right?
00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:50.720
Like once you have your information, I know that's not exactly what you're asking for.
00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:52.079
Yeah, no, it is though.
00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:57.120
But I would say that once you have your information, I know the information is not changing, go.
00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:57.519
Yeah.
00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:02.720
Because, you know, it's it's things, there are unexpected hiccups always in everything.
00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:07.839
And especially with something like invitations, anything printed, there are so many.
00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:20.800
If you haven't done it, it sounds crazy, but there are so many balls in the air, and there's so many details, and there are so many opportunities for errors and changes and and things like that.
00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:28.720
So I would say the earlier the better, because you want to give yourself time to catch something in a proof that you don't like or catch something in your proof that you didn't notice before.
00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:33.039
I mean, I can't tell you how many times Massachusetts has been spelled wrong and approved.
00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:36.639
And you don't even see it because you've looked at it until like the last iteration.
00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:38.320
And it's like, oh my God, right?
00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:46.559
Like, and so, you know, the more time you have to look at things, the more the time you have to have other sets of eyes on things, the better.
00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.679
But actual timeline wise, which I think was what you're asking me, is I would start a year in advance.
00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:52.080
Wow.
00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:58.159
But planning, I mean, planning, because I think you want to start, you don't want to be, I don't know, rushing is a nightmare.
00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:04.559
It's so hard to get things done when you're trying to do things quickly and do them well when you're trying to do them quickly.
00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:06.159
And this is the type of thing that takes time.
00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.320
It's also an additional cost, which many people don't think about.
00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:17.519
But if you're not adhering to the printer's timeline, there are costs incurred with that.
00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:18.639
Yeah, absolutely.
00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:25.759
And also, I don't know because I'm not an event planner, but I feel like it's one of the few elements of a wedding that actually you do have to plan.
00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:29.519
Save the dates go about six to nine months before if you're doing a printed save the dates.
00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.600
A lot of people do electronic save the dates now.
00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:47.759
I will say one thing I have noticed in the past few years post-COVID is that people are sending save the dates out much earlier and they're asking for responses back to wedding invitations much earlier, which at first I really pushed back against, but it seems to be accepted practice now.
00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:57.600
Lisa, when you mentioned that there are multiple pieces to consider, what would you say are the major elements in an in a printed invitation suite?
00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.919
The most important pieces are obviously the invitation, right?
00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:05.200
The you know, date, time, place, uh, who's hosting, right?
00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:06.240
That's always an issue.
00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:26.639
The other thing about starting early is you would be surprised how uh complicated and somewhat emotional and uh challenging wording for a wedding invitation is because it's extremely personal and intimate and it's a lot all coded, right?
00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:27.679
There are codes.
00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:33.039
So you know, who's hosting, right, right, is really who's paying.
00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:54.639
And that's always a tricky subject, especially when there are you know, the bride's parents are divorced or the groom's parents are divorced, or everyone, both, you know, both sets of the parents are divorced, and who's paying and you know, whose name comes first, and there are a lot of issues you don't think about before you emotional triggers.
00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.240
Emotional triggers, and it's complicated, right?
00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.120
I mean, this person's paying, they want their name first.
00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:04.960
There are a lot of egos involved, I guess, when it comes to a wedding invitation.
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:09.519
And so it that also takes time to uh smooth out.
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:11.200
We talk about that a lot.
00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:11.519
Yeah.
00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:23.120
That there are that you really need to think about setting expectation before you even start the planning process because there's so much emotion involved in planning.
00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:29.360
And here's a great example of how those emotions can be triggered at the very outset.
00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:40.080
Biggest fight my mom and I got in was during the invitation process from our wedding because my parents were actively getting divorced at the time, and my mom was living in Florida, and my dad was living in the house that we grew up in.
00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:49.519
And I wanted the return envelope to have the address of where I grew up, and she wanted it to be at her new address in Florida, and it was like a huge emotional fight.
00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:53.360
That is exact that is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.
00:11:53.600 --> 00:12:08.080
I've had people who haven't had one wanted to have one parent's name on the invitation because they have a complicated relationship, which actually, wording-wise, which is not what we're talking about, but that is why a lot of people use the together with their families.
00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:23.519
Uh so sometimes when there's a complicated family situation, that's a great choice for you to say, you know, together with their families, bride and groom invite you to share in the celebration of their wedding because some people just don't want to deal with it, right?
00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:24.320
And I get that.
00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:32.480
And it's it's sometimes just easier to cross it all out and just focus on the bride and the groom and not on the extraneous people.
00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:32.960
Totally.
00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.120
Not really extraneous, their family, but you know what I'm saying?
00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:35.679
What is it?
00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:36.480
No, totally.
00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:44.480
I think one of the things that we see our clients having trouble with is actually the physical composition of their guest list.
00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:48.159
So it's about getting it into a spreadsheet and getting all the addresses in.
00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:55.279
What any advice that you have about or what is like the best way for someone to manage their actual guest list to get it to somebody like you to get to print?
00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:56.159
It's the worst part.
00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:57.360
It's the worst part, right?
00:12:57.600 --> 00:12:57.919
Yeah.
00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:05.840
You know, if you're doing an electronic save the date now, there I just received an electronic save the date for my niece's wedding.
00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:11.360
And there was a prompt to write in your address, your mailing address.
00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:15.519
And I think that it probably populates into an Excel spreadsheet.
00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:16.080
I would guess.
00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:16.559
I don't know.
00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:24.799
And I could ask her, but that's one way to do it because I know people don't have people's addresses anymore because they all they text and and and email, whatever, and nobody knows where anybody lives.
00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:26.480
So, like unless you're our age.
00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:26.720
Right.
00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:27.120
Right.
00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:34.240
And so so I think that the best thing to do, I mean, I would I would organize it with an Excel spreadsheet.
00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:36.960
And I think that it's something I would also start early.
00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:37.279
Yeah.
00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:42.240
Because it's just tracking people down and getting their addresses and things is a pain.
00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:47.279
So if you know you're sending printed invitations, it's never too early to start.
00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:55.200
I mean, if you're just engaged, start gathering names and addresses because it'll just make your life easier in the long run to have that document.
00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:56.159
And you're gonna need it later.
00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:00.320
You're gonna need it for your thank you notes, you're gonna need it for like future holiday cars, you're gonna need it for everything else.
00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:01.519
Gifts, everything.
00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:08.960
Yeah, Abby and I said in our first episode, the first thing you literally, the first two things you do is talk about what you want your bottom line to be and then compose your guest list.
00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:09.360
Absolutely.
00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:10.320
It's the only right.
00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.519
Like you cannot even begin until you have those two things exactly right.
00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.600
Lisa, let me ask you one thing.
00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:18.960
You I'm going back to the electronic invitation.
00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:25.840
Is that a price consideration for people who and I I don't know the answer, it's not a trick question.
00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:37.519
If someone comes to you and they're not using a planner and they have real cost issues for the wedding, would you advise them to do an electronic invitation?
00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:40.080
And is that something that you would handle for them?
00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:49.120
I have sort of a visceral reaction to wedding invitations being electronic, but I should say that people are doing it all the time.
00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:50.960
And it's changed my business.
00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:55.759
So printed invitations uh has become a luxury business.
00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:59.120
And when I started doing it, it was not a luxury business.
00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:03.200
It was you had a wedding invitation and maybe you had a really inexpensive wedding invitation, right?
00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.960
Maybe you had a very simple wedding invitation, didn't cost a lot of money.
00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:14.159
Now people are instead of doing an inexpensive printed invitation, they're doing an electronic invitation.
00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:18.159
And so now I would say that a lot of the work that I do is is more elaborate.
00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:29.440
But to answer your question, Linda, I mean, I sort of pride myself, honestly, on being able to provide a beautiful, elegant, printed invitation for somebody who wants it.
00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:35.039
But that said, you know, they start at, you know, to do a simple invitation, really.
00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:36.799
You're looking at at least$1,000.
00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:37.279
Yeah.
00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.600
For and that's that's a simple invitation.
00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:43.679
But it can be elegant and it can be understated and it can be lovely.
00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.000
It's just paper's expensive.
00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:49.600
The printing process is expensive depending on the printing process you choose.
00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:54.879
I mean, you know, obviously that's again a whole other conversation because you can do anything from letterpress to engraving to flat printing.
00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:57.679
Flat printing is obviously the least expensive.
00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:01.840
So there are ways of doing it, but it's gonna be more expensive than doing electronic innovation.
00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:08.480
If a client is on a limited budget, what would you suggest they focus on in terms of printed materials?
00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:34.960
Because when we talk about an invitation suite, we're talking about a save the date, an invitation, place cards, seating cards, a wedding program, a menu card, a welcome letter that that might be attached to a gift bag in your hotel room, a gift tag that goes on a favor at the end of the night, that right, the bar signs, cocktails, right?
00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:41.840
All of the printed materials that might be representative of the design that you create for the initial mailing.
00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:47.600
If a client is on a limited budget, which of these items do you think they should focus on?
00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:55.039
And which do you think are ancillary or can be managed at home?
00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:56.559
That's easy.
00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:58.960
So you'd want an invitation.
00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:01.759
I think to save money, you do an email RSVP.
00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:08.720
I'd rather have a printed invitation with an email RSVP than no invitation at all.
00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:10.720
So I would do that.
00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:11.599
Great idea.
00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:11.920
Right?
00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:12.559
I wouldn't lie.
00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:14.000
It kills me to say this.
00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:15.519
I wouldn't line the envelopes.
00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:17.119
Oh my gosh.
00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:17.920
Yes.
00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:23.279
So I, you know, it feels like naked to me without a liner, but that is a place I would I would save money.
00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.680
And then when I said email RSVP, what I meant was a website.
00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:36.640
Because if you have a website and I don't like them on the main invitation, I really would counsel you to spend the money on an additional card, which is not that expensive.
00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:37.599
You can flat print it.
00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:42.240
We've done them, just even envelum to put in with the invitation card.
00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.279
Because then a website can save you a lot of money, right?
00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:56.160
Because you don't have to include, let's say, a directions card or a reply card or an information card or an accommodations card, you know, weekend events, everything can be on the website.
00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:04.079
So you can really get away with a card and a smaller card if you really have to put the website on the invitation.
00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:07.519
You can, you can handwrite your guests' addresses.
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:12.240
If you have a friend, let's say, with good handwriting, again, that's what the liner thing.
00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:16.880
It feels like, but look, you know what if you have a friend with great handwriting, big deal.
00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:17.839
Right.
00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:18.079
Yes.
00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.160
It's saving a few hundred dollars easily.
00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:27.279
I mean, for you for machine calligraphy, and it's saving a lot on hand calligraphy, whichever route you were planning on taking.
00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:34.640
And then as far as other items, I think all you'd really need probably on top of that are escort cards.
00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:35.200
Yeah.
00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:36.480
And table numbers.
00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:38.240
But a lot of venues have table numbers.
00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:42.559
Something you don't need that a lot of people are doing now, and everyone's doing it.
00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:48.559
Every week I print these, and I feel like it's a waste of money, are welcome signs.
00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.960
And I'm telling you, I print at least one a week.
00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.880
Welcome to the wedding of, you know, Michelle and Chris.
00:18:57.039 --> 00:18:58.720
Like, don't people know what wedding they're at?
00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.519
Like, they're like, oh, Michelle and Chris.
00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:02.079
Oh, good.
00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:03.200
Okay, I'm at the right wedding.
00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:03.519
Right.
00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:13.440
I mean, I don't understand that trend, but it seems to be here to stay for a while anyway, judging by my clients, you know, which is for me it's bar signage.
00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:19.359
I just I I know it's Tamar's favorite, and I'm like, this is the stupidest thing ever.
00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.480
I want a Paloma.
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.880
I don't care if it's Pamela's Paloma.
00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:25.440
I just want a Paloma at the bar.
00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:32.000
I don't feel like that's another really popular thing because then people want to like personalize bar signage.
00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:32.880
It drives me crazy.
00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:33.440
Right.
00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:38.319
So, you know, that said, there's some budgets that I would say, let's do an electronic invitation.
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:40.720
But I have done some electronic invitations.
00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:44.720
I don't mind, but I was surprised it's a it's time consuming.
00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:48.000
I've not said I imagine and your time is money.
00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:48.319
Yeah.
00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:52.960
And your graphic design work is also money.
00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:59.440
So our experience is that anytime anyone's hired someone to do an electronic anything, it could be a save the date or invitation, doesn't matter.
00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:04.400
But your design, the design fees alone get up toward a thousand dollars sometimes.
00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:09.519
Yes, it depends on who you're, you know, but if you're working with a real invitation professional, you're very important.
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:20.160
I when I've done electronic invitations, I take it as seriously as I do a printed invitation, in that I'm not just using like a template from paperless posts and and filling it in.
00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:24.480
I feel like I'm really designing it so it reflects the vision of the event.
00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.480
And it takes a long time.
00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:39.359
But if you're a creative person, or again, if you have a creative friend who's willing to work with you and do, you know, create, I will say paperless posts, and I shouldn't be plugging paperless posts because A, I'm not getting any kickbacks from them and B, it takes away from my own business.
00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:48.400
But if you're willing to put the work in, you can choose fonts, you can choose colors, you can choose, you can really design something that is memorable.
00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:49.519
Yes, and and lovely.
00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:53.839
And you're not gonna hold it in your hand, but you can personalize it so it doesn't look generic.
00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:55.440
And I think that's the most important thing.
00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:02.400
And, you know, grab your friend who's good at it and have them help you with it, and you can really create something that'll be beautiful.
00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:08.799
You know, if that's something, if invitations are not in your budget, then I think that's a great second choice.
00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:09.200
Yes.
00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:11.839
Can you share with us a cautionary tale?
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:22.720
A an invitation that didn't arrive on time, a something that just like kept you up at night that you had to solve for that was completely unexpected.
00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:24.480
I have a few hundred of them.
00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:39.359
During COVID, when shipping was slow, a couple of times I had seating charts not make it, and we had to scramble to and really like like just, you know, overnight, or I want to say it was that day, get place cards done.
00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:45.279
I drove them to the bride's aunt who was leaving on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard that afternoon to the wedding.
00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:48.000
So they're definitely I have a lot of stories of a last minute.
00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:50.799
So yeah, those kinds of situations are crazy.
00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:58.160
It's also why it's important to pick great vendors because vendors like you want someone who's gonna pull through for you five hours before your event if you really need them to.
00:21:58.319 --> 00:21:58.799
Let me tell you something.
00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.759
I've spent so much time chasing.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:12.880
UPS trucks around Newton because I feel like, you know, when things are running late and has to get there, and I'm like, I literally have driven around looking for that UPS truck because I know it's on there and my client needs it and I have to get it today.
00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:16.559
And so that sort of like circles back to the starting early kind of thing.
00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:17.839
But sometimes it can't be helped.
00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:18.079
Right.
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:19.519
Changes are made and whatnot.
00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:20.880
And so things are last minute.
00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:24.160
But I would say that the more time you can give yourself, the better.
00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:25.279
But things happen.
00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:29.359
Sometimes reply cards come in and they don't fit in the reply envelope.
00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:35.200
And, you know, one thing I've learned from my own mistakes is you have to check everything first.
00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:36.480
You can't assume everything.
00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:49.039
You receive something, even if you order invitations from somebody online or whatnot, because I do have people come to me and they order them online, they left another box and suddenly they open them up and they're like, this is unreadable or whatever it is, right?
00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:50.880
And then they're like, Can you print me something?
00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:54.079
You know, because sometimes online invitations, you don't really know what you're getting.
00:22:54.319 --> 00:23:00.240
And so, like the RSVB card, which you will remember well, I assumed that it would fit.
00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:00.880
Why wouldn't it?
00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:04.240
This never happened to me in 15 years that a reply card hasn't fit in a reply envelope.
00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:06.319
But you can't assume it will, right?
00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:08.640
Every suite is different and new.
00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:11.599
And so nothing's a carbon copy of one another.
00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:12.960
So you have to always double check.
00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:15.839
And I would say open anything you receive the moment you get it.
00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:16.000
Yeah.
00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.559
Make sure everything's there, make sure that everything's correct.
00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:20.079
So you have time to correct it.
00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:23.759
Can you speak for a bit about postage?
00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.599
I think it's like more of a conversation than you would just had a thing with postage.
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:28.079
Yeah.
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.160
I have like PTSD from postage.
00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:31.039
Okay.
00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:34.240
It's like more complex than you would ever imagine.
00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:40.240
One thing to know, and this sounds like common sense, but people seem to always be shocked.
00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:46.640
If you order a heavy, large or odd-shaped invitation, it will be expensive to mail.
00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:47.039
Yes.
00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:57.359
That's something that you think people would know, but they are always shocked that it requires extra postage invitation, but also the reply card card.
00:23:57.680 --> 00:23:57.839
Yes.
00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:00.400
Well, the Rye Card envelope generally is a forever stamp.
00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:01.119
Almost always.
00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:02.799
Because it's a three by five.
00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:04.640
There's nothing in it besides a card.
00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:05.039
Okay.
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:07.039
This just happened to me on Friday.
00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:07.279
Yeah.
00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:09.599
Because somebody ordered a beautiful invitation.
00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:10.400
It was very thick.
00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:11.279
It was very long.
00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:15.440
It was kind of an odd size because the envelope was custom, custom made.
00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:17.039
And I brought it to the post office.
00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:22.000
And the post office said, Oh, you're going to need like individual tracking for each envelope.
00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:23.039
And I was like, no, you're not.
00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:24.319
I mail things like every week.
00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:26.240
You do not need individual tracking.
00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:28.400
And they said, Oh, well, actually, you know what?
00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:31.359
Also, the post office is questionable these days.
00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:32.640
I always go to like two or three of them.
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:35.759
So they, oh, actually, maybe you can get away with$2.75.
00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:36.960
I'm like, that's not right either.
00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:38.400
Like I know this is$275.
00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:40.640
So anyway, they tell me it's like that's a regular invitation.
00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:43.680
So they tell me it's like$7 or$7.25.
00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:47.759
And so I have to do the most risk adverse thing for my clients.
00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:48.160
Okay.
00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:49.839
So I'm not taking a chance on your behalf.
00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:51.200
I'm not going to say, like, you know what?
00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:52.319
We'll do the$275.
00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:54.000
I'm going to cross my fingers and see how it goes.
00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:56.799
And you get all your invitations back and you call me crying.
00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:58.240
Like that's not going to happen.
00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:03.519
So I bought the$7 and 25 cent stamps for the 170 invitations.
00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:05.599
And we stamped them all.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:07.519
And my client wanted to pick them up.
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.240
She wanted to mail them herself because she had an AMIB list.
00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:13.119
She was very upset about the cost of the postage.
00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.200
And the invitation$1,000 worth of postage.
00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:17.039
The invitation itself was very expensive.
00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:22.880
So it's not as if the invitation was$1,000 and she spent$1,000 on postage, but I think she also didn't like the optics of it.
00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:24.000
These days, right?
00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:28.000
You're getting an invitation and someone's spending$7.25 on postage.
00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:30.799
It didn't look how she wanted it to look.
00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:35.920
And so anyway, that was unpleasant.
00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:37.359
I mean, she loved the invitation.
00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:44.400
It was great, but it was awkward for me and unpleasant because I can't shoulder that risk.
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:44.960
Right.
00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:48.799
And I would I would counsel my client also not to take a risk on postage.
00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:56.559
If you bother spending months working on invitation, making it beautiful, making exactly what you want, you do not want them returned to you in the mail.
00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:56.960
Totally.
00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:58.640
So do you know how nudgy I am?
00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:06.640
I typically will go to two different post offices and have them weighed and make sure that the post office person tells me that they're the same that it's the same stamp.
00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:08.319
I measure it's a little too much.
00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:08.880
I measured.
00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:16.720
I mean, I is there a way that you can price something out prior to and give someone an estimate of what it would be?
00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:20.240
Because once you have once you're at the post office, it's a done deal.
00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:24.319
So I mean you could take like a sample of yours and away it if you want.
00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:31.119
But I would say, you know, for people who are watching their budget invitation-wise, just do a standard size.
00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:31.599
Right.
00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:35.519
Five by seven, five and a half by seven or three quarters.
00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:39.920
Do a standard size invitation because at the most you're going to need a two-ounce stamp.
00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:41.039
That's great advice.
00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:48.400
You know, once you're getting into the territory of thicker, wider, custom, you're spending a lot on postage.
00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:55.039
So, you know, I I feel like that would be, you know, a nice A7 card, A8 card, done.
00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:56.079
Amazing.
00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:05.519
Actually, this is boring, but just so people know about like paperweight, because if you are looking online or whether you're not, what is the minimum paperweight that you like to see up for a wedding invitation?
00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:09.920
I wouldn't want to print an invitation less than really like 100, 110 pound.
00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:10.400
Great.
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:11.119
That's helpful.
00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:18.240
I know that doesn't make sense to people listening, but if you all of a sudden start researching paper, the the weight is a very quick and easy thing to find.
00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:18.720
Yeah.
00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:26.640
You know, I can speak to the fact that over 50 years later, I still look at my wedding invitation and think it's beautiful.
00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:27.119
Yeah.
00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:31.039
And that's the only piece of my wedding that is left.
00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:36.720
I have all the pieces of the wedding in the envelope, beautifully colligraphed.
00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:40.799
And I I look at it, I say, yeah, this is really beautiful.
00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:42.799
So I think that's it's memorabilia.
00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:44.319
I have a mind, I have mine framed.
00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:46.480
I mean, I remember going to order it.
00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:47.759
I went to Dempsey and Carol.
00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:50.559
I was living in New York City, and I went with my mom.
00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:58.880
And I, although I made a I don't want to say it was a mistake on my wedding invitation, because it really is not a mistake, because you know, it's not a legal document, your invitation.
00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:00.559
So actually, that's a question I get a lot about wording.
00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:03.279
Also, there are like you did try and pivotal to that.
00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:08.960
Yeah, there's traditional wording and there's wording that is etiquette-wise acceptable, but you know, it isn't a legal document.
00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:10.160
So you have creative license.
00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:10.480
Yeah.
00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:10.799
Right.
00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:14.240
But I was living in New York City, and in New York City, it's very fashionable.
00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:18.480
It's still when you send an invitation, people just have New York City.
00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:18.720
Yes.
00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:19.039
Right.
00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:20.240
You were gonna say that.
00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:21.359
They don't write New York, New York.
00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:21.759
Right.
00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:22.079
Right.
00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:24.240
So I found I thought that was very chic.
00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:24.559
Yeah.
00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:31.359
And I was getting married here in Boston, and so I just put Boston, not Boston, Massachusetts.
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:35.359
Well, you see, there's only one New York City, and there's only one Washington, D.C.
00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:41.680
But there's a Boston in I think Kansas, and there are other Bostons, and you're really not supposed to do that.
00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:45.359
I mean, I don't think anybody would have noticed or cared, but I do.
00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:50.400
But I I was young and I thought I was being very cool and chic.
00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:50.559
Yeah.
00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:53.920
And actually it looked really city is the center of the New York.
00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:54.559
Exactly.
00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:54.799
Exactly.
00:28:55.200 --> 00:29:00.880
A hotel, if you were married in a hotel, has two outposts within the same city.
00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:07.200
So to have written hotel Boston is very confusing to a guest.
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:08.400
It's not specific enough.
00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:09.359
Absolutely.
00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:09.759
Yeah.
00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:12.079
So I look back and wish I thought it out.
00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:14.960
But at the time, whatever, I thought I was being very uncool.
00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:19.759
And, you know, I would thought I was like a trendsetter when really I was, you know, off base.
00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:20.880
Oh good.
00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:24.480
We all look back at our own weddings and we're like, what was that decision?
00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:24.799
I know.
00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:27.920
I also still wish I'd worn a long veil, but that's another story.
00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:28.559
I know.
00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:28.799
I know.
00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:29.200
I wish.
00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:30.160
I would have chosen.
00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:30.640
Anyway.
00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:37.039
Can I ask etiquette-wise, what are some major things that you see people do that are completely wrong?
00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:39.359
Oh, one of my favorite questions.
00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:45.680
So one of my biggest pet peeves is when I receive an invitation, either electronic or printed.
00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:48.960
I mean, you know, it doesn't matter because it's wrong both times.
00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:53.359
People write please RSVP.
00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:59.920
So RSVP stands for responde si vuplay, reply please.
00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:03.440
So you're essentially you're saying uh please reply, please.
00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:08.640
And it makes me crazy because it also seems like you don't know what RSVP means, right?
00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:10.240
RSVP does not mean reply.
00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:11.359
It means reply, please.
00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:15.920
And so that is something I wish I feel like it makes me crazy when I receive something like that.
00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:16.799
So that's one.
00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:18.799
And also this one is debatable.
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:20.559
It's very common these days.
00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:25.759
And I have a whole spiel about this that I say to every client and they never listen to me.
00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:32.000
But I'm a big believer if you're putting a dress code on your invitation to be clear.
00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:37.599
Because the whole idea of a dress code is to be helpful for your guest, to know what to wear.
00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:37.920
Yes.
00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:38.240
Right?
00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:41.680
And so and to also why are you putting it on the invitation if it's not helpful?
00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:45.839
So if it's black tie, say black tie.
00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:46.960
Yes, say black tie.
00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:47.279
Okay.
00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:49.359
Black tie optional, why bother?
00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:50.640
It's like wear it or don't.
00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:51.440
You know what I mean?
00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:52.079
Like we don't care.
00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:56.480
If you want, if you have the option to wear a black tuxedo or don't wear a tuxedo, we don't care.
00:30:56.799 --> 00:31:00.880
Black tie optional was like the groom's gonna be in a tux, but everyone can do what they want to do.
00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:05.680
It was sort of the indicator that like if you want to wear a tux, the groom will be in a tux, but I never stayed.
00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:06.480
I don't get it either.
00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:10.160
My assumption was always if you own a tuxedo, wear it.
00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:10.799
Wear it.
00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:14.000
And if you don't, a dark suit is acceptable.
00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:15.920
But I am with you wholeheartedly.
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:17.279
Oh no, a dark suit is acceptable.
00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:20.960
And invited, or they it's not helpful to the guests.
00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:21.920
That's my point.
00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.279
It's just not helpful, so don't bother.
00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:23.599
Right.
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:26.799
So it's like just either say black tie or don't.
00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:29.119
Festive attire, what's festive attire?
00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:32.079
I like when people say no jacket, no tie, if it's casual.
00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:34.799
I think that's helpful, or jacket, no tie.
00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:37.519
I feel like you need to give people real direction.
00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:41.839
Saying something like, I don't know, you know, festive, summer.
00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:44.000
Yeah, or like you know, like festive cocktail.
00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:44.880
Summer chic.
00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:45.200
Right.
00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:46.880
Like that's subjective, right?
00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:51.119
Maybe I think one thing, what I think is summer chic might not be what you think is summer chic.
00:31:51.279 --> 00:31:53.359
And so you're like, in summer I wear white.
00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:53.920
How about now?
00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:54.160
Right.
00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:55.279
Like me now.
00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:57.839
If it matters to you what people wear, you need to be clear.
00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:00.480
So that's my other big pet pet pee.
00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:04.720
But honestly, I give this spiel to every bride, and they're like, okay, thanks.
00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:06.960
And they're like, black tie optional.
00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:08.319
Yeah.
00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:09.039
Yeah.
00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:10.400
This is incredible.
00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:16.000
Honestly, I mean, and I'm not saying this, like, there is almost nothing I'm gonna have to edit about this last 15 minutes.
00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:17.440
It was so good.
00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:18.480
Like so good.
00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:19.759
Beyond so good.
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:22.240
I didn't really have so much to say about invitations.
00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:23.039
I have like more to say.
00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:24.559
I could sit here for two hours and talk about invitations.
00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:26.160
Well, then maybe we'll have a second session.
00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:29.920
I totally would because there are so many nuances.
00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:30.720
Let's do it.
00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:31.839
Let's have a second session.
00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:35.680
And it's weird because invitations are loaded.
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:38.400
It's like what I was saying about the emotional aspect of it.
00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:45.519
And that like the there's like power struggles, and there's there's so much that go into it that I think that I feel like a social worker half of the time.
00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:45.839
Yeah.
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:47.519
And you know, and I'm sure you do too.
00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:48.400
Welcome to our office.
00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:48.720
Yeah.
00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:49.680
So I mean, I'd be happy to.
00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:51.119
I, as you can see, I enjoy talking about it.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:52.480
Honestly, so let's run.
00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:53.039
We'll do it again.
00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:53.759
We'll do it again.
00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:54.319
Lisa for sure.
00:32:54.880 --> 00:32:54.960
Great.
00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:55.599
Thank you.
00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:56.000
Okay.
00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:58.720
Well, this was everything.
00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:09.200
Thank you, Lisa, for being here and for being so honest, so genuinely, warmly, and wonderfully opinionated about all things paper and printed materials.
00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:15.119
If anyone listening wants to work with Lisa, you can find Mark Harris Stationers in Newton, Massachusetts.
00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:16.400
Tell her we sent you.
00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:19.279
So here's what we want you to walk away with today.
00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:22.079
Your invitation is the first impression of your wedding.
00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:26.799
It tells your guests what to expect, what to wear, and how much you care about the details.
00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:28.960
Start earlier than you think you need to.
00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:34.880
And for the love of all things, it's RSVP, not please RSVP.
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:37.599
And here's your homework.
00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:39.759
If you haven't already, this is the worst.
00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:42.400
I am defeated by this.
00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:44.400
Right?
00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:45.839
Here's the homework, guys.
00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:47.920
We're sorry, but you got to do this at some point.
00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:49.119
Start your guest list.
00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:49.759
Here we are.
00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:52.640
Start your guest list address and the spreadsheet this week.
00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:57.039
Even 10 addresses, five, whatever pacing you need to do.
00:33:58.079 --> 00:33:59.359
It's easy to get the names down.
00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:00.880
It's easy to make your guest list.
00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:04.000
Populating their addresses, my God, good luck.
00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:08.960
If you haven't already, go to let'splanpodcast.com and download our Let's Plan workbook.
00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:13.440
This is where you're going to find your guest list spreadsheet template.
00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:17.519
Everything Lisa walked us through today laid out so you can check it off as you go.
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:22.639
Download it, share it with who's ever helping you manage this, and go get those addresses.
00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:37.840
Next time we're diving into design, how to find vendors, how to vet them, what questions to ask them, and which design decisions are worth every penny versus which elements you can absolutely live without.
00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:38.960
We have opinions.
00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:42.320
Shocker! Strong ones.
00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:50.159
And as always, subscribe wherever you listen, leave us a review, it genuinely helps, and follow us on Instagram at Let's Plan Podcast.
00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:54.880
Send us your questions online at Let's Planpodcast.com and we will get right back to you.
00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:57.920
And remember, it's just RSVP.
00:34:58.079 --> 00:34:59.599
We'll see you next time.
00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.760
This podcast is for entertainment only.
00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:08.400
The Let's Plan Your Wedding podcast assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:17.039
It is produced by AGTF LLC in a separate capacity and is provided as is with no guarantees of accuracy, completeness, or usefulness.
00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:21.039
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