Luckily, with today's technologies we are more than able to do so. In fact, even with the busy schedules of my in town Bride's sometimes I will only meet with them one time face to face and the rest of our correspondence is done via phone and email. I only end up meeting about 25% of my clients. So majority of my in town clients work with me {and technology} the same way an out of town Bride would do so. So you ask, how exactly does working together without meeting face to face actually work...allow me to break it down for you.
Conception
The first and most important step before designing a couples wedding invitations is getting a clear idea of their expectations. What design have they envisioned, what colors are they working with and are they traditional or contemporary are just a few questions I like answered before designing. For an in town Bride I would gather this information in person at a sit down meeting. However, with an out of town Bride-to-be we will often schedule a phone or Skype call. Instead of sorting through several images via email I ask Bride's to use Pinterest or The Fancy as a tool. The site can be particularly helpful in the conception stage because with just a few clicks I can get a very clear understanding of the Bride's style and preferences. I can also see what other wedding elements she is planning because after all the invitation is the first piece the guest will receive and a first impression is everything. It should help the guest anticipate and visualize what to expect on the wedding day and I can only design that if I can visualize it myself.
Design
Once I know what direction to go in, I begin design process. Once I get a few invitation concepts together I will send them to the Bride in a PDF format to review. Clients often want to get back to me right away and I encourage them instead to intentionally not answer me right away. Everyone has lots of thoughts and ideas running through their minds and by not letting concepts sit with you for a few days we might end up doing more revisions than necessary. Everyone has different thoughts the more or longer they look at something. This is why it's good to let the concepts "marinate". After they have let the concepts settle in we start the feedback and revision process. Sometimes Bride's will love one concept in its entirety while other Bride's will want to combine a few elements from all the concepts into one invitation. From there we chat and re-design until we've created the perfect invite. Once the perfect invite is decided on it's time to choose paper, I can overnight samples right to the Bride's doorstep and once she's decided on her paper her invitation is ready to order!
Time to Send
Many of my clients opt to have my team send their invites out for them. This can be a huge stress reliever for the Bride and all those around her. Even the budget conscious Bride should consider allowing her stationary vendor to do this task. Not only does is save time, but it ensures it is done correctly. My team uses digital calligraphy (pictured above) to ensure the envelope looks as stunning and the invite and even takes care of proofing the guest list, stuffing the invites, postage and mailing. Selecting this option really allows the Bride to enjoy the planning process. As her guests are receiving and opening her wedding invitation with excitement, she too has one waiting in her mailbox! Keep in mind we also offer Hand Calligraphy, if you want it. But a lot of our brides opt for the Digital Calligraphy option as it is a little more affordable.
See the below pictured invitation from a client of mine that resided and was wed in the Big Apple! We designed her invitations without ever meeting face to face and the process could not have gone more smoothly.
As you can see from the steps above, meeting in person is no longer necessary to create the perfect wedding stationary. All the above steps also apply to designing your save the dates, place cards, menu cards, table numbers, thank you cards and endless other stationary needs. With the technologies provided to us today communicating has not only become much easier but even more fun with the use of design sites such as Pinterest and The Fancy!
However, If you are one of those Bride's that wants to meet face to face please know we always encourage studio appointments because nothing tells us more about your style than actually meeting you. In the occurrence however that we don't have the luxury to meet a Bride that are other endless ways we can still work with her and design exactly what she'd envisioned.
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