The Stationers Guild

This year at the National Stationery Show (“NSS”) I had a sneak preview of the new Vera Wang Folio Collection that will be released this Fall (sometime in October is the planned release date).  While many of the final sample invitations and stationery are still in the production phase, the Vera Wang Folio Collection will consist of four folios:  Wedding Accents, Invitations, Writing Papers and Design Elements.  From what I saw, we are all in for a big treat with this vibrant and feature-rich collection that captures Vera’s distinctive style.

Meghan Carey and Vera Wang Gown

Meghan Carey, the enthusiastic “Lead Designer for Vera Wang Fine Papers” walked me through the new Vera Wang Folio Collection.  As you may recall, I had a lengthy conversation with Meghan and Lisa Blinn of William Arthur regarding Vera’s Wang’s On Weddings that was released at the 2009 National Stationery Show.  It is clear that William Arthur and Vera Vang have spared no effort to produce invitations and stationery that capture Vera’s elegant style and passion for expression.  This is a welcome relief for many of us in the  industry who often see “brand names” attached to generic papers and formula designs with little thought of creating something distinctive and beautiful.  Clearly, Vera Wang and William Arthur have a symbiotic relationship which, in my estimation, define how “branding” should be done in the stationery industry.

Without going into too many details – which I plan to cover when the Folio Collection is released –  Vera’s new collection will introduce five new paper colors with offerings from the invitation to wedding reception coasters.  In addition, there will be a wider selection of paper sizes and formats, 14 new patterns in a new digital palette and much more design flexibility overall.  One of the features I felt was most clever was a detachable reply card (perforated) that works well for corporate events.

Vera Wang and William Arthur seems to be a marriage made in heaven.  Vera’s bold and contemporary fabric designs have been faithfully reproduced on paper by William Arthur’s talented designers.  We are very much looking forward to the release of Vera’s Folio collection later this fall.

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

Freedom of speech is guaranteed by our Constitution and this guarantee covers most everything from inspired and often extreme political views to the most banal and silly commentary.  Certainly, the age of mass media and the Internet has been a boon to “free” speech, but this freedom has produced more senseless chit-chat than reflection.  Context has been reduced to sound bites and self-appointed experts seem to be popping up everywhere.  Wikepedia has become the populist online ”reference”  where diversity of opinions and pop culture is more deemed more important than relevance and authority.   Improper wording of wedding invitations and the recommended use of websites and gift registries on these invitations are just a few examples of the crass culture that is corrupting wedding etiquette. 

As stationers, we take pride in guiding our clients toward the use of proper etiquette in the wording of wedding invitations.   Although many feel the need to “express themselves” or “make a statement” at their wedding, we have long held the view  that a wedding is a sacred ceremony with traditions that go back hundreds of years.  The use of proper etiquette is simply one of the many rituals or traditions that connects one’s wedding to similar weddings that have taken place over many generations.   By honoring those traditions, you show respect to your ancestors and the rituals that are associated with this most sacred ceremony.   

I recently came across the sad case of a bride-to-be who wished to change the correct wording of her wedding invitation because she seen different versions in “bridal magazines.”    Specifically, these bridal magazines recommended “half past five” rather than the correct designation of “half after five.”   Now for many, this would be a small thing, but to the bride-to-be, the authority for a properly worded wedding invitations was a bridal magazine.    Clearly upset, she told her stationer to change the wording on the invitation, despite the fact that no less of an authority as Crane & Co. and Julie Holcomb’s Wedding Invitation Handbook recommend “half after five” as the proper wording for a wedding that takes place at 5:30 p.m.

Perhaps, this is a minor detail in the overall scheme of things, but examples of improperly worded invitations in wedding magazines was deemed more important than getting it “right” for this prospective bride.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

This week at the National Stationery Show (“NSS”) a colleague of mine told me that the Editor of Get Married, an online wedding website, was going to visit a bricks-and-mortar stationery store and find out what actually goes on when someone seeks advice on wedding invitations.  I was intrigued:  gosh, will a “real world” experience get in the way of shamelessly promoting the same monotonous and tedious designs from online resellers?  Sceptical, but willing to give Get Married the benefit of the doubt, I trekked over to their booth at the back of Javits Center to see if they had made any relevant  improvements to their website.

I came across an enthusiastic young woman explaining the benefits of advertising on Get Married to two stationers.  As they were wrapping up, I jumped in and asked:  Will I be able to find a “real” stationery store on your website?    Using Connecticut as an example (my home state), I asked to see if they had any stores listed under invitations?

As I suspected, the only “local” stores you can find are “national” online resellers.    I think most people are savvy enough to know the difference between a business that sells “nationally” online and a local store, why can’t Get Married see the difference?    Despite the fact that wedding sites like The Knot, Martha Stewart Wedding and Get Married like to hype the local shopping experience, local relevance is determined solely by how much advertising dollars you are prepared to spend to “buy” local space. 

I explained to the young salesperson, that I considered this to be a deceptive promotion and it was causing people searching for local resources to move away from wedding portals.  She promised to bring this to the attention of her superiors.   Fortunately, I believe that mobile search will eventually kill these relics of self-promotion and deceptive claims whose primary interests are selling advertising and generating affiliate income.  Information from these websites is little more than promtional hype.  Let the buyer beware.

If you are an independent stationer thinking you will benefit from these websites, think again.  The money you spend on online marketing is far better spent promoting your own website and engaging in local search optimization. 

Richard W. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

Last night we attended a concert in Bedford, NY entitled “Music and the Court of France from Louis XIV to Napoleon.”  This lovely concert was held in The Fellowship Hall of St. Matthew’s Church and featured various arrangements by French and Italian composers of the period and an unusual version of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (The Eroica).  Beethoven had originally called this the Bonaparte symphony, but later changed it to “The Eroica” when Napoleon appointed himself Emperor. 

What was unusual, was that Beethoven’s 3rd was performed by a quartet based on arrangement written by one of Beethoven’s students, Ferdinand Ries in 1810.  This remarkable arrangement was discovered in Finland by cellist James Wilson, who played in the quartet.   Anthony Newman, pianist and Music Director, suggested that it just might be the first time this arrangement was played in the United States.   If so, we were privileged to hear it.

I suppose you are wondering what The Eroica and wedding invitations have in common.  Frankly, not a lot.  Nevertheless, every time I see a well-crafted wedding invitation it seems like I am hearing or better yet seeing a new variation of a Symphony.   In the eight years of working with bridal couples designing wedding invitations for their special day, I cannot recall two being  identical.  Font styles will change, ink colors are different and there are many other variations which make each individual invitation unlike any other.    Designers are pushing the edge in create beautiful new designs on hand-made papers where ink colors resonate using letterpress and engraved printing.

Do yourself a favor and drop into a stationery store in your neighborhood and see and feel the exciting new designs in wedding invitations and stationery.  “Feeling is believing,” is the motto of a new generation of consumers who eschew the Internet and are rediscovering the beauty of personal correspondence.

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

As reported earlier, Google is aggressively reaching out to local businesses to improve search results for people who place a local qualifier in a search.  Google Places is certain to overhaul the search dynamics and improve search results for those seeking “wedding invitations Greenwich, CT” or “wedding invitations 06830″.  The natural or organic search results will return a stationery store -hopefully yours – in local search results for “wedding invitations” in your town or zip code.

Clearly, mobile search has been driving Google’s effort to improve the search experience for a growing number of consumers using mobile devices.  This is a tremendous opportunity for mom and pop stores and smaller businesses to effectively position their store for mobile search.  To determine how effective your online marketing is working for you, visit getlisted.org to see how well your store stacks up for local search in the four key search engines. 

Twitter is also beginning to make “big” noise on the local search front.  While I have reluctant to recommend Twitter and other social media tools, the local search component has caused me to reassess my position.  With technology, it is difficult to forecast what is coming next, but clearly the time of Twitter and Facebook has arrived.  If you value your business and want to help tech savvy consumers find your business, it is about time to reallocate your Yellow Pages advertising budget to online search.  You will be glad you did and so will your new customers.

This is also the death knell for wedding portals who have so corrupted the local search component.  If you are paying for advertising on The Knot, Martha Stewart Wedding or other wedding portals, this money should now be reallocated to local search.  It’s a heck of a lot cheaper and far more effective.  Why pay for advertising to compete with the likes of weddingpaperdivas.com who are paying close to $50 for each sale in your local space?  Makes no sense.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

Perhaps, one of the most sobering books in 20th century literature is Malcolm Lowry’s  Under the Volcano.   Mr. Lowry, who literally drank himself to death, tells the story of a fictional dipsomaniac Geoffrey Firmin,  the British Consul to Cuernavaca, Mexico during the 1930s.   The book takes place on the last day of Mr. Firmin’s life:  Dia de los Muertos which is roughly the Mexican equivalent of All Saints’ Day.

Imagine my surprise when I wake up this morning to see the latest “in-your-face” gallows humor of a Dia de los Muertos Wedding Invitation.

While the overall theme may leave a bit to be desired, this attractive and well-balanced wedding invitation ensemble by designer Alan Valek certainly strikes a chord.   According to Mr. Valek, he designed these wedding invitations for “friends.”

While I am not a superstitious person and certainly appreciate a dose of eccentric humor, this is a theme that has no place on a wedding invitation.  I trust that Mr. Valek simply did this as a promotional gimmick to draw attention to his work.   Imagine the impact of receiving this wedding invitation if one happens to be a deeply religious person whose spouse died last year, or you are suffering from a terminal illness?  

Mocking sacred ceremonies is bound to offend someone and I personally find it distasteful to gratuitiously challenge people’s sensitivities on so important an occasion.   Is this really the way you would like others to celebrate your wedding day?

Richard W. May
Threse Saint Clair

Two or three times a week, I receive phone calls from prospective brides asking me how much wedding invitations cost?   For several years, I tried to give the bride-to-be an “informed” answer suggesting that the cost of wedding invitations was a function of the quality of the paper, the printing process and the number of features or embellishments that the bridal couple wish to use for their wedding invitation.   I have since realized that this is “too much information,” and it is best to keep my response simple.

Now, I generally respond by asking the following question:  “Do you have a budget in mind for your wedding?”   If they respond positively, it suggests that the bridal couple and, most likely, their parents have already put pen to paper and have a rough idea what the wedding event will cost.   In this case, I will normally answer that “one should allocate around 5% of your budget toward your wedding papers which in addition to the invitation itself will include a reply card card set and, perhaps, a direction card.”   

If, on the other hand, the couple say they don’t have a budget I ask them the following question: “Have you done any research into the cost of wedding invitations and, if so, how many invitations do you plan to send and do you have a number in mind?”    The answer to these questions helps the experienced stationer gauge how extensively the couple has researched the cost of wedding invitations, their sources (the Internet, friends and family, etc.) and whether they have a realistic estimate of the costs involved.

Today, many couples construct their budget or derive their knowledge from wedding  sites on the internet.  Sadly to say, most – if not all- of these websites are promotional – not informational- and couples tend to develop price and cost expectations that are simply not realistic based on the many misleading self-promotion claims that proliferate in cyberspace.    In my experience, once a couple gets a “unit price” locked into their sights based on Internet claims, it is quite unlikely that you can dissuade them that they would be better served with a quality wedding invitation at a slightly higher price.  In these fortunately few cases that I have encountered, I have decided to gracefully exit by saying that “I cannot meet your price expectations.”

The fact of the matter is that wedding invitations can cost whatever you like.  There are many “free” alternatives using Facebook, email or some other social media tools.    Personally, I have found that many wedding invitation sites offering “cheap wedding invitations” are providing just that:  “cheap invitations.”  It is ludicrous to suggest that you can find a “cheap ‘quality’ invitation.”  If you believe that, then you probably believe in the tooth fairy. 

Only you can determine the quality or price of the wedding invitation that works for you.  Consider the importance of the occasion, your budget and then seek advice from a qualified stationer in your neighborhood.  You will be glad you did. 

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair

As readers of this Blog are aware, I rarely find much illuminating information on the internet for “wedding invitations”  that is not  promotional.  Today, I was thrilled to find  an excellent article on how to avoid Five Common Mistakes for Wedding Invitations.   This Blog article was posted on BridalCookie.com and when I have some time, I will check it out to determine if this website offers other useful advice for bridal couples.  Rather than regurgitate this well-written article (also a novelty in today’s fast-food social media), I will briefly list the five common wedding invitation errors that surface regularly:

• Not Enough Postage:   Wedding invitation paper stock and the enclosed reply card set often push postage into uncharted territory.  Always take a sample down to your local Post Office to determine the correct postage.
• Order Extra Invitations and Envelopes:   It is wise to order 25 more invitations and envelopes than you actually plan to use.  Inevitably, you will find that a couple of friends or relatives were left off the initial list and some envelopes may not be addressed improperly.   Ordering an extra 25 invitations is considerably cheaper than initiating a separate run of 25 after your original 150 invitations have been delivered.  In some cases it could cost 40% of the cost of 150 invitations.
• Don’t leave your invitations to the last minute:   Ideally, your guests should receive their invitation not less than 8 weeks before the event.  Some leading design companies take three to four weeks to print invitations and it can often take two to three weeks to finalize wording, font styles and layout.   We recommend starting the process six month before the wedding event.
• Content Mistakes:   Workding with an experienced stationer in your neighborhood will certainly help reduce the many errors we often encounter in online wedding invitations.  Proofs and several extra sets of eyeballs will eliminate 99.9% of errors, poor etiquette and proper formatting problems encountered in crafting wedding invitations online or with inexperienced friends. 
• Not setting an RSVP Deadline:    This is a critical organizational element.  Always include an RSVP deadline.  If you don’t hear from your guests, you have a perfect excuse to call.  Everything you can do to keep the logistics simple and up-to-date will relieve stress on your wedding day.

Again, thanks to Bridal Cookie for this excellent advice.

Sheila P. May
Therese Saint Clair

My recent Blog post on DIY wedding invitations prompted a good bit of feedback – mostly positive.  On the negative side, several people accused me of self-promotion or worse and felt I had a bias against “people doing their own thing.”  I am sorry I gave that  impression.  Quite the contrary, I was just trying to save people time, money and, quite possibly, much aggravation and embarrassment.   For those interested in “doing their own thing,” all I can say is “Go for it!”  Hopefully, my tips may keep your blood pressure in check until after the wedding.

In a not too unusual situation of DIY invitations gone awry, I present The Case of the Crooked Envelope.    It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes too much time to determine that grievous harm has come to this very attractive envelope (certainly looks like Crane & Co. was the victim this time around).   

 ”I say Watson, who defaced this lovely celadon (light green) wedding invitation envelope?”  

 ”Elementary, my dear Holmes,” responded Dr. Watson, “this otherwise lovely creation in 100% cotton paper by Crane & Co. was mutilated by a commercial printer.”  

Holmes, evidently surprised at Watson’s astute observation asked, “How can you be so confident?”

“Only a commercial printer would print on a straight line and then try to convince the client that the envelope was crooked,” responded a confident Watson. 

“Well said,” said a particularly jovial Holmes.  “I guess we can just mail this case into Scotland Yard.”

“Lovely pun, Holmes! I do so admire your skewed sense of humor,” laughed Watson and both men chuckled as they departed the crime scene.

For the bridal couple, this is no laughing matter.  Imagine ordering lovely wedding invitations and then – trying to save some time and money - have the envelopes mangled by a  commercial printer.  The fact of the matter is that most commercial printer are simply not equipped to print on heavy paper stock and certainly not on envelopes that have been lined.  

Again, we recommend that you plan wisely and consult with a qualified stationer in your neighborhood for proper advice.  Most stationers have highly calibrated equipment to print on heavy paper stock.   In fact, most qualified stationers would have recommended that State abbreviations be spelled out.  In this case “WI” should be Wisconsin.  Proper etiquette is free at qualified stationers.  

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair

With money tight, many bridal couples are seeking ways to economize on their weddings.  Very often they opt to create their own wedding invitations.  While this may seem a wise decision, it often ends in frustration or a wedding invitation that doesn’t quite rise to the importance of the occasion. 

Each month we have several panicky couples  drop into our store for advice on how to redo their DIY wedding invitations.   Just this weekend, one young couple who had paid a free-lancer to design their wedding invitation sought our advice on selecting paper for their design.  Their budget was $400 for 150 invitations.  Unfortunately, we explained that a full-bleed invitation (artwork design extended to the border of the print area) and a custom-cut invitation would be far more than their budget permitted.

It is most disappointing to see the anguish that ensues when couples realize that their inexpensive wedding invitation has turned to create your own wedding invitations.  Before you do so, I strongly recommend that you consult a stationer in your neighborhood who generally has several lines of attractively priced wedding invitations and provide expert advice on styling and etiquette.  You will not be sorry you have done so.  Also, many of these stores carry card stock that may be used for your wedding invitation in the event you decide to fly solo.

DIY Wedding Invitation Tips

1. Always start with the paper.  Many people start with the design only to realize too late that they can’t find the “right” paper stock.  Papers come in a variety of sizes and weights.  Some stores carry pocket stationery to hold your invitation, directions and accomodation cards and other information.
2. Use the heaviest paper weight possible.  Weight matters.  Neverthless, paper stock above #96 (ninety-six pounds) will generally not go through an ink jet or laser printer.
3. Seek matching envelopes.  We recommend including a reply card set with your invitation and, as such, it is wise to insure that there are matching paper stock and envelopes in the stock you select for your invitation.
4. Avoid being too cutesy!  There is a tendency to incorporate all kinds to design elements into a DIY wedding invitation.  Remember, it is a wedding invitation not an arts-and-crafts project.   The key is moderation and a clean design.  
5. Maximum of two font styles.  More than two font styles is confusing and detracts from the elegance of the invitation.  Try to restrict the number of font styles to two.
6. A Question of Etiquette.  There are few things more disturbing than the lack of proper etiquette in the wording of your invitation.  While customs change, proper etiquette is never out of fashion.  A few big dont’s:
   • Do not put the URL of your wedding website on the invitation
   • Please, no gift registry information on the invitation
   • Resist using a monogram no matter how cute (after all, you aren’t married) 
7. Color.  There are many ways to incorporate color into your invitation.  Envelope linings, borders and font colors to name a few.  Like font styles, too much color tends to cheapen the look of the  invitation.  If in doubt, go with black.
8. Motifs   The judicious use of motifs can often create a sense of ”place” “time” or “energy.”  For instance, a sea shell motif for a beach wedding; or an acorn for a fall wedding.    You might want to use theme motifs on different elements of your wedding papers ensemble.  For instance, a palm tree on the wedding invitation and a sea shell on the reply card set.  Use your imagination, but don’t go overboard.  Too many motifs can be as distracting as colors and font styles.

If you are committed to doing it yourself, following these tips won’t lead you too far astray.  Again, there is more than meets the eye in crafting a wedding invitation and you are well advised to consult a stationer in your neighborhood for expert advice.

Sheila P. May
Thérèse Saint Clair