When to Book Your Calligrapher for Envelope Addressing
My top piece of planning advice for newly engaged couples is to book the vendors that there are only one of first. Most venues, bands, and photographers can only accommodate one wedding per day, while most florists, bakeries, and rental companies are able to provide their goods to multiple weddings. If you have your heart set on any “one of” vendors, it’s in your best interest to prioritize booking these ASAP!
A calligrapher believe it or not falls into the “one of” category more often than not. As human beings, we can only accomplish so much in a day. Calligraphy is an art that you don’t want to be rushed to keep its integrity, so we book our projects accordingly. It’s a bit easier to whip out welcome signs and bar menus for a few weddings in the same weekend, but addressing a few hundred envelopes is a different story. An average order of 100 envelopes for a wedding takes approximately 2 weeks to complete. We book out our availability just as any other vendor does. Once our calendar is booked, we have reached our capacity.
It breaks my heart when I have to decline a last minute job! Have no fear, this can easily be avoided by a little bit of planning! Go ahead and book your calligrapher as soon as you know your wedding date and your invitation count (number of households, not total number of guests). Here are my top reasons why this is beneficial.
They will block out their calendar for you.
They will give you guidance on how many extra envelopes to order.
It is industry standard to provide your calligrapher with 20% extra envelopes than the total number you actually need to allow for mistakes.
They will discuss having your return address printed to save $$$.
They can let you know when to have the invitations back from the stationer so they can be sent on time.
I think people feel like they cant book their calligrapher without ordering their invitations from their stationer yet, and that is just the opposite of reality. By working with them in advance, they will help you to be forward thinking, which will keep your planning process less stressful. Who doesn’t want that?!
xoxo,
Alexandra