Most people don’t have experience working with a calligrapher prior to planning their wedding. So of course, it seems daunting. I’m happy to take some of the mystery out of the process.
The vast majority of my clients are referrals from local stationers and wedding planners. I am very grateful for these relationships and that they put my work in front of their brides. Usually, these referrals to happen 6 months or longer prior to the wedding date.
I also happily accept clients who contact me directly. But often, my production calendar is already full with brides who were referred earlier in the process by planners and stationers.
Once you have found a calligrapher whose work you like - either through a referral or through social media, etc - here are three things to include in your email to them.
Three things to include in your first email to a calligrapher
The date but not the one you think. Your wedding date isn’t what’s critical to your calligrapher. Instead, I need to know the date you want to mail your invitations. Some brides choose to mail four weeks prior to their wedding. Others choose six weeks or eight weeks. This makes a big difference in which days I reserve on my production calendar for you. I could theoretically work with three different brides with the same wedding date if they all choose a different week to mail their invitations.
The number of invitations. Please note this is different than the number of people you’re inviting. Not every person is receiving a separate invitation. If you don’t have your guest list finalized yet, don’t fret. An estimated number is fine for now. You’d be safe to divide the approximate number of people you’re inviting in half and use that number until you finalize your list. I need one week to pen 100 envelope sets. So if you’re sending 250 invitations, I’ll need to reserve two and a half weeks on my production calendar to address them.
The name of your stationer. Do you know who you’ll be ordering your invitations through? If so, it’s a great piece of information to share in your first email to a calligrapher. Higher quality envelopes respond best to calligraphy ink. If the stationer you mention is someone I’ve worked with previously, I’ll know that the envelopes will be great quality and we can skip the conversation about paper fibers and weights and quality. And if you’re not sure who you’ll be using yet, I can pass along some suggestions to suit a variety of budget levels. Please note that the quality of envelopes from online mass retailers have usually been sub-par. I highly recommend working with a local stationer. In Birmingham, my favorites are The Scribbler, Annabelle’s, and Empress Stationery.
I often have inquiries from multiple brides and have to choose which to work with. If your email includes these details, you’ll be ahead of the pack and most likely to land a spot on my production calendar.
