I want to take you through something that’s very dear to me and The Bombay Lettering Company - Wedding Calligraphy. It means the world to us, to be able to play a little role in someone’s milestone moment and to know that our work has been loved and cherished.
Over the past 2-3 years I’ve organically fallen into the category of a “wedding calligrapher” in India. Along with our commission work for corporates and brands, being an educator in this field, and running the online shop, a huge chunk of what we do is for weddings and the role of a calligrapher in this journey can be quite dynamic!
If this intrigues you, stay with me and let’s dive in!
I’d love to take you through the overall process and help you get a little insight.
But before that - what’s most important is for you to understand the services you, as a calligrapher can provide for these occasions and what the extent of your role is. Initially, I
would only provide calligraphy services but slowly over time, as we grew, our offerings as a company have blossomed allowing us to take care of all collaterals from ideation to execution.
If you’re new to this, here are two ways you can reach out to potential wedding clients
You can directly reach out to the clients and tell them about the services you’re offering (This can be an acquaintance, mutual friends, or family members of bride and groom)
Or you can get in touch with wedding/event planners who may require calligraphy services for their clients. This way they know about you and can always reach out when the requirement arises
Understanding Client Requirements
One thing that I’ve learned over the years is the importance of chatting with your client and understanding what they’re looking for.
Are they having a big wedding with hundreds of guests or an intimate one? What’s their budget? What level of personalization and detail do they want? Do your sense of aesthetics match?
It’s essential for you and your client to be on the same page before going ahead with the project
Pro Tip: Make sure every bit of communication is formally documented.
Why you?
The wedding industry has become a competitive one and is also quite saturated. As calligraphers, we can offer unique services based on our craft that vendors may not be able to. I always ask myself - How am I adding value to this project? What am I doing that is different and fresh? How am I using my skill to create design elements and personalized options for this client?
You want to have a solid set of offerings that truly resonate with you and add tremendous value for the client as well.
Opportunities to incorporate calligraphy in a wedding
We can divide this into two chunks
Pre Wedding
1.Monogram
2.Name Unit
Now, if you’re designing and printing, you can also take care of the following -
3. Save the Dates
4. Evites/ Invites
If not you can always provide spot calligraphy (vectorized files of your calligraphy)
Days of the Wedding
5. Welcome Letters/ Tags
6. Itinerary
7. Hamper Tags
8. Signages
9. Place Cards
10. Menus
11.Persoanlized Gifts
12. Stirrers
Note: Collaterals and stationery require to be printed and chances are you’ll be working with printers and vendors for many of these things. Again, what is your role? Are you a calligrapher, designer, or both? Are you collaborating with a designer? For me, I’ve realized that we like to do both in-house, being able to bring our idea to life.
Things you need to get started
Vendors: You want to look for local vendors such as printers, laser cutters, and more based on the services that you’re offering.
Deck: Before you start approaching potential clients and wedding planners, you want to create a beautiful deck of your work and everything you can offer to them.
Of course, there’s a lot more to unravel in this topic, however, I hope this little intro can give you a little sneak peek into how vast wedding calligraphy is and all the opportunities you, as a calligrapher have today
Click here to get a quick glimpse of our dreamy wedding invites range.
You can also check out our Instgram live on the same topic - All Things Wedding Calligraphy
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