Bringing Your Live Art to Weddings

Live art isn't just for brand, corporate, and retail events, folks! It's coming in hot at weddings, and we're here to tell you all about it.

Cat, resident expert on bringing calligraphy experiences at weddings, shares how weddings can be similar to brand events, but more importantly, how they can be entirely different from start to finish.

Alex and Cat discuss expectations, client education, pricing, timeline, and other important considerations when working with the timeline of a wedding.

Learn how to have your cake, and eat it too.

Need more? Sign up for Cat's email list for when her tell-all insider course launches.

Transcript

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Hey everyone and welcome back to Keeping Up With The Calligraphers. We are so pumped to have you here and continuing to join us while we take multiple sabbaticals this past year. Sorry! This is Alex of Signs Our Lives and I am Cat of Cat Lauren Calligraphy and I'm so happy to finally be back.

Yes. So right now we're recording – it is February 2025 for anyone who's listening and wants to know when the hell we recorded this. That's when it was recorded. Don't know when it's coming out. Hopefully soon after this, but we shall see.

Our goal is to be more consistent. We've read all your DMs and I assure you we feel the same way. So we are going to be hoping to be more consistent moving forward. We might be playing with some different like formats so you might see more solo episodes. You might see some guests with only one of us, guests with both of us, some episodes with just us. So we are going to get creative so that way we can continue to offer things a little bit more consistently for those of you that are interested in that. So thank you for being flexible and riding on this journey with us.

100%. Also, given that it's 2025, we did come up with a bingo card. So that will also be coming your way soon. Again, not being prioritized at the moment, given that we'd rather push out some content and information for you, because something that we're talking about today is hot and trending. And I want to say that Cat has had a huge impact in making that happen.

Yeah, so the thing we're going to be talking about today is live calligraphy, which means calligraphy, engraving, or I guess I should just say live artistry, right? Live artistry or live customizations.

Yeah, portraits and stuff like that is also in embroidery and stuff I've also seen at weddings. yeah, live artistry at weddings. We thought that it was only like a retail thing, a brand thing, but no. It's not.

Surprise! And Cat has done an incredible job doing a lot of different wedding activations, or we can also just say wedding experiences. And so today is going to be kind of me interviewing her because I am still a little bit lost. And I'm not afraid to say I'm a little bit intimidated by weddings. 

You did weddings, but obviously from like different perspective.

Yeah, I mean, I did wedding signage and some like, I don't know, I can't even say paper. Like, that's all you. Fuck paper. We know my feelings about paper. So, yeah, I think it's just one of those things where it just the experience looks so different. And I kind of that's what I want to get into today. So like my main question for you is like. There are skills that we all can bring, obviously, from all the stuff we've done at retail, at brands, at private events, influencer events, right? Tell us what skills we can bring that are the same.

From a calligraphy standpoint, feel like where it is similar is obviously like your tools are similar. Like I would say your personal setup in terms of like your immediate supplies is fairly similar. Obviously like your actual service skill set. like the engraving or the painting or whatever it is that you're doing obviously translates over.

In my opinion, honestly, I do feel like that's kind of it. I mean, like the interaction piece in terms of like, you know, you're talking with people as you're doing those things. Some of the back end, obviously, in terms of like, you know, email communication, like contracts, like some of that is the same. But I honestly think there's a lot more that's different than there is similar. 

Okay, so like I think that's what we're kind of all wanting to know. And I know you kind of like posed the question on Instagram as well, like in your stories on the Keeping Up Instagram account, like on those stories. And I think a lot of people are curious, like what the heck is the difference? Because I feel that too, like even though I've worked, like we've literally worked weddings together, you brought me to weddings. I feel like I haven't actually like experienced booking one myself. And so I have some things sitting in my inbox and I'm like, a little intimidated by them, and I can't pinpoint that feeling. What is different? I know in my heart of hearts that I need to do something different, that the process is different, and I have not yet identified it. So I think that's where we all kind of need your help. So walk us through that.

Yeah, I think the main piece, if I had to guess why people are feeling that sense of like, imposter syndrome around it when you already do this with brands and things like that. So it's like you have those skills, but it feels different because I do feel like weddings specifically just have higher expectations around them from it being like that one big day that you'll always remember, you'll never forget or whatever the phrasing is around it, right? Like, it's just a very emotional day. Ideally, a wedding is only happening once. And I think wedding planners, vendors, those things really are trying to execute to that couple's vision. And so it just has that higher expectation around it from everybody involved.

Yeah, I feel like it's kind of one of those like, it's your first rodeo for the couple, right? Like, I remember that being a thing like you're like, I've never done this before. And so you expect like your vendors to be the ones like really providing that education for you. And so I think maybe that's it. Whereas like brands are like, yeah, we've we've executed events all the time. Like, this is not our first. Again, I love saying first rodeo.

I went to my first rodeo recently by the way, super fun, read my blog if you wanna hear about it. No I literally did. I was like guys this is literally my first rodeo. It was wild. It was wild. So sidebar, I did do it. I did go to my first rodeo.

But that's what I mean with couples though. Like I think it's their first time and ideally their only time planning this sort of occasion. And so I think, yeah, like as a vendor, I'm like, my God, wait, like I have to educate like even more than I already do. And so what does that look like?

Yeah. Before we move into like the education piece, I do think the other piece that people maybe feel the pressure of it too is, like it is the money piece. It is the investment piece. think a lot of couples when they are planning their wedding are typically spending more than they normally would in their everyday life, regardless of kind of where they fall. and I think vendors feel that pressure of wanting to show up, to, for that investment. Again, I think couples are.. It's their one big day and they're spending a lot of money on it. So I think that's where a lot of that pressure both internally and externally comes from. But all of that to say it is doable. I think what makes the biggest difference is being able to set and communicate very clear expectations throughout the whole process.

So like, what does that look like? Like how are the expectations different for wedding?

I think the first expectation that's different would be just the communication timeline. I don't know how it looks for a lot of other people, but typically for brand collabs and things like that, I'm pumped if I get like a month's notice. It's usually like two weeks. They have a very clear picture of what they want me to do. Things are getting done typically in like two emails or less, maybe three, if there are some questions. Whereas weddings are typically planned between like nine and 18 months, which is a very long amount of time. I would say a lot of times they're bringing us in in the later stages. So I would say, you know, we're not the planner of the venue that needs to be booked first or the photographer, right? Where typically the, if I have room in the budget, I would like to do these things. So I would say we're kind of in that last six months stretch, but that's still a really long amount of time. So I would say communication is the first piece of it that I think is different. And then just in general, the education piece, I think of the couples.

Yeah, with like brands, it's usually like what like a two hour, three hour, four hour event. Because I feel like the wedding, there's such a large timeline. And I think that's the other thing, right? Like I think there's what an hour for cocktail hour and then what right. So I think that's something that actually you shared with me recently that made my brain go duh.

And I don't want to like take it away from you. But basically, like you basically told me you're like, yeah, you take everyone's orders and you start doing like engraving, for instance, during that first cocktail hour. Right? And then you obviously finish everybody's order during the reception while everyone's enjoying themselves. And I was like, because I was like, literally like, wait, I have to engrave like 200 glasses in an hour. Like, I'm going to have to get so many artists like so that was like a big one for me, which maybe it is for someone else.

Yeah, that's like perfectly ties into what I was kind of balancing is like it's the expectation and making sure that you're clearly stating that and then the education piece of it and it's not just for the couples. This is like a newer trend. I don't want to say trend because hopefully it's something that will stay but it were the new kids on the block in terms of vendors and things like that like content creators were the new kids on the block last year. I think that's us this year which I'm very excited about.

But it there is that balance of the clear expectation and educating them. And there's so many pieces to that. So I think like, the main piece of it is really just communicating what they can expect from you in terms of like output and what that is actually going to look like on wedding day. And that I think ties back to when we talking earlier, what is similar and what's different about retail, in my opinion, or private events versus a wedding.

I think is that workflow. I personally have not found it to be an effective workflow to take someone's order during cocktail hour, be engraving it and then hand it right back to them for a variety of reasons. But that just hasn't been a very effective workflow for me. 

Yeah, you want the guests to be enjoying the wedding, come pick up their favor afterwards, and that's typically... That would be what would happen anyway if we're thinking about a favor, right? Like wedding favors. You don't carry it around with you all night. Yeah, whatever you got.

Yeah, it's that piece of it, but then it's also, it's not educating them necessarily, but also knowing yourself and your service is enough to be able to spin it in a way that makes sense to the couple and or the planner. so for example, I know glassware is very popular right now for favors. I very specifically will not pass out any glassware during their wedding for two reasons.

One, it's not food safe and I don't want people using them or asking the bar to use them or anything like that. I guess three reasons. Two, as things carry on throughout the night, I don't want people that may or may not be drinking in any amount to just be carrying around these glasses and then potentially be dropping them or whatever else. Three, I don't want the caterers to bus them, or I don't as someone that used to be a caterer, I don't want them to have to worry about which glasses they are and are not bussing because that is just another wrench we don't need to throw in anybody's machine. And then that's also when people leave them behind. Again, like if I'm hoarding them all until the end, I'm standing there, or at least closer to the end, I'm standing at the end being like, hey, here's your stuff, don't forget it. Like I'm that extra step that is also typically loved by the planners because then they have less to pick up at the end.

Yeah, no, that's so valid, too, because like, I've literally been at events where the glasses that we were engraving were the same as the glasses that people were drinking out of. And they were people were literally getting their engraved glasses bussed to the point where like, we ran out and we had to like, go back to be like, Hi, can you go look and see which ones are engraved? And they like, had to clean the glasses in whatever, you know, machine and then bring them back. But it was like, it's a whole thing. And that's such a good point. Yeah.

And so I think that's where, that's like actually a perfect example of how you would need to set that expectation in terms of like what the flow of that exchange, I guess, or that experience looks like for your guests when guests can anticipate picking up those items and the education piece of like, well, no, I can't let you take those to then use in your champagne tower because they need to be washed and all those things, right?

I think that's too where it kind of, there's a difference between educating them. They don't, your clients don't need to know the ins and outs of your service. They don't need to necessarily know like, you know, what your materials are, like what things are compatible or whatever else. Like that should just be where you're able to clearly communicate with them. This is more the education that this type of a client is going to need, if that makes sense.

Yeah. Okay, amazing. So like what other things are you educating people on? I say people. What other things are you educating the couple on? Like through this process? Because it sounds like a lot that we're just not even thinking of.

I would say the other piece that is very different from your typical workflow and that you're gonna have to touch base with both the planner and the couple on would be just like, again, the setting of expectation around the general timeline of events. So if you had your own wedding or if you've been to a wedding or you've watched like a movie about a wedding, the flow of the event is typically you have your ceremony, which lasts for X amount of time. That typically moves into a cocktail hour, which is like the couple is usually taking pictures. That's where everyone's awkwardly standing there and or waiting in line for the bar, AKA now when we are going to have our time to shine. And then it moves into reception, which then it's like first dance meals, speeches, cake, all that jazz.

So there's a lot in there that is actually going to impact, how you are delivering your service in a sense of like, when I am thinking retail private event, they're like four hours, it's from this time to this time done. That's not typically the case at a wedding. Typically again, we're maybe starting during cocktail hour, which could be anywhere between one to two hours. And then there's typically a break that happens because one, they're either moving areas for the reception, or again, that's when DJs like announcing the couple, maybe their speeches first dances and we're not typically able to work during that time if you're engraving. Those are just obviously times that you're not wanting your tool to make noise.

So you're not wanting to engrave during the father of the bride speech.

I mean, I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think people would be very happy if you did that.

I feel like, I mean, I'm trying to think of the weddings that I have worked thus far with other people. The one that we did, we were in a completely other room, right? And then another one, we literally, my God, there was like a team of four of us, five of us, I don't remember. And we had to stop because we were, it was like an outdoor situation, but it wasn't a big enough outdoor situation where you wouldn't be able to hear us during people's speeches. And so we literally were like stopped our entire workflow for an entire hour. We're like sitting there like waiting for speeches to be done, which given like the speeches did not fucking need to be that long.

And that's always the case.

Even if a planner has everything down to a T, it's going to start at this. Weddings almost always run late. There's just so many things going on that affect the timeline. And then if they want an open mic situation, that gap of when you have to pause to when you could potentially start again could literally be an hour and a half to an hour and like 45 minutes, if things are just getting crazier. I had a wedding recently that the speeches were short, which was perfect, but then the couple had hired a singer to come in and sing for their first dance.

So they kind of flipped things around. But then the singer sang for like six songs on top of everything else. And I'm obviously not like engraving during that time. So that ended up being like 90 minutes. And I was, we had planned for me to be what we thought was far enough away, but because of the echoing and like whatever else like I did one just to see if it was possible. And the planner was like, no, girl, that's too loud with everything. We can still hear you. And so we moved me over by the bathrooms because there was this big brick wall in the way. But even when we tried to plan around it and there was that education piece, I knew I had to be flexible. And so I think in planning, and we'll talk about why I price the way I price, this is kind of a preview as to why. There's just so many things that don't make it like a clean cut, like four hours in and out, kind of thing.

So then are you charging hourly or are you doing more of like a package situation?

I am package all day, every day. If you've listened to any of our other episodes, like you know that we feel like pricing is personal. We're always here to just give you different considerations and share what we do. So I will come from the standpoint of I'm not gonna tell you what to do, because I don't like when people tell me what to do. But I highly, highly, highly recommend you consider doing package pricing for weddings for a variety of reasons.

Okay, so like, wait, before you go into the reasons, though, like what is included or maybe that's the same thing, like what's included in the packages, which is like different from then, like, obviously, when you show up at a brand event, you're working like X amount of time, right? And usually everything's like, I'm kind of thinking now, like, everything's done for you, everything's already set up, like, da, da, da. So like, what is what goes into a package that would make it reasonable for the fact that it to be a package instead of hourly?

Yeah, so the other reason, I don't like to make a long answer for your question, why I do it as a package too is because I know that there are certain things that I need to make sure that everything is going to be successful. And as I'm kind of talking about some of these things, these are considerations that I am putting out there and that is why I have my pricing the way it is. So I think the first thing is accounting for all the backend communication.

Again, couples and planners, there's just a lot more coordination that has to happen. So typically you're not needing to do that as much with retail. You might need to hop on like one call. But I would say I'm having, I don't know, probably an average of like 10 emails. I would say at least one Zoom call, if not two, to go over just all the logistics of things, talking through timelines, talking through if, you know, things as small as even signage, right? Like I typically offer to provide that, but maybe they have a stationer that they've signed a contract that is doing everything exclusively. So now I need to coordinate with the planner about what I, or sorry, yeah, the planner or the stationer about what I need that sign to say, how big I think I need that needs to be, right? Like all of those things. So part of my package accounts for my time, which is not priced the same as my onsite work. It's not, I personally don't feel comfortable pricing my like admin hours, the same as like my skilled artisan hours, we want to like make that sound fancy. So it accounts for a certain amount of time there, but not price the same.

I would also feel like you'd need to get to a wedding. You don't get to a wedding the same. I feel like I usually get to somewhere like 20, 30 minutes early to just get my set up and brush my hair, go to the bathroom. Yeah, get settled. But I feel like when you show up to a wedding, at least thus far, it's always been very different.

Yeah, that was going to be the next thing that I was talking about too. So that was perfect that you led me right into that was it accounts for my time to show up for setup. I personally try to make myself as helpful as possible. I don't like coming into the mix and then placing a bunch of demands on planners. I just think that's not a great way to want, have them want to refer you in the future. So I try to be as independent as possible with that.

So I'm there early. I would say minimum is an hour and that is even then kind of pushing it in my opinion, I would say like 90 minutes is probably a more comfortable sweet spot for that. Because even if again, you have everything planned to the T like maybe the linen, you know, that they ordered for you is hiding in the back of the truck somewhere or, you know, you're supposed to have a display, but there's only a table and they're not really sure where you're supposed to be, right?

So you might need to troubleshoot some of those things the day of that even if you talk about them 9 million times on a Zoom, like the planner’s just trying to coordinate so many things and that might be something that you're having to take care of independently. So I try to give myself a buffer for that.

I think the other thing that a lot of I would say more of like the luxury planners, I hate using the term luxury, but like a lot of the bigger teams that you typically see doing a lot more of those like celebrity weddings and things like that. A lot of them are actually requiring, set up to be completely done like two hours before the wedding. So that means I would need to be there like three hours before the wedding. And the purpose of that is because the photographers need to come in and take all the detail photos. This is also for a lot of couples, especially as people are getting more private with the internet, people are not necessarily wanting them or their guests in photos that vendors are sharing on social media. So if they want, if the vendors want vendor photos that are details and stuff like that, they have to do that way before the couples are ready to do their portraits, first look, before guests get there, all of those things. So I am actually having a lot of planners that are requesting that I'm set up like a full two hours before and then I'm just chilling for like two and a half hours before we can get started.

Well, then that makes me think of too. I feel like this happened to us at the Mexico one where I was like, hey, so we got here at like noon and we're going to be here till like midnight. Are you going to be providing us with a snack? Like, how do you deal with that situation? Because I feel like I felt so embarrassed asking for food, but I was also like, we're in Mexico. Like, where are we supposed to bring our own snack? Like, and lunch?

So, yeah, so for weddings specifically, typically vendor meals are expected not necessarily from you, but like it is an expectation that vendors are getting some type of a vendor meal typically, those that are there through dinner – which you would be if you are going that early and you're staying through the reception. So that is definitely something I would recommend you reach out to the couple about.

I, personally, it's not even necessarily a conversation. It's just part of my contract. I’m like, I get a vendor meal. I'm going to be here for longer than four or six hours. Even if you're only there for four hours, the planner takes care of everything, whatever else. You're going to want food. You're going to want a break to breathe, all of those things. That's the perfect thing that's typically happening during that dead time between cocktail and reception anyway. That's when a lot of the vendors that are like, able to eat during that time are. So it's a perfect thing to kind of like fill that time when possible. But that said, sometimes catering is running behind. So I would 10 out of 10 bring snacks, like more than you think you need.

And if you're Cat, bring 20.

Yeah, literally. but yeah, so kind of going back to the pricing and the packaging and all of that same thing, my setup time is again, not the same as like my artisan skilled artisan time. I don't know what else to call that, but I've said.

I feel like your time like actually physically working.

Yeah, that's not running the clock on like my service time, I guess is what phrase it. So the pricing for that when I'm making my own calculations is not my hourly rate that I would say for my services. But that again, that time's accounted for that's not just like pro bono stuff that I'm doing. Like that's still stuff I'm taking care of. So that is another big piece in terms of why I do package pricing.

I have a question.

I have an answer, I hope.

So, well, I have a question that like, like, I think I know the answer to because again, we work weddings together, but I feel like it's important for other people to like realize as well. So like a lot of weddings you might be like traveling for for the ones that are local, like, obviously, yeah, you can drive there, you can get there early. But like, if you're going internationally, obviously, that's a whole other story. But like, say you're going within the country, right? Like, I would think you don't want to take a flight that day.

No, 10/10. And again, you do you. I'm not going to tell you what you're in your business, but I wouldn't recommend that.

I mean, with the way things are going at the airports, definitely not. like, yeah, so what do you recommend for that, like in communicating that to your client? I mean, again, I feel like I can answer my own question here, but I'm gonna let you take it. How would you communicate that to the client?

Yeah. So for me personally, again, this is from my experience, a package, I also do a package pricing because that is what a lot of other wedding vendors are doing. That is what they are anticipating seeing. And I think that there's something to be said about being consistent with all the other quotes that they are receiving. But with that, I personally don't line-item everything for them. Again, that's the beauty of the package pricing is I'm able to be like, this is the price, these are all the things you get out of it, and or these are all the things that are included. So my travel is already accounted for in that package pricing as well.

For me, the main things when I'm talking about pricing for travel when I'm doing the calculations on my back end is obviously the cost of the flight, obviously the cost of accommodations. I am also looking at per diem. So that's covering your meals, transportation, little incidentals, you know, things like that for each day that I am gone from my house. So that's travel day. I typically am doing no less than like if I'm going somewhere even just like within the continental U.S. wedding is on a Saturday. I'm traveling Friday morning to make sure I have time. I've got buffer time to get there. If something happens at the airport.

So day before, day of the wedding, and then the day after, because again, I'm still not home. I'm not able to work, all of those things. So I'm not charging a day rate for that. Personally, again, you do you, I, that just doesn't make sense in my brain. But I am at least covering for like the time that I am traveling and the per diem for the meals, incidentals, all that jazz. 

For anyone who doesn't know Latin, “per diem” is per day.

Yes. Sorry to drop you with my Latin.

I mean, you're just showing off at this point.

Sorry, everybody.

No, but I feel like that makes sense because it goes back to like I'm thinking when I've hired a photographer before if you go to any photographers website, it's like this is the blah blah blah package like I don't know. I hate using like silver, bronze and gold, but like those sort of shit. I feel like there's like more cute names for it. But like this package gets you all of these things. This package gets you all of these things. And then they have their little like a la carte thing. So like, is that kind of what the structure you're kind of sharing for you?

In a sense, yeah. So in a sense, it is essentially like, it's not a package, I guess for traveling, I guess there is a package, or I guess this could be for anything. It could be a package in terms of like just wedding day, wedding day and rehearsal dinner, wedding day and welcome party, wedding day and farewell brunch, right? Like, so there are definitely ways that you can also upsell, which is great because you can't really do that with brands and events. It's really hard to upsell if they're like, I don't need that. But that is another opportunity for weddings. So I mean, I do have packages that structure that way, but I would say for weddings specifically, if I'm just talking about one event, I'm typically saying like, here's my price and includes all of these services in terms of like, or things I'm to do for you. So I'm going to do these Zoom calls with you. I'm going to set it up. I'm going to talk with your vendors. I'm going to get your you know, favors there and get them set up and I'm going to engrave them and do all these things. So like, that's what I mean in terms of service. And then I would say there's typically a price for that. And then I would say, if it's not local, I would say travel and the cost of favors are an additional cost. 

The reason I do that personally, again, you do you, I do that because one, I don't want to spend time on the back end. I do have a little formula behind it. So it does move faster, but I'm not, I don't want to spend the time researching flights, favors, all of those things for them to have already had sticker shock looking at just my service amount and deciding it's not a good fit. So that is more of like a self preservation of like time for on both ends. So I'm like, here's my initial pricing. Let me know your thoughts. If that looks good to you, then I can go ahead and quote you out for travel and favors. So that's the full, you know, price. And then you let me know from there.

I would say by the time people are already talking about travel, they've already got a loose idea in their head of what that is. And I'm not personally up-charging a bunch of stuff. I'm typically just doing like straight costs again with the incidentals and stuff like that and the, meals and things, basic needs. So they're not typically shocked by the time I'm sending travel pricing out.

So it sounds like, what I'm hearing you say is, which I kind of suspected, like when you're charging for brands, that's one thing, but it sounds like it would be a lot, there's a lot more legwork. There's a lot more time invested, whether it's through traveling, through getting there early and stuff like that. So overall we could say like you would definitely be charging more to be doing a wedding versus working with a brand.

I would think so, yes. I definitely am.

When we're comparing it out in the context of that. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Awesome. I love that.

If you're not or if you're charging hourly, I think you're leaving money on the table, to be honest, because I don't know if anyone else is like me. I struggle to do studio work because I never anticipate the time right. Like the first wedding we did together, I think I made like $100 because I just like grossly underestimated everything. I forgot to ask how many guests there were. I was like, psht, fine, I can do it. And then I was like, Oh, 300 people. Got it, got it, got it, got it. Um, all of those things. So I, I've been in your shoes where you're like, Oh boy, like, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew or whatever else. So that truly is like where this is coming from is I don't want anybody to have that experience either. And I mean, the bride was amazing. She's like my biggest advocate. Like it was a published wedding, all of these things. So I mean, hindsight, like I would do it 10/10 times over again, but I don't want anybody else to be in that position. I just, again, I think you're leaving money on the table, charging hourly versus package. 

Yeah. Well, and I think when I hear you saying that it's more like you're spending so much time. And so like your time is still valuable, even if you're not like physically working, you're not physically providing portraits, you're not physically engraving on glasses, whatever it is that you're doing, right? Like you're still doing a lot of work to make it a, you know, magical experience for the couple, for the guests. It seems like way more than a brand event, not to say that a brand event you're not providing a magical experience as well

But a lot of the surrounding of it is taken care of by somebody else.

Yeah, yeah. No, exactly. Yeah, you're like, thank you. I will just show up.

I think that's where it's different. And I think there to that point, it is a lot of legwork, but I think that's also for those of you that really like to lean into that creative side. Some of you might be listening to this and be like, fuck no. Like I'm to refer that wedding out immediately. Like that does not sound like a good fit for me. And we've said it before. We'll say it again, probably 9 million times. Like you don't have to do everything that everyone else is doing, especially if it's not going to be a good fit for you. It just doesn't make sense for you. Don't do it. That's OK. This is your permission slip.

I literally booked a client like for a wedding this week and I'm now thinking I'm like okay so I gotta reach out to her about this, I gotta reach out to her about this, I gotta reach out to about this and I'm like I don't think I was thinking about those things beforehand so definitely underpriced on this one but that's okay, live and learn. Yeah but now I have questions for them for sure.

Yeah I think the other thing too that package pricing allows is if you want to include other things that add value, but again, aren't necessarily your time that again, you're sitting there engraving things, package pricing also allows you to do that. So like if you want to do like a very fancy order form that's very customized and matches like the branding of the event as opposed to just a post-it note, like is that functional? Yes. Does that work? Sure. Would it look super cute if you got something on like double thick paper with a ribbon? Oh my God. Those things like really do elevate the whole experience. So that could be some like pricing for that could be built into your package.

I also, I had a call with Alane from, I think it's Write Pretty for Me. my God, if I get that wrong. So sorry Alane. No, really. were talking about just like client systems and different things like that that you can do to really enhance things. And we were talking about just client gifts, which are, again, not necessarily required. But if I wanted to send them a Starbucks as a thank you for booking with me or a booking gift of, I don't know, if I wanted to send them their own engraved flutes as thank you for booking with me or whatever, I don't have to take that out of my own pocket. I can just plan for that to be part of what I provide at weddings and I can put that in the pricing. That's again why I wouldn't personally line item everything that is included in that pricing. But there's just a lot more flexibility when you're doing it that way too. So you can include those like fun things that level it up or like fun surprises for the couple or for the guests. So I think that also gives you that creativity to do that.

Okay, is there anything else we should know about pricing?

I think another argument for package pricing is typically it is less likely that a couple is going to try to negotiate it. Especially for events and things like that, regardless of the audience, when I send out my hourly rate is X amount for the amount that you have asked for, it's going to be X amount total. People – rightfully so, I would probably do the same thing – start being like, Oh, well, our budget was this. So can we just do two and a half hours or can we start doing this? And then I got to push back and be like, well, no, you have like 150 guests. need all three hours, like, you know, whatever else. So then I think that creates a lot more back and forth, um, where the package pricing, I, that's not to say people don't negotiate because they definitely still try to do that. But I think it, they can't quite pinpoint some of those things. Um, and so they aren't trying to control the variables that you know have to be in place to meet their guest list or make it successful. If that makes sense. Like you're in the position to be able to offer like, like I can't go shorter, but I can just do sticky notes or you know, whatever else. Like you're in control of those ways. So it still looks like you're working with your client or your couple or whatever it is. Like you're trying to be flexible. You're trying to work with them, but you're not sacrificing the things that you need to make it successful.

Right. Awesome. Hooray.

Okay, two of the most important questions.

What are they?

Okay, one, do you include eating a slice of cake in your contract?

I am personally not a cake girly, but I am always like, what's for dessert? So going back to my point, I personally ask for a vendor meal for both myself and my assistant because I am not showing up at any of these weddings without an assistant. Again, that's built into my pricing. So that is built into my contract. And I would like to assume that that also means that I get dessert if there's enough available. I don't assume that, but I definitely am always like, ooh, like if there's any extra, like can I have one? I'm gonna ask. I got the bombest snickerdoodle cookie ice cream sandwich situation at one wedding. So good. It was phenomenal.

That's sounds amazing. It was phenom.

Okay, final question, I think. What else you got for us?

Um, surprise. I have decided because I've been getting a lot of DMS, which I love having y’all slide into my DMS, but I'm ready to take our relationship to the next level. Um, because you're needing more information. There's a lot more next level than in my DMS.

Are you handing out roses to everyone?

No, I'm putting together a course to go over all of these things a lot more in depth and a lot more sharing a lot of these systems that I have painfully created through trial and error and all those things. So you guys don't have to feel that way that you can feel confident in navigating a lot of these things or just have a resource to go back to.

So again, we are recording this beginning of February in 2025. Um, our waitlist, our, my waitlist is now open. Um, and we'll put the link for that also in our show notes. Um, I'm hoping that we'll launch in March. So that way, um, any inquiries that you're getting for like summer weddings, when things start getting really, um, booked and busy into the fall that you guys have that resource set and ready to go.

Um, if you need something sooner, if you like Alex have an inquiry that is burning up your inbox and you just haven't gotten back to, I do also offer many mentorship sessions. I don't have anything like formalized for that, but if that's something that you're interested in and you just want to talk through some specific logistics for you, I'm more than happy to do that. Just send me a DM on Instagram or you can send me an email.

Awesome. Yeah, don't send me wedding questions. You can send me brand questions. Leave me out of this.

I'd love to answer your wedding questions.

Awesome. I mean, I feel very well educated and I'm hoping that everyone else feels that way too. There's a lot of considerations that I just was not thinking of that are now in my brain that I will definitely be following up. Thankfully it's a September wedding, so we're good. Plenty of time. Plenty of time. So yeah, I'm excited for more people booking weddings because again, the more people booking weddings, the more people are booking weddings. The same thing with brand stuff.

So keep it going everyone, because I feel like we're all doing a great job promoting our services and it's making people want on-site personalization more and more, even beyond brand events, beyond the events we're usually doing, into weddings now. So great job, everyone.

All right, you know where to find us, but just in case you don't, for some fucking reason, if you don't know how you got on this podcast, I don't know. But if you need to know where to find us, we are Keeping Up with the Calligs on Instagram. Our podcast is Keeping Up with the Calligraphers on Apple, Spotify, anywhere else that you listen to podcasts. Make sure to tag us, leave us a review, all that good stuff. We love hearing from you. As always, slide into our DMs. And thank you for keeping up!

Yeah, and then where can they find you? Oh, yea, I guess if you want to find me, guess if you want to find me. Alex, I am Signs of our Lives on Instagram and Cat is Cat Lauren Calligraphy is Cat with a C. And I also told you to email me earlier, but I did not tell you what my email was. My email is Cat at CatLaurenCalligraphy.com. Again, that's Cat with a C.

Awesome. Thanks for keeping up! Bye. Whee!