I had the rare luxury of having an in-person meeting with a potential client this week. It was awesome!

I mean, Skype and Google Hangouts do a pretty stellar job of breaking down the distance issues, but it’s always fun to actually hang with clients.

To top it off, the wedding planner was there, too – there’s so much energy in the room when that happens!

We met over lunch and were there at least two hours.

And only talked invitations for 45 minutes.

The rest of the time was incredibly fun, chatting about how they met and how he proposed and details about their venue and ceremony. And the bride’s face lit up constantly.

It was wonderful!

But there wasn’t a ton of talk about design and paper selection.

What was happening was – I got to know my clients through their stories. Their tastes and priorities made themselves known through the details they chose to highlight and those they glossed over.

It gave me a clearer picture of who I am designing for.

Some couples tire of telling these stories over and over again. Many absolutely love every opportunity they have.

Either way, this time (in the design world, we call it “discovery”) is incredibly important.

I have this friend.

She’s a wedding designer that I get the opportunity to chat with frequently.

One one particular consultation, her groom was, say, not as engaged in the process as the bride was.

This isn’t entirely uncommon, though I’m finding more and more couples are pretty even in their level of involvement.

During their consultation, the groom was talking about his friends and mentioned an inside joke they shared with one another.

So, my friend took that little aside and included it in her proposal – the phrase the groom and his friends often employed was emblazoned on the party favors.

The groom lit up!

Why this matters

Often, couples come to their wedding vendors with a strong sense of what they want. It usually comes from their perusal of pinterest.

For the most part, couples know what they see.

The wedding planner or stationer’s job is to know what’s unseen.

We deal in the unseen.

We synthesize our clients’ styles and personalities into what’s possible.

All that to say – when you a hire a professional, it’s because  they know this particular field – perhaps better than anyone out there. Definitely better than you do – that’s why you hire them.

And when you hire a professional, it’s her obligation to show you what’s possible, not what’s already been done.

So, break out your “how you met” story every time you meet with a wedding vendor.

And maybe be a little wary if he doesn’t ask you to tell it first.

 

post photo by Tina Sargeant