My vendor spotlight has been on a hiatus while I had some great weddings and styled shoots to show you! It’s back! The next vendor I want to highlight is someone I am working closely with on an upcoming wedding in May. Catharine Perry Design specializes in wedding branding. I will be honest, I was a skeptic too. On top of everything else, why do you need to brand your wedding? After pouring over images of weddings that I adored I noticed a trend-everything flowed. The invites, the place cards, the signage, all of it wove together to create this beautiful wedding day. Wedding branding is powerful, y’all! Now, to Catharine:

Why is your heart set on branding or invite design?

It simply comes down to the fact that I love hearing people’s stories; where they come from, how they met their future spouse, and what they hope for in their dream wedding. What I’m able to do is take their story and vision and translate that into a brand. If you think about it, this is what successful companies do – tell stories through their brand – and wedding branding is applying that the same concept to weddings.

A wedding brand board includes fonts, colors, logos, patterns, and graphic elements that serve as a blueprint for the design of your wedding invitations, day-of paper products, and everything in between.

Why is branding and/or invite design important to the overall wedding design?

Great question! There are a couple of reasons. First, the very first things your guests see are your invitations and paper products. They set the tone for the wedding – what they expect the ceremony and reception to be like. Creating a cohesive look from the beginning will set the tone for your entire wedding.

Second, there are so many elements that you can incorporate your wedding brand into beyond your invitations and paper products. This is the part that I love – the small (or big) purposeful details and personal touches that can be incorporated. For example, your wedding logo can be used on a dance floor gobo, welcome bag stickers, or cake topper.

How can branding experts and wedding planners work better together?

Wedding branding is a fundamental part of wedding planning because it so often transcends stationery and applies to all aspects of the wedding. I think it makes a lot of sense to have close ties between wedding planners and branding experts. Communication is key and meeting with clients together is a great way to kick off the relationship between the wedding planner, the couple, and the branding expert.

What are some tips for brides and grooms just starting in the planning process?

Soak it in. Enjoy your engagement! Likely, the first question people will ask you after you get engaged is “When’s the wedding?” They do so lovingly, but it’s ok to not know when you’re getting married 24 hours after you get engaged. Enjoy the moment, celebrating with family and friends. And then get to work!