arlene cronk.com

Thoughts on My Recent Seminar

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 13:03:49 -0400

One of my “words of wisdom” for brides is to take time during their big event and reflect on what’s happening -- to “be in the moment” so that they will remember it later. I just had one of those “be in the moment” experiences myself -- the recent “Marketing to the High-End Bride” breakfast seminar, which I hosted at the Liberty Hotel.

As I said in my opening remarks to the attendees, the best part for me is the feeling in the room. And I’m not the only one who said they felt this way. Just being there is like having your friends over for breakfast -- friends who just happen to be 140 of the very best wedding people in Boston.

I’ve organized six of these events so far -- one every six months. So now it’s not just the great venue or the interesting program that attracts people, but also the fact that they can catch up with colleagues they’ve gotten to know (or know better) at previous events. That’s special.

It’s also part of what I wanted to accomplish when I started these breakfasts. Wedding professionals -- especially those at the very top of their professions -- are very busy people. They might not have time to get involved with yet another organization or to come to a meeting every month. But they might have time to come to an event if it were held every six months and if the program content were kept at a very high level of quality.

By focusing on the high-end bride I think we have a theme that attracts the most successful people — both as speakers and as attendees. And by keeping the events to six months, it allows us to create and produce excellent programs. People can come and enjoy themselves without making the same level of commitment that joining a formal organization would require.

Holding the event in the morning as a breakfast also distinguishes it from other professional meetings, which are usually held at night. Evenings are also when people in the wedding industry are at their busiest -- while mornings are when the most creative people have most of their energy. Imagine what it’s like having 140 of them all get together for three hours in some of Boston’s best venues!

Our next event is in March and we are already working on program ideas. In fact, we think we may already have a good one. Stay tuned!

You’ll Love it here

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:21:24 -0400

I was meeting in my office the other day with a young bride and her parents. As she was leaving, the mother turned to me and said, “So, why should we buy from you?”
The question caught me a little by surprise. We’d just spent over an hour discussing wording, paper styles, and countless other details — helping create a great wedding invitation. I couldn’t imagine why they’d even consider going anywhere else.
Afterwards, a thought occurred to me: Although I sell invitations, I don’t really sell invitations. I try to help customers get the best invitation possible for them, factoring in all their needs, their budget and their personal taste — along with everything I know about invitations after 18 years in the business. Most of all, I want to create a great customer experience.
My whole focus is on what will make the customer happy — not on telling the customer how great I am or on why they should buy something more expensive than what they really want. The last thing most customers want — especially couples caught up in the stress of wedding planning — is more pressure.
Still, the mother’s question is perfectly reasonable. And maybe a blog is a good place to answer, so that customers like her will know before they even come through the door. After all, the essence of any successful business is its unique selling proposition. If a company can’t tell you specific reasons why you should shop there — and shop there instead of at the competition — then maybe there are no reasons.
So, here are some of mine for you to shop here:
• You’ll save time. We have a tremendous selection but we don’t overwhelm you. We guide you through the invitations that fit your style and price range so you don’t waste time looking at things you won’t want.
• We suggest ideas that make your invitations more one of a kind and more “you.” Our creativity and design ideas mean your invitations don’t look like they just came straight out of a book.
• We suggest options (including options that save money) you might not have considered.
• We prevent mistakes in wording and design.
• We’re here to answer your questions before, during, and after you place your order so you have peace of mind.
• We focus on every detail — taking the pressure off you.
• We work with printers behind the scenes checking proofs and correcting mistakes that you will never see and will never be aware of.
• We’ve created a very relaxed, pleasant and quiet environment — not like a typical store — in which to look at books of invitations, ask questions, and discuss your ideas and plans.
• We are extremely well connected with venues, caterers, florists, photographers, and other professionals to help your event planning go smoothly. This isn’t just a referral list. These are people we’ve known for years and trust.
In short, we’ve created a very unique invitations shopping experience that goes far beyond just the invitations. People love it here and that’s why they buy from me.

Save that Date!

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:40:00 -0400

One question that invitations customers frequently ask is whether to send out save-the-dates before sending invitations. My answer is usually “yes” -- and here’s why.
Up until about 12 years ago, hardly anyone sent save-the-dates. Now almost everyone does. Like its name suggests, a save-the-date is simply an announcement that you will be holding an event on a particular date that’s still fairly far out in the future -- typically four months or more -- and that you want the recipient to hold the date open. Why send it? Because if you wait until the invitation goes out, a lot of people may have already made other plans for that date.
Invitations are typically sent eight weeks prior to the event, depending on a number of factors. That is far enough in advance for many people to make plans but still close enough so that the event seems like it’s about to happen. These days, however, many people plan their lives a lot more in advance than eight weeks. So if they receive a save-the-date from you, those guests can go ahead and schedule your event in their calendars.
Here are some guidelines about save-the-dates:
Only send them to people you actually plan to invite. I had a customer recently who changed jobs just after sending out her save-the-dates. By the time she was ready to send the invitations, she no longer felt close to many of her former work friends -- but she did feel (correctly) that she should invite them because she had asked them to reserve the date. I suggested that in all likelihood her former colleagues probably would decline the invitation, which is what happened. She sent out the initial round of invitations early enough so that when those expected “regrets” were received, she still had time to invite the more recent people in her life she actually wanted to attend.
The save-the-date and the invitation do not have to look alike. A save-the-date does not commit you to using the same style of paper, font, color, etc. for your invitation. Many couples would prefer to delay those final invitation decisions until they are closer to the event — when the overall “look and feel” of the event has been defined. Of course, it’s also possible to match the save-the-dates to the invitations and vice versa.
If in doubt, send them out. If budget allows, there is basically no reason not to send out save-the-dates — although it’s not mandatory either. And if you do, it’s a lot more likely that your guests will appear — especially if they tend to be busy people or they must make travel arrangements.

Thank you Omni Parker House

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:06:27 -0400

If you would like to see some of my invitations on display, walk past the Boston Omni Parker House on the Tremont Street side. There is a gorgeous display in the window featuring invitations from Invitations & Company as well as bridal apparel from Priscilla of Boston.
Hotels, of course, get to see a lot of vendors’ work — and to work closely with a lot of vendors. So listen closely to their vendor recommendations.
That’s especially true in the case of invitations. Menus, seating charts, party favors, and other items often need to be closely integrated with the room décor, table settings, flowers and the overall wedding day experience. This can call for some close collaboration between the hotel and the person you hire to help you with invitations. It can also mean efficient delivery of items so they are properly prepared and ready to be set out under the watchful eye of your wedding planner or venue’s event manager.
Weddings involve a million details. Working with your venue’s preferred vendors can often make things go much more smoothly.

The Most Frequent Question I Hear

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:00:38 -0400

I recently met with a bride who admitted she was one of those people who never sends back an RSVP card when she receives an invitation. Now that her own invitations have gone out, however, and her venue is asking for a head count, she sees “the whole RSVP thing” a little differently. And she promises to do better in the future.
An accurate head count avoids unnecessary stress and expense. It also potentially opens the guest list to family and friends you would like to invite … but can’t if everyone on the original invitation list accepts. Obviously, the faster those RSVP cards come back, the more time you give other people to plan. They’ll appreciate that.
One explanation this bride gave for not responding is that she never knew what to write on the traditional RSVP card, the kind that looks like this:
will ________________ attend.
The most frequent question I hear from couples, in fact, is what to put on that line. So, here’s my answer:
Etiquette rules say that you should leave the line blank if you are going to attend. If none of those to whom the invitation is addressed will attend, you should simply write the word “not.”
That’s proper etiquette. My own feeling is that this is probably the best experience a bride will ever have going to her mailbox to get the mail. You can indulge her, and your own creative impulses, by coming up with more original responses. Maybe something like:
Will of course attend
Will be counting days to attend
Will with bells on attend
Will happily attend
Will with great pleasure attend
Will definitely! attend
There are, in fact, countless ways to tell a host you plan to be there (or not). Why not have some fun with this? The important thing is to let them know.