And there endeth the lesson...

Our final big lesson is definitely one we’re still learning: embrace the ‘competition’. We are working really hard to understand the album market, because we think we can work alongside some traditional offerings. We’re also building a network of partner photographers – we want to sit alongside their album packages rather than be an ‘instead of’ and therefore a threat. We’re lucky, there isn't really anyone else doing what we’re doing, but when we were referred a client by the lovely Emma Woodhouse (@cloggins – I will be honest, I had butterflies when we met, you’re so twitterly famous!) who writes gorgeous wedding reports, we were so delighted at her generosity that we are determined to spread the love too.

So, those were our lessons. We’re still very new, and we’re still learning about this fascinating industry that we’re part of, everyday. And we’re not saying that these are lessons for everyone, just things we’ve observed as we’ve made our way to where we are now. We’d so love to hear other companies’ experiences, tips and hints that got them started or kept them going. Do share!

And just for fun, we thought we'd finish with a few personal ‘learning points’ we've gathered in the eighteen months Illustries has existed (most of it on paper!);

1. We are mutually the only people outside our families that we could share a room with. Not least a room with stained mattresses and a dubious bathroom. And still laugh about it in the morning.

2. Among all the lovely brides and grooms, strange people come to wedding shows. It is not fair to watch your business partner deal with one of these people while audibly choking back giggles and doing Roger Moore eyebrows.

3. Tempers will be frayed. There is no escaping that. We’re lucky that only one of us has ever unravelled at any one time. The other sits quietly until said rage has evaporated. And then takes the mick. Mercilessly…

4. Tequila is an excellent planning tool. It is good to embrace it...

An unruffled surface...

...often hides a whirlwind if activity underneath! And that brings us to Lesson Four: it’s important to make like a swan. We are so proud of the stand set that we take to all our wedding fairs – it looks a little bit ‘different’ and we love that. But, our lovely blackboard style table is obviously made of some kind of dark matter because it weighs a ton, our bookshelves need putting together in a flat pack nightmare and every time we load the Illustriesmobile we curse the lamp, the chest, the vase and most particularly the chair (we hate that chair). We get red and sweaty, dusty and dishevelled lugging it all up steps, round too-tight corners and through tiny doors – our knuckles are permanently scarred! When it is all up, it looks great – and the hard work hides beneath a polished veneer. It’s like the ‘choice’ hotels we stay in when we’re at shows far from home – we’re a small business and we have to keep costs down, so Luxury Wedding Show, big tick, we’re there looking the part on the day of the show. Who needs to know we didn’t get to bed in a really bad Travelodge until 11.30?

The table. Bloody heavy...

We also exhibited at the Designer Vintage Bridal Fair last year, and were mighty star-struck that no less than five (count ‘em) of our favourite bloggers were there. We’ll be honest and say that we had to take a deep breath before going to talk to them, and how silly were we?! Kelly of Boho Wedding, Kat of RockN'RollBride, Amma of Beyond Beyond, Annabel of Love My Dress and Alexis of OMG I'm Getting Married were all lovely and totally mystified at how anyone could be intimidated by them. And you know what, even if they hadn’t been, we reckon you still shouldn’t be afraid to go up and talk to ‘high-profile’ people – they’re running a business or building a brand too, networking is everything. And that was Lesson Five.

We're in a sharing mood...

We’re six months on from our official launch at the Luxury Wedding Show (have you read our post on that one?!) and we thought we’d share our humble experience of launching into the big, wide wedding industry, not because we like talking about ourselves (well we kind of do, but that’s not why) but because we really wondered how everyone else got started and whether our experience so far is par for the course. You know how it is, you have a few drinks, slam a few tequilas and before you know it you’ve formed a business. Or, is that just us (we’re sure it’s not)?

So, we learned a few lessons along the way. First up, Lesson one...

We guess every business starts with a good idea – well, we hope ours did. Emma got married, had some beautiful photographs and one of those great big old albums, but wanted something a bit more ‘her’. She’s a writer by trade (we’re sure you know this by now, she bangs on about it all the time), so wanted to include some of her pesky words with those gorgeous images. Try as she might, the photobook options were too inflexible (ever tried adding words to those things?!) and impersonal – she’s a princess, so when she says I want ‘teal’, she want teal, not light blue. Sam is a graphic designer (when she wants teal she wants Pantone 3155), and we had worked together a couple of times. We chatted a bit in a conversation that shall henceforth be known as Albumgate, had those few drinks, slammed those tequilas and Illustries was born. Today we’re creating beautiful, bespoke memory books that reflect each very individual couple, combining a written love story with some creative design in a true one-off.

Now that’s enough about our books, we’re not here to sell them to you. We just wondered if all you creative people out there went through the same kind of agonies in birthing your own ‘babies’, the same highs and lows, the squealing with excitement moments and the times you despair that it will ever work out? In our day jobs, we’ve both worked on some huge brands. But when it’s your own? Different story. One of the things that gobsmacked us was how hard it was to come up with a name. Illustries was up there pretty early on (it’s short for Illustrated Histories) but we went round the houses for DAYS, trying out loads of other options (some were truly awful, ‘Dreams of Your Past’ anyone?) before ending up back where we started. Illustries it was – the thing that swung it for us was mocking up a logo and seeing how it looked as a real brand. Actually that’s a lie, because we had two possibles and in the end we all but tossed a coin and went with one. 

Our first lesson: it’s amazing that sometimes it isn’t the decision you make that is important, you just need to make a decision. 

The first glance (4)

Ahh, another lovely wedding moment to share today, in the fourth of our series of favourite wedding memories from Illustries couples. Today, Emma and Craig share their first look at each other:

"Emma arrived at the candlelit Hall shortly before 4pm. The couple had chosen Elvis Costello’s version of She for Emma’s walk down the aisle and as the guests stood, Millie walked first, followed by Imogen, who held hands with a now beautifully behaved Gracie. A nervous Emma took Sheila’s arm for the short walk to Craig, and he remembers “Emma just looked so beautiful – terrified, but beautiful!” The couple agree that the registrar who conducted the civil ceremony was fantastic – she was so relaxed and happy, and set a lovely tone."

The first glance (3)

Another of those oh-so-special moments. Today, Mr & Mrs Devine, proud owners of one of our bespoke CELEB magazines, share their first look at each other on their wedding day:

"Mel: I wasn’t nervous at all. My biggest fear had been the walk down the aisle, but in the end I just had this amazing feeling. I remember coming through the doors and looking out for people – there were loads of people I hadn’t seen for ages. 

Andy: I hardly turned around, because I just knew I’d be blown away by how beautiful she looked. I stood at the front and the music started, I was just thinking, I can’t look round because the bottom lip might go! 

Mel: I was smiling at everyone, looking from side to side and then I caught a glimpse of Andy looking at me – it must have been the only peek he sneaked! I was beaming from ear to ear."

That first glance (2)

The second instalment in our little series on one of our favourite wedding moments - the first time the bride and groom set eyes on each other on their wedding day. Today, Bec and Andrew Taylor...

"Bridesmaid, Imogen, walked down the aisle before Bec, to Wagner’s Lohengrin - the traditional ‘Here Comes the Bride.’  “And then I saw Bec and her Dad,” smiles Andrew, “She just looked beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” And when Bec caught her first glimpse of Andrew? “I just wondered if he looked as nervous as I felt,” she giggles.

That first glance...

Whenever we create an Illustry, we pay plenty of attention to one very special moment - the first glimpse the bride and groom get of each other. It always makes us melt (Emma almost always cries, even after all this time), so we thought we'd share some of our faves.

Today, an extract from the Illustry of Andrew and Natalie Hewitson:

Natalie and Andrew’s wedding day was beautiful in every way – not least the bride and groom themselves. Andrew says that Natalie looked, “Stunning – but then I knew she wouldn’t let me down!” Natalie responds in similar vein, “I’ve never seen him scrub up so well! He said I looked amazing and I thought he looked amazing too.”

A lovely lakeside wedding

We're pretty busy here at Illustries at the moment - even though Emma is galavanting around the globe (see left <--). Tom and Joanna's dreamy love story is just being turned into an equally dreamy Illustry by Samantha, and Michael and Colette's is up next. We thought we'd share a little snippet of the introduction - ahh, sounds heavenly!

"1pm, 8 November 2011. Colette Francis waits on the balcony of the Langdale Chase Hotel’s Baronial Hall. Outside, Lake Windermere is at its most stunning: though the longed-for crisp, autumn day has not materialized, the dark sky reflects in the purples and petrol blues and greens of the beautiful, brooding lake. Downstairs her closet family and friends wait with her beautiful baby son, Dominic, and her proud groom, Michael. Colette’s heart swells as she glimpses of her nephews who are to give her away, dressed up to the nines complete with buttonholes, their pride prompting a tear were it not for her dear friend Jen coaxing a smile with a joke or two. Just a few more moments until she becomes Mrs Emery…"

A lovely love story...

Ah, Tom and Joanna. Sigh. A traditional wedding in Scotland, with a church full of beaming family and friends. Groom in full military uniform, just back from Afghanistan. Personalised vows, a beautiful bride in delicate lace. Emma has loved writing every word of their story, here's just a teenie treat...

Joanna: I had my veil down, but I could see he looked nervous – he wasn’t turning around. My favourite part of weddings is to look at the groom’s face, but I couldn’t see his face! I was willing him, ‘Turn round!’ When he did he looked tense, but then he smiled and I knew it would be OK.”

Tom: When I saw her I was so taken aback. I held my breath and my heart skipped a beat – she was just stunning. I had caught glimpses of the dress but I hadn’t imagined Jo IN it!

How do they do that?

Pages and pages of wedding reports that read just like the celebrity wedding specials we all love - just how do we create them? Well, our Head of Words, Emma, trained at Cardiff University's School of Journalism and has been a professional writer for (*whispers*) about fifteen years, so we think that her training and experience really shows - no self-appointed 'freelance writers' here at Illustries!

To create the report, Emma gathers lots of information beforehand and then conducts interviews after the big day. We don’t attend, and we think that's important, as there are enough people to worry about at a wedding and above all, we think the happy couple want to remember what they thought of their day, not what we thought! We interview the couple – separately, if possible, because it is lovely to be surprised by the things the other half says – by telephone, frantically scribbling notes (we record the conversation too!). And then we interview the people they nominate - for CELEB, normally the Best Man.

Then it is time for heads down and lots of coffee as we write, edit, refine, edit, refine and edit again until we've got a lovely, bouncy, emotional and succinct record of the big day - we are firm believers in 'less is more' when it comes to words, we include thousands of them, but they are very carefully chosen!

Finally, our favourite bit: words and pictures get to meet each other. Lots of proofreading later and we get to our favourite part - sending the CELEB Magazine to our couple.

Cue squeals of delight (we hope!).

Check out our Guest Editor extract, on the right! ->

The Wedding Report

  

Our CELEB magazines kick off with a full report - just like the celebrity features we all read at the hairdresser! We cover the whole wedding day, placing our customers' images in our signature CELEB layouts to create a fabulous, romantic story. We interview the bride and groom (and others, but more on that another time!) and we don't stop at the wedding itself. We find out how our couple met, all about the proposal, how they felt as they planned the big day - and all those emotions and nerves!