designing vs mother of the bride
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- Projectile0
blackmail the mother. send her samples of what it could look like and say "can you really settle for less? the invite is the first thing that people see. It should be unique and special"
the mother's the one that wants everything 100% perfect... to the point of obsession... so use that to your advantage.
oh buy before you do, accept that this was a waste from the beginning and that your design will not be used unless you beg the printer directly to use it at no extra cost
- capn_ron0
Can you find a smaller short-run printer in the area that specializes in 2-3 color? That way you don't do any letterpress and you can possibly gang up the whole job on one 18x24 sheet or something even smaller to keep the paper costs down. I've ganged whole invite suites on 11x17 and 12x18 and run them offset to keep the costs down. If you find a smaller printer you will find that you can run this a lot cheaper. Just gotta be smart on the layout and not have too many crazy diecuts or any for that matter.
- doesnotexist0
give them your files and tell them to enjoy/do whatever their heart desires.
this isn't worth treating as regular work/business.
- calculator0
yeah, fuck it off.
would be more pain than it's worth.
i did my own stuff, but would never do it for anyone else.
- Josev0
The friends engaged you, liked the work, and now have nothing to say in the matter? Shouldn't the bride be the one advocating for your work?
I've designed a number of wedding invites and, and except for one that was for a friend who was a designer, they were all nightmares. People get irrational when they get married.
- autoflavour0
do you have a gun?
- orrinward0
Lower the price on paper, and put some small print saying that you'll expect the remaining money a few months later. Don't tell them about it, make them sign the paper then profit at a later date.
- digdre0
seduce the mom.
- monospaced0
I find that if I pay for the difference out of my pocket (only for close friends, like when a fellow QBNer got married just over a month ago) that all problems are solved. That is another option.
- tymeframe0
Sorry to hear it. What you were working on would have been a cherished fixture in their wedding memories.
Bottom line over value, huh? I hope she doesn't always choose this route when she wants to do something for her daughter.
- Jacque0
Probably for the better.
- colin_s0
thanks all. they said they really want me to do it but, the mother became a huge hassle with the save the date alone (and even got into art directing UGH), and so i might just go to them and say that it probably won't be worth it if she's involved.
- monospaced0
I've been in this exact situation before. In the end, there is absolutely NO WAY you'll match that template-based system she wants to order. Not if you want to be compensated AT ALL for your design work. In the end, the printing (letterpress) alone is about as much as the template design delivered.
You can simply explain to the bride/groom that you can provide original work that nobody else will have, and it will be nicer than anything online, or they can have the template. But, the original design work from you, while magnitudes better from design and personality, will cost more. It's that simple.
Let them decide, but don't try to force your work into an unrealistic budget.
- don't work anymore, at all, until they have made a final decision...trust me, the mother doesn't care about designmonospaced
- Amicus0
The first problem was assuming there was a decent budget. I would have been getting quotes and discussing budgets as a first step.
- monNom0
You probably can't win. Bow out, let the mom have her way, and try not to work for friends in the future.
- autoflavour0
go to the mums house, flop your cock out and everything will be resolved
- prophetone0
...and if they don't have the jam to tell mom how it is, and get her to agree that you're cool, then i'd back the hell off because you're not going to win imo.
- prophetone0
i don't have advice for printers, but that's a touchy situation. weddings tend to ramp up emotions during the planning stages and often decisions are made that will defy logic. i think before you go too far you get your friends to tell the mom your their guy and ditch the costco invites idea. no matter how good a deal you propose, mom will find a cheaper one and she wields the power of persuasion here. so you need to know up front that you're not gonna waste our time and get trumped by someone who prob doesn't care about if the invites are 'letterpress', only that she can get somethong "cheaper" and just as beautiful iho. just my random 2 cents.