Little Woman Design will be participating in The "Brides and Grooms" Wedding Showcase this Sunday, March 17th at Talamore Country Club. This will be the third show we've done this year with The Bridal Event by Bouche Productions. As always, we are expecting this to be a great event! We'll be on hand to meet with couples to discuss their designs, review our samples, and chat about any questions they may have about their wedding stationery. While we have quite a few samples of our work featured in our online portfolio, couples who attend this show (or schedule a free consultation) will be able to see our latest designs before they hit the web! For more information about this show and to register for tickets, visit The Bridal Event's Talamore page. 

One of our most popular pieces is Francesca's custom-illustrated save the date! Based upon photographs our couples provide, these unique save the dates can incorporate their color palette, clothing, and any other design elements that are important to them! For a look at how closely these illustrations resemble our couples, be sure to read our blog by clicking here. 

While we have quite a few projects on our website, we hold many back until after our couples' events. However, after reaching out to one of our brides, she was happy for us to give our readers an early look at her save the date!

Shira and Terence are a fabulous couple that we are currently working with on their wedding stationery. Owner Randi Martin, of Always Fabulous Events, reached out to us back in the fall of 2012 to set up a meeting with us, Shira and her good friend and bridesmaid Tamieka. Once Shira saw Francesca's save the dates, she knew she wanted one to set the tone for their upcoming August 2013 wedding! While many couples opt for a two-sided, paper save the date, Shira asked us to print her design on a glossy magnet. We were so excited to send them out to her, and thrilled that she loved them! 

If you are interested in any of our products and services, schedule your free consultation with Francesca by emailing francesca@littlewomandesign.com or calling 267-481-4093.

Little Woman Design has had a busy start to the year! We are so fortunate to have been embraced by so many more wonderful couples!

As we have continued to grow with every passing month, we knew it was time to start looking for someone to add to our team. Someone who would match our vision of creating the very best in wedding and event stationery!

So it is with great excitement that we announce the addition of Lisa Suszek to the Little Woman Design team! With an extensive background in illustration as well as event and wedding graphic design, Lisa joins us as a Junior Designer, adding her own unique style and flair to the Little Woman Design studio.  After our initial meeting, we knew immediately that Lisa fit with our mission of bringing all of our couples great designs that their guests will remember forever.

We've asked Lisa to share with you all a little bit about herself and her background. Read on, and be sure to check out some of Lisa's vibrant and amazing illustrations at the end of the blog to see what a talent we found! (Special thanks to Nancy Paravano for introducing Lisa to us!)

Hi Lisa! Welcome to the LWD Team! Could you please tell our readers a little bit about your background? 

In college I majored in Illustration with a minor in Graphic Design. I also have experience in silk screening and book making and have done work in invitation and corporate design. 

Why did you want a career in design? 

Designers solve visual problems. They create a beautiful order and harmony from the smallest idea, and that’s something I’ve always loved to do. I also wanted to be able to incorporate elements of my art into the world around me.  

What is it about the wedding and event industry that you love? 

I’ve been dreaming about weddings since I was little. I love the dress, the ring, the flowers, but most of all I love the invitation. It’s the first glimpse that your guests get of what’s to come on your special day.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests?

I love to cook, especially traditional Polish food and desserts that my mother and grandmother taught me.  I enjoy old school video games, watching the Flyers, and reading romance novels. I’m also a big family person, so I try to get up to Connecticut to visit them as often as possible.

Thanks, Lisa! We're looking forward to working with you, and all the great ideas and skills you will bring to Little Woman Design!

Lisa will be working with us at the upcoming Bridal Event at Talamore Country Club on Sunday, March 16th! Come stop by and say hi to Lisa!

Little Woman Design was thrilled to participate in three wedding expos in the past two weeks! Over the weekend of February 23, 2013, we exhibited at the Main Line Bridal Event at the Radnor Hotel as well as The Bridal Event at The Philadelphia Racquet Club. On March 3, 2013, we had the pleasure of being a part of the Sixth Annual Gay and Lesbian Wedding Expo in Bucks County! At all three of these shows, we met with many wonderful couples who were not only interested in checking out our samples, but also had many questions about their wedding stationery and timelines. We've picked the most popular questions that we heard over these past two weekends for this week's blog!

• When should we send out our save the date? The time that you send out your save the date is dependent upon what you're hoping to achieve, and when your wedding date falls. We typically recommend sending out your save the date 9 – 12 months in advance if you are getting married on a holiday, holiday weekend, or during the summer months. Many people make their vacation and holiday plans up to a year in advance, so it would be wise to send out your save the date sooner rather than later. Summer holiday season runs from Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend. You should also send out your save the dates 9 – 12 months in advance if you are inviting many out of town guests. If you are sending out a save the date to set the stage and get guests excited about your wedding, you can send them out between 6 - 12 months in advance. 
• When should we send out our wedding invitation? We normally recommend mailing out your wedding invitation 8 – 10 weeks before your wedding. Your RSVP date should be set 3 - 4 weeks before your wedding day as you will need to let your venue know as soon as possible your final head count. While you may not want to think about it, there will be some guests who you have invited who have forgotten to reply by the date sent. You will need to allow yourselves enough time to track these individuals down before letting your venue know.
• How much does (fill in the blank) cost? While we have some basic pricing available on our website, there is so much variability in printing methods, paper stock, envelopes, and other materials, that it can be difficult to rattle off a price on the spot. Your quantity also will affect how much the total cost may be. The best recommendation we can make is to schedule a consultation with whomever you decide to meet with for your wedding stationery, be upfront about your budget (if you have one), and ask your graphic designer to make suggestions on how to keep you within the budget you've set for yourself. Several couples we've met recently wanted letterpress invitation suites. By being upfront about their budget, we were able to make suggestions on how to cut the cost of the suite while still having their wedding invitation suite letterpress printed.
• On that note, why is letterpress printing more expensive than digital printing? Letterpress printing is not only laborious but requires the use of many more materials which contribute to the cost: 1. Metal or polymer plates need to be made once your design is finished. 2. Unlike digital printing, letterpress printing uses hand-mixed inks which correspond to the Pantone color swatches giving you a very close color match to your wedding color palette. 3. Normally, thicker paper is used to achieve the best impact of this printing. And, 4. Each invitation is printed one at a time. The combination of these factors increase the cost of the wedding invitation.
• What wording should I use on my wedding invitation? During our consultations, we will ask the questions that will help guide the writing of your wedding invitation. Who is paying for the wedding? Is the ceremony and reception at the same venue? Is there a dress code? Are you doing a sit-down dinner or a buffet? These are only some of the questions that we ask during our consultations to aid us in determining what the best way to design and write your invitation will be. For instance, if the couple is paying for the wedding themselves, they are the hosts of their own wedding and the copy may be written as "The honor of your presence is requested at the marriage of …" If the couple would like to recognize their parents they may write "Together with their parents …" We are always happy to make etiquette suggestions and will ensure that your wedding invitation communicates all of the important information that is needed.
• Where do I put my registry information? We strongly advise our couples NOT to put their registry information on their formal wedding invitation. It may be a matter of preference, but it detracts from what you are trying to achieve by inviting your guests! The main reason you are inviting them to your wedding is to help you celebrate, not because of the toaster they are potentially going to buy you. If you want to pass on your registry information to your guests, we recommend the following: 1. Have your bridal party spread the word. Or, 2. Set up a wedding website which includes further information about your wedding including registry information. We can design you either a separate insert card or a business card style wedding website card to communicate this information, if desired.

While these were the most popular questions we were asked, there are still many more that can be answered! If you have a question that you would like us to answer, please feel free to leave it in the comments section below! Or, set up a free consultation with Francesca by calling 267-481-4093, emailing us at francesca@littlewomandesign.com, or fill out our contact form here.

Thanks to BG Productions for the photograph of us at The Bridal Event at The Racquet Club!

Little Woman Design opened it’s doors on December 1, 2011. Working out of a home office in Montgomeryville, PA, 2012 was a successful year. We were fortunate enough to work with thirty wonderful clients in our first year in business. And, as our business continued to expand, we at Little Woman Design not only outgrew our home office but also our former website.

Welcome to our new website! Created for us by the talented individuals at Think It First, we are excited to finally share it with you! In mid-2012, Francesca and I began to think of ways to redesign our current website. All the ideas were there, but we needed someone to help bring our vision to life. Meeting with Think It First, we knew straight away that this would be the company to help us with this major undertaking and showcase Francesca’s designs to anyone who visited our site!

There are many new features to our website, and it aesthetically represents what Little Woman Design is all about! We want to thank Joe, Bradley, Jamie, and David not only for all their hard work this past year, but for giving us a fabulous new home on the world wide web.

Just as we knew it was time to expand our website, we also knew that it was time to move Little Woman Design itself into a brand new studio space, giving Francesca a dedicated environment where she could work on her designs as well as meet with our clients. While this is also quite an undertaking for a small business, the decision to move Little Woman Design was made even easier after meeting an event planner who had the same vision we had for designing a new studio—a place that would showcase our work, and allow for creative collaborations with both our clients and other event professionals.

It is with great pleasure that we announce our new studio space in the heart of historic Hatboro, PA! And, it is an absolute honor to be sharing this space with the always funny, always creative, and always fabulous, Randi Martin of Always Fabulous Events!

Located at 124 N York Road, the Main Street of Hatboro, our new studio is now open for appointments, with same-day consultations available. We will be having an open house very soon! In the meantime, if you’d like to set up a time to come and visit us, please feel free to either give Francesca a call at 267–481–4093 or fill out our contact form.

We are very thankful for everything our clients, family and friends helped us to achieve in 2012, and we are even more excited by what’s to come! As we continue to put the finishing touches on this exciting new studio and move Little Woman Design into its new home, we are also setting into motion something very exciting! Something brand new!

Many people say that all good things come in three… And as we near completion on the final scene of this act, we can’t help but be excited for the next act in our upcoming trilogy. 

Philadelphia, PA, January 25, 2013 — Little Woman Design is pleased to announce it has been selected as a 2013 winner in The Knot Best of Weddings, a special section featured on TheKnot.com/BOW. TheKnot.com the number-one wedding destination, most trusted by brides.

The Knot Best of Weddings 2013 provides a “by brides, for brides” guide to the top wedding professionals across the country, and is a must-have when it comes to selecting the best-of-the-best wedding resources. Whether they’re trying to find the wedding dress salon with the best service in Philadelphia, the most creative wedding photographers in Los Angeles, New York’s top cake bakers or Miami’s hottest reception sites, engaged couples across the country want the inside scoop on the best from real brides. 

Owner Francesca Staffieri says, “Thank you to all of our wonderful brides and grooms whom helped Little Woman Design earn this honor this year! We look forward to continuing to provide beautiful, creative wedding stationery, as well as exception customer service!”

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