intro to J Patrick Designs blog

FOR STARTERS
I have many friends and clients who ask for advice on upcoming events in order that they may produce a seamless "production". I use the word "production" to describe all of my events, whether they are a wedding, a convention booth, or a corporate dinner, because, to me, that is exactly what they are.
The stars of these productions are my clients or sometimes their products and it is my job to make sure they come off looking fantastic. It is my goal, through this blog, to help inform and educate consumers on exactly what goes on in producing an event. To that end, I shall be discussing events I am working on at the moment, or those coming up in the near future. I hope you will find these entries useful.
I am going to start with a novice call I receive often. A potential client will call and ask: "How much do you charge for flowers." or "How much do you charge for an event?" or "What are your wedding prices?"
I hear my friends and fellow designers smiling!
Now, I do not want to lose business by saying: "How much do you have to spend?" But that is the real question at hand!!! With any production the sky's the limit and a designer needs to know what you want to allocate for services. For a designer to invest valuable time designing a $5.00 event when you, the client, only has $2.00 to spend is a waste of a designers time and yours.
When I know what my client wants to allocate to the production I can immediately start finding resources to make it work within their guidelines and then present a realistic proposal that moves us all forward instead of losing time backtracking to make the event work in some fantasy.
If you think you are going to save money by not telling a designer/planner what you want to spend you have already made mistake number one. It is always my goal to provide you with the best service available. It is through this that I can be sure of your repeat business and referrals. Remember; the designer wants you to be the star!