Summer Wedding Trend

Summer weddings are upon us and we have noticed a trend.  Glassware seems to be the popular attendant gift that couples are purchasing this year.  I have had several couples purchase glass beer mugs for the guys and toasting flutes for the ladies.  We have also engraved pilsner glasses and pint beer glasses for the guys as well.  I’ve had a couple of people purchase a set of four high ball glasses with a single initial engraved on them for both the men and women.

Personalization on the glassware adds that personal touch. You can engrave the first names or initials of your attendant on the glass.  Some people have also been engraving their wedding date on the back.

Ordering Wedding Invitations Online

It is understandable why people are hesitant to order their wedding invitations online.  A person is usually dealing with a company they had never dealt with before.  On top of that, if there is a problem with the order, you can’t walk into the store to solve the problem unless the invitations were ordered locally.  This article will help you resolve some of these issues about ordering online.

The most common complaint that we’ve received about people who ordered online wedding invitations is the quality of the paper.   We have had several customers come into our store with invitations they had ordered online or through a catalogue, and the quality of the paper was very poor.  They had to re-order their invitations from us so that they would have quality invitations to mail out.
If you are concerned about the quality of the invitation from the company you would be ordering online from, we strongly recommend that you order a blank sample of the invitation.  Most companies charge a small fee for this, but it is well worth it considering the amount of money that you will be investing in the invitations.

The Engravery uses Carlson Craft to print invitations.  They have been in the invitation business for over 50 years, so you can be assured that invitations coming from us are of fine quality.  It is still a good idea to order a sample of the invitation you are interested in to be sure that you will be happy with it.  You can do this by going to our wedding album page and click on “Samples” on the bar at the top of the page and follow the directions

Another common complaint is that if there is a problem, good customer service is hard to find.  I would be a little cautious about ordering from a dealer who is deeply discounting invitations.  These dealers must cut costs somewhere, and it is usually cut in customer service.  I’m sure that there are some exceptional dealers who deeply discount their invitations, but how do you know which ones are good?

The Engravery’s error rate is less than 2%.  If you happen to be one of those 2%, we will take good care of you.   In fact, we will take good care of you even if YOU made a mistake when you typed in your wording on the online order form.  In that case, we will pay for a large portion of your order for you.  Many other dealers will force you to pay full price.   How’s that for customer service?

If you have an invitation order where you need custom art work done, or if your order is very complicated, you would be better off ordering them from a local store in your town.   Face-to-face customer service would be ideal for these situations.  This way will assure you that they will be done exactly as you would like.  We have referred one or two potential online customers to local dealers for this reason.

Ordering your wedding invitations online can be a convenient and pleasant experience if you order from the right dealer.   If you follow the recommendations in this article, you should be absolutely delighted when you receive your invitations.

A Gift for Dad on Father’s Day

Whenever I asked my Dad what he wanted for Father’s Day, he would say, “Golf balls.”  That always frustrated me because I wanted to give more than that.  One year, he misplaced his headphones and I found them a couple days before Father’s Day.  Instead of giving them to him right away, I wrapped them up with his golf balls and gave them to him for Father’s Day.  He was delighted that I found his headphones and I was happy that I gave him something more than golf balls.

Father’s are usually pretty easy to please.  Being a father myself, just give me some cans of tennis balls and a bag of peanuts and I am happy.  I think my daughter is frustrated too when I tell her that’s all I want.  So what else is there that a father might want?

We sell a lot of photo gifts for Father’s Day.  A mouse pad or coffee cup with the childrens’ picture on it usally brings a smile to Dad.  If he uses a money clip, check to see if his is worn. It may be time to buy him a new one engraved with his initials.  If he works in an office, a pen set or paperweight with his initials on it is ideal.  An engravable can koozie to keep his beer cool is another idea.

Before you get something to give your Dad, just think whether it is something he would want.  Like lost headphones.

Click here for many more personalized gift ideas for Dad.

What should you give for an award?

An employee of yours has just outdone himself  and you want to give an award to recognize him.  I have many clients come to our store looking for ideas.  Most of these clients go directly to our plaque area to browse the different styles of plaques that they would like to purchase for the employee.  A plaque is a nice way to recognize an employee, but I try to steer my customers away from that.  I have been given plaques before and appreciated them at the time, but now they are in a drawer somewhere or in the landfill.

The awards that seem to be most appreciated are those that can be used for something.  For example, instead of just giving a plaque, give something like this:

Book Clock

It’s a plaque, but also has a clock.  It’s the best of both worlds!  If you don’t have a lot to say,  desk clocks also make a nice award.

Buying the right wedding attendant gift

Choosing your attendant gifts can be a difficult process.  Your friends and family members that are in your wedding probably have different interests, so how can you pick a gift that they will all enjoy?  Should you get them all the same thing, or something different?  How much should you spend?  These are questions that will be explored in this article.

Most of the people who buy attendant gifts in our store buy everyone the same item.   This ensures that no one will have his or her feelings hurt or wish that he/she had received something that someone else received.   The thing to keep in mind when choosing a gift is to find something that is useful, rather than something that will be thrown into a drawer.   One idea for the ladies is to give them a piece of jewelry that they can all wear at the wedding.   It is something that they will appreciate and can wear after the wedding is over.

Other ideas for the ladies include picture frames, jewelry boxes, purse mirrors, bracelets, pens and key rings.  Popular men’s gifts include mugs, money clips, key rings, lighters, flasks, pens, business card holders, and pocketknives.  Personalizing these gifts adds a special touch and shows that you put some thought into the gifts.  They can be engraved with the recipients name or initials.

We don’t recommend that you engrave your wedding date on those items.  Although your wedding date is very important to you, most recipients would tell you that they prefer not to have the date on their item.  Click here to check out some other personalized gift ideas.

Getting everyone something different is another option.  This can be a great idea if you know everybody’s interests.  We recommend staying close to the same price-point for each gift.  This method of choosing a gift shows you put great thought into each person as an individual, and you know that they will enjoy a gift that caters to their interest.

How much you spend on an item depends on how much you want to spend.  We have customers spending in a range from $10 to $60 each.   The average customer spends approximately $20-$30 each.

Put some thought into the attendant gifts you buy.  If you do that, it is likely your recipients will greatly appreciate them.

Wedding Invitations – See a Preview Now

Yes, that’s right.  When you order your wedding invitations on our site, you will be able to see a preview of it on your screen before you order.   Save 10% when you order online.  Here is one example of the hundreds of invitations you can find on our site at www.engravery.cceasy.com

Hello world!

Well, I never thought I would be blogging, but here I am.  I suppose the most logical subject matter for my first blog is a history of my company, The Engravery.  It’s web site is www.engravery.com The web site was started in 1990.

Interior of The Engravery

The brick and mortar store has been around since the mid 1970s and is currently on 132 & W Center Rd in Omaha, NE.   I have owned the store since 1990.  The store is 1600 square feet and is stocked with engravable gifts.  In addition, The Engravery also sells wedding invitations and graduation announcements and offers services such as engraving, hot foil stamping, and baby shoe bronzing.  Photo gifts has been one of the newer services that we are offering.