This week’s podcast is all about wedding business branding. We have an amazing special guest, Karleigh Millward joining us this week! Karleigh is the lead designer & owner of Karleigh June Studio where she elevates brands through thoughtful design. Karleigh was the creative designer behind the Schift & Co rebrand and she is my number one recommendation when it comes to branding, graphic design, and website design for lifestyle businesses.
Last week we discussed the three things that all successful wedding businesses have in common. One of those things was having a solid brand that reflects the vision of your business and serves your ideal couple. That’s why we knew we needed to start off our first ever guest interview with brand designer, Karleigh.
Eliminate the Perception that Branding is just a Logo
One of the biggest misconceptions about branding is that it is just your logo. When in fact your visual branding is just the very tip of the iceberg. There are really three core parts to your branding.
- Brand Strategy – this includes things like researching your competitors, where you fit in the market, who your ideal couple is and the tone of voice that resonates most with them.
- Visuals – this includes what many of us consider branding. So this includes the logo, colour palette, typography and even the brand photography
- Execution – this is where you piece together the strategy and visuals to effectively tell your brand story. You want your ideal couples to be able to recognize your brand and remember it.
Your Brand is Not About You
Imagine your best friend just got engaged! You wouldn’t make it all about you and start telling them about how great you are at what you do. No! You would be asking them how it happened, how they feel, how they envision their day going. So similarly, when it comes to your branding you have to take the same approach.
Your branding needs to speak to your ideal client. You can really get a good idea of how this is done well when you look at strong brands that you use. Why does that work for them and how can you take that and make it work for your wedding business. A great example is Anthropologie. They know exactly how to talk to their ideal client. An “Anthro-girl” is carefree yet refined and loves the more boho approach. So you can see how their language and visuals are so focused on that ideal client.
When your ideal couple looks at your branding you want them to resonate & connect with you. You want them to be able to align with your brand and envision you in their life.
A Splash of Personality
Now as much as your brand is not about you, you can definitely add some of you in there. It’s important for your ideal couple to know who is behind the brand. You’re going to be working closely with your couples so it helps to know that your personalities pair well together.
If you haven’t already I would recommend reading Building a Story Brand. This is a light read but has been very impactful in my own branding journey. It’s all about making your clients the hero of the story and how you are guiding them where they need to go. It emphasizes that you’re an important part of the story but not the star of the show!
Do you have to have your branding figured out from the start?
In an ideal world, having your branding figured out from the get-go saves a whole lot of work for you down the road. That means you’ll be attracting the right couples from the get-go and can get your business moving towards where you want it to go. At Schift & Co we very intentionally made sure our brand reflected the years of expertise and not the number of years in business. Just because you just launched, your business does not have to look brand new!
Realistically though you may find that you’re not so sure about the direction you’re going in. So you may have to be prepared to rebrand or refine your branding over time. Branding can grow, evolve and shift as your business does.
If you’re had the same branding for a while and notice that you’re not attracting the couples you want, do not feel connected with your business, or are moving in a different direction…. it may be a great time to rebrand!
Before you hire a brand designer for your wedding business branding
Remember that branding is a whole lot of fun but it’s a lot of work. You’re going to go on a journey to dive in deep to your vision for your business. It’s important that your brand designer is not just asking questions about your favourite colour… oh and a logo in 48 hours, is definitely way too good to be true. Your brand designer should be asking you about where you see your business going and who your ideal client is!
Get 10% off a Wedding Business Branding package with Karleigh June Studio.
Schift & Co are proud to have Karleigh June Studio as one of our Brand Partners. We work with Karleigh for all of our client branding projects so if you’re ready to start branding, we have an amazing offer for you! You can now get 10% off a branding package with Karleigh when you say that we referred you. You can also complete the form down below and we would be happy to make the introduction!
Connect with Karleigh
If you’d love to learn more about Karleigh and see all of the amazing work she has done. Head on over to her Instagram or view her website. Fun fact about Karleigh – she was the brand designer for Recipe and her work was recently featured in Jillian Harris’s Jilly Box – so incredible!
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