June 21, 2017

Stationary VS Stationery

June 21, 2017/ Monique Garcia

There has been a battle brewing in the wedding and events industry that some of you might not know about. It is something that has been seen by some as a common mistake and a major faux pas by others. So much so that memes and products have popped up addressing the issue.

Do I have you at the edge of your seat? Are you dying to know what I'm talking about? I'll give you a clue below...

This great pillow created by Elizabeth at Pomp Creative can be purchased on her ETSY Shop. Click the image to purchase now.

That's right. The issue that has been plaguing countless Facebook Groups and subjects of frustration amongst vendors has been how the word stationary/stationery is written when used in the context of invitations and paper goods. Just in case you don't know, stationary is when someone or something is completely still; not moving. Stationery is used to describe products used for writing such as paper, pens, pencils, and ink. It has actually gotten some folks pretty upset when one mistakenly uses stationary instead of stationery.

You may be reading this and thinking, "These people are nuts for being offended that I mistakenly misspelled the word. It's a common and honest mistake." Well, I mean wouldn't you be slightly peeved if someone misspelled your name? Truth be told, I made this mistake in our business within our first year. Needless to say after I began to learn more about this industry and what a privilege it was to create these treasured paper goods, I quickly made the change to the correct spelling of my occupation.

Any who, for those of you passing through and thinking this is silly, here's some expert food for thought. If not, just remember recheck that spelling before you send that email or social media status.

June 13, 2017

Change is Coming...

June 13, 2017/ Monique Garcia

Yes, yes, I know...I'm getting Game of Throne Fans excited by my blog title. Truth be told, neither Gus or I are into Game of Thrones (don't throw your computer to the wall just yet), but felt like this title, in a sense borrowing the sentiment of #winteriscoming, was really appropriate.

Back to why we've taken you away from your regularly scheduled social media scroll break. We have some news and it's about time we told you about it. We have been in business for almost 6 years. Trust me when I say that there has been a lot of blood, sweat, and hard work (okay okay...tears too) that have gone into everything we've done since starting on this journey in 2011. But like any good movie plot, change is immenent young padawan (total Star Wars reference...look it up).

Change can be scary, but so needed. After taking some time and reevaluating everything from our branding, logo design, website, and presence in general, I think I should tell you about some changes that will be taking place in our company.

OUR BRANDING AND LOGO DESIGN

Although it went through a slight redesign, the logo you see today was as it was at the beginning of our company; from the text written in my hand writing and the fountain pen that many of you have probably been puzzled about. Our branding elements like the wood background and accents that were purely from a photo taken of our dining room table (that we still have). The electric blue color throughout our branding was a random idea that I thought was needed.

All of this imagery just doesn't feel right anymore.

OUR WEBSITE

When the needs of your project changes, so do the tools in your tool belt. Our website has always been a great tool for our us to communicate not only what our business does but who we are. We have been brainstorming and making moves to provide more services to benefit the experience that you, the client, will be receiving. This means we need to expand and change the way our website is coded, shaped, and make sure we are using to its fullest potential.

....which brings me to our biggest change....

OUR ROLES IN THE COMPANY

As a lot of you may know, Gus and I work as a husband and wife team. Although we have probably mentioned it in conversation, we haven't specified our roles in the company (which is totally our fault). We both feel it's important to be totally transparent with y'all if we haven't discussed it before.

Monique&Gus|Only_One_Mark_Inc|Dipp_Photography.jpeg

I, Monique, handle all of the day to day work from answering emails, putting together invoices, and running our social media accounts. I also am the only designer and customer service representative that will not only walk you through the process but be a source of knowledge and comedic relief when things aren't always going right in your planning.

Gus is responsible for our back end. He is the one that keeps track of our accounting and finance department. Gus is my biggest supporter and has been known to be my minion when in need of another set of hands to complete an order.

For these reasons and others, Gus is taking a step back in terms of presence in our social media accounts and other aspects of the business. So, in a sense, it will be I, Monique, that you will hear from and interact with on a daily basis. But don't freak out, our relationship is fine. I'm still going to include the emotionally, sappy posts that I know you guys love seeing (and I love sharing) about us as a couple. We just want to be clear on why Gus won't be as visual in the future.

After watching YOU PANIC A LITTLE, LET ME EASE YOUR MIND BY TELLING YOU WHAT WE AREN't changing...

OUR MISSION

I genuinely feel like our mission is to serve couples by helping them create beautiful, custom invitations and paper goods. There is a reason why a light bulb went off in my head after our wedding. Ultimately, WE WERE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO STRUGGLED DESIGNING THEIR DREAM INVITATIONS. So many of you are in that struggle right now (or were until we helped make that wish come true). You should be able to have a design you love and treasure as something that tells the epic story of your prequel. Like Episodes 1-3 of Star Wars, your children and their children's children will want to know the details of how you two came together. Your invitation is a great way to help tell that story.

Pocket_Invitation|Only_One_Mark_Inc|Dipp_Photography.jpeg

With all of that said, I hope you keep along with our journey to see whats in the future for Only One Mark, Inc. Change will come along slowly (or all at once), but one thing remains: our mission to create your dream stationery for your big day.

Until next time!

May 15, 2017

CATCHING UP ON ALL THE THINGS

May 15, 2017/ Monique Garcia

As I sit here in our little studio answering emails and finishing up for the day, I just felt the need to jump on here and, I guess, give you a life update. Looking back, it has been a bit since I've done so. Like, let's talk about how I haven't really written up a personal post since JULY of Last Year!!

😅 Yup....

Well, since then, we participated in two bridal shows at the Thalatta Estate & The Rusty Pelican. There were so many wonderful folks to meet and other wedding vendors too. We got to sort of cozy into our house (although Rome is still being built, people, make no mistake) and got to celebrate a milestone both in our age and our marriage. That's right, Gus and I both turned 30 and celebrated 5 amazing years together as husband and wife. We were so excited about this we made a last minute decision to fly out to Las Vegas and enjoy some time in the city of many Elvis impersonators. We also decided to capture the moment with the help of Sonju Photography. You can check out the full momentous, Star Wars filled day here. After the holidays, we stepped up our game and helped put together two workshops for entrepreneurs/creatives through our Miami Chapter of Tuesdays Together. Ooh, and also participated in a great little chat with some fellow wedding vendors over at Brides of Florida. There was a huge step taken towards serving at our church on both our ends. Gus is now volunteering with security (#fearthebeard) and I'm singing with our band.

I really gave you the cliff notes version of the past few months, but that's it in a nutshell. God is good all the time, people. Whether you believe in Him or think He's just a fairy tale character from days of old. There have been so many opportunities and blessings that I've seen happen in these past months (not just with Gus and I). There is no way we could have planned any of it and it turned out as perfectly as it has.

Proof you say? Is it photos you want? Even if you don't, I'll share a small gallery down below with some of our favorite shots from this past season.

April 26, 2017

Tropical Garden Romance Styled Shoot

April 26, 2017/ Monique Garcia

There are always amazing opportunities out there that one just can't say no to. This is how I felt about the Styled Shoot proposed by Priscilla from Events by Priscilla and Erica from Erica Melissa (we've talked about her before...I know you remember). Anywho, it turns out the fabulosity fo the shoot could not be contained and.... WE GOT FEATURED!!