HOW - Wedding Planning Tips & Tricks with Benita Kam

With more than two decades of experience in the Australian event and wedding industry, Benita Kam of BNT Management remains one of the most stylish and respected planners in the event space. Founded in 1999, BNT Management has a reputation as a leader in the field of luxury events. BNT offers a full concept design, styling, coordination and planning service across the board - strategically and creatively producing custom events to reflect each and every client.

It is easy to organize a wedding in terms of hiring - choose a tablecloth, book a band, hire the candelabras and pay the deposits to the photographer and videographers.

BNT Management however has that something extra; creativity, imagination; flair. Ingredients that turn a wedding into ‘the most talked about wedding of the year.”

8 Tips and Tricks for your perfect day

1. The top tip is to engage a wedding planner. The perfect wedding celebration is a beautiful idea. Designing it can be overwhelming. Wedding planners are there to take a couple’s vision and then they will execute it with originality that pertains to each individual couple and will pay attention to all of the details that have been mentioned to them so that everyone especially the bride and groom have the best time.

2. Don’t listen to everyone’s advice and don’t ask for too much of it as this will make everything really stressful. It is important that couples remain true to themselves. The best way to plan a wedding efficiently and easily is to engage a top team.

3. Make sure that the planner you engage will book vendors that you trust. If you trust the planner then you in turn will trust the vendors. This way you don’t need to second guess any choices. Ask your planner to look after the timeline and the budget so that they will inform you when decisions need to be made and what is to be expected. I always say a happy bride is a well-informed bride. The same applies to guests. A happy guest is a well-informed guest - make sure they know all details.

4. Don’t have a set budget as a wedding is a bit like building something. It is important to have a range for a budget and as long as it is realistic, and you can have some flexibility then no one will be disappointed. BUT determine a budget based on what you can afford. Do not put a rope around your necks for one night. Nobody in the room will know about the things you wanted and couldn’t have.

5. Don’t expect absolute perfection and prioritize on what is important - as something can always go wrong, but this needs to be put into perspective. What is important is your future lives together as partners - not the tiny details of the wedding celebrations (that only you know should have been different in the first place!)

6. When you get to the beginning of the aisle - STOP, and silently count to ten before you take your steps forward. This provides for a great photo opportunity.

7. Before you leave for the ceremony it is really important to stop and breathe and just savor the moments as they go so fast. This is the dream you will have had in your head for so long, so, stop for a minute and appreciate it.

8. Make sure you give a list to your planner or to the photographer of special people you want in your photographs as they can’t guess who those people are. This way important guests won’t be forgotten, and you won’t regret any missed opportunities to capture the moments with those closest to you.

In Discussion... DD Letterpress

What is Letterpress?

Letterpress is one of the oldest forms of printing which creates results that no modern printing technique can produce. It has had an artisanal revival since it was superseded by offset and digital printing. These days, letterpress printing combines modern technology with the age old craft by using printing plates made from computer based artwork. The raised plates are then coated with inks which have been mixed by hand and eye and applied to the rollers of the press (our presses are 70-100 years young). The appeal of letterpress printing in the contemporary world is the tactile deboss it leaves as the paper (usually cotton) is literally pressed with force by these one tonne beauties.

How does Letterpress differ from your standard stationery printing?

Letterpress differs from standard printing in that the original letterpress machines are still used today for letterpress printing and require a printer (an actual person) to manually operate and adjust the press based on each job. The printer applies the ink to the press by hand and adjusts the speed and suction of the press depending on a number of factors based on the weight of the paper, the artwork and the temperature in the studio. Another difference that helps it stand apart from standard printing is that it is not limited by paper weight like digital printing is. Digital printing usually limited to paper weights between 80-300gsm where as letterpress is best printed on paper 300gsm-600gsm. We have even printed up to 1200gsm before which then lends itself to a beautiful painted or foiled edge.

What style of invitation and stationery does it suit?

Letterpress printed stationery suits any style of invitation! The possibilities are as endless as your imagination. Letterpress printing lends itself to minimal colour palette. Usually 1-2 colours is all that is required on an invitation as less is definitely more, letting the tactile nature of letterpress speak for itself. My favourite designs are usually ones that have a blind deboss, which means we have printed the image or text with no ink which can still be seen because of the indent left in the paper.

What is the process?

We work with our clients to create their ideal wedding invitation on computer initially. Some clients come to us with mood boards, while others give us a brief about their wedding theme. We also have a range of designs within our collection to choose from if you prefer to simplify the process and find something that suits. Once the digital artwork has been finalised we then create the raised printing plates from the artwork. This plate is then adhered onto a metal base which is lifted into the press. Ink which has been hand mixed for the project is then applied to the rollers which then roll over the raised printing plate. The press uses suckers to pick up one sheet of paper at a time and feeds each sheet into the press to be inked up and pressed into the plate to create the debossed artwork. There really is nothing else that compares!

Do you need to have your invitation designed by an external designer or do you offer design services?

We offer full custom design services as well as having a range of pre-designed invitations to select from. If clients would like to bring their own print ready design they are more than welcome to and they can find file set up requirements on our website.

How long does the process take?

Our standard turnaround time is 12-15 business days for printing however this is project dependant. We offer express services by printing out of hours to ensure urgent projects

meet deadlines. The design process can take anywhere from an additional 2 days to a few weeks depending on how clear the client is on their vision as well as the work involved.

Can you select any colours including silver, gold and rose gold foiling with letter press?

Yes! We love to combine metallic foil printing with letterpress printing. Foil printing is a slightly different process to letterpress in that instead of ink being applied, a metal printing plate is heated and pressed against the foil into the paper which transfers the foil to the paper.

What sort of budget would a couple require for stationery to allow for letterpress?

Letterpress printed wedding invitations start from around $300 and increase in price depending on a number of factors such as the type of paper used, the weight of the paper, the number of colours being printing etc. It’s not the cheapest method of printing because of the time consuming nature however it is by far the highest quality.