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Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
00:04 – 01:02
Welcome along my friends to another enchanting episode of the supp Spotlight Tales of the Trade where we journey behind the veil and into the minds of some of the UK’s most Talented wedding suppliers. I’m your host, Liam Ball, your magical wedding host, also known as the Gentleman Magician. And today, we’re talking about memories. Not just a fleeting kind of memory, we’re talking about the memories that you can hold in your hands, leaf through on a rainy afternoon, and pass down to future generations. I’m joined by the founder of De Hav Memories, who creates stunning heirloom quality albums and keepsakes designed to do justice To your most treasured moments. So grab a cup of tea and let’s step into the world of love stories told not just in words, but in pages, paper, and pure craftsmanship with the wonderful Florrie de Havilland. Hey Flory, how are you doing? Welcome along.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
01:02 – 01:08
Hi, yeah. Thank you for having me. That was such a lovely intro. I really appreciate those kind words.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
01:08 – 01:23
You’re very, very welcome. It’s evident, I think, when people go along and look at your website, the stunning work that you do and how good the quality of the work is. So and having seen it as well myself, I can attest to the fact that it’s all it’s all very, very true?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
01:24 – 01:44
Oh, well, thank you. Yes, I do strive to use only the highest quality sustainable materials. So that’s not only the materials, but also the printing processes and everything like that. And um yes, I I mean, I do my letter printing in house. And um so that means that I can have direct control of, you know, what goes out
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
01:44 – 01:51
there. Wow, that’s so cool. So what was it that inspired you to start De Havill Memories in the first place?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
01:52 – 02:46
Well, up until a few years ago, I was working as an engineer. And so yeah, pretty different. I happ accident, I would say. I wanted to do something in design. wanted to be something creative, ended up doing engineering with a focus in design. But when it came to work, I actually ended up working in the space industry and testing satellites. which didn’t have much room for creativity, he says, amazing as the job was. And yeah, I had a couple of health issues where I had time to think about what I actually really wanted to do. And um I realized that that creative output was incredibly important to me and I didn’t want to continue doing something um that, you know, wouldn’t bring me joy, essentially.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
02:46 – 02:58
Fantastic. That’s great. So essentially, it was a passion that came out of situations that you had, and it’s something which you’ve managed to turn into a business, which is great.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
02:58 – 03:13
Oh, exactly. It’s been a learning curve, don’t get me wrong. But that’s like what? twenty nineteen, I think, is when I started my um the ideas of my business and learning the back end, so it’s now all smooth smooth sailing.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
03:13 – 03:19
Which of course we now know was the most perfect time in the world to start a business. Yes. Well,
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
03:19 – 03:20
especially a wedding business.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
03:21 – 03:38
Indeed, yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, of course, as I said, we talked about earlier, your albums, the boxes, and all of the bits that you produce. that they they I mean, they really are heirloom quality pieces. Where did you get the idea of creating that quality of work from?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
03:40 – 04:40
Um, well, it all sort of started when I was sort of thinking about what I wanted to do. And I knew that, like I said, it wanted to be creative, and I thought I’d give call a go. and watercolour. I’ve done lots of different types of painting before and drawing and everything, but the watercolour was quite new to me. And so I thought, what would I like to do to incorporate both? And as soon as you start with your own painting and hand calligraphy, then it sort of all suddenly gets I don’t know, feels a lot nicer than using generated images and things like this. Oh I got you. So it just sort of all ended up like that. And I realized that this is something that people love. Not everybody is interested in having beautiful stationery. For some people, that’s just an invitation that goes in the bin. But for people and I’m sure there’ll be people who watch or listen to this, and they will completely agree that if you’re into stationary you need it to be beautiful.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
04:41 – 05:07
No, absolutely. Yeah, I I can I can certainly see the the the the the allure, I think, of having something which which isn’t just printed off a press that that a thousand other people have had with their names in place of yours. It’s something which is which is truly unique. So so what goes into making the the the the the stationery and and things like the signature wedding albums that you make? What’s the process?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
05:07 – 06:47
So start off with an inquiry. So that’s either through my website or quite often at wedding fairs, places like this. And yep, we can also inquire via social media. And then from there, we’d have a discovery call. sort of find out a bit more about each other. I find out about your wedding and yeah, we get a feel for if we’re a good fit together. So I only take on a limited number of couples per year anyway. And then if we’re a good match, then I send over a quote. And everything up until that point is completely no obligation. So you know, if you’ve got half an hour or so, it’s worth worth it really, just to see exactly, see where we stand. And if you go ahead, then I start designing. So it’s all based on that first initial call or meet up, whatever you prefer. And yes, from there, we will I do design rounds, initial concepts. And yes, basically everything I do is completely bespoke. My aim is to have all of your guests open their invitation. and say, Oh, that’s so them They don’t even have to look at who it’s from before they know who the invitation is from. They don’t have to read your names. And um so it really instilled the couple’s personality and love story into the invitation. And um yeah, it’s it’s sometimes takes a couple of rounds of designs to get there, but generally uh takes Not too long. I’ve got I think that’s the engineering in me, the sort of being quite precise
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
06:48 – 07:15
with what I do. I imagine there must be quite a lot of I suppose research and development in the process of getting it all right, getting it all correct. Very much probably an engineering approach and process. Really getting inside the head of the couple to understand what they like, what their vision is, what they want. And then and then, of course, you you’ve got the the the job of putting that into a designer on paper so that they look at it and go, wow. That’s so us.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
07:15 – 07:26
Exactly. And nothing’s printed until my couples are 100% happy, whether that’s the invitations or on-the-date items or your thank you letters. Nothing is finalized until you’re happy. Wow.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
07:28 – 07:46
So what kind of printing processes do you use? What goes into the I mean, let’s say that you’ve had a couple, you’ve met them, you’ve gone through it all with them, you’ve. you’ve worked on the designs, they’ve picked one, everybody’s happy that it’s the perfect one. How do you then go ahead and turn that into what it’s going to be with the invitations and such?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
07:48 – 09:14
Well, it’s a mix of things, depending on what type of printing my couple would like. So I, as I mentioned earlier, do letter printing in house. So this is where the letters or image are printed directly or pressed directly into the paper. So I do have some examples, but I’m not sure how easy it will be to see. but it leaves a beautiful texture on the paper where they you can feel that the letters are in embedded into it. For that, I understand already at the beginning, right straight from our discovery call, what sort of printing my couples are after just to get because that really affects the design. Because with Letterpress you need to have simple lines, they can’t be too thin and you know, multiple colors means Yeah, can get a bit tricky if you go above three. And so, yes. But for digital printing, I’d send that off to one of my printers. So I’ve got a printer who I know and trust. And they’re absolutely fantastic, so they take care of all of this for me. And um yes, no, it’s um it’s it’s quite simple way to do it, I think. Um but I think that’s because I’ve I’ve sort of figured that one out. It took a while to shop around and find the right printers for me, though. That was yeah.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
09:14 – 09:26
Yeah, it’s I think, yeah, it’s definitely isn’t it? Wh when you’re trusting your business to somebody who’s then going to produce it on your behalf, you’ve got to find the right supplier. So, other than things like inv and what have you, what else do you produce?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
09:27 – 11:02
So for the wedding industry, I also do things, for example, so straight from you save the dates. inv all the way through to your thank you letters. So that includes your menus, your signage, your seating charts, bar signs Card signs, anything you can think of. Order of the day, order of service, booklets, you know, whatever. I I anything with writing, basically. I do. And so, yeah. And I also offer other um so with the call. Um these are gener um in the wedding context. Would either be place names handwritten or have each wedding guest’s name handwritten on the invitations. That’s very popular, just to have that personalized touch. And. Yes, there’s there’s quite a few ways you can go about it, or even addressing envelopes so that it’s really beautiful and everything is, you know seamless and perfect and yeah. Um but also on the other side, I create uh wedding artwork. So this could either be your vows written out or I do this wedding anniversary calligraphy. And so it’s got your little watercolor illustrations of your bouquet flowers going along the sides, and also has sort of all the milestone wedding anniversaries, all beautifully handwritten. And yeah, so pretty much bit of everything.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
11:02 – 11:17
Wow. So so, I mean, that there is Yeah, just trying to kind of absorb that. That there’s so much that you do which is personalized at every single step of the way. In, I guess, whatever way the couple wants it, right?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
11:18 – 12:18
Nothing that I do is generic. Um, so I’ve I’ve had friends come to me, um, or couples come to me and recommend their friends. And the friends are said, you know, all bit nervous, you know, I don’t as much as I like their invitations, I don’t want everybody to sort of think, oh, yeah, okay, we’ve got We’ve got the same one. Obviously, they’ve gone to the same designer kind of thing and said, you know, I want it to be different. And I said, Well, yes, of course. It’s different love story, different couple. You can have anything you’d like in it. And um, yeah. But I’ve also had couples come to me who say, I want this, here are my inspiration pictures, this is what I’m after, and give me, you know, literally everything. And then I’ve also had couples who come to me who said I have no idea what I want, but he doesn’t want pink, and I don’t want, I don’t know, flowy script or something. I want it to be and so, yeah, and then just go from there.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
12:18 – 12:22
So every every client and every job, I suppose, is entirely different.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
12:23 – 12:25
Yeah, absolutely. That’s fantastic. Absolutely.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
12:27 – 12:53
I mean, I I can only imagine that there must be I mean, of course, there has to be a starting point where you might say, well, I’ve I’ve got after after the brief conversation we’ve had, here’s fifteen things that you can look at with that might fall into some of the things. And I suppose that even if somebody said, Oh, goodness, we’ve just picked up this one, this is perfect, there’s probably going to be even more questions then that you’ll ask, which end up developing that further into something which is still unique for them, right?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
12:55 – 14:32
I tend to have most of the questions straight at the beginning. It all pretty much all happens in the discovery call. So in the discovery call, I’ve got quite a few set questions. So it’s not only things like you know, do you have any inspiration? But also, for example, how do you want your guests to feel? What do you want the sort of general vibe to be? Do you have any sort of colors, flowers? Gem how did you meet? These are all things that factor into it. So I get as much information at the beginning as possible. And then I send over three designs based on this, and they’re all incredibly different. And then from there, I’ve got this Very simple, easy to use form where my couples go through and say, I like this design because I like this design, but I don’t like this bit, or really don’t like this design. Let’s just completely ignore all of that. So yeah, and then from the feedback that I’m left, then we just sort of work on it and I send it back every sort of week, week and a half. And Yeah. Normally it only takes maximum I think the most number of rounds I’ve had were four. And that was because the design was changed one hundred percent after the second one. because um she’d seen other inspiration. Um but otherwise it’s only taken me a maximum of three, um, normally as before I pin it down. And then everything else falls into place. So I start with the invitation. Even if you’ll start you, want your save the dates, I always start with the invitation and then base everything around that.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
14:32 – 14:40
Yeah. But I mean I mean and and all of that sounds great, but essentially what I’m hearing is You get whatever you want, however it fits, right?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
14:41 – 15:38
Absolutely. Yeah. And if you’ve got any questions or any queries, any sort of any feedback, I take it on board. Um and if you if you I mean, for example, I’ve had um I think it was this this couple actually. Um they wanted to have their um menu cards and their invitations the same. They wanted fl. And I said, I’m very happy to do it, but hear me out. Why don’t we do a really, really, really, really, really dark brown? and gave them sort of samples of both. And Wh if you just look at the dark brown, it looks black, as you can see. Um, but yeah, um, the black, just the plain black, looks completely off. If you have that, there’s something that looks so artificial. And that’s where having a professional stationer like me comes in handy because I can sort of make those sort of suggestions and
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
15:40 – 15:55
I suppose as well it’s the understanding of how we can make this look like it’s bespoke and truly unique and something that you’ve put all of the world of thought into, and not just something that you happen to stumble across in Marks and Spencer’s or W Smith’s.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
15:56 – 16:01
I think you’d be hard pushed to find anything like what I do in Ind’s place.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
16:03 – 16:11
Yeah, that’s exactly the point. So what has been the most memorable or the most unusual thing that anybody’s ever asked you for in terms of design?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
16:13 – 16:55
This is actually quite an easy one because I was talking about it. The other day, and that was a couple, absolutely lovely. And her grandfather had introduced her and her fian to each other. And so they really wanted to honour the grandfather in sa some way, but he unfortunately passed away before the wedding. And so they we were just sort of discussing it, and I said, Well, you know, what are you doing? Is it are you doing anything at the wedding to celebrate him? Have you got any ideas? They said that he had a teapot collection. So I quickly painted a few teapots and then we included them in the invitation design and made sure that they were on each of the different items for stationary
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
16:56 – 16:56
so
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
16:56 – 16:57
that he was included in everything.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
16:58 – 17:20
That’s fantastic. So yes, something which is totally off the wall and still fits absolutely Beautifully and perfectly. And what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever been asked to make, where you sit back and think, Goodness, I can I can understand why you love that, but that’s that’s very you and is absolutely never anybody else.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
17:22 – 17:36
Ooh, that’s an interesting one. I mean I guess strange For other people, I’m cat mad, but I did have a calligraphy commission, which was a poem and watercolour painting that’s all about cats.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
17:36 – 17:36
Okay.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
17:38 – 18:00
So that’s now I and it’s quite nice with the sort of uh artwork side as well, having that and then being able to see where people place it in the houses. And this one’s on top of the mantelpiece over the fireplace, which I think that’s really nice. Um, they wanted that to be specifically of their cat who’d passed away, um, to sort of remember her by, which was yeah.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
18:00 – 18:50
Brilliant stuff. So I mean, of course, thinking about where we are in the world, it’s twenty twenty five currently. And it is so easy sometimes to go on to a digital service and say I’m going to create my own stuff. I’m going to do it all. But of course, what you’re creating is something which really is a physical keepsake. As you say, it’s something which is. very much the couple, it’s very them, it’s always bespoke. And the amount of work and craftsmanship and art that goes into it, I mean, in a digital world, how do you still ensure that the things that you do still really do matter to people and and find ways to get clients to realize that that Yeah, you could print it on a home printer, but it’s that that’s not what that’s not the same, yeah.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
18:51 – 21:38
I’ll be honest, uh, not many people will print it on a home printer. I think the type of people who would do that would rather send it via email. than printer. Yeah. I’ve received a few of them. I mean, even from friends, um, which is quite interesting. Uh, but no, each to their own. I mean, that is a bit sort of okay. Yeah, I’m your wedding stationer friend, and you sent your wedding invitations via WhatsApp. But no, um yeah, like I said, stationery isn’t the important thing for everybody, but for the people where it is important, it is one of the most important things. And uh what I try and do is try and rem remind my couples that um or explain to them how your wedding invitations are one of the final things that you will ever have. So you in your hand you p will print off your photos and have them in a photo album. But so many couples put their wedding invitations and wedding stationery in the back of their photo album. I mean, in mine, I’ve got my con bag even. you know, everybody has that sort of box or and you’ll be surprised how many of my couples have framed their seating chart and put it on ball because they said it’s got all of their favorite people in one place. So, you know, and it’s an artwork, it’s not just a bit of information for one day kind of thing. And yes, it’s it’s very personal. his artwork is something to look back on. And you’d also be surprised. I mean, this is something I So I was already working as a wedding stationer when I got married and I didn’t realize just how many people keep invitations, people that you aren’t expecting. I mean I know some my friends, they lived in a shared boys’ house and I sent them all each individual invitations’cause, you know, being a station I had to do the proper etiquette. And um they each of them had a l or I think two out of three had a little box that they had in some cupboard somewhere that had all of the invitations and things. And so many people took their menus from my wedding because they said, Oh, it’s so pretty And almost everybody I know takes the place cards because you know it’s person got their name on, that’s just the sort of standard. So yeah, it’s you’d be surprised how many people would take the things and keep it and treasure it. And even the sort of guests a lot of people I think just assume that it would be their parents or siblings, you know, the close family. But it’s actually sometimes the friends who you never would have expected to be so sentimental.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
21:39 – 21:52
And I suppose that that really does only happen when you’ve got something which is as bespoke and and as as utterly Individual as the work that you create, right?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
21:53 – 22:17
Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, um It that’s true. I I have heard quite a few horror stories about people using some of the that actually that’s how quite a few of my customers do come to me. is after they’ve printed the save the dates via a big company, they’ve used a template and what they receive is not what they ordered.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
22:17 – 22:18
Whether
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
22:18 – 22:53
that’s I mean poor quality printing. I had some who’s had lines going through and or different colors, or when it’s been printed over, there’s sort of off centre, things like this. And then because they’re big companies, they reply to them and say, hey, this isn’t right. And sometimes they send them out again wrong, sometimes they just say, well, pay again. They’re not losing much. So I have quite a few of my couples do come to me having already had a bad experience with um other other places as well, which is Yeah, not ideal.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
22:54 – 23:55
I suppose as well, that’s the kind of thing that that your your regular person who has their own job and and doesn’t really do things like this doesn’t doesn’t know, right? Because people who I mean, much like yourself and me and many other businesses who are in business, where we’re having assets printed and we have to send them off to get them printed by an agency. It’s not as unusual as you would like to think for something to come back and for it to be wrong and for you to have to go hang on, this is not what I ordered But of course, when somebody’s doing it for the first time, not only are they going to get caught out by that, but it’s probably going to be more likely to happen. because they’re not used to working with a print supplier who who is just a a a you know, you you’re one number in a million in a machine of work that they’ve got and you don’t know what it is that they need in order to get it perfect. Whereas with yourself, of course, it’s one on one, everything is always perfect, everything is always there, and you cast your eyes over it before it goes out the door anyway.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
23:55 – 24:57
Yeah, I mean, I’ve got lots of fail sa involved. Um I from you know, the design rounds, I always have a print release at which and I I haven’t ever ever printed off anything with a spelling mistake, but I did have I think it was my very first couple, and um this is when I was still living in Germany, so it was all in German, so I did say to them I’m not going to be liable for any sort of spelling mistake at this point. I’m just going to copy and paste what you send me. Which I tend to do anyway, especially when it comes to doing seating charts and names. I really try not to Do any typing with that. Um, but there was a typo in their name. Oh, wow. And because they just well, we all assumed that it would be completely correct. We didn’t really think about it. And it was only during the print release that I sent one back and I said, just make sure you check every single spelling, the date, everything. And they said, Oh, yeah, actually. That’s yeah, it’s with double S.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
24:57 – 24:58
Wow.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
24:58 – 25:07
So, yeah. J it’s amazing what you can miss when you’re you’re so used to reading the same thing over and over again and sometimes you just need those final
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
25:07 – 25:08
checks.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
25:08 – 25:17
And I always do I’ve got like a little copy and paste paragraph of check your names, check your dates, check the postcode, check this and Yeah.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
25:17 – 26:29
Tick it off as you go. Do you know, it’s funny you’ve said that actually. It reminds me, I remember going to a wedding a couple of years ago where the couple had hired You know you know that light up letters that you get. But they not that, but for their whole name. And their name had like ten characters in it. And I remember doing a first look around the room with the bride just before we were about to get everybody in and she looked at this thing and she looked and she went That’s not our name Sorry? She went, That’s that’s not our name. The first letter’s correct, and the last letter’s correct, but the ones in the middle They don’t say anything. And it was almost like, how did somebody turn up this morning and install those and not see that? But I suppose that’s that’s the thing, isn’t it, when it is just somebody just cracking on and doing a job and and not giving it the the the lookover that that you are. So what’s what would you say is one Reaction that you’ve had from a client that’s really stayed with you and and really like on on the days where it’s raining outside and you’re feeling a bit miserable because you can’t go out and lay in the sun and What’s that one thing that really makes you get out of bed and just crack on and get the job done?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
26:30 – 27:54
So because of this one, actually, I changed slightly how I do my business. but I had a customer call me up and cry because she was so happy with the invitations. And so now I quite like to drop off as many of the items as possible and give it to the people personally, give it to my couples personally, because I really like S react. I’ve had two customers cry with happiness. Luckily. And yeah, it’s been really nice. I I mean some of the uh some of my couples I’m still friends with um afterwards. And it’s I try and take all the stress off them, and but there would always be a best back and forth, but not all of it serious. You know, some of it, or a lot of it, is just general chat as well, you know, if that’s what you’re after. And I do work closely with my couples and I do bond with them. And yeah, to have them call me up and say, This is perfect, this is everything I wanted, or, you know, uh uh couples who’ve said that they just wanted to have nice stationery, they didn’t think too much about it, and then say, I couldn’t believe that it would be That I would cry over a piece of paper. Yep. You know? So that that makes it all worth it.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
27:55 – 28:05
I suppose is supp ahead of the wedding day. I suppose things like this are the things that really start to make it feel real.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
28:06 – 28:39
But also, the inv or save the dates are the first. thing that your guests and loved ones will see of your wedding. So it’s the first glimpse, so it really is the first impression that they get. So if you want to have a stand out wedding Normally everything else is very hush hush. You know, nobody knows if you’re going to have a magician, nobody knows what sort of music is going to be playing, everything’s sort of all quiet, but then or if you’ve got a live band or whatever. Um, but for the inv, that is really the ooh, okay, it’s going to be like that then.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
28:42 – 28:51
You’re playing an integral part in setting the scene of the vision for the day and then helping to maintain that all the way through the whole program, right?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
28:52 – 29:28
Absolutely. So everything that I do from start to finish is all cohesive. And even if some of the designs change, it’s nice to have that sort of same feel through it. So even just using the same fonts, it’s funny what people notice without really paying attention. you know, what sort of sinks in. And, you know, I’ve had couples comment and say, Yeah, I had a lot of people thank me for the signage. And it’s like, you know, so not thank them, but, you know, comment on it and say, Oh, it’s just like your invitations. Yeah, it’s nice. It’s not something generic. It really is following them through.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
29:28 – 29:42
Fantastic. That that sounds great. So, let’s just find out one or two interesting things about you. You wait in the morning. Whatever time your alarm goes off, what’s your morning routine for the day before you really get into it?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
29:43 – 31:32
Well, my husband gets up. And then I stay asleep for a bit longer. And then he says, Are you going to get up now? And then I set my alarm for seven twenty five, which is normally about three minutes. in three minutes’ time because I’m such a non morning person. And yeah, then we get up, have breakfast together and then I s about on my phone for a while because, you know He doesn’t. And yeah, then it really depends on what I’ve got on during the day. If I all of my work is in house, you know, everything is I don’t have a separate office. So I’ve got an office in my house and I’ve got a workshop here. So everything I do is here, which is your name. It’s good that I’ve got my caps. Saves me from going a bit stir crazy. But yeah. And so, yeah, and it’s great. Depending on what I’m doing, I mean, with creative jobs in general. Um, if you’re not feeling it, you really can’t force it. Um, and so, I mean, today I’ve been doing a lot of design work and in the morning, I really was not feel it. It was very much everything was going wrong. My computer needed to restart. Photoshop was running out of space. Yeah, everything was just Awful, and so I just thought, you know what? I’m gonna go out, gonna have a cup of tea, I’m gonna eat an apple, come back inside, write some emails, and then see if I’m feeling up to it now. And yeah, then it was a lot easier. So I I work quite fluidly. I’m not very good with having a strict at ten o’clock I’m going to do this and then in that time. Because, yeah, just see how the mood takes me.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
31:32 – 31:42
Sure. Okay. If you could go back to any event or even any wedding in history and write the invites for it, which one would it be?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
31:45 – 32:42
Oh, that’s very interesting. Hmm. Um, so inv, since even my parents’ gener, weren’t particularly exciting. Um and it’s only been in the last sort of ten, fifteen years maximum that they’ve started to get more into a statement. But I so I d I don’t think I’ll go too far back because I don’t think that it would have been as it’s I mean, sometimes they’re what didn’t even have invitations, they were just sort of it was word of mouth. Um, I did, however, and not that I’m necessarily a fan of these people, see Jeff Bez’ wedding invitations, and I was absolutely shaken to my core by them because I was It looked like they’ve been done on Microsoft Word.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
32:42 – 32:44
Gosh, you pro for Amazon special then.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
32:44 – 33:06
Yeah, it was just and I couldn’t believe it. And um, it yeah, I That one was a bit ex interest. I I would quite like to do something like that for them because it could have been a hell of with the amount of money that they spent on that wedding, I do think stationery deserve better representation.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
33:06 – 33:16
Most definitely, absolutely. So, last thing for all the people who are listening to this, if they want to find out more about you, where can they see you online and through your social media channels?
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
33:17 – 33:35
So uh social media, I’m on Facebook and Instagram, and so that’s um at De Hav Memories which you can see at the bottom of the screen. And my website is also very similar, that is www. dot com. And that’s all one word.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
33:35 – 33:43
Brilliant stuff. Flory, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the podcast today. Thank you so much for sharing some time with us. And I’ll catch you with you again soon. Take care.
Florrie de Havilland – de Havilland Memories – Stationery & Calligraphy
33:43 – 33:45
Yeah, looking forward to that. Bye-bye.
Liam Ball – Your Magical Wedding Host – The Gentleman Magician
33:47 – 34:36
And there you have it, folks. A beautifully bound glimpse into the heart of de Havilland Memories. A huge thanks to Florrie for sharing her process and her passion for creating beautiful wedding stationery and invites. Now, remember, if you are planning your wedding and you want more than just a gener invite or stationery, do go and have a look at Flor’s website. It is de. It’s also something that you can check out again on Facebook and Instagram at De Memories. I do recommend you do that. It really is something quite special. And of course If you’re looking for a magical wedding host to guide you through your wedding with some charm, some wit, and perhaps a little bit of behind-the-scenes sleight of hand. you know where to find me. Until next time, folks, stay safe and take care. Bye bye.