What Goes Into Creating Custom Wedding Signage? | WDP Ep 83

🎧 Listen to learn:

• What goes into creating custom wedding signage and installations
• How inspiration boards become one-of-a-kind event designs
• Why venue logistics play a major role in custom installations
• The behind-the-scenes challenges couples never see on wedding day
• How signage vendors adapt when unexpected problems arise
• Why custom installations can transform the guest experience

What does it actually take to create the custom wedding signage and installations that stop guests in their tracks? In this episode of Wedding Day Podcast, host Sonja Babich, CEO of Iron Diamond Media, and co-host Alexis Sanabria, Editorial Director of Washington Wedding Day, sit down with Tamara Berndt, owner of Seattle-based On the Wall Design Studio, to explore the artistry, logistics and problem-solving behind today's most memorable wedding displays.

Known for her handcrafted installations and immersive event designs, Tamara shares how a lifelong passion for creating evolved from a side hustle into a thriving signage studio. From teaching herself woodworking and graphic design to continually refining her fabrication process, she explains how every custom piece begins with a couple's vision before becoming a functional work of art built specifically for their celebration.

The conversation also dives into the realities couples rarely see—from navigating venue constraints and transportation logistics to making last-minute pivots when unexpected challenges arise. Tamara reflects on balancing entrepreneurship with motherhood, the supportive community she's found within the wedding industry and why creating unforgettable guest experiences through thoughtful design continues to inspire her work.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Wedding Day Podcast with your host, Sonia Babbage, CEO of Iron Diamond Media, a leading wedding resource featuring seven localized wedding brands across the country. Hi everybody, Sony here with Wedding Day Podcast. We're at the beautiful Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle. My co-host today is Miss Alexis. Hi everyone, it's great to be here.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

We're uh hosting Tamara today from On the Wall Design Studio, and she's gonna tell us about her business and her process. So we're so excited to have you.

unknown 0:29

Hi.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Hi. So installations are such a thing right now. Huge. Um and they're making a very like big statement from the entrance, the ceremony, the reception, the dance, the whole nine yards, and just um, and it all depends on the design, and you help the design come to life, especially with the installation. But you just started this journey back in 2020.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

2021, like July 2021, officially got my business license in uh 2022.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Yeah, you're like, I didn't I started, I didn't even have a business name yet.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

You know how like when you're doing side hustles, you kind of like, you know, do things for friends and family. Yes, you get paid, but it's not like you're reporting on money, right? Right. Um, but then it just kind of like blew up. And then by the time uh 2021 ended, I was like, ooh, I better make this official.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Yeah, this is something. Yeah, it's starting to be a lot.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Yeah, you're like, I'm getting paid and I need to have a business name. Exactly. Um, you know, insurance, a business license, a business name. You're right, I didn't even have a business name. Um at that time, I mean, people were just emailing me like my personal email still. Even my Instagram was still like my personal Instagram, so I was like, oh, time to make it official.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

You're like, I'm not going back. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

Exactly. I mean, people, you know, I want to want it to look professional, so I better have like, you know, a real business email and and things like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Okay, so tell us the story how this all came about with your company.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Oh, sure. So um, you know, I have always been like a crafty person. I'm always dabbling in something, you know, sewing, knitting, you know, I've done it all. I used to like make beaded bracelets when I was a kid. I'm just I love doing crafts and working with the hand, just making things. Yeah. Um, and so once I started to have kids, um, there was this big trend, you know, on social media with having name signs, like the round name signs, 3D letters. And of course, instead of just buying one, I'll go out and spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars to make it myself, right? It's kind of like that joke where instead of spending $50, I'll spend $500 to make it myself. So I did research and looked into how people were making these name signs. I didn't really know anything about large woodworking equipment. Um, my husband's a carpenter, so I did have some tools. Well, that's handy. Yeah, I'm sorry, but then I was like, well, how did they get these like detailed letters? And then I realized a lot of the artists were using a scroll saw. So I bought myself a scroll saw, which is like a little tiny saw that goes like up and down.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:04

Um, and you literally just like print out the letters that you want, put it on the wood, like glue it on the wood, and like push it into this saw, you know, cutting it, you know, all these little tiny letters. You call it jigsaw? Yeah, yes, similar to jigsaw, but a little bit different. But I just started making name signs. I made some for my kids, and then of course, uh friends and family started to ask, and then businesses started to ask for me to make their business logo, and so I started going doing that and home decor. Um, and one of my friends who actually did my makeup today, Eileen from um uh Lux Studios, uh I made her business sign when she opened up her studio, and so I um I went to her grand opening, I did her logo, and then I met an event planner there. Um, and her uh and I got introduced, um, and I got introduced as making these signs, and I've done backdrops and stuff like that. And she just asked me, Oh, would I make her a backdrop? But instead of buying it, can I rent it? I was like, sure, you can rent it from me. And she's like, Well, can you come and set it up too at the location? I was like, Oh, sure, I can do that too, because you know, I've done it for friends and family. Right. Um, and so it just took off from there. Like, she just shared it on her Instagram. Um, I met a good friend of mine, um, Jamie from Confetti Belinda's there. Um, and her and I are still really good friends now, and it just like took off because I guess there wasn't that many people in the area doing it. Um I didn't know that much about it, you know.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

Which makes you so green and organic.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

You fell into this. Yeah, and then next thing you know, like people that I didn't even know, you know, are contacting me asking me to do these like custom backdrops. And um, the first wedding I did uh was that same year in like July, and I it did not go smooth.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

I bet you guys there was a learning curve. There was a learning curve.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

It was a huge learning curve. It was like my first scening chart, large-scale scening chart. I've never even worked with vinyl before, but I'm kind of one of those um people that kind of have like, oh, I can figure it out type of can do. Yes, yeah, exactly. So I did figure it out. It was just way more difficult than I thought it would be. Yeah, I mean, we were uh working until the bride was walking down the aisle. Yeah, um, my sister and I we hid underneath a staircase as the bride was walking down the aisle. That must have been stressful. It was stressful. Um, and then we finished the scene chart. I'm not gonna say it was the most amazing seating chart there was. I learned a lot. I wanted to give up. I'm like, this is not for me, I'm not gonna do anymore. But honestly, I didn't give up. I just now they are amazing.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Yes. Like that's in every career. Like it's called onboarding. And yeah, you know, it's like one or two years, you're still a newbie on in the company, and when you're the owner, it's like the learning curve.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

You got yeah, trial and error and hiccups, and yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

I'm I mean, to this day, I'm learning something new every day. I'm figuring out a better method, I'm you know, researching better tools, um, trying to be more efficient, looking into systems.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

I mean, it's yeah, well, I mean, you just showed us a rendering a few minutes ago of a seating chart you're working on for this weekend. I'm sure you didn't do that in the beginning, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

Well, in the beginning, I did actually, because that event planner was like, Oh, can I can I see a rendering? I said, What's the rendering? Yeah, like well, um, possibly. I'm like, what's the rendering? You know, um, and she was like, Oh, it's kind of like a design proof so we can see what it looks like. I'm like, oh, okay. And I've actually I did uh I dabbled in Adobe Illustrator way back in high school. Oh, okay. Because I didn't know what you know programs to use. I don't think Canva was even a thing. No, yeah. Um and I think I just went ahead and like bought the um prescription to uh or subscription to Adobe, and I was like, okay, I'll use this, and I I still use it. Yeah, and it's just like skills that I've learned on my own, you know, you can look it up. Exactly. Self-taught, self-taught, and I just I tell people I know enough to make it through, you know. I I'm not a trained graphic designer, you know, but I try to up my skills every single time. You know, I would love to like offer like fully 3D renderings these days. Um, maybe AI can help me with that. I have to look into that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

And those are that's hard to like add, right? When you're in the middle of doing all the work stuff.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

Exactly. It's hard to like um find time to like just education. Yeah, it's it should be like on the priority list, but it's very hard to find the time for that.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Okay, so let's break down like from the initial like you're gonna help me with a project on my wedding day, an installation, and the whole process of quoting, like, because a custom installation is from the ground up, literally. From every material, from yeah, like how does how do you start that process with couples when they present their Pinterest vision?

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Yes, sure. Um, so normally they send me either them or the event designer or the planner sends me inspiration. You know, it could be a mood board, it can be um a whole PDF packet, and it's just you know, the colors, the florals, the dresses. Sometimes they'll have um examples of some of the installations they want, sometimes it doesn't. Um they'll tell me, oh, we want something interactive, we want, you know, guests to come up, or we love uh the your champagne wall. Right. Um you know, uh our installations normally have a dual purpose, you know, it being a welcome sign or a scenie chart at the same time. Um and so I'll ask some questions like, do you, you know, how many guests um are you expecting? Just so I am aware of how large the installation needs to be. Right. Um because sometimes you need a larger installation for you know 300 plus guests than you do for, you know, 100 guests. So I just kind of like ask them general questions and then I go from there. So um a quote from me can sometimes take a couple hours just because they'll ask for pieces that I, for one, don't have in my inventory, never built before, and so I have to do a lot of research on how do I build this item? What's the best materials uh to use for this item? What is the most efficient way to make it? Because uh I think installation vendors have to think differently because we have to always keep logistics in mind as well. Um like transportation and all of that kind of stuff, yeah. Yeah, it's all in a wedding day's logistics all logistics, and I never thought that that would be something I have on the top of my head all the time. But it's like, is it gonna fit in a van? Is it gonna fit in their doorway? Right. We have to build it in pieces.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

How heavy isn't it the worst when you buy a couch and it doesn't get in the doorway?

SPEAKER_02 10:10

Oh, like friends? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Sometimes I have to break it to the couple or the planner and let them know that the piece that they want is not possible. Not possible, but it's on their venue too. The vendor is or the the venue sometimes is very important too. Is there a loading dock? Can we fit through the doorway? Right. Is there a you know um a back entrance to where they want it? Um and this is all from you know, just me learning over time. You know, one one example was we did a birthday party at a restaurant. They had a private room, but there was no private entrance. And when we set up, everything was fine because the restaurant wasn't open yet. There was no guests in the dining room, so I didn't think about it, right? I we just walked through, set it up. We came back a few hours later to tear down. Well, they're open for uh lunch service now. And the dining room is full of people, and these are like eight feet walls, eight foot walls, right? They're not light, they're heavy. Right. The pathway between tables was very narrow, and it was impossible. We weren't gonna be able to get it out. So I told the venue, I was like, look, we have to leave this here until we can pick it up. Do you have yes? Do you have another event? Um, if so, can we put it behind something? Can we hide it? And that's what they had to do. Right. Yeah. Because we couldn't get it out of there. Right. And so that's one of the questions I asked now. Like, right, if it's a restaurant, I asked them, is there a private entrance? Is there a private room? Do we do we come back after they they're clothes to tear down?

SPEAKER_00 11:43

That's why everybody needs a planner, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:46

Because couples should not worry about yeah, they don't and they don't think about that. And they don't think of those questions to ask. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Yeah, it is it's so true. They're just thinking about like, is it gonna be ready in time? Is it is it gonna is my party gonna go up? Or the photos aren't gonna be amazing. Right. That's it. That's the sentence.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

Is a photographer gonna make sure they take the right photo of the installation so I can post it?

SPEAKER_02 12:09

And also like dimensions, you know, like not asking how large the space is was also a mistake I made in the beginning. Right. I would show up, and I'm like, oh, this is a very tiny space, and you're trying to set up a 12 feet of wall. Right. You know, like I should have asked how big your space is. Um, I think a lot of people have a hard time visualizing, you know, feet and inches, even if you tell them, even if you provide a rendering, and even if you say this rendering is to scale, we show up and it's always uh a pretty common comment of this is a little bigger, bigger than I thought it was gonna be. So, you know, I try to ask ask those type of questions, you know. Ceiling heights too. We actually um delivered a champagne wall to a hotel. You know, hotels usually have tall high ceilings, eight feet uh wall, um, which is a standard ceiling height for like a home.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:04

Um didn't fit. It was a floor that had shorter ceilings. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

So we could not so crazy. So we had two pivots and we set up the champagne wall in the elevator. Oh because it was a private event, so they were using a private elevator.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Like that's such an experience, yes.

SPEAKER_02 13:25

So as soon as guests walked into the elevator, they were greeted with a champagne.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Then you're gonna get to your wedding day and be like, I'm gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

And the guests never knew anyway. Nobody knew. We were talking about that earlier too. Like nobody knows about the behind-the-scenes hiccups that happen.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

I feel like the vet industry is all about pivots, yeah, and all about finding it. And working together, yeah, troubleshooting, figuring it out.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

And then just being like, how can I help if some something doesn't go around? Making it work, and yeah. So with all this, um, there's one thing that you've just kind of I would say has come to light more of just being a working mom. Yeah. Right. And having three littles or three. I don't know if they're little. Yeah, yeah. They're not too little anymore, but but just to realize the of the wedding industry of like the give back that we give to help make a wedding day come true, but you're also away from your home, away from your family. Yeah, from your family.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Yeah. And it kind of hit you recently, right? It did. Well, you know, it's hard because I I come from the corporate world, so I've always been like a working mom, but it's just it's different, you know. Like you have your weekends when you have a quote unquote regular job, you can leave the work at work. Yeah, you know, um, running your own business is like 24-7. Yeah, you never see. It's like another baby, exactly. And and now that my kids are a little bit older, my oldest is 13. Uh, she's gonna be going into high school next year. I just realized I don't have that many summers left, you know.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

I have three high schoolers right now. My oldest is a senior, so yeah, all the feels right now.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

Yeah, yeah, it's it's a reality. Like time doesn't stop, you know. Time just it goes faster. It does, it goes faster. And you know, I feel so fulfilled with this business. Um, you know, it really fulfills my creative side, but it's it's been getting more difficult devoting all this like the weekends, the whole summer because yeah, you know, wedding season in Seattle is so short and condensed. Yeah, and beautiful, yes, it's it's beautiful, but it's it's literally it happens all in two months almost. Yeah, you get a few here in June and a few in September and maybe October, but it all happens in July and August. Right. And that's when kids are off summer break. And so I feel so bad I don't get to spend so much time with them. You know, they're I'm always gone on the weekends, but on the weekdays I'm always working too. So I just I'm starting to get that guilt, you know. Like I think every mom has that like mom guilt. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

You're just finding it be more of the like the just the awareness of what we're doing for wedding dreams, but also the reality what's behind the scenes with some of the things. Yeah, trying to find the balance, yes, yeah. Yeah, I don't know if balance exists. I don't know. Oh yeah, it does, you know. Um, and that could be a whole nother podcast. But you know, um, as you grow, you gotta build your team, yeah, the right team members, and you have to have the right support system at home. Yes. And I give a true testament of that. Yeah. So um if you follow your dreams, you have to also bend and find that balance and make sure that you're taking care of yourself too.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Yeah, and I think I'm still trying to get there, you know.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Um yeah, I think the balance probably changes. Yes. Yeah, the balance and it's probably like a moving, I shouldn't say probably it's a moving goalpost. You're like, okay, I found some balance in this day, and maybe not in tomorrow. Yeah. Or like in this week, or you know, it's like that for me, anyways. I find like, you know, sometimes I'm like, okay, I have to do this thing at this time, but then I'm gonna come back to this other part later in the day. And so you you find it throughout working in around. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

I think our listeners just understand that a lot of our wedding professionals, this is their life, right? We're entrepreneurs, we're 24-7. Um, but this is why it's such a great community because we all can have each other's backs. I love that about the industry.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

I definitely view like my frienders that I've met um over the years as like coworkers. Yeah, you know, it's so fun when you see the same vendors over and over again in events, and sometimes I know they'll be there, sometimes I don't. So it's always a pleasant surprise. Like, oh hey, how's it going? You know, catch up very quickly, but we're also trying to like again.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Do your work, yeah, yeah, do your things. Yeah. I actually looked at my couples as my team members a lot of times because I would be so excited to see them and make their wedding day perfect, and you're working with them so much on the on the way up, you know, within a year or year and a half with them. So, like you build this relationship as a team to make their day perfect. Yeah. So I that's I look at that way too. Because your your wedding pros that come in like to a venue, they always are ever changing. But you also want to be we talk about being kind and nice because you're not with your family, you're not going to the birthday parties, you're not going to the date nights. Yeah. And so you have to have these moments of like having fun together.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I love it when I can actually like hang out with my friends that are vendors outside. Yeah. Which I've done um a couple times because you need that support.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Yeah. You know, I mean they understand what you're going through too. Exactly. Yeah. It's a very unique industry from that perspective, I feel like.

SPEAKER_02 18:45

It is. I mean, oh, I I've definitely, you know, I did not know anything about the events industry when I first started. Um, does anyone ever told anything about the events industry?

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Or in any career, they go in and they get surprises and they'll see if it's for them or not.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

Yeah, you know, it's, you know, I'm I sometimes I always compare it to like this corporate world, you know, like it's so predictable in the corporate world, and the events industry is like not predictable, which makes it fun.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

It makes it fun, yeah. Keeps you on your chest.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

It's the same thing over and over. Always learning and meeting new people.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

Yeah, it is. It's an emotional day, it's a and it's a very personalized business because it's a personal day for the your client, it's an emotional day because it's a dad or a son. And it's personal for you guys too because you are giving up your weekend.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

Oh, you are like, yeah. I I mean, I I don't know, and I I hope couples know that I like literally put my heart and soul into what I create for them. Um, it doesn't happen overnight, you know, it's not something that we just buy off the shelf. We're creating something just for them. You know, it could be the paint, it could be, you know, the their monogram, it could be their um custom text. I mean, like, it's literally just for them. And I hope that they see that and they understand that and the hours and hours that go into creating something for them behind the scenes, right? That's not, you know, no one sees that.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

Everyone just sees the I think it's a very bougie business that's Jennifer Lopez. Yeah. No, it's a dirty job. You're lifting chairs, you're cleaning plates, you're doing all the things.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Yeah. I'm not cute on wedding day installations, you know, like I'm down and dirty. Like I'm in the grass. I'm on the grass.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

So let's um, what has been your most challenging and the most rewarding project that you've ever done?

SPEAKER_02 20:35

Oh man. I almost want to say all of them, because every everything feels so great when you're done with it. Like I go through my times where I have so many events in one weekend and so much to do that I think is impossible.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

Right, right. And then you can't then you conquer it. And then it's done.

SPEAKER_02 20:57

Yeah. And you're like, oh, I did it. You know, it's like sometimes it feels anticlimatic because you kind of have to just move on to the next event right away. But when you go back and think about it, you you realize how much you like accomplish. It's hard, I think, in any business owner to like really sit and take the time to think about that. But with every event I do, I I I do always learn something. I do always say, oh, I'll do it that way next time too, because that was and quicker, it worked. Um, so there is always some sense of accomplishment with every event because you thought you brought the the couple's vision to life.

SPEAKER_00 21:37

Yeah, well, yours is an art piece.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

It is, it is. It's a lot of love, patience. Yeah, and you get to see the end product come to life.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

So and I really hope the the couple feels that way too, you know. Sometimes with like this the installations and signage, you know, a lot of people call it signage or installations. You know, it's kind of like one and the same almost. There's signage on the installations, and it's giving guests directions or um giving them a better interactive experience. Sometimes it's an afterthought.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

You know, sometimes signage is a huge huge it helps communicate and how to make your event successful.

SPEAKER_02 22:18

Exactly. And it's the small details that kind of bring everything together. 100%. But because sometimes it's an afterthought, we we don't get contacted until very late. And then sometimes that doesn't give us enough time to create all the things, all the things that you want. You know, of course, we still try to make it happen, but we might have to make adjustments due to like do we have the capacity? Do we have the time?

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, well, last question. Okay. So what has been the your favorite moment of you know, you don't have a favorite project, but like what's your like most rewarding like moment? Like this was what I was meant to do. Because like it kind of fell into your lab, you know? Like, how did you realize like this is what I'm meant to do? Um because you're so good at it.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

Oh, well, thank you. I mean, I I try to be the best I can and I'm always trying to improve. Um my proudest moments, let's see. I I I guess I'm proud when other vendors ask me to do their personal events. Oh yeah, you know? Yeah, that must feel really good. Yeah, the best gift in respect because they recognize how much I how much work I put into it. They recognize the quality. Right. Um, and so when they ask me to do their personal events, maybe their wedding or their kids' birthdays, or even their um their shows, you know, like some marketing events for them, I I feel so honored, you know, because they're fellow vendors and I want to provide the best for them as well.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. Yeah, that that is awesome. Yeah, that's perfect. Well, thank you so much for being with us.