Matching Calligraphy and Invitations

One of the projects I have been working on is developing additional calligraphy styles or fonts. Because I am self trained and lack the "formal" foundation of the strokes, I lean heavily on my own handwriting. I could do most of my calligraphy in my sleep, but it looks like my handwriting. Not necessarily what a bride and groom have in mind when it comes to their vision of wedding calligraphy. This year I have had two great opportunities to create a new style of my calligraphy to compliment the wedding invitation.

Here are a few examples from a Newport wedding this summer. The wedding was certainly nautical with lots of flair, but very little flourish - swirly formal calligraphy was not the correct match for this modern dock-side wedding.

The bride and groom sealed their envelopes with a compass on the back flap of their envelopes. The perfect touch! They were able to find a coordinating stamp and included this on all of their wedding materials from the program to the welcome messages for out-of-town guests.

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Country Fair Bridal Shower

Old fashioned country fairs hold a warm place of nostalgia in our hearts. They bring back memories of childhood for countless generations. Fairs are full of warm home-made pies, field games, checkered table clothes, and waving flags.

Well, this is exactly the emotion that the Maid of Honor had in mind for her baby sister's bridal shower!

The bridesmaids and ladies from church each brought a homemade pies from peach to cherry. We spend the day before creating a custom banner of waving flags. Tables were set up in typical old fashioned fair style. Field games included a bouquet toss into the baskets pictured above. It was a fantastic setting, a beautiful day, and certainly brought back floods of memories for everyone in attendance.

Guests were thanked with the family's whoopie pie specialty, a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. Each treat was individually wrapped in custom labeled baggies.

And the guest finished off the table with piles of gifts which are wrapped in perfection - the bride's favorite colors, pink and green! It was the perfect bridal shower set in rural PA!

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How to Make a Floral Monogram

Without the flowers? Yes! Tissue paper or crepe paper can work magic affordable solutions to costly buds. All you need is the desired styrofoam shape, beautiful tissue or crepe paper, craft glue and a few golf tees! The look is fantastic, and more important, integrating a monogram into your wedding is a simple and cost-effective way to personalize your wedding!

Preparations:

1. Prep your styrofoam. Trim it to your desired shape and size. We chose circles since it was easy! Outline your desired letter.
2. Cut your paper into 2 inch squares. This is where crepe paper is fantastic - it is quick and easy to cut!
3. Pour your glue. Paper plate or bowls make accessing the glue a breeze!

Now you are ready to get started!

1. Use a golf tee to punch a hole in the styrofoam
2. Remove and wrap the tee with paper
3. Dip the wrapped tee in glue (so the glue only gets on the paper)
4. Insert into previously punched hole
5. Remove tee (paper stays in place)
6. Repeat - 1,000s of times!

Here is an example of Christine and Brendan's monogram half-way through:

Tips:

• Be sure to punch holes close together to create a full look - you don't want to see any styrofoam.
• Don't forget the edge! Either wrap with ribbon to keep on punching holes.
• Work the boarder of the letter to ensure straight lines and a clean look.
• Have fun!

To see the finished product and our inspirations, see our previous post: DIY Floral Monograms

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DIY Floral Monograms

Floral Monograms add a decidedly personal touch to any affair, particularly weddings. As a couple created a monogram together, what better to put on display? There are some beautiful inspirations from everyone from Martha Stewart to our friends at Wedding Bee and Style Me Pretty. We even found a new wedding blog, Manolo Bride, while looking for examples of monograms. Here is what we found:

Top: Style Me Pretty, Manolo Bride, Martha Stewart, Wedding Bee

Bottom: Martha Stewart, Manolo Bride, Martha Stewart, Wedding Bee

These beautiful monograms can often come at a hefty price, but are a project that can be done yourself. Looking for DIY inspiration led us to none other than Lindsay Smith of Smith Photo Studios! Here is the wedding monogram she created for her own wedding:

In addition to being a fabulous photographer, Lindsay is pretty crafty. Well, after Lindsay's approval and guidance one of my brides, Christine and I decided to get crafty as well! Here is what we came up with:

It is a pretty crafty DIY Monogram if I do say so myself!

Next post: How to create this monogram!

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Whit and JD are Moving to Hawaii

...well actually they are just getting married, but this is how they announced their engagment!

I received notice from Whitney that they were moving to Hawaii and that she needed my address. It certainly got my attention. Who wouldn't want a friend who lives in Hawaii? Well, after getting everyone's attention, Whit and JD gleefully shared that Hawaii was just a hoax, but their engagment is the real deal!

I am so excited! They are going to make a terrific marriage.

You can follow their story on their wedding blog: http://whitandjd.blogspot.com/

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