07/05/2018

Nine Ways to Incorporate Calligraphy Into Your Wedding

If I have a weakness for anything, it’s calligraphy. As far as I’m concerned, calligraphy is magic and elevates everything it touches to a work of art. Today I’m sharing nine ways to incorporate calligraphy into your wedding, for those of you in wedding planning mode who are as calligraphy-obsessed as I am!

Calligraphy by Script Merchant / Photo Credit: Kayla Barker

1. The Invitations and envelopes

First things first â€“ the wedding invitations! When most of us think about wedding calligraphy, we think of envelopes with beautifully calligraphed addresses. And I’m definitely all in favor of going all out for the envelopes, but you can also use calligraphy for your entire wedding invitation! Depending on your budget and guest list size, you could ask a calligrapher to hand write each invitation entirely in calligraphy or brush lettering â€“ like these hand lettered Sumi ink invitations â€“ or commission something called spot calligraphy, where a calligrapher writes out a few words (usually your names and maybe the venue or location) and digitally scans the lettering to incorporate into the final invitation design. There are calligraphy styles to suit every type of wedding: classic and elegant, modern, bohemian, whimsical, and plenty of examples of spot calligraphy in our wedding invitation archive!

Minimalist wedding invitation design by Jenny Sanders

Semi-custom invitation design by Anne Robin Calligraphy

Photo and Calligraphy by Lauren Saylor of A Fabulous Fete

2. Wedding Welcome Signs

Large signs are the perfect way to welcome guests to your wedding! Wedding welcome signs can be made out of anything from large pieces of plexiglass to reclaimed wood to an oversized tropical leaf. Looking for even more wedding sign inspiration? You’re in luck! I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to this topic right here!

Photo Credit: Barrie Anne Photography via Glamour and Grace

3. Ceremony Backdrop

I love the idea of using a favorite quote or a meaningful phrase written in gorgeous calligraphy to serve as a wedding ceremony backdrop! Text can be painted onto fabric (white cotton curtains or even a bed sheet would do the trick!), written onto a roll of art paper, or even printed using a service like Spoonflower!

Calligraphy by Neither Snow / Photo Credit: Erich McVey

4. Seating Charts & Escort Cards

Seating charts and escort cards serve the extremely helpful purpose of letting your guests know where to sit at the reception â€“ but they can also be beautiful! The difference between a seating chart and escort cards is that a seating chart is usually organized by table number, with the names of each guest at that table below, while escort cards are individual cards alphabetized by guest name that help escort guests to their table. Either way, your guests’ names will look absolutely amazing in calligraphy!

Photo Credit: Blush Wedding Photography via Style Me Pretty

Calligraphy by Neither Snow / Photo Credit: A Bryan Photo

Calligraphy and watercolor by Holly Hollon, Styling by Ginny Au, Photography by Erich McVey via Once Wed

5. Place Cards

A seating chart or escort card will get your guest to the appropriate table, but if you’re planning on assigned seating at your wedding, you’ll also need place cards. I love these simple color-dipped place cards with deckled edges â€“ or beautiful calligraphy tags pinned to gold spray painted faux fruit for a fall wedding. Plenty more place card ideas right here!

Color-dipped place cards with deckled edges by Wildfield Paper Co. / Photo Credit: Callie Hobbes Photography via Style Me Pretty

Calligraphy by Ashley Buzzy / Photo Credit: Rustic White Photography

6. Drink and Dinner Menus

Planning to offer a signature cocktail? Share the options with your guests with a beautiful calligraphy bar sign! And individual dinner menus can even double as place cards by writing the name of each guest at the top!

Calligraphy by Meant to Be Calligraphy / Photo Credit: Rebekah J. Murray via Wedding Chicks

Calligraphy by Chelsea Petaja / Photo Credit: Tec Petaja via Once Wed

7. Table Runners

This one is a bit outside the box, but wouldn’t a calligraphed table runner be the perfect addition to the head table for a romantic wedding? Similarly to a wedding ceremony backdrop, ask your calligrapher to write your wedding vows or a favorite poem onto a roll of butcher paper or art paper, making sure that the text appears only on each side of the table so that it isn’t covered by your centerpieces!

Calligraphy by Rachel Jacobson / Photo Credit: Milton Photography via 100 Layer Cake

8. Chair Signs

I love the idea of creating special signs for the bride and groom’s chairs at the wedding reception. Calligraphed signs (or fabric banners) could be the answer! They also look amazing with a little posy of flowers to accent the sign.

Calligraphy by Li Ward / Photo Credit: Dylan Howell and Sarah Byrne

9. Favor Bags

Last, but not least, send your guests home with a sweet little favor bag! Ask your calligrapher to make you a rubber stamp with your names or initials in calligraphy, then stamp it on cotton muslin bags and fill with your favorite treat!

Photo Credit: Jose Villa via Style Me Pretty

07/03/2018

Colorful Watercolor Crest Wedding Invitations

When I think about summer, I think of bright, vibrant colors and bold patterns (ideally of the fruit or floral variety). I’m loving these colorful watercolor crest wedding invitations from Sandy of Roseville Designs (one of our fantastic Designer Rolodex members!), whcih feature beautiful summery tones and a vibrant floral envelope liner. The custom watercolor crest is both whimsical and elegant, and the watercolor floral details throughout the suite are the perfect burst of summer color!

From Sandy: I am so excited to share Melissa and Andy’s colorful watercolor crest wedding invitations! I love doing watercolor wedding crests because they can be used for not only invitations, but day-of wedding stationery, too! The beauty of a custom crest is you can take the elements of the crest and use them for designing the other paper elements.

For Melissa and Andy, I created a watercolor wedding crest incorporating greens, blues, pinks, and peaches to celebrate their bright, summer wedding along the Connecticut shoreline. Since we knew we wanted to use a calligraphy-style font for the names, we used a more formal serif font for their initials inside the shield of the crest. The finishing touch were the rich green vines on the bottom.

I used elements from the watercolor crest in the rest of the suite, with different pieces of the floral and greenery on the RSVP card, reception card, and details card. Then I took florals from the crest and enlarged them for a bright and happy custom envelope liner! I knew this detail would put a big smile on the faces of their wedding guests when they opened the envelope.

The final piece was a custom wax seal incorporating the monogram from the crest. This was placed on the outside of the envelope. I used a sea foam green wax to give it a soft feel. I love using wax seals in my suites because they give texture to design, and we all know invitations are a tactile experience!

The entire suite was digitally printed on thick smooth white stock, to allow us unlimited flexibility with colors for the entire suite. This also allowed us to allocate more of her wedding invitation budget to additional pieces, like the envelope liner and wax seal. The result was an invitation suite that is romantic, timeless, and sets the tone for her elegant wedding celebration.

Thanks Sandy!

Design: Roseville Designs

Invitation Printing: Stationery HQ

Envelopes + Envelope Printing: Cards & Pockets

Wax Seals: Waxseals.com

Roseville Designs is one of the fabulously talented members of the Oh So Beautiful Paper Designer Rolodex â€“ our curated, members only directory of the best wedding invitation designers. You can check out more of her work right here!

Photo Credits: Xo and Fetti Photography

06/28/2018

Inspiring Calligraphers: Anna Lora Whitley of Silt and Pine Calligraphy

Hey everyone! We’re into the summer swing of things… which means summer soirÃ©es and summer weddings! We’re celebrating these long summer days with some gorgeous calligraphy and hand lettering work from Anna Lora Whitley. Her calligraphy work as Silt and Pine is a sweet find (much like stumbling on a good lemonade in the summer). – Jen

Photo Credits: Anna Rebecca

On her calligraphy style, Anna Lora says: My lettering style is honestly a version of my own handwriting. When I first started calligraphy, I kept getting so frustrated trying to do the traditional calligraphy styles. I quickly realized that it was much more important to me to create my own style.

Photo Credits: Ashley Goodwin Photography

Her calligraphy style feels just right with this Hawaiian themed invitation suite.

Photo Credit: Justin Johnson Photography

What a pretty way to display place cards!

Photo Credit: Laurie Dicus Photography

Mimosas, anyone?

Photo Credits: Tec Petaja

On a favorite project she’s worked on: I got to work on was a New Orleans + Indian fusion wedding. I am partial to New Orleans because my husband and I got married there, but I was so excited to work on this particular wedding because of the blending of cultures, beautiful color palette that the wedding planners, The Nouveau Romantics, created for the wedding and the absolutely stunning venue. It is hands down the most inspiring project I have worked on so far!

Photo Credit: Laurie Dicus Photography

On non-traditional surfaces, she shares: My favorite non-paper surface that I have worked on would be mirrors, but I have a feeling I’m about to have a new favorite. I have a fun wedding coming up where I get to write on acrylic and agate slices. The seating chart will be an 8-foot tall piece of acrylic. It is going to be such a fun project to work on.

A big thanks to Anna of Silt and Pine for sharing a peek at her work!

05/30/2018

Navy and White Illustrated Floral Wedding Invitations

Ahhhh…. navy and white is such a beautiful and classic combination. Add in some modern botanical illustrations from one of our talented Designer Rolodex members, Kim of Bright Room Studio, and you’ve got some seriously gorgeous navy and white illustrated floral wedding invitations! I love that Kim and the bride and groom decided to letterpress print the entire suite in a single color â€“ navy blue â€“ which just completely elevates Kim’s beautiful illustrations and lettering. So pretty!

From Kim: Working with Allie and Michael on their invitations was so much fun. I knew it was going to be a great project when I received a design brief written by the groom! He put so much thought and time in to sharing their story, aesthetic and things that were important to them (including their favorite cocktails and guilty pleasures!) that it made the creative process so much fun and made their invitations incredibly personal and special for them.

We started with the cute map save the date. I love creating maps, especially when I get to incorporate illustrations of the architecture and buildings, combined with places that are meaningful to them. They met “the old fashioned way” â€“ at a bar! â€“ so we definitely wanted to incorporate that cute detail, along with the wedding venues. We did the map in a gorgeous blue, which became a design theme for the rest of the suite.

For the invitation, we wanted to keep it sophisticated but still personal. We chose symbols to represent their heritage: an olive branch for her Greek background and a thistle for his Scottish roots. I illustrated each branch and used it throughout the invitation through patterns, graphic details and the monogram. We letterpress printed the invitation to really make the leaf details pop.

The monogram tag is such a great example of what you can do in the design process. I showed them one design with this leaf pattern and one with the monogram and they couldn’t decide, so we found a way to incorporate both ideas throughout the suite. The monogram was also a perfect detail to use in other elements on their wedding day, such as the sweet notecards, menu and program.

We continued the monochromatic palette through everything, which kept the design cohesive and sophisticated. The little branch details and modern calligraphy style tied the smaller pieces together. What resulted was a lovely invitation that felt personal to them and gave their wedding a beautiful look throughout.

Thanks Kim!

Design: Bright Room Studio

Printing: Mercurio Brothers Printing

Bright Room Studio is a member of the Designer Rolodex â€“ you can see more of Kimâ€™s beautiful work right here or visit the real inviÂtaÂtions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Bright Room Studio

05/14/2018

Rainbow Watercolor Wedding Stationery Inspiration

You guys, I am SO excited for today’s post! I’m a big fan of anything rainbow (who isn’t??) and I love the look of white ink on bright colors, and this idea brings those two favorite things together! This concept came out of these DIY colorful watercolor envelopes that we did two years ago (!!), and I’m so excited to partner with Sakura of America to bring this rainbow watercolor wedding stationery inspiration to life. I enlisted Molly from Alchemy Calligraphy to work her calligraphy magic using Sakura’s Gelly RollÂ® Classic™ White pens (now available in three different weights!) on pieces of handmade paper that I painted with Sakura’s Koi Water Color Field Sketch Travel Kit. I’m so excited to share the results with you, along with the how-to so you can create beautiful rainbow watercolor stationery at home!

Okay, so there are two super exciting things happening here: first, the Sakura Koi Water Color Field Sketch Travel Kits allowed me to mix my ideal rainbow color palette. Since so many pieces of paper were involved, I wanted to translate my rainbow inspiration into several different hues of each color, from the palest pink to the deepest blue and plenty of non-traditional hues in between. I’m seriously loving the terra cotta color under the quote piece below, especially paired with shades of pale pink, peach, and deep blue. So good! And second, the different weights of the Gelly Roll Classic White pens are the perfect tool for creating different lettering styles and illustrations on the watercolor paper â€“ and the white ink is totally opaque, so it’s super clear and crisp!

I mean, if you’re going to send out colorful watercolor envelopes, you probably want to incorporate some color into your wedding stationery, right? You can also totally use these ideas for baby showers, birthday parties, or any other event! Every party needs a bit of color and texture, no matter the size of the party! You can go full rainbow like I did, or focus on a few colors from your own color palette â€“ with watercolor, you can easily mix your any color, so the sky is the limit! And the opaque white ink ties everything together so the entire look is cohesive.

To create the rainbow watercolor wedding stationery, we used Sakuraâ€™s new 48-color Koi Watercolor Field Sketch Travel Kit to mix and paint dozens of different colors on handmade paper in varying sizes. I used Sakura’s refillable water brush to mix the paint colors in the detachable easel, then a larger, wider brush to paint the watercolor onto the paper in smooth strokes â€“ leaving the tiniest white border around the edge. Also, the amount of water that you use helps determine the vibrancy of the colors. I used less water when I wanted really deep or bright colors, and more water when I wanted a lighter or more pastel color. Keep a test sheet of paper handy so you can test colors first before painting, since the colors can look different in the pan than on paper!

So much rainbow gorgeousness! I had place cards, menus, and table numbers in mind when choosing paper sizes, so we used mostly 2.5×3.5″ pieces and a few 5×7″ pieces. The key to achieving really bright and vibrant colors is to use handmade cotton rag paper â€“ mine came from Fabulous Fancy Pants and Silk & Willow. I tried painting on store-bought watercolor paper but just really wasn’t able to get the colors that I wanted! The handmade paper totally did the trick.

That mustard yellow right there is just singing to me! So good!

Once everything is fully dry, you can start lettering! The Gelly RollÂ® Classic™ White pens come in three different weights â€“ 05 fine (0.5mm), 08 medium (0.8mm), and 10 bold (1.0mm) â€“ so you can really have fun with different lettering styles and calligraphy. Fine lines are perfect for elegant calligraphy on a wedding invitation, while the medium and bold lines are fun for more non-traditional lettering on place cards and menus. You can also mix different lettering styles, from script to serif to all caps â€“ the most important thing is to have fun with whatever styles you choose!

Is there anything better than beautiful watercolors combined with soft deckled edges? It’s just the perfect combination!

I love the way Molly from Alchemy Calligraphy added these sweet botanical illustrations to the table numbers! Such a fun way to dress up a simple table number design. I love the way the white ink pops against the watercolor, and the texture of the handmade paper also adds such a special and unique touch.

I feel like this quote would be perfect for a guest book, right? Ask guests to leave a note with their favorite marriage advice or even their own favorite quote about love!

So much fun rainbow watercolor wedding stationery inspiration, right??? You can pick up your own 48-color Koi Water Color Field Sketch Travel Kit here and Gelly Roll Classic White pens here â€“ youâ€™ll have so much fun creating beautiful and colorful stationery for your wedding or event!

Supplies: Sakura of America 48-color Koi Water Color Field Sketch Travel Kit and Gelly Roll Classic White pens

Calligraphy: Alchemy Calligraphy

Handmade Paper: Fabulous Fancy Pants and Silk & Willow

Photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

This post is sponsored by Sakura of America. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!