Left Handed Calligrapher

Dallas Calligrapher

Spring into Color

I just loved working on this wedding with 5×7 designs and Julian Lever Events.  There is something magical that happens when you have the best bride and vendors all working together.  The celebration just radiates joy.  And in this case, COLOR!

The Venue

Catharine and David got married at Highland Park United Methodist Church and hosted the reception at Fearing’s Restaurant in the Ritz Carlton in Dallas, Texas.  For an April wedding, they chose their stationery and design to have a springy floral burst of color motif.  It was a good choice.

The space is so clean and bright and ready to make a statement with that magnificent chandelier.  Julian Leaver did wonderful job creating an airy space that allowed the florals by Garden Gate to make a statement.  Everything is light and springy feeling without being boring.

The Table

The table top was a work of art with the stunning linens by Nuage Designs, gold flatware, pink tinted glassware and a stunning coral menu created by 5 by 7 designs. The menu tied in the invitation design with the crest on a vellum belly band and gold foil.  I added each guests name in gold calligraphy to the top of each menu.

wedding menu calligraphy

The Paper

The invitations were also colorful and were a perfect reflection of the event to come.  Clean with color!  I love the green letterpress and gold foil paired together and a super thick paper.  The envelope addressing was completed in a green ink color match using my Dylan script.  This calligraphy hand is really great for a formal event that has a bit of personality.

luxury wedding invitations

Rounding out the stunning stationery was this epic seating card display.  It was made to look like a field of flowers!  The floral centerpiece is really a work of art that really centers the whole display.  Each card was cut out of the same coral paper used on the menus and foil stamped with a flower design.  I then added guest name calligraphy in gold ink using the Dylan script again. These are my favorite from last spring.  The display is just stunning.

unique escort card display weddingwedding calligraphy

 

 

The Amazing Vendor Team:

Photography: Joshua Aull

Planning and Design: Julian Leaver Events

Venue: Fearing’s Dallas

Floral: Garden Gate Floral

Linen: Nuage Designs

Transportation: Premier of Dallas

Videography: Redwood Stories

Church: Highland Park United Methodist Church

Entertainment: J Speer Music

Beauty: Maitee Miles

Lighting: LeForce Entertainment

Accommodations: Ritz Carlton Dallas

Stationer: 5 by 7 designs

Calligrapher: The Left Handed Calligrapher

Bridal Retailer: Mockingbird Bridal

Holiday Celebrations

I love a Christmas wedding.  They are so festive and celebratory.  Plus, I feel as though lights, poinsettias and trees are a comforting.  As You Wish Events planned this stunning Holiday wedding at Highland Park United Methodist Church.  Can you just get enough of that tree outside?

christmas wedding decorbride and maidsI adore when we get to work together as an awesome vendor team.  As You Wish used one of my favorites: 5 by 7 designs and I was able to complete the calligraphy envelope addressing for this stunning suite.  We used gold ink in my Rook script.  The couple chose to use the staggered layout, which I think looks so formal and classic.  I absolutely love the wreath vellum wrap to hold all the pieces together also!

Christmas wedding invitationHere are some special details from the wedding.  Everything conveyed a winter white feeling.  The cake and head table.

Look how the wreath from the invitation was pulled in to the reception as the dance floor graphic!

And you cannot forget a themed drink!

Congratulations to the lovely bride and groom!

Southern Tradition: Bury the Bourbon

Have you heard of the southern tradition to “Bury the Bourbon”?  As the saying goes:

“Bury a bottle of bourbon a month to the day to keep the rain away.”

You take a bottle of bourbon, and bury it at your venue a month before your wedding. Make sure to receive permission from your wedding venue first! The bottle must be buried one month to the day, full, and upside down. Then, on the day of your ceremony, you and your new partner dig up the bottle together as a part of the celebration. The freshly dug-up lucky bourbon is then incorporated into your party, either as a toast or shots with the wedding party.

So, how do you incorporate this tradition into your wedding festivities?  Here are the rules and grab a shovel!:

  1. The bottle needs to be completely full.
  2. It needs to be real Bourbon (your call on what brand).
  3. You and your partner need to bury it together.
  4. It needs to be buried upside down.
  5. It has to be buried exactly one month before the wedding– and preferably on a day of good weather.

A special treat is to hire out an engraver to personalize the bottle with your wedding date and names!  Then you can enjoy the bottle for many celebrations to come if it isn’t finished off on the day of your wedding.

engraved bourbon

 

Creating a Wedding Guest List

Design by Southern Fried Paper

Calligraphy envelope addressing is one of my very favorite activities. There is something special about sitting down to a stack of envelopes and carefully writing the names of the most important people in a couple’s life.

Creating a Guest List

Something I hear from couples after their invitation is designed and going to print, is that gathering the guest list is the most difficult part of getting married. I’m with you. How to narrow down who you invite based on venue space, budgets, or travel can be so difficult. I do have a few helpful tricks though.

First, Start Early! You are going to need a quantity count to order invitations, pick a venue, plan table arrangements and florals, ceremony seating and catering numbers. Pretty much everything you plan for a wedding will be based on your guest count numbers. So, my recommendation is to start putting your must have invitees into a list right away when you are excited for the planning process.

Second, Get Organized! A well thought out spreadsheet will make your life easier as you go through the wedding planning process. I have a free template on my website. My preference is to use the advanced tab so that the guest list can be organized by last name… and sorted anyway you please depending on the information needed. Always, have separate columns for the street address, city, state and zip codes. This will allow more flexibility for information processing. Also, your calligrapher will be thankful so they can layout your list as they like.

Next, Pester your friends and family. Gathering addresses from your friends and family can be a challenge. If you start early and get organized you will have enough time to have a completed list by the time you need to send out invitations. When you see them for dinner, double check their address (including zip code!). Text or call those you don’t see as often. A great time to do this is when you are talking about your engagement with them.

Finally, Send Save the Dates. I promise, I’m not trying to get you to spend your whole wedding budget on paper goods! Save the dates serve many functions. First, they communicate your wedding is happening and your guest should should check their calendars. It also communicates they are invited! The mailing also serves as a test run for the wedding invitations which are usually more expensive to mail. Here is where you find out if someone has moved, had a relationship change, the address is wrong. All the things that happen when dealing with a guest list. Then you have time to make corrections before sending out the actual wedding invitations that are a bit more time sensitive.

I do hope this advice helps you make a guest list with a little bit of ease. Next time, I will discuss a bit more regarding the etiquette of sending a formal invitation and how to address your guests.