Thank you so much Kelly for giving me my first ever guest blogging opportunity during your couture paper goods series.  I’m Laura Hooper of Laura Hooper Calligraphy and I spend most of my days hand-lettering envelopes from clients around the world as well as creating other pieces of art using calligraphy.

When it comes time to place your invitation order that is when you should consider booking a calligrapher if you choose to use one.  If you have the money in your budget I recommend choosing someone who is a professional calligrapher, because you are more likely to appreciate the end product.  Thanks to the Internet, you don’t have to be restricted to finding someone in your area, especially if there happens to be a shortage of calligraphers where you live.

The type of calligraphy I practice is called “pointed-pen” calligraphy. It is one of the most time-consuming ways of lettering and can be the messiest if you are not careful! This form of writing involves dipping a calligraphy pen numerous times in an ink well in order to form each word. It can be quite difficult to develop an affinity to how to hold your pen and how much pressure to apply. Every person is different and there are hundreds of different pen tips available for that reason.

In order to write on a straight line most calligraphers will use a light table with guidelines underneath each piece to determine where to put the letters to make sure the writing comes out straight.  As you can imagine, the process of lining up each paper and then dipping the pen in the ink repeatedly is quite time consuming. For that reason, it is best to book your order as soon as possible. Most people don’t realize and wait until their invitations are back from the printers, however, if a calligrapher is booked up, you may risk paying rush fees or not being able to be placed in the schedule at all! It’s best to plan in advance.

Once you find your calligrapher, the turn around time will likely be about 2 weeks depending on the season.  During my busy season (the months of February to September) the turn around is typically 2-3 weeks but usually I can make room in the schedule for almost any order.  Make sure you type your list in Word: it’s convenient to use Excel however it makes it hard on the calligrapher to read across the page, row after row of addresses. A simple mail merge will solve this problem though, just make sure your addresses are appropriately divided into columns.  Your best bet is to thoroughly review any paperwork your calligrapher gives you about their process and policy to ensure the best result.

Be sure to keep in mind, the paper of your envelopes, ink color, etc will all play a role in the outcome of the calligraphy.  Keep in mind, calligraphy is an art, lettered by hand, and no two letters will ever look alike. That is part of the charm.  Once you have your envelopes back, be sure to tell your calligrapher how much you love their work, and remember them for the other items you need including placecards, wedding maps, menus, and programs.  For many other uses of calligraphy for your wedding I hope you will also visit my blog, A Lucky Orchid Wedding.

Tags: calligraphy, invitations, santa barbara wedding, santa barbara wedding coordinator, Santa Barbara wedding planner, santa barbara wedding planning, santa barbara weddings

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 at 10:05 am and is filed under Decor & Event Design, Guest blogs, Inspiration, Invitations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.