Basic Guide About Wedding Calligraphy

Created by caboodleweddings

One of the reasons why calligraphy is paying a lot of attention nowadays is its versatility. The pretty writing has more than enough usage and functions, which later help widen entrepreneurs, freelancers, professional artists, or learners’ career opportunities. In this case, lettering art is a familiar element for design projects such as wedding invitations or design. 

In this article, you will find the primary consideration upon wedding calligraphy. The project is not a thing you can underestimate. It is especially true since your nuptial ceremony plan and execution are dependent on it. If you are looking for a calligraphy designer or artist, pick the option that fits your theme and everything. After that, consider some of these valuable details for the project. 

Starting Your Project With Calligrapher

In this part, you are going to hire a professional artist or designer to work on your wedding design. If you are going for this, there are some ways to find the most suitable calligrapher. However, as you are working with people, it means you need to ensure you are well prepared. So, your wedding calligraphy will go as you want. 

1. Where To Find The Artists 

With the help of the internet, you can find artists easily. Many artists or professional calligraphy creators come up on the internet. However, there are also a lot of scams and frauds in the world of the internet. Thus, if you are going for an online helper or calligrapher, ensure they are certified, real, and credible. 

The best way to do it is to see whether they have a great portfolio, contact, and trusted work. In social media, you should not blindly follow and hire people based on the number of followers. Try to look for their credibility before hiring. After that, you can contact and talk further. If you are skeptical about this road, try to look for local artists.

It is not a surprise that you might find one wedding calligrapher in a boutique stationery shop. Some larger stationery shops might have in-house calligraphy artists that help them in the store. Or, you might also be able to ask help from the shop to outsource you to some trustworthy artist. So, it is a great place to start your hunt. 

The idea is pretty reliable since you can meet them face to face. You can also match your calligraphy preference along with the wedding theme and ideas. This kind of method will help you make up some of the cohesive looks for the wedding calligraphy. Sometimes, it takes long research to find a trusted calligrapher. 

If it is hard to reach one stationary to another, try to visit their blog or wedding galleries. Don’t forget to check out the creator of the calligraphy that you like. Other than that, it also helps to reach out to your friend and ask whether they know a good wedding artist or designer or not. In this case, it will be easier to work if you have already determined the style and model for the project.  

Created by SalStudio

2. Looking For The Best Calligrapher

As you know where to find them, it is time to select the best out of the best. One thing that you need to ensure is certification and degree. Try to pick an artist that has a related arts degree and certificate to prove their capabilities in doing wedding calligraphy. You can also consider some references and portfolios that relate to the wedding occasion. 

Why do you need to look at the wedding design or project? If the artist is pretty familiar with the wedding project, they will know what and what not to do for the calligraphy. The idea is you don’t want calligraphy that looks whimsical or casual. Formal, traditional lettering will be the most suitable option for that occasion. 

After you get some credibility, try to figure out their mastery level. Remember that quality will always come with experience. So, rest assured if they are an experienced artist. Their work quality, confidence, and knowledge will be better than the younger ones. But it does not mean you should opt-out of young wedding calligraphy designers.   

Created by Anastasia Makarova

Sometimes, the younger artists know exactly the current trend in lettering and wedding design. Thus, they know how to make hip planning rather than an outdated model. To help you find the best one, ask for samples. It helps a lot if you are going for custom calligraphy since the designer or artist needs to understand and follow your brief. 

At this point, you have to pay attention to their sample design. Look at the use of stroke, shape, spacing, weight, and the wedding calligraphy rhythm. Good calligraphy should portray consistency and perfection. It also needs to suit your wedding plan. That is why in many cases, you have to meet many designers before sealing the deal. 

Whether online or offline, the hardest part is narrowing down the list. Within your samples, try to find the best one that matches your wedding mode. After that, you can contact them for more quotes and basic details. Don’t forget to put some of your big day planning, such as the date, the general description, and the guest count. 

During this explanation, try to cope with all of your details in a design brief. You can explain the function, the type of work to do, the medium, the services, and anything that will determine the wedding calligraphy project. Giving an accurate timeline and quote will also help them to know the exact information about your project. 

Created by Anastasia Makarova

3. Place The Order 

With all of the detail and design brief on the go, you will need to put the order. In the case of offline hire, you better put your address list as clear as possible. Try to find how your artist wants it to be, such as a spreadsheet of the name, address line, city, states, and zip code. Type them down, don’t handwrite them since it will deter the readability and increase error. 

This idea will help a lot for you who are hiring a calligrapher for wedding invitations. Your wedding calligrapher will put all of the recipients’ names according to the details. So, ensure that every address list is correct. Don’t forget to check the title, name, and honor. Send them to your artist to help you record the project, instruction, and request. 

In this case, some wedding calligraphy designers might need some extra pieces of envelope or paper to use. The option is you provide them with the goods or let them take care of it and put in an extra 15 to 20% of the tally. One thing that you need to underline is that pros can also make mistakes. So, try to use the last-minute guest list change and addition wisely.   

Created by ShineInvitations

4. Final Review 

When the final work is arrived and is done, you still have the last thing to do, Review. Remember that wedding calligraphy artists can make mistakes. Regardless of whether they do or not, always spare a week or two to do the final review for the job. Check all of the guest list names and the addresses on the envelopes before you distribute them. 

This kind of step will help you find some revision or correction for some errors. Again, you might also need to put all the invitations altogether. Checking each of the copies will also ensure your recipient gets the wedding invitation. After that, you can drop them off at the post office, send them door to door, etc. But remember to hold some as your keepsake. 

Created by jerryandjulep

Doing DIY (Do It Yourself Projects)

How if you are confident with your ability to accomplish wedding calligraphy? Then, do so. DIY or do-it-yourself projects can help you save some money and budget. It is also not a bad idea since you can design everything as you like. However, try to be realistic. There are reasons why calligraphy artists insist on offering their services. 

One of them is the hassle, time, budget, and competencies. Yes, you can make some touching wedding calligraphy notes, details, and thank you letter calligraphy. But, it can take time and effort. Remember that you need to write or make a letter for all of the guests. While it does sound like a fun challenge, it will turn into an overwhelming subject. 

If your guest count is about 20 to 30, it won't take too long. But, if your guest number is hundreds, it will be such a hell. So, in this case, opt for digital and skip all of the hand-lettering ideas. Remember that your hand will be full with all of the wedding preparation. You won't have enough time to make wedding calligraphy manually. 

Another point that you might consider is to learn early and master calligraphy. It also helps to learn some crafting ideas. So, you don’t rely on your wedding planner for everything. As an example, by crafting envelopes, seals, or simple handwriting techniques. There are many online classes or instructional books. If you do so, it can greatly decrease your tally.  

Created by Salstudio

Things To Consider

Regardless of your options on doing the wedding calligraphy, it is best to prepare everything beforehand. Remember that your wedding invitation, details, table names, and all of the calligraphy possible should fit the theme. At the same time, you need to ensure that the project can finish and work the best. So, what should you do? 

The best way possible to consider for the calligraphy project is a design brief. Some professional artists and designers will always ask for details in the form of a brief. You can follow their details or make one by yourself. All you need is to consider every part of your wedding calligraphy projects. And some of the major judgments are written as follows. 

1. The Place Or Where You Want To Use It 

Since you want to hire a calligrapher to make enchanting lettering for your wedding, you need to be clear about the services. Many elements can appear with calligraphy. Starting from the most popular option is the inner and the outer of the invitation envelopes. It includes some details, recipient information, address, and the tagline. 

However, there are more than just wedding calligraphy invitations. Some artists or wedding planners will also include menu cards, ceremony programs, escort cards, decoration, table names, souvenirs, or the favor tags. It is not a surprise that you can use calligraphy in many mediums and elements. But, every piece will need different work.

You cannot put writing calligraphy for invitation and decoration at the same level. Several design elements might follow, such as the layout, style, orientation, kerning, shapes, size, and many more. And doing for different parts and locations will require dissimilar attention. So, be sure to know what kind of work and place for your calligraphy are. 

As additional information, spot calligraphy is starting to take trend. The idea is that it will highlight certain information from your invitation or wedding details. The best example is the spotlight for your names. The use of stimulating lettering design will add a focal point. Thus, people will know the primary detail they need to learn.    

Created by GeorgiaBlueDesignCo

2. Finding The Best Style 

In the world of calligraphy, you have a lot of styles to pick from. Try to find the best style or preferences before going for the details. In the case of wedding calligraphy scripts, you will need to use the traditional styles. But, inside the traditional category, you have more options to choose from. It refers to the writing and font style. 

If you do not know what to find, try to consider the copperplate. It is the most basic of traditional styles that highlight readability, clarity, and strong impression. It features clean thick, and thin lines, which make it look classy and easy to read. But, you can also consider other options such as Italic, Chernoff, or many others. 

Chernoff is one of the modern calligraphies that combines some popular lettering styles and characteristics. Or, you can choose the classic italic calligraphy with its slanted oval letters. Yes, every option can help enhance and signify your bridal theme. When choosing the wedding calligraphy style is hard, you can bring examples for your artists. 

The example will give clear references and information on how formal, the styling, and the theme of your wedding. Sometimes, the invitation example might help the wedding planner and designer know exactly the best options to take. As an example, by pairing up the handwritten script with flourished calligraphy or laid back lettering. 

Created by wonderluststudiouk

3. Printed Or Handwritten Calligraphy? 

Another point of consideration is the form. Printed or handwritten poses different budgets and efforts. While envelopes and invitations are ideally addressed by hand, doing handwritten can take time and a higher budget. So, you need to consider them as your marriage plan. At the same time, handwritten lettering’ quality can deter or decrease over time. 

The idea is that people or artists who make wedding calligraphy will feel tired from all the work. Thus, it is possible that their work will not be consistent. That is why you can consider choosing the printed or digital one. Nowadays, you can find some beautiful lettering design fonts for digital uses. More often, they are free of charge. So, you can download and use them. 

If you are looking to make some other wedding calligraphy by yourself using print, try to ask your stationer about the same font. It will allow you to write and print some extra writing or details by yourself. Sometimes, the printed font does not look as good as the manual. However, it is a worthy option if you are on a budget.  

Created by caboodleweddings

4. The Cost

Do not get surprised that wedding calligraphy projects can cost heavenly. Remember that it is a job that requires skill and time. So, the fee always matches with the challenge. The price range can differ from one artist to another. However, the basic fee can start from $2 to $5 per envelope. It can get higher depending on your requests, such as style, custom, color, paper, etc. 

Created by krisannaelizabeth

5. The Duration And Schedule 

Don’t underestimate the work and the time to make the wedding calligraphy project. Depending on the size, complexity, and type, the duration for the wedding envelope lettering can take more than a two-week turnaround. So, having spare time can ease up your worries and wedding plan in general. 

Another thing to consider is the booking and project deal. Remember that a skilled and professional wedding calligraphy artist is favored by many. They can book up fast. So, the best way to seal the deal is to put an order a long time before the due date. Hiring a person at the last minute can mess up your plan, including the higher budget and rush fee. 

Created by celestiaworks

Final Words

The use of calligraphy in weddings is not a new thing. It is one of the many letterings that exude elegant, soothing, and classy concepts. Whether you are going to try DIY or working with artists, make sure everything is well prepared. Thus, consider the place, cost, design, and duration. After that, you can start looking for the best people to work for it.