I can honestly say I have a bit of an obsession. While working in the wedding invitation industry for a year and a half, and most of it at the FINE invitation boutique in Ft. Worth (and I believe the finest in the DFW metroplex), Byrd & Bleeker, I have developed knowledge and appreciation for the finest correspondence. Letterpress, embossing, envelope liners, calligraphy, the works! I was exposed to the best of the best in every aspect, and of course developed a little bitty problem I like to call "a fine appreciation for great design and product", aka: EXPENSIVE TASTE.
At the beginning of this whole wedding planning process, I can honestly say that I seriously considered making huge sacrifices in other areas of our budget just to have our invitations hand written by a calligrapher. However, those of you who fancy fancy paper do-dads and little somethings know that calligraphy is ESSSSSSPENSIVE!!!! So, I quickly snapped to reality realizing I didn't want to sacrifice budget THAT much, knowing I would probably have to find my wedding dress at Target. Ya, NO. *sigh* So, the quest began to research creative alternatives.
It was a challenge, but I made it work and had tons of fun finding inspiration for design, verbiage, etc. I kept going back to my favorite elements: frames and cartouches, silhouettes, calligraphy, vintage letter techniques, wax seals, bakers twine, and more. It wasn't easy, but I came up with a glorious design that I'm proud to call my own that is within budget and super unique! I don't want to spoil the surprise before I send them out, so I'll wait to debut them (I know, the suspense is killing you), but I will give you some inspirational images that caught my eye. Enjoy a dip into the wonderful world of all things paper.
Here were a few of my favorites in my search for inspiration:
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| Whimsical verbiage and calligraphy, and lovin' the yarn and button! Bird & Banner |
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| Invitations printed on handkerchiefs. Can we say vintage GENIUS? Bird & Banner |
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| Beautiful hand lettering and illustrations! Rifle Design |
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| You can't get much better than Boddington's imagery and color palette. Mr. Boddington's Studio |
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| The most whimsical and unique invites I came across! The War on Mars |
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| Her calligraphy will ever dance to the music of my soul! Betsy Dunlap |
Letterpress I love:
Calligraphy I love:
Illustrators I love:
(borrowed from the lefthanded calligraphers post)
(illustrator for Henri Bendel in New York City)
