Calligraphy for My Best Friend's Wedding: Outer Envelopes and Return Address Calligraphy

My best friend is getting married this June, which continues to get closer. I've been so excited for this day since the moment she asked me to be her Maid of Honor nearly two years ago - being in the calligraphy business, I'm constantly immersed in all things weddings, (..okay, yes, it is mostly by choice) so having someone close to you go through the process sheds a whole different light on everything.

Calligraphy for Outer Envelopes Only, $2 per envelope

When the invitations were being prepared, I formally asked my bestie if she would like me to do her envelopes for her - for some reason, I thought it was assumed that I would do it happily, but didn't want to pressure her into MAKING me do them...if that even makes sense.

She was thrilled that I offered, and because she is in Utah while I am in Boston, she shipped me everything: the invitations, stamps, and envelopes: we both figured it would make more financial sense for me to just mail them rather than shipping back and forth.

I have to say that the whole process is really cool - not only because I'm a dork and like playing with pretty things like paper and invitations, but also I got to see the side I never see: I got to see my envelopes, stuffed, with a stamp on them and ready to go. I had previously always just gave the envelopes back to the bride, but seeing the start-to-finish process is really cool, and somehow much more satisfying.

Calligraphy for Return Address, $1.00 per Envelope

Her invitations were a gorgeous orange-green color with cherry blossom graphics, as her fiance proposed to her in Japan. She had custom last-initial "H" stamps made, so putting them together was a blast. She chose chocolate brown ink on ivory envelopes, with floating dot accents between the numbers in a more organic style used with a C-5 calligraphy quill nib.

Many brides also typically have their return address done by the printers, but in this case I also did the Return Address in calligraphy to match the outer envelope address. I've done this in the past, so it's not uncommon: it's a great way to pull your whole envelope together: it can be costly to have return addresses and outer addresses printed!

Are you in need for calligraphy for your wedding invitations? I'm booking up now for the summer bridal season, so contact me today to schedule your consultation!