Style Me Pretty

It's official. I love Lela Rose. She is easily my favorite new designer and her name seems to be popping up more and more these days. From Amy's amazing dress featured the other day, to Jenna Bush's bridesmaid dresses...Lela is all over the place. And, it's easy to see why!

all photos on Brides.com

Although the silhouettes are rather simple, the details are...um, amazing. Each gown seems to be the perfect combination of old world charm and modern femininity. The lace overlays, the tailored buttons, the girly lines. I love every bit of these gowns...

all photos on Lela Rose

To me, it's the combination of fabric and cut that makes these dresses so pretty...the fabrics are soft and romantic, the cuts are simple and elegant. Each dress is all girl. And I love that. What do you guys think?

I know that our readers are working with a huge array of budgets, particularly when it comes to the "add-ons" like calligraphy. Lucky for us, Laura Hooper has been kind enough to offer some cost saving tips on working with a calligrapher...

More from Laura...

Allocating Your Budget: First and foremost I think it is really important to try to factor calligraphy into your invitation budget. Many girls forget to do this and that is where you encounter the budget problems. They spend $10-$15 dollars a set on invitations and don’t factor in $2-$3 for calligraphy (per invitation). Go in knowing that the rate for an envelope in pointed pen is going to cost around $3 per invitation. If you are doing inner envelopes, factor in another $1.50 per piece.

Quick Tip...When you are at your invitation session, perhaps choose a slightly less expensive set, so that you have room for calligraphy in your budget. Everyone says this, and that is because it is true: that the envelope is the first thing that your guests will see of your wedding, and they should always be hand lettered.

Working with New Talent: If you do not have room in your budget for an experienced calligrapher, you can likely find someone just starting out in the business. They typically will have lower prices, but just know that even if you request a sample, it does not mean that your order will consistently look as good as that sample throughout. The more experience a calligrapher has, the more consistent they will be. Brides should ask for references from calligraphers who offer budget calligraphy, so that they can confirm with previous clients the quality of the lettering throughout the order.

Quick Tip...Contact area art schools to find students who have experience in calligraphy. Typically, art students will charge you much less than someone who has been in business a long time.

Help from Friends & Family: If you have no room in the budget at all, enlist your mom, aunt, or a friend with nice hand writing to do the addressing for you. You can purchase an inexpensive light box at any Michael’s store, and use guidelines to be sure the lines are straight.   Practice makes perfect, so make sure they do a few practice runs on some spare paper…not your expensive invitation envelopes.

Overall it is really important to figure out what is most important to you when it comes to your invitations, and how much you are willing to spend on all the aspects of the invitations, including calligraphy, in advance. That way there are no surprises later!

Thank you so much to Laura for sharing these brilliant tips with us!

I honestly believe that (if your budget allows) calligraphy can add so much to a wedding. From a beautifully designed envelope, to perfect place cards...calligraphy adds a touch of femininity and art to your look. Thus, I wanted to share a few more tips from Laura Hooper about incorporating calligraphy into your wedding style...

Think Creatively: I have done some pretty interesting pieces in calligraphy. Most recently, I did an order for a wedding in San Diego, CA for calligraphy on Lucite tiles. They were dark red, and the calligraphy was painted on in gold ink. They looked amazing. They were displayed on the wall with a light behind them so they lit up. The table numbers were matching, they were larger red panels with the names of golf courses as table names instead of numbers. I have also done sanddollars, compasses, and Spanish tiles as placecards as well. 

In addition to envelopes and placecards, you can do all your table signs, bar signs, and miscellaneous signs in calligraphy. Also, you can incorporate camera ready artwork into your invitations, menus and programs. I do a lot of work for menus and programs.  I also like to do personalized photo mattes, and I have a lot of requests to get wedding vows and poetry written in calligraphy as well.

We have a bit more to come...Calligraphy, The Look for Less!

The National Stationery Show is right around the corner and it has me dreaming about letterpress on squishy paper, engraving so delicate it seems to just float on the page and of course, the prettiest calligraphy a girl could ever want.

Laura Hooper of Laura Hooper Calligraphy is one of my favorite calligraphy artists...her work is sweet and sophisticated, and yet it's completely approachable. Lucky for us, Laura has totally revamped her website and the calligraphy candy is just off the charts...

Spend some time checking out Laura's new site, exploring the MANY options available for different price points and different personalities. For those of you who are a little clueless when it comes to calligraphy, Laura has agreed to give us some of her best tips...

Finding and Booking a Calligrapher: You should definitely book your calligrapher in advance. Because we do everything by hand, we have a limited number of clients we can take on in a given time period. You should at least start looking when you order your invitations, that way, by the time the envelopes are done, your calligrapher may have space available in their schedule.  A normal turnaround time can be anywhere from 1-4 weeks that I have seen. In the busy season, my turnaround is about 2-3 weeks depending on the size of the order and the number of jobs in my queue.

Popular Services: I offer a full range of services, from envelope addressing, placecards, invitation design, invitation printing, custom hand drawn maps, monogram design, etc. I also provide stuffing, stamping and mailing for an additional fee as well. The possibilities are really endless. I enjoy doing unique projects, I am sure most other calligraphers do as well, so if you have an idea, let us know.

Average Rates: The rate for an experienced calligrapher using pointed pen techniques can range from $2-$7 per envelope.  You can get very nice calligraphy for $2.50 an outer envelope in a range of contemporary, popular, and classic styles on my website, and then I have several more intricate styles at higher price points, so that I can appeal to brides in different budget categories.

Be sure you know what you are buying. Many calligraphers use a felt pen or an italic pen and this does not give nice thick and thin lines. Maybe that is okay with you, but just know in advance what you are ordering so that when you receive your order back you are 100% pleased with it.

Also, you aren’t limited to calligraphers in your area only, so don’t settle! I work with girls all over the US, even Canada, the UK and Italy, so search the web for someone whose style appeals to you, and contact them for availability.

We have more to come, so stay tuned!

Here are a few more gorgeous images from Amy and Aaron's featured wedding...

Amy has been kind enough to provide the link to her brilliant photographer's site, so that you can see ALL of the images!  Just head to Tanja Lippert Photography / Client Images / Galleries (on the right) / Weddings / Amy + Aaron to see more of this beautiful wedding! Beware though, it's addicting!

Thank you so much to Amy and Aaron for sharing your special day with us. It has no doubt provided hours upon hours of wedding inspiration!