Calligraphy Giveaway by Sarah Darcy!
This week, we are in full on celebration mode. Giveaways (like our ridiculous Crate and Barrel feature), the prettiest real weddings, the most inspiring photographs, flowers, cakes, the works. So when Classic Bride editor, Sarah Darcy, emailed me to let me know about her adorable new calligraphy business, I new that it was a perfect feature for this wonderful week!
Sarah’s work is that perfect balance of charm and elegance…calligraphy that is sweet, while still being sophisticated. I am loving her use of calligraphy in the most perfect of details. From hand lettered labels and tags to gorgeous note cards and adorable signage.
And guess what…Sarah is offering up 50 hand addressed envelopes to one lucky SMP reader! The winner is welcome to choose between the Jane or Chelsea style or a combination of both, as well as ink color you want…even a custom concoction!
Here is how you enter. Head on over to Sarah’s new site and choose the style of calligraphy and color of ink that you think would best suit your wedding. Then tell us why! We’ll choose the lucky reader this Friday!
And one last little bonus…the winner will also be featured on Sarah’s blog, Classic Bride, along with photos from their wedding day.
I love the Chelsea style of calligraphy - it's a fun and artsy. I think the color that would best suit my wedding is a plum color which is accented throughout my wedding :)
I like the Jane style best. As for colors, black or maybe a dark green because we're having a garden party wedding. Thanks for the great giveaway!
I love the Jane style. Its a style that would go perfectly with my outdoor/nature style wedding at Starved Rock State Park. :) The color would probably be brown. Awesome giveaway!
i love the chelsea style!! (maybe because that's my name. :) ) espresso brown would be perfect - its the color of our invitations and it is one of 2 wedding colors (the other being tiffany blue).
thanks!!
Oh I would choose the Chelsea style! It's so feminine and charming! I would do a pretty antique green because it would match all the handsewn linens my mother and I are making for the tables! Plus, I'm getting married so far away from my home in the Northwest and that color always reminds me of the trees around my childhood home!
I like the Chelsea style. As for color, I would probably use a deep purple. Great giveaway! :)
I love, love, love the Chelsea style! We are getting married December 19 which is the anniversary of the publication of "A Christmas Carol." We're incorporating touches of the story into our reception (no Tiny Tims or period dress, ladies! just some holiday cheer) and this style strikes me as so classic and romantic--- so perfect! Our envelopes are going to be gold, so we would probably do black ink. Thank you for the site and all the great ideas!
I would love the Chelsea style for the names and the Jane style for the addresses. We want a very relaxed wedding. And I want everything involved to set that tone. These fonts are so relaxing and they let people know that nothing about our wedding will be stuffy. That is so important to us. We are relaxed and fun people and we want our invitations and fonts to reflect that. Plus I will probably have to address them myself with my icky left handed writing if I don't win this! ;)
Oooooh I love her calligraphy! How very talented. I would choose the Chelsea style with a combination of navy blue and plum ink to go with my wedding colors. That font is the perfect combination of elegance and whimsical - my guests would so enjoy it! (one of the 50 would have to be addressed to me so we could admire it for years to come) :o)
I love the Jane style...our wedding is very classic and relaxed so this would be beautiful! I like black as the color.
The Jane style is my absolute favorite! It would look wonderful in a dark blue, as my invitations are blue. My fiance and I are a simple and modern couple. Jane would be perfect for us. Also, getting started with the 50 addressed envelopes will give me a jump start to being able to afford getting the rest done in the same style! I hope, hope, hope I with this. Fingers and toes are crossed!! <3
I am in love with the "Chelsea". That style calligraphy would be fantastic in dark grey or lavender for our invitations. The fun yet sophisticated style (with a hint a Parisian flair) directly reflects our vision for the big day!
Hand written Calligraphy is one of the things I am having to give up because of the budget. This givaway would be such a beatiful gift for me and the guests!
I didn't even think of calligraphy - just seems so far stretched in my planning but they're so beautiful!!!! I absolutely love the Chelsea style - it would loook amazing with my invitations!!! =D
I am a big fan of the Jane style. I think the simplicity fits my rustic, romantic wedding. I think I would chose a dark brown ink. We are planning on using kraft envelopes and I can imagine the brown ink!
I love the Chelsea! and it would be perfect in a cobalt blue! It would really be a perfect fit for our wedding...classy without being too serious!
because i am somewhat crazy, iwas thinking of re-learning calligraphy for the purpose of invites and such. but this is much better! the chelsea writing is darling and perfect for our lakefront wedding, so airy. i think in a steel/ silver ink it'd be phenomenal (our colours are orange and what i affectionately call hipster blue, with gray neutrals).
chelsea in purple to fit my vintage inspired nuptials.
The jane style in either black or stone would be perfection for our wedding. The goal of our wedding theme is casual elegance and with this style I feel that brings it to the forefront. We have chosen stone, apple green, and mango as colors for our spring winery wedding.
I love Sarah's style! I am absolutely in love with the Chelsea style in a Coral Pink color. I love Style me Pretty and have looked it on an hourly basis since before my engagement! I think it provides the perfect whimsical, feminine touch for my July 3, 2010 wedding!
First, I want to say that this past weekend I made an inspiration board for my upcoming wedding celebration, and one of my FAVORITE photos on it is of the blue striped tie with Holden's name tag tied on. I just love the mixture of navy with a brighter, playful blue. Sarah - any chance you can tell me where this tie is from? I was just telling my fiance that I was hoping he would wear one just like it for our wedding! Thank you! :)
As for the calligraphy giveaway - I loooove the Jane style. Lettering in blue - either navy or a deep hydragea blue - would be perfect for my ocean-side wedding. Thanks SMP and Sarah for a great giveaway! And to both Sarah and Abby - gorgeous new websites!
My favorite calligraphy style is Chelsea. I just realized how deeply in love I am with calligraphy when I was looking for invitations; I was completely drawn to any invite that featured gorgeous handwritten calligraphy. Chelsea is so lovely with its glorious swoops and curves -- it's so romantic and really conveys such wonderful whimsy! I would love the lettering in a deep purplish eggplant ink -- gorgeous!
Our invitations are ordered only the day we ordered them we found out my fiance is getting a 5% pay cut and I am getting furloughed. :( Guess what got cut...calligraphy. I aboslutely love invitations that come with beautiful calligraphy...I can't dream of using stick on address labels. :) Chelsea is absolutely gorgeous and we would probably choose chocolate brown since that is our accent color. Sarah's work is darling and I would love to have her added touch to our wedding.
I think the Jane style would be perfect for our wedding! We're having an outdoor country garden wedding in Nebraska...relaxed and fun is what we're going for! Our colors are purple, green and grey so I would probably chose a dark purple for the writing color! Calligraphy is not in our budget whatsoever so winning this would add something special to our day!
The Chelsea style in chocolate brown would best fit our wedding. It's not-too-formal and fun, which goes with our style. We're using chocolate as our base color with accents of pink, red, and orange (using gerbera daisies). Calligraphy isn't in our budget so this would be a wonderful treat, for us and guests!
Wow, so beautiful! I just love the Jane style. Having it in a dark blue with some orange or red accent would look amazing!!!!
I would love to have the guests' names in the fun whimsical Chelsea style and the address itself in the more simple elegance of the Jane style. I love how that would leave guests an impression of a fun yet laid-back wedding theme we're trying to create with our outdoor, family-style, wine-country wedding! I wanted to do a dark blue envelope for that pop of color in the mail..... I don't know if this can be done but it would be so great if the lettering could be done in a white ink on the dark blue!! Thank you for this amazing giveaway!
I'm a writer and the only thing better than the creation of words coming together is how they look on the page. Not only is this calligraphy modern, but it's also traditional and has an air of prestige around it. I am trilled about the Chelsea style of font, in a chartreuse color (to match our wedding colors of course!). I would use the pieces as gift tags for our bridal party's gifts: Van sneakers and Havana flip flops for the reception. What better way to say, thank you and let's party! What a wonderful world!!
Great giveaway! I just re-posted over at Bridal Buzz to spread the cheer! Good luck ladies and gents!
The Chelsea in gold would be perfect for our wedding! We are having a garden reception and the colors will be pale pink and gold. The lettering will beautifully fit in with the Parisian romance them we want to portray--which will also shine through in the ornate frames holding the table numbers, the five-tier pale pink and gold fondant cake with a damask-like design, and the romantic chiffon pleated bridesmaid dresses. My most important must haves for my wedding have been 1) great photography, and 2) elegant details (forget about the food and band/dj--I want gorgeous invitations, flowers, signage, etc.!). Sarah's calligraphy is so beautiful and would add such elegance and personality to our wedding. The Chelsea style is beautiful, whimsical, and perfect for our day!
Believe it or not, I (being a typical DIY bride trying to save a few bucks) went to an art store a couple weeks ago and purchased a beginner's calligraphy set. BIG mistake. What I envisioned looking like the elegant and flirty swirls from Sarah Darcy's Chelsea lettering ended up resembling my young nephew's scribbles. Some things should just be left to the experts. Please save my guests the trouble of having to decipher my horrific handwriting! Chelsea in espresso brown or red would be perfect for our 4th of July weekend wedding on my farm.
I love the Chelsea style because its flirtatious, Parisian nature would meld our two styles perfectly: we're going for a rustic, South-of-France reception style with a clean and modern ceremony site by the sea. For that reason, I'd like the ink to be a deep blue, like the ocean.
The Chelsea style is amazing! Calligraphy would be such a treat for us... and to have it done by the super-talented Sarah Darcy would make it doubly- amazing! :)
nothing plain about this Jane. lovely! jane in navy blue would be a perfect compliment to my invitations. congartulations on your new business!
Jane and libraries go hand in hand! To explain: my fiance and I are headed to sweden for graduate school as soon as we marry, so our wedding and reception have kept with our minimalist lifestyle. . .including our reception at the Peabody Library. The Jane style would provide the minimalism, while calligraphy in a purple color would play to my palette.
*fingers crossed*
I love the Chelsea style!! This would be a great finishing touch to the invites that I am creating! I would love to use a kelly green color to match my colors. Congrats on the new business and website!
I like the Chelsea style best! I think that style of calligraphy in gold would really add to our festive Christmas wedding - and we'd probably NEED to have her do the place cards as well since they'll be hanging as ornaments from little pine trees!
What beautiful work is done by Sarah! I prefer the Chelsea style lettering, as my wedding theme is fun and romantic. Calligraphy is a special and personal touch to an invitation, and is much appreciated by the receiver. My wedding colors are Pink, Orange, and Yellow, so I would love for pink to be the main color used (it's my fav!).
I love the whimsy of the Chelsea style and think that in a lighter teal on white envelopes with orange accents would be beautiful and fit our wedding wonderfully!
Oh! The Jane would be perfect for my outdoor summer wedding by the lake! Black would be perfect. We're pretty much doing an all white wedding!
I love the Chelsea. It's just so super cute. I think that a yellow on our black envelopes would look great!
Loving the Jane - so clean and contemporary but with a fun twist...it would totally match the vibe of our wedding in Northern Cal! Unpretentious, but stylish (I hope :-) Dark chocolate brown would be amazing...I'm wearing a latte colored dress - wohoo!
Both are beautiful - Chelsea evokes a playful elegance and Jane seems soothingly stylish. Jane in a Navy or Riviera blue would be perfect for our beach wedding! We're playing up a sunset theme with different hues and shades of blues with accents of yellows, oranges and some red. As my Aunt put it, we're going for casual with an essence of elegance which I think Jane captures perfectly!
i love jane. besotted. deep lapis.
Oh, definately the Chelsea - so playful and quirky! Dark chocolate brown on light blue (slightly iridescent) paper would be gorgeous!
The Chelsea style couldn't be more perfect for our wedding if she had read my mind! We're trying to infuse our wedding with a romantic, organic, vineyard feel and this perfectly fits the bill. I don't know quite how to describe it, but it's as if somehow the letters in the style just seem to me to just "go" with other touches in our wedding like our flower arrangements and the motif on the invitations itself. It does exactly what I hope other parts of the wedding do -- it somehow incorporates that viney, romantic feel without being too over-the-top or "themey." I love it! After seeing this, I'm beginning to understand what they say about invitations and lettering being able to perfectly set the "tone" for a wedding. I so envy Sarah's talent -- what an artist! My hands still have ink stains on them from the attempt I made last weekend of trying to use a beginner's calligraphy set.
As far as color, I actually love the pictures of on Sarah's Web site of all the envelopes in the classic black. So pretty!
Hand calligraphy adds such richness to invitations; I would just love to see it on ours! We’re getting married at a private estate and eager to add more formal elements to the naturally beautiful setting. My favorite is the Chelsea and I think the traditional black ink looks phenomenal! I love your site!
The Jane lettering in dark green would be the perfect way to introduce our guests to our outdoorsy, eco-friendly, beach-meets-hip urban artist's loft wedding. While the ceremony will be on the beach, the reception will be in a building in which each room has been renovated by a different artist. The Jane calligraphy perfectly conveys both the laid-back vibe of the beach, and the sophisticated tone of the reception.
Sarah's calligraphy is so pretty and we would be honored to use it for our wedding! I love the Chelsea lettering- it reminds me of victorian postcards, and would be ideal for my vintage Christmas themed wedding! I would chose gold lettering on ivory envelopes, to go with our use of gold candlesticks, mercury glass ornaments, and green bridesmaids gowns. Swoon!
I love the idea of Chelsea names and Jane addresses in a violet on a light gray envelope; however, jane fits better with our vintage art deco feel of our themed wedding.
I love the chelsea lettering! I think it would be perfect for my upcoming October wedding. We are going for a eclectic vintage feel with mixed mercury glass votives and unique accent pieces scattered about. It is going to be elegant, but with a touch of whimsy and charm, which is exactly what I think the chelsea lettering evokes. Our colors are deep purple, blush pink, cream and grey with black accents. I think ink in deep purple would be perfect!
I adore both styles of Sarah's calligraphy because being so different they both suite a purpose for different styles of events, however, having to pick one I would choose the Chelsea (in pink of course :) ) for our wedding! Her attention to detail of every swirl in every letter is truly amazing! Thanks for the giveaway!
The playful and whimsical "Chelsea" reflects my personality. I think it would frighten some of my more uptight relatives (that would be hilarious to me!) and amuse everyone else. But above all, it would impress every guest to see that I had something calligraphed especially for them. Of course the envelopes would have to be done in PURPLE or a really dark Victorian Lilac to match my wedding and to be visible! How fabulous would that be?
I LOVE the "Chelsea" style and would be fine with plain black ink. It is whimsical, flirty - yet even a little vintage, as I described to my fiance. Honestly, it looks VERY MUCH like how my dearest Omi used to write. (Omi is a German word, or as in her case, Prussian...and it is a way of saying "Grandmother".) I remember spending hours with her when I was young, while she taught me that handwriting in both print and cursive, is an art form. She said that people will judge me by the neat and artful ways I choose to express my very own letters and words. I suppose I was taught that it was a direct refection of myself, because the words one wrote were often more powerful than the words one spoke. Unfortunately, my Omi has been gone for some time now. I believe this calligraphy will remind many of my family members of her and also her beautifully precise ways!
Jane most reflects my fiance and me as a couple. I don't mean to say that our love is not full of passion and excitement, but our relationship has always been simple because we have always been upfront and honest with each other about our feelings and emotions. Love doesn't have to be complicated. And, our love is not complicated, but simple and pure. Jane also reflects our laid back, chic, farm wedding. We want to portray a simple type of elegance, just like Jane! OUr colors are a dark ivory, with pops of color from the flowers. The envelopes would most like be address in a light brown. I adore calligraphy, but unfortunately with our budget it is something we can't afford. I would appreciate this so much. Thanks for the wonderful give away and sharing such a fabulous artist!
Marie! Both ties are from Brooks Brothers! ;o)
I LOVE the Jane font. It is SO simple and beautiful! What a great website! Thank you for featuring this giveaway! Our colors are fern green and gold, and our invites are brown and ivory. I think that gold writing would go PERFECTLY with them!!!! :)
I 'd definately go for the jane in Black. Its so pretty
I have always been a fan of Sarah's Chelsea style, it's so playful and beautiful! Our color are black and white so the lettering in black would be perfect and so classic!
I <3 the Jane! I It's simply beautiful! We are working with a small budget, so it's one of the touches I'd love, but can't budget in. The simplicity of the font reflects the simplicity in a lot of our wedding details, but also the fun we want to have :) I'd love it in black!
The "Jane" style reflects us and our wedding. We're having a wedding with earth tones and a lot of earthy elements. I'd love to see this style in green ink on white envelopes or vice versa.
I absolutely adore Jane in black ink... it would be absolutely perfect :)
I LOVE the chelsea style with black ink. Plus, I'm having a small(ish) wedding so 50 envelopes would work perfectly.
I would pick the Chelsea style in black because it's fun & beautiful!
Jane in navy blue. Simple & modernish classic.
I think the Chelsea style is beautiful and would be so perfect in white on my charcoal gray envelopes! I've been reading Classic Bride for quite a while so winning would be such a treat!
Thanks Sarah! I will definitely be checking those ties out :)
I love calligraphy and this is such an awesome giveaway because I dont think I would be able to afford calligraphy otherwise. I love the Jane, but I think I would want the names a little fanciers in the Chelsea!!
I love the Jane font! Beautiful :)
Omg, I would love love love to win this.
I like the idea of doing the names in Chelsea and the rest of the address in Jane. I'd either want classic black ink OR purple to match our invitations.
Sarah's stuff is gorgeous! Thanks!
I stopped and caught my breath at the Holiday calligraphy - we are getting married the day after Christmas - love them all. Good luck in your new venture and website!
Who wouldn't love to win this giveaway! I have been trying to work hand calligraphy into our budget but its not looking good, our guest are going to get an Erica (me) orginal, not exactly the tone I am trying to set with my invitations but might be the only option. If I was lucky enough to win I would choose the Chelsea design, it is so playful and beautful. My first preference would be to have a wine ink color as that is our main wedding color but would just as ECSTATIC to have classic black, such a timeless look!
Both fonts are fantastic but to go with the sophisticated theme of my wedding I'd definitely have to go with 'Jane" in black ink!
OMG, I'm so excited to see this giveaway! I HEART the Chelsea style! It's incredibly whimsical and so beautiful! I don't have calligraphy in my budget, so I was going to have to attempt to ink 'em up myself, agh! :-( I think I'd choose black ink, but I don't have my envelopes yet so I'm not completely sure!
I think it's in the stars for me to win this fantastic contest. My name is JANE so guess which font I like best !!!?? I have always loved my name and considered it to be classic and not a bit PLAIN!!
My family and friends would be so impressed to see your beautiful work on the envelopes of our invitations which are traditional with just a touch of whimsy and printed in navy. Your calligraphy would be beautiful in navy ink on our white envelopes. This Jane hopes your JANE calligraphy will be a special part of her wedding!!
I'm loving the Chelsea! My invitations are antique white with an embossed sand dollar. Paired with the Chelsea in an ocean-y blue ink, this would be the perfect mix of low key but very fun - great for a beach wedding! My mom and I had planned to handle the envelopes ourselves, but after seeing these samples, I'm seriously in love.
I love the simplicity of Jane. As my poor students know, I have DeQuervain's tenosynovitis and can barely hold a pen, so calligraphy (or surgery, but I far prefer calligraphy!) is a must for us. Jane in navy would complement our wedding very nicely. Thank you for another great giveaway!
The Jane style is absolutely perfect ... very clean and simple. And I'd have to go with either chocolate brown or cranberry for the color! Beautiful!
I've been drooling over the Chelsea script ever since she opened her site! *swoon* It fits the mood of my wedding SO well - fun, whimsical, and flirty! I adore it! Our colors are bright red & crisp white, so I would adore it in red on white envelopes. It would look so fantastic!
Ooh, I'm jealous. I've been practicing my calligraphy and have done numerous friends invitations and place cards for their weddings... but now it's my own and I can't get it quite perfect! I like the Chelsea look just because I'm a hopeless girly romantic, and my colors would be navy blue ink - almost black unless you look in the sun and see the tint of blue. And I'd need to throw a splash of sunshine yellow somehow to complete my wedding colors. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but will definitely check out the site to try to replicate her unique style.
I like the Chelsea script. We're doing traditional Chinese wedding invitations in gold on red, so it would great if it were possible to do gold on our red envelopes! If not, black would also do!
Ooooh definitely the Chelsea in black, so cool and elegant and fun! It will fit right in with our city chic wedding in the middle of Tribeca.
I love the Chelsea style. I am having a pink themed wedding in FEB and I think a pale pink font would be too cute.
I would go for a combo of the two--> I'm a ridiculous girly-girl whose favorite color is pink, butterfly hair clips at the age of 27, and sequins during the day. Haha...but my fiance loves all things modern, industrial, and streamlined! We're trying to figure out how our two VERY different styles are going to mesh when we move in together, and a combo of the two types of calligraphy would be a perfect starting point for inspiration!
Oh I just am in love with the Chelsea style! They are both beautiful, but Chelsea is so perfect, especially for a romantic whimsical wedding, like the one we are planning! It reminds me of our French accents, and would fit perfectly with our macaroons, pale pink peonies and my beautiful lace gown. I would love to do an intensely black lettering, that would be utterly elegant and a just a perfect bit vintage. Just the best!
I would chose their names in Chelsea and the address in Jane. Our invitations have a natural aspect that has a little swirl but not too curly. Our invitation uses a simple all caps font for the wording and our names are in a font similar to Chelsea. I chose this invitation and calligraphy style because it reflects our ceremony which will be simple and outdoors with elegant, classy details, such as my chapel length train that has an ivory stain glass window type detail in the overlay.
The Chelsea would be perfect for our early summer wedding! It matches the vintage, fun and informal feel we want to have for our day. We are going a little non-traditional, just desserts and drinks reception, no assigned seating, lots of wildflowers in blue mason jars and mismatched china for everyone to enjoy eating cake off of! The Chelsea font, in black (to highlight the beautiful script) will be the perfect match for our day!
I love the chelsea font it is so whimsical!
I like the Jane font in black. It's simple and yet elegant.
[...] Thank you so much to Amy and Matt for sharing their day with us!! We have a pretty awesome giveaway coming up next and later, find out who won the Sarah Darcy Giveaway! [...]