will it be tacky to write my own addresses in cursive and not get a caliigrapher? i'm planning on doing it with a fountain pen and my penmanship is average, not too horrible not too great. what do you think?
I have been told I have very neat printing which looks like type on your computer. I would be more then happy to do it for you for $1/per envelope. Let me know. Thanks.
Fountain Pens can be tricky so I would reccomend a little practice session before you start on the actual envelopes. Or get a nice gel pen as they are smooth to write with.
I am choosing to do mine myself. Listen now that anyone can run them through a printer I think a hand addressed envelope is far more personal. Wouldnt you rather receive a home made cake than Sara Lee?
I'll be doing mine myself, but was wondering if anyone has found a good calligraphy tutorial online? All I've come across is the old english style, but I'm looking for some information on more modern or whimsical cursive styles... maybe with flourishes? I've been checking out some fonts and trying to imitate them, but figured I'd ask you girls if you've had any luck
I understand your point, but I think receiving an invitation is personal enough. Guests aren't eating the envelope - especially since they are so dirty after being sorted with other mail! I don't think guests will be offended that someone didn't hand write their address. No one saves them anyway. But, lots of cheers for you because that is a lot of work!
@cici
You don't have to have print or calligraphy calibur handwriting. As long as it's legible, you're good to go! It's so not tacky at all. But I do second/third/fourth running them through a printer. It will save you time and envelopes (you're bound to make a couple mistakes along the way!). You can always hand write the inner envelope if you are using one.
Someone posted here awhile ago that the tradition is NOT in the calligraphy - the tradition is that the bride addressed the invitations herself because it was a personal correspondance. The bride actually hand wrote the invitations too. So calligraphy isn't the tradition, the bride addressing them herself is. (This bothered my FI and he wanted to address some too!). So address them yourself. It will look fabulous.
I can't even tell you how many compliments I got on the addressing on my envelopes which was done (by my Mom) in cursive. Use a pretty color ink if you want to spruce it up and don't worry about it for one second!
2) Buy the narrowest tipped calligraphy pen you can find. If it's too wide your cursive will start to look too old fashioned. Just a hint of width in places does wonders.
3) If you have time, practice writing out a few of the really common letters/phrases and make them a little prettier than your normal handwriting. For me, that was Mr, Mrs and our two last names. If you start out with a pretty Mr or Mrs the rest will just start to look prettier.
You'd be surprised at how much more elegant your standard cursive will become with a special layout and a special pen. I went with the tips above and have received a lot of compliments on my invitation calligraphy, and it didn't really take any additional time per envelope beyond standard cursive.
(one more random tip: test the calligraphy pen you're using on an invitation and let it dry, particularly if you are using one of the metallic Stardream-like papers. One of the black pens dried to almost a dark green color on my paper so I had to try a few to find one that stayed black.)
<span class="postby">ju1244 - I like any kind of cake. I would just appreciate the thought of someone giving me a cake. :)
And I didn't have the time or the patience to hand-write my invite envelopes. The way it was, it took us three hours to type and run them all (127 total) through our printer. I can't even imagine how long it would have taken to write it out.
will it be tacky to write my own addresses in cursive and not get a caliigrapher? i'm planning on doing it with a fountain pen and my penmanship is average, not too horrible not too great. what do you think?
posted by cici 3 posts 5 months agoppfffttt.... I wrote mine with a sharpie because I couldn't get anything to write on the glassine envelopes!
No one even cared one way or the other. I'm sure you'll be fine.
posted by July2008Bride 189 posts 5 months agoHi,
I have been told I have very neat printing which looks like type on your computer. I would be more then happy to do it for you for $1/per envelope. Let me know. Thanks.
posted by lisachang79 26 posts 5 months agoFountain Pens can be tricky so I would reccomend a little practice session before you start on the actual envelopes. Or get a nice gel pen as they are smooth to write with.
posted by rofvbb07 19 posts 5 months agoIt is perfectly acceptable to write the addresses on yourself in cursive instead of getting a calligrapher :)
posted by AliCherri1 56 posts 5 months agowhat about using a great font and running them through a printer?
I'm having mine done by www.artisticaddressing.com
half the price of calligraphy and a total godsend.
posted by glittergrl 323 posts 5 months ago2ndGlittergrl; I just got a font and will run it through my printer.
posted by JCM9608 470 posts 5 months agoWe ran ours through our printer and it looked really good. And it was cheap.
posted by jma19 364 posts 5 months agoI am choosing to do mine myself. Listen now that anyone can run them through a printer I think a hand addressed envelope is far more personal. Wouldnt you rather receive a home made cake than Sara Lee?
posted by ju1244 254 posts 5 months agoI'll be doing mine myself, but was wondering if anyone has found a good calligraphy tutorial online? All I've come across is the old english style, but I'm looking for some information on more modern or whimsical cursive styles... maybe with flourishes? I've been checking out some fonts and trying to imitate them, but figured I'd ask you girls if you've had any luck
posted by oohmeooohmy 5 posts 5 months ago@ju1244
I understand your point, but I think receiving an invitation is personal enough. Guests aren't eating the envelope - especially since they are so dirty after being sorted with other mail!
I don't think guests will be offended that someone didn't hand write their address. No one saves them anyway. But, lots of cheers for you because that is a lot of work!
@cici
You don't have to have print or calligraphy calibur handwriting. As long as it's legible, you're good to go! It's so not tacky at all. But I do second/third/fourth running them through a printer. It will save you time and envelopes (you're bound to make a couple mistakes along the way!). You can always hand write the inner envelope if you are using one.
posted by adela 52 posts 5 months agoSomeone posted here awhile ago that the tradition is NOT in the calligraphy - the tradition is that the bride addressed the invitations herself because it was a personal correspondance. The bride actually hand wrote the invitations too. So calligraphy isn't the tradition, the bride addressing them herself is. (This bothered my FI and he wanted to address some too!). So address them yourself. It will look fabulous.
posted by enmoore66 217 posts 5 months agoI can't even tell you how many compliments I got on the addressing on my envelopes which was done (by my Mom) in cursive. Use a pretty color ink if you want to spruce it up and don't worry about it for one second!
posted by tiramisu 98 posts 5 months agoNo, it's not tacky at all. If you're worried I'd suggest three tiny things:
1) Shamelessly copy Miss Donut's calligraphy template
2) Buy the narrowest tipped calligraphy pen you can find. If it's too wide your cursive will start to look too old fashioned. Just a hint of width in places does wonders.
3) If you have time, practice writing out a few of the really common letters/phrases and make them a little prettier than your normal handwriting. For me, that was Mr, Mrs and our two last names. If you start out with a pretty Mr or Mrs the rest will just start to look prettier.
You'd be surprised at how much more elegant your standard cursive will become with a special layout and a special pen. I went with the tips above and have received a lot of compliments on my invitation calligraphy, and it didn't really take any additional time per envelope beyond standard cursive.
(one more random tip: test the calligraphy pen you're using on an invitation and let it dry, particularly if you are using one of the metallic Stardream-like papers. One of the black pens dried to almost a dark green color on my paper so I had to try a few to find one that stayed black.)
posted by mikala 32 posts 5 months agoIt's not tacky at all. Go for it.
posted by dahlia 117 posts 5 months ago<span class="postby">ju1244 - I like any kind of cake. I would just appreciate the thought of someone giving me a cake. :)
And I didn't have the time or the patience to hand-write my invite envelopes. The way it was, it took us three hours to type and run them all (127 total) through our printer. I can't even imagine how long it would have taken to write it out.
posted by jma19 364 posts 5 months ago