Wedding Planning & Free Calligraphy Worksheets for DIY Couples in 2020

First Steps to Plan Your Perfect Wedding After Being Proposed on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Custom Calligraphy Envelope Address 2020

According to research, over one million people will get engaged on Valentine’s Day in 2020. The day of love seem to be the perfect day to get engaged as well. If you have a feeling your other half is thinking of asking for your hand in marriage, it could come as soon as V-Day this year.

​So what now? Here are a few things to do as soon as you get engaged:

Call your parents: Share the news with your family and even your best friends. They will be very excited for your happy news and chances are, they would also offer help when it comes to plan your wedding.

​Post your ring selfie: A ring selfie is the social proof of your engagement. When you are ready to share the big news with the world, post a sweet photo of you, your fiancé and the ring to share the love. A proposal video taken by your friends is even better. And don’t forget to make it Facebook official by changing your relationship status as well.

Wedding Photography with "Party On" Hand-Lettered Calligraphy overlay

Plan an engagement photoshoot/ party: I would op for the engagement photoshoot over a party. As a do-as-you-go planner, I found it overwhelming to plan another party and I probably would take so long to do it that the wedding might comes before the engagement party. An engagement photoshoot in the other hand could also be used in wedding day photo book. If you like partying more than a photoshoot, you can round up your best friends, family and potential bridal party members to go out for a celebratory drinks. You are engaged and it is worth toasting for.

Take a deep breather: My advice is not to jump into wedding planning right away. I waited for more than 4 months before starting on my planning process. Let the news sink in and enjoy the moment with your fiancé. You don’t want to get stressed out thinking about the planning process right away.

Think about the date: In Canada, the season and weather is one of the most important factor for wedding planning. In my experience, my busiest time of the year for wedding projects range from April- October. The most desirable dates and venues get book far in advance and if you are looking to get married a year or two from now, it is a good idea to start thinking of about dates now. You should also find out where and when it would work for both families and if there are any potential set back.

Determine the size of your guest list: Whether you are planning for a grand wedding or micro wedding, it is important to discuss and get everyone on the same page on this one. You can gather inputs from your family if it matters to either of you or if they are the one who footing the bill. Once you roughly have an idea on guest count, you can move on to determining your budget.

Discuss budget with your partner ( and family as well if they offer to help you financially): This is probably the most difficult part in wedding planning: first because it is award to talk about money, second, even if money talks, no one truly like to talk about it. However, before you can move forward, you must have this discussion with your partners and also parents if they are helping you with the bill. ​

Research venues: You cannot book a date until you decided your dream venue. Do research online, join local groups on social media to ask other brides for feedbacks and tips on the venue you have an eye on. I would recommend calling in to gather information and pricing and possibly book a tour to see what you have to work with.
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Choose who will be in your bridal party: Ask yourself how many bridesmaids and groomsmen you want and if you want to also have bridesmaid or groomslady. Will you have maid of honour or best man? Discuss this with your partner as you both need to agree on the Bridal Party list.

C & E Wedding Bridal Party

Gather inspiration: I personally use Pinterest and Instagram for my wedding planning as they are visual based search engine and you can easily create vision boards and save posts to review after. They could be access anywhere via the internet and share it to your partner, family and bridal party to view and contribute. You can view my dream wedding inspiration board and follow me on Pinterest below.  

Consider vendors and planner: For smaller affairs, you can source and interview a few vendors on your own. If decide to go grand, consider hiring a professional planner to help with logistic, decor, research and set up vendors for your big day. Remember to ask for references when interview your planner to ensure they are worth of your dollars.
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​Take break and have lots of rest: Wedding planning can be very stressful and having a break from it can help you to be more productive. Take a trip to the beach, movies, mini golf or whatever makes you happy, to enjoy with your partner. Find the humour in things, laugh and reconnect will bring you two closer together through the process.

Continue reading if you are especially interested in having hand-lettered/ calligraphy as a part of your wedding...

In the modern time where computer font is dominating most text in human life, calligraphy art works in another hand becomes a lovely way to personalized everything from paper goods to day of-signages. A hand-lettered invitation or escort care creates an intimacy atmosphere and thoughtfulness that resonate more than just aesthetic. It gives a special touch to your big day, impress your guests and most importantly, made just for you.

So what can be hand-lettered for your big day? Here is a checklist you can use to see where hand-lettered calligraphy fits in your wedding planning elements:

Invitation Calligraphy Save the Days/ Envelopes, Invitations/ Envelopes, RSVP post cards w. or w/o Envelopes, Event Details Cards
Day-of Calligraphy Menus, Escort Cards, Favour Tags, Table Numbers, Signages: Welcome, Bar Menu, Seating Charts and much more!
Decoration/ Functional Calligraphy Farbric Banners, Photography Backdrops, Cake Toppers, Photo Props, Table/ Aisle Runners

A & S Wedding Welcome Signage Calligraphy

​Choosing and working with your calligrapher:
If you are scouring Pinterest or Instagram for your wedding inspiration, there’s no doubt that you would come across beautiful hand lettering and calligraphy wedding items. From simple style to elegant flourished formal, there is always something for everyone to choose from when it comes to modern calligraphy. So how do you find a calligraphy to work with you for your wedding?

1. Look for someone whose work you love
2. Choose the style you want to implement. Look at photos you pinned on Pinterest and ask yourself if there is one that you feel strongly drawn to. Most likely you could trace the pinned photo directly back to the calligrapher’s Instagram or website.
3. Search for your local calligrapher through Google. Working with someone local can be a huge advantage like when you realized you have late RSVP’s and want to drop off extra envelopes or place cards instead having to mail them.
4. Use your Instagram as a search engine with hashtags like #CITYNAMEcalligrapher, #CITYNAMEcalligraphy, #lgbtcalligrapher etc. You can collect a list of amazing artists by utilizing Instagram search feature.

Most importantly, you want to work with a calligrapher you make you feel comfortable. Each of your vendors need to be a part of your team you’ve put together to help reduce stress on your big day.

What you should look from in a calligrapher:

• They should be able to produce a list of references
• They should have a portfolio of your work for you to review (online or in-person)
• How long they have been practicing calligraphy

What you should include in your email to your calligrapher to receive an estimate:

• Date of Event
• Guest count for your project ( envelopes, seating chart, escort card)
• General ideas for desired style
• Service required
• How to reserve your calligrapher for your event
• Your project deadline

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Pricing for your calligraphy projects:
Price vary from each region and you should not look at Etsy as a general guideline for calligraphy pricing. More experienced a calligrapher is, the higher the price. Factors such as desired surface and dead line will affect the estimate.

After successfully reserve your calligrapher, you should:

• Find out the required format your calligrapher would want for the name/ address list. Pro tip: send a spread sheet with names and address. Refrain from hand written note as even the most legible handwriting can lead to errors. Check your list twice or three times to ensure all the spelling is correct. You can get another set of eyes to check with you because it is your responsibility to check all the text you gave the calligrapher. Don’t forget titles like Mr. and Mrs. etc.
• Email your calligrapher the list once you have it.
• Your calligrapher may require extra materials. 15-20 percent of your total is sufficient. Mistakes do happen, even to the pros and you might also have last minute changes or addition to your guest lists. No extra materials needed for mirror seating charts and signage. Mirrors and other reusable surfaces Pro tip: Give yourself an additional two weeks or more to review their works. This will allow time fir any corrections to be made if you do find errors. You also need time to stuff + seal your envelopes. Your calligrapher might be able to help you with this process, usually for an additional fee.
• Check the postage for your envelopes with your local post office. Sometimes, there’s an additional cost for irregular shapes, weights and outbound mails. That’s it and now, let’s talk about day-of-event calligraphy:

A & S Wedding Cake Topper Calligraphy " Still Killing It"

A & S Wedding Seating Chart Calligraphy on Wood DIY

What do you need to know about Day-of Calligraphy:
Day-of Calligraphy is the term to identify calligraphy artworks used at the events like menu, escort cards, welcome signages, seating charts and so on- come later in the timeline. However, if you have a general idea of what you want, you can let the calligrapher know as soon as you can. It is possible for calligrapher to accommodate rush requests in some circumstances but many calligrapher will charge a rush fee of 25 and up to 100 percent for rushed project. I always tell my clients when sending estimate of my timeline so they can organize all the information in advance before accepting the estimate. It will save them the rush fee and establish my deadline before hand.

A & S Wedding Place Card Calligraphy

A & S Wedding Memorial Signage Calligraphy

**UPDATE**

This offer campaign  has ended. However, if you contact me through [email protected], I will send you a copy via email.

For my DIY couples: I have a FREE calligraphy practice guide that I will send to you when you subscribe to my newsletter. It is a gift to you if you want to save some money on your wedding and it would make me so happy to see that you are interested to learn a new skill to show off your personal touch at your big day.

Free Calligaphy Worksheet for DIY Brides and Couples

If DIY is not for you and you are still looking for a calligrapher in Leaside or Greater Toronto area, I could be your girl. Let’s get in touch and receive your free estimate today!