What to Expect When Booking a Wedding Calligrapher

If your wedding day vision is filled with custom wedding day signage, beautiful and grand mirror seating charts, and luxury paper touches… you are going to need to find a wedding calligrapher. There is nothing that makes me more excited than when a couple reaches out finalizing their wedding decor and looking for those key pieces that sit at the entrance (like a beautiful welcome sign adorned with flowers), or the finishing touches that their guests will be able to touch in their hands (like calligraphy place cards at their seat). It almost gives me goosebumps to think about. Today, I want to talk about what to expect when booking a wedding calligrapher.

Choosing your wedding calligraphy style

The first thing I recommend is taking a look at some portfolios to see what calligraphy styles speak to you. For larger and heavier items (like mirror seating charts), you are going to want to find someone local to you if at all possible. I personally serve New Jersey and New York weddings most often, but I have also shipped stunning calligraphy pieces all of the US. Paper goods like menu cards, invitation suites, and place cards are the easiest to ship! When looking for inspiration, you can always look on Instagram but don’t underestimate a good old-fashioned google search to help you find the perfect match. I have a few of my favorite pieces on my portfolio here, but for my most current work make sure to follow me over on Instagram too!

Once you find someone whose style you like, reach out with your wedding details! If you feel like Write Pretty for Me might be the perfect match, I would be thrilled if you would get in touch here. By filling out the contact form on my site, I’ll have all of the details needed to get the conversation started.

What to expect when booking a wedding calligrapher

You’ve inquired and we’re both jumping up and down at this point! After reviewing the details of your project, I will reach out to schedule a complimentary call. Over zoom, we’ll chat about your vision, look at samples together, and come up with a plan and overall design for bringing everything to life! One of my favorite parts of the job is when couples come to me looking for a welcome sign or seating chart, and then we start adding custom table numbers (or find out more about rentals here), bar signs, vow books, etc. All of a sudden we have taken your vision and made it something completely custom and unique to you. Your guests will LOVE the personal touches.

Wondering what you need to prepare? The good news is, you don’t really need to “prepare” for anything (I always come ready with ideas). That being said, here are a few questions you can expect me to ask (so they might be worth thinking about before our meeting).

• What’s the overall style of your wedding? If you are new to all the fancy wedding lingo, I talk about the four main wedding styles I see here (classic, modern, boho, and rustic!). If you’re not sure, that’s okay! I’m also never afraid to mix and match different styles either to make something truly unique to you).

• What signage / stationery items do you need? I have so many resources to get you started (and a complete wedding decor checklist here). If you want some inspiration, check out this post on wedding day signage and this post on seating chats/escort cards/place cards. If you’re not sure, I’ll make some suggestions based on what couples usually need! I know it can be easy to get overwhelmed but just remember that I am here to guide you through the process.

• Is there anything specific or personal that you’d like incorporated into your details? This is where custom comes in handy! Have an inside joke or a beloved pet that you’d like on your drink sign? I’ve got ya covered! Want to incorporate your love of old music and records? Let’s do it!

Post-call or email, I will send over a mood board and proposal outlining the calligraphy services and items we decide on. After you accept – and get excited about – the proposal, a signed contract and a non-refundable deposit (50%) are required to hold your wedding date. I only take a set amount of weddings each month so that each of my couples gets my full attention.

Working with a wedding calligrapher

The process of working together is a little bit different depending on what calligraphy services you book (custom invitations, wedding day signage, and seating charts all have slightly different timelines) but there are a few general steps to expect. In the months leading up to your wedding, we’ll start to refine your vision and calligraphy details. Have questions about sign wording, guest list etiquette, etc? I’m here for you! Once you book me as your wedding calligrapher, you no longer have to make all of your wedding decor decisions alone.

Custom Seating Charts and Wedding Day Signage

I know this can be a huge task, and I’ll make it as easy as possible. I’ll send over a form for you to fill in all of your wedding sign copy (ex: Welcome to David & Patrick’s Wedding) as well as a google sheet template for your guest list. We’ll work out of a shared google drive folder for easy access and sharing of reference photos, sketches, etc. I love working with couples in Google drive because you can access it (and show your friends) from anywhere!

Custom Stationery Design

If you’re a custom invitation design couple, the process will start at least 6 months before your wedding. Just like with custom signage, I’ll send over a stationery info form to collect all of the details for your suite, such as color palette and copy. I also like to include a keepsake invitation suite for you and your honey and will mail an additional suite to your photographer before your wedding so they have it in advance for your day-of details photos. For couples ordering “day of” stationery (like menu cards, ceremony programs, custom vow books, etc), we’ll coordinate a pick up time the week before your wedding. Most of my couples like to schedule their pickups for the same day that they’re dropping off other wedding items (like favors) to their venue.

Modern Wedding Calligraphy

If you are looking for a modern wedding calligraphy studio, you’re in the right place! I’m based in Hoboken, NJ and work with couples getting married all over the USA. If it hasn’t come through enough in this post, I love to create personalized details unique to you and your story that will not only serve as keepsakes but will also surprise and delight your wedding guests. If you are looking for hand written details and more wedding inspiration, make sure to browse my portfolio. If you would like to book a complimentary consultation and talk about your own wedding day, make sure to click the button below.