Two are better than one...Ecclesiastes 4:9

O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Song of Solomon 2:14

How beautiful and romantic are the words of love, and when inspired by the author of love - our God - how pure they are to hear!  In a world where there is so much distortion of what true love is, it is always so refreshing to me to go the Word of God and find truth, and see how God intended for holy matrimony to be, the way He created man and woman and the first marriage...aaahhh, so wonderful!

Well, here is my latest project, a 10 year anniversary wedding suite for my cousin...I only wish I had had more time from the beginning, yet I learned so much in such a short time!  

Her colors are black and white with burnt orange as an accent.  

I hand-wrote the original draft, only to learn that the type of ink I had bleeds!  So, I rushed to Michael's to get Strathmore Drawing Paper after researching online what other calligrapher's use.  Well, the paper wasn't bright white so when I scanned it to place the written text in MS Word, the background came out off white...Not good when you're printing on bright white paper!

Then I ordered calligraphy paper from John Neal Booksellers, but, guess what?  In my amateur-ness (is that a word?), I didn't order black ink!  I was running out of time and money! So, I ended up typing everything, which was quicker but I still had to put everything together by hand, scoring and cutting the paper to size, the whole shebang!

Well, I had more praying to do because in my learning (only my second time putting together a wedding invitation suite together by hand without any pre-cut card stock!), I realized that although I sent pictures to the bride, I should have also sent the MS Word file.  So I learned that when I have a client who is not local to rely heavily on email, but there's no such thing as too much communication! I made a big goof...I didn't include the year, so I quickly re-worked the invitation with the remaining supplies I had...

I was glad my cousin was happy with the redesign!  She opted to hand-write the addresses on black envelopes herself...

The Wedding Program

Wedding Favor Bookmark

The thank you cards were a little bit of a challenge as well....I purchased Dr. Martin's bleed proof white ink along with a Nikko and Zebra nib, but I couldn't control the white ink flow onto the paper.  I even diluted the ink but it just didn't work, and not having enough time (I would need at least six months in advance or longer to complete a wedding invitation suite by hand) just hindered the whole process.  So, I ended up using a Painter's calligraphy marker...

Simple yet elegant...

I like the soft focus added in Photoshop!

And I learned that when doing a handmade project, it's a nice gesture to give the client a little something extra! So I added a little something to a journal purchased from Hobby Lobby...

I added the black and orange organza ribbon

I added the Scripture with a white gel pen...Ecclesiastes 4:9

Two are better than one; because they have good reward for their labour.  Ecclesiastes 4:9

One thing I know about a wedding and marriage is that it takes a lot of work and learning from mistakes to be successful! So, I'd say that with all the trial and error, it was worth the effort I had to put into doing this for my cousin!  And I'm so grateful and honored that she asked me to do such a special work for her! Many blessings Staci and Dana!

God Bless!

Angenise