Have a Seat : Escort Cards vs. Place Cards

Seating arrangements can be the source of stress, aggravation and confusion for many couples planning a wedding.  Coming up with a plan to make sure that people are happy, conversation flows and that

While many people use escort card and place card interchangeably, there IS a difference.

There are a number of creative ways of displaying escort cards, from hanging tags, to  Simply put, escort cards are cards that indicate which table your guest is seated.

Place cards designate the exact place at the table each guest should occupy.  

Now which should you choose? Escort cards seem to be the popular choice these days with couples designating tables, but leaving it up to guests to choose their individual seats. 

Sometimes, place cards are required by the venue to indicate to servers guest meal selections. Ask your venue ahead of time whether or not they have specific requirements.  And sometimes, place cards are utilized to help ensure that certain people get to sit together - or that other people don't get too close!

Whatever you decide to use for your wedding, there are fabulously creative ideas for either escort cards or place cards which we'll cover soon! 

WeddingWired!

Picking wedding vendors can be a truly nerve-wracking experience, but it doesn't have to be.  You can always ask for referrals from friends and contact vendors to provide references. However, with WeddingWire you can lookup vendors and see what past clients have to say.

Curlicue Designs' storefront on WeddingWire has just opened. Check out our great reviews!  In less than a week, we've garnered enough positive reviews to earn our first designation. Thanks for the support everyone!

Initial-ize!

The monogram. Classic. Elegant....and with the way that I love to put my own monogram on everything, perhaps a sign I missed my calling for marketing and branding. For a bride who is about to take on a new last name, a monogram can be a fabulous way of celebrating and marking the change.

Like with an invitation or a return address stamp, a calligrapher can create and digitize a monogram for you that you can use in a variety of ways. Apart from wedding stationary and signage, here are a few ways I incorporated our monogram into the wedding - did I mention that I LOVE to put monograms on everything?

This was one of the wedding favors I had at my own wedding. I scripted the "M" and had a graphic designer work her magic. We took the digital file and had it printed on enviro-bags.

A custom monogrammed tag  we used to put on attendants'  gifts.

We used the same monogram for a backdrop for a photobooth.

I printed these round stickers myself and we used them to seal the bags for our candy table. 

The pleasure of your company is requested....

Like I discussed in my previous post on customizable stamps, a calligrapher isn't just limited to addressing invitation envelopes. An experienced calligrapher should also be able to help you design and create an invitation template which you can bring to your printer.

Finished product, letterpress printed.  By Bella Figura.

Template invitation ready to be scanned for printing.  By Curlicue Designs.

Finished product. Calligraphy by Jennifer.

Stamps of Approval

This week, I was charged with the task of creating return address stamps for a client. What a great, easy, inexpensive and thoughtful personalized item that would make the perfect gift for newlyweds, a housewarming or as a hostess gift.

Custom calligraphy address stamps are a great cost-saving alternative to having your printer do the return address on your envelopes or having a calligrapher do each envelope by hand.

Many sellers on Etsy offer such stamps. However, your own wedding calligrapher can help you DIY.

Have your calligraphy create a template of the address and scan it at a high resolution. You can then upload the graphic to a service Simon Stamps which can then turn it into a custom stamp. Voila! - a beautiful return address that matches the calligraphy on the front of the envelope for a fraction of the cost.

A Splashy New Beginning!

And after months of preparation, Curlicue Designs is online!   And my, oh my, what a banner week we've had - a brand new Facebook page, a blog and featured in a new photo shoot on the Ruffled blog shot by talented photographer Sam Nichols.

The website is in the final construction phases, stayed tuned!  In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the photoshoot. Enjoy!

~Samantha

For the love of calligraphy...

Every day when I sift through my mail, my eyes are always immediately drawn to the increasingly rare envelope that is hand-addressed. Whether it’s a wedding invitation or not, something about seeing your name and address handwritten on the front of an envelope makes it stand out.

Etiquette and tradition would dictate that wedding invitations have to be written “in the bride’s hand.” However, technology has given new invitation addressing options to the modern-day bride. A myriad of font choices and labels are not only convenient, but can also produce stylish, machine-neat results in a minimal amount of time.

Brides spend a considerable amount of time and expense shopping for their wedding invitations. Not only does the invitation give crucial details to a guest as to date, time and place of the event, but the choice of invite is the first indicator to the guest as to the kind of wedding it will be and the style of the couple getting married.

While convenience and cost-savings using pre-printed labels can’t be beat, for the bride that wants her invitations to be set apart from the crowd, consider calligraphy. Whether you do it yourself or hire an expert, the swirling hand-inked invitations are sure to be noticed and appreciated by your guests.

Though some might call calligraphy “dated” or “overly-traditional” – calligraphy comes in a variety of fonts and styles, which can be matched to reflect the tone of your affair.

Formal or beachy, classic or contemporary or anything in between – your invitation says a lot about you. And so should the way that your wedding invitation is addressed.