Save the Date Cards . My Wedding

March 19, 2013 separator DIY Tutorial

You guys! I’m getting married in five months – eek! I haven’t shared nearly enough details from the planning process so far, so I thought it was high time to give you all a sneak peek at something. You know me – I like to make everything myself from scratch (a.k.a. make everything more difficult), and the wedding will be no different. Today I want to share a little behind-the-scenes of how I made my save the date cards.
The Postcard
We are going with a loose vintage travel theme for the wedding, so we decided to do a save the date inspired by antique travel postcards like these. I used lots of different pieces, parts, and tutorials to put the front together from scratch, and I used a scan of an antique postcard with some tweaking for the back. I’ve linked to all the resources at the end of this post. My favorite part is the little personal touches I’ve added, like a picture of us or that little paper plane I drew. Since I’m a little bit crazy, I couldn’t send it out without sneaking Mish and Ross in there somewhere, too…
Save the Date Cards
The Calligraphy
I knew that I wanted our wedding invitations done by a calligrapher, but when I started pricing it out, I realized that it was not going to happen on our budget. After being broken-hearted-ish for a little while, I remembered Melissa Esplin’s I Still Love Calligraphy workshop. Most other calligraphy classes and lessons and book I’ve seen have focused on that really bold, angular old English style, and that’s just not what I had in mind… Melissa teaches the copperplate style in her e-course, and I’ve always loved the flourishes, bold thicks and hairline thins of the style. I was a bit hesitant to try to learn something as hands-on as calligraphy online, but I can now officially vouch for the course. I hand-lettered the save the date message (above), and while it’s not the best calligraphy you’ll ever see, I did it about ten days after starting the e-course. I still have four days left in my month-long subscription, and even though I’ve been majorly slacking on submitting my work for Melissa’s critique and advice, I feel like I’ve already gotten so much better than I was when I did the postcards. Because the class has several videos, I was able to see that how I was holding the pen was wrong and then correct myself, which was really helpful.
Now I don’t have to settle for wedding invites sans-calligraphy.In fact, I’m not going to be able to have pretty, scrawling script on every piece of the invitation suite, which would’ve cost me a fortune if I had to hire a calligrapher. My favorite part, though, is that this is a new skill I’m going to have forever. I can whip up a pretty card for somebody in a few minutes, like I did for this project, instead of being stuck with my handwriting or computer fonts.
Resources:
Do you have any questions about how I made the postcard or how I did the calligraphy and got it onto the postcards? Leave your questions in the comments, and I’ll see if I can help you out!
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 * Disclosure – certain links within this blog may result in a commission for Shrimp Salad Circus. I received a free calligraphy course, but all experiences and opinions are entirely my own. See my disclosure statement for more information.

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13 comments

  2. I recently received Save the Date cards for “My Wedding,” and I couldn’t be more excited! The design is exquisite, and it’s a beautiful reminder of the upcoming celebration. Speaking of dates, I couldn’t help but ponder, Why is dating in London challenging It’s a city filled with diverse opportunities, yet finding that special someone can be quite a task. Nonetheless, I’m grateful for this Save the Date card, as it reminds me that love can be found even in the bustling streets of London.

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  5. LOVE this! Your calligraphy is just so lovely and whimsical. Melissa’s class is fantastic!

  6. This is beautiful calligraphy! I’ve been thinking of learning calligraphy as well but I’m about to give up! Thanks for this! I have hope! Hahaha. I could imagine the price if you would hire a calligrapher for those invitations! Expensive! 😉

  7. So gorgeous! I love the calligraphy. I love Melissa Esplin’s calligraphy class. She is fantastic.

    Love, Richelle of LynnandLou.com

  8. I adore these! Having had a 20’s themed wedding, I am a sucker for the vintage postcard.

  9. Congratulations! Your Save-The-Date card is one of the cutest I’ve ever seen! Oh, and I’m a fellow Kentuckian:)

  10. Five months is going to fly by in a blink! The calligraphy is gorgeous and organic. Good on you for taking up the challenge to learn it yourself.

  13. your calligraphy is beautiful! as are the save the dates…congratulations 🙂 x

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