Calligraphy at its Finest

When you think about a calligrapher over a decade ago, one would think about someone to address your wedding envelopes and RSVP cards.

Welcome to the new world of calligraphy!

I would like to introduce Laura Condouris a calligrapher based in Baltimore, Maryland. Laura loves all of the things girls are supposed to love. She is an artist, calligrapher, designer, collector of vintage clothing, and occasional comedienne. Although Laura is based in the Baltimore area, she works with brides all over the world and offers to ship packages securely and insured.

Laura offers additional services other than your basic envelopes, escort and RSVP cards. Have you thought about incorporating calligraphy in a keepsake map, table numbers/titles or for your readers? Think about framing that special poem, letter or whatever you choose for your reader to read. How great would it be to frame a piece of your wedding day other than a picture in your home as a memento of your wedding day!

Here are a few tips when working with a calligrapher:

Remember to order additional envelopes for the increasing last minute invitations and/or mistakes that may occur.

If you are using Excel to maintain the guest list, it is easier for a calligrapher to address envelopes in the exact format that the envelope will be addressed. Because they must look at each guest’s name and address, it is easier to keep everything straight in a format, here is an example below.

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

123 Fake Street

Gotham City, IL 12345

Excel spreadsheets may also be exported to labels; this will avoid the addresses to be retyped. It is preferred that our clients provide the exported document in Microsoft Word or any other word processing format.

Think about the color of ink that you would like to use on your documents and how you would like to personalize them. What style do you prefer in alignment?

I spoke with Laura recently and would like to share an excerpt of our discussion below.

How long have you been practicing calligraphy?

I've been practicing calligraphy since I was a child, but I've been doing it professionally part-time for about five or six years and recently transitioned to doing calligraphy and illustration full-time!

How long before sending out the invitations would you require brides to contact you?

For envelope addressing services, I typically recommend booking at least three months in advance.

What is the turnaround time for invitations?

Orders of up to 200 envelopes usually take about two weeks to complete- the turnaround time is a bit higher for orders of more than 200 pieces.

How much of a notice do you need for place cards orders locally?

Since place cards don't take quite as long as invitation outer envelopes to complete, I can sometimes squeeze these into my schedule, but I still recommend booking as early as possible.

Do you offer writing/copying a poem or reading material for the ceremony?

Yes! I've worked on a few poems and recently finished a very pretty marriage certificate for the bride, groom, and all of their guests signed at the reception as a sign of solidarity with the couple.
What do couples do with the maps? How are the used?

Couples have used maps in their invitation, in out of town gift bags, as a keepsake and any other form they choose. A black-and-white map takes about 8 to 10 hours to complete, or a watercolor map, which takes even more time. The price includes the design fee, original, and a high-resolution digital file for you to print yourself at home, or take to your stationer or local printer. I offer small quantities for an additional fee.

Do you create monograms for couples?

Yes! I love doing this- it's like a logo for the union that a couple creates!

To find out more about Laura and Trial by Cupcakes visit: http://www.trialbycupcakes.com/

Photo and Art credit: Trial by Cupcakes

Selecting a DJ

Music has been a hot topic this week so I wanted to cover a few things on selecting a DJ. Many of the tips and topics may also be applied to selecting a band also.

There are many DJs in the market and they each vary in style, equipment, personality and other distinguishing factors. Here are a few things to cover when meeting a DJ:

Schedule a consultation with your prospective DJ and you can take note of the things that you are looking for. Most importantly when your meeting with a DJ is feeling out their personality, this will reflect in their style and persona during your event.

Ensure that your DJ offers a contract; not only the DJ but all your vendors should offer a contract. With a contract there is a safety measure and also this give you the comfort of know that the DJ is professional and takes your event seriously. While shopping around you can ask for a verbal overview of their contract.

Here are some questions to ask:

• Do you book other events for the same day?
• How early do you arrive and what will your attire be for my event?
• Have you worked at my venue location before? If so are you familiar with their guidelines? Are there any tips that you can share with me overall.
• How would you describe your style? How would you keep our guests on the dance floor?
• May I and/or a guest request anything for you to play?
• Will you make the announcements that I would like to share?
• There are some songs that I do not want to hear, can I give that list to you?
• When do I share the play and do not play list with you? When is my ‘last chance’ to update this list?
• What is your deposit/payment policy?

Have fun at your consultation and feel free to ask as many questions you would like to. The goal is to walk away from feeling good about the services you are seeking and the service you will receive from the DJ.

Happy Planning!

DIY iPod vs. DJ

If this is something that you are thinking about, let me give you the answer. Select the DJ, and I will give you several reasons why in a few lines. But, first let’s focus on the iPod.

While I respect the fact that an event can be costly and many people are choosing to DIY as much as possible. An iPod can be cost saving and if you are using this for the ceremony and have timed everything down to the minute then I can say okay I understand. However when it comes down to your reception or party time, the iPod can’t lead or see what your crowd is reacting to.

Most people come to a party/reception to celebrate and enjoy themselves, no offense to your selection of music but what if the guests are not on the same musical page programmed? These are just food for thought items that should be consider while pondering the iPod idea.
Just a few more things to think about:

• Who would make any announcements that you would like hear?


• How will the crowd get excited about the music without an Emcee?


• What if someone wanted to hear a specific song?


• Would it be slightly awkward to the guests hearing a few second gaps in each song?

Please don’t think that you’re being discouraged from using an iPod we just want you to think about the entire event, guests, your budget and the logistics. Most of all your DJ gets the crowd going and keeps everyone excited. There are DJs out there that can work with your budget. If this is a challenge for you email us and we can help.

Tip: Create an overall budget and an estimated amount for each vendor in the beginning before you start your planning. During the process the budget can be altered if you are already in the planning process. Stop, take note of where you are and how much you have left in your budget, you can shift things around to accommodate your needs and secondary ….your wants.

Warmest Planning Wishes

To DIY, or not to DIY....that is the question?

If you’re thinking about DIY projects for your wedding or next event there are a few things to think about before you move forward. While I love working on personalize projects to showcase unique styles, there is plenty of prep time that is invested and sometimes it can be the same expense if not more that you would have paid for the purchase and/or services.

Here are a few things you should think about before diving into the many tasks of DIY projects.
1. Are you an organized person and can set & meet deadlines with a great finished product?
2. After reading and thinking the project through do you honestly think you can take on and complete the task?
*Do a test run of the project you are working on and get feedback from a few people you can count on to tell you the truth.
3. What is the estimated cost of the project?
*If you are working on centerpieces, think about the cost of the each product to create one centerpiece, add the total and multiply that number by the number of tables you will need to create for the event.
4. How much time will you need to invest in each project and will you be able to complete the project in a timely matter?
*Start as early as possible and recruit help of a positive honest friend that you can rely on.
5. Lastly, if you get stressed thinking about the project before you even begin…..pause and take a honest and good look again before you start.

Enjoy your DIY days; they should not be stressful days …..after all you’re personalizing and hopefully saving cash in the process.

Reception Activities- To Toss or Not to Toss?

Here are a few activities that are options for during your wedding reception.

Anniversary Dance- The anniversary dance honors the couple that has been married the longest. Get all the married couples on the dance floor. Once dancing the Emcee announces if you have been married 3yrs or more to stay on the dance floor, then the next announcement increases to 5yrs. This continues until the longest married couple stays on the dance floor. Ask the couple for their advice for a long marriage.

If you are not tossing a boutique and removing the garter belt, the newlyweds should walk over the garter and boutique to share with the couples following their advice.

Bouquet Toss- Invite all women to join in the bouquet toss whether single or not. By inviting everyone up, the single ladies will not feel as if they are being “pointed out”

Breakaway Bouquet- I have attended wedding and have seen the breakaway toss. There is one large bouquet in the bride’s hand and once she tosses the bouquet it becomes 4-5 mini bouquets. This just surprises the ladies, if you choose to also toss the garter the winning gentleman can dance with all the ladies that caught the bouquets. Oppose to going up her thigh with the garter.

Bouquet Presentation- Instead of throwing the bouquet some brides present their flowers to their mother, grandmother, aunt, or best friend. This can be very sweet and touching to both the bride and recipient, if the bride shares her thoughts during the reception of who she is presenting her bouquet that is also a special acknowledgement to share with all.

Weddings- Financial Savings

Have you started saving for your wedding yet?

The savings should begin once you say yes to the proposal if not before.

With the many other daily expenses that you already have in place, think about opening a separate account to keep track of your wedding funds and handle all your wedding spending from there.

There are many advantages of having a separate account and keeping it strictly for your wedding. By doing so you are being organized and proactive with your planning and spending. If you are planning an average or long engagement you can start letting the interest grow.

Tip: Transfer or deposit a set amount each payroll period to be consistent with your savings.

Meet Local Vendors

When thinking about all the vendors that you will need to enlist to have a great wedding day, it sometimes become overwhelming. I took the time out to speak with a few vendors and get their feedback on tips on what to ask and also what makes it easier for the vendor and client while meeting.

With that being said I decided to create another area of our blog to share vendor information. Each reader will have an opportunity to meet vendors that will share tips and information about their business.

Please share your comments and suggestions with us at info@prestigiousoccasions.com we would like to hear your thoughts. If there is a vendor or categories that you would like to learn more about send us your request and we will be sure to follow up and be in contact with you.

Prestigious Occasions is not affiliated with any other vendors that will be featured nor do we receive a discount or ‘kickbacks’ for sharing information about featured vendors. We believe in educating our clients and welcome requests from vendors to be featured on our blog.

Warmest planning wishes for your next Prestigious Occasion.