Addressing Invitations With Your Own Two Hands

It was second grade. I was seven. And I was learning cursive for the first time. At the time, I found it marvelously fun. I would practice making a big loopy “J” and then I had seven subsequent letters (to spell out Jennifer, my name) that flowed right into each other. When I graduated to high school, I was super excited to finally be able to use a ballpoint pen, whose smooth ink glided across my college ruled notebook. When it came time to address my invitations though, you would think I would have carried on this love of flourished letters and graceful penmanship, but I didn’t. I’m not sure why I hired a calligrapher to address my invitations. I guess I wanted them to look pretty and I figured since my handwriting wasn't perfect, that was the traditional thing to do. In hindsight though, I think invitations addressed by moi, with imperfections and all, would have been a nice way to incorporate my own personal style. It also would have cost a lot less. This is not to say you shouldn’t hire a calligrapher, which may be helpful if you have a ton of invitations to address, but I suppose the point to this story is that you don’t always have to go the traditional route. Especially if it means not making things perfect.

Photos Clockwise: Addressed invitations from WeddingBee, Hi-Low The Fax, Katy Elliot The Book Cover, Hi-Low Yard Sale Sign, Hi-Low The Fax, Hi-Low Boxing Day.