Tagged virginia calligraphy

April 9, 2018

The Most Perfect Vintage 1940’s Blue + Gold Wedding Inspiration

Bespoke Wedding Invitation | Calligraphy | Warrenton, Virginia

When Terry Kaye of Terry Kaye Events reached out about a vintage 1940’s styled wedding inspiration shoot at a historic home turned B&B in downtown Warrenton, Virginia I was intrigued, especially because of the history of this property. The home has a long history and was once the Hearst house where Randolph Hearst’s grandson and his beautiful bride hosted their reception which was said to be “the wedding of the year”. I mean for someone who is all about storytelling through my designs this was an opportunity to create a beautiful wedding invitation suite that shared a snippet of this gorgeous home’s history as well as contributing to another chapter in this house’s story book.

The inspiration for this styled shoot stemmed from design aesthetics for a glam, elegant and timeless feel with a french twist which paired beautifully with the color palette of pale blue, gold, ivory and nude blush. I designed this wedding stationery suite around classic and elegant calligraphy styles that are timeless in and of themselves. I was inspired by the ornate filigree often found in vintage architecture and home decor design and wanted to incorporate some of those ornate and dainty details within the suite design. I wasn’t exactly sure how I wanted to incorporate that so I turned to Pinterest and started researching historic homes and vintage decor. I fell in love with frame and mirror details and immediately knew that would be the perfect vehicle for an ornate filagree and I just love how the hand illustrated frame turned out! Since I wanted to to add a modern twist to these wedding invitations I decided instead of a traditional white, the invites would be the most gorgeous shade of pale blue and that pop of color was just what this suite needed! Pairing this wedding invitation with classic gold calligraphy was a no brainer!

I had the opportunity to actually see the Chilton House on the day of the styled shoot and my oh my is it ever gorgeous! I was blown away by it’s stately front and every room was just as breathtaking as the last! The tablescape from this styled shoot is still one of my all time top favorite tables! I am obsessed with the dusty blue candles in antique gold candlestick holders especially when paired with the greenery garland running down the length of the table, the layered gold chargers and place settings and the pale blue menus I designed perfectly placed at each seat.

This vintage wedding styled shoot is tells a beautiful story at an even more beautiful historic home and is one to see! You can check out more of this styled shoot which was also featured over on Artfully Wed!

March 27, 2018

Virginia Vineyard Styled Shoot with Charlottesville Tuesdays Together Wedding Vendors

Bespoke Wedding Stationery | Calligraphy | Charlottesville, Virginia

Virginia Vineyard Wedding styled shoot- www.homeonthefarmstead.com- Rachel May Photography

I love designing custom wedding stationery for styled shoots because I have the opportunity to design something I haven’t done yet, creatively stepping outside the box, and I get to meet other wedding vendors. As a one woman shop working from home, it can often get a little lonely and stir-crazy. After we moved to Charlottesville I happened upon the local Tuesdays Together group through The Rising Tide Society, a group of creative entrepreneurs who meet on, you guessed it, Tuesdays, to learn, grow and encourage each other. I knew after my first meeting I had found my people, especially with their mantra of Community over Competition! It was so refreshing to meet other entrepreneurs who were going through the same thing I am and are also in the same industry. The Charlottesville Tuesdays Together group put together a unique styled shoot, that I was more than happy to contribute to! Since there are so many talented creatives in Charlottesville, the contributors weren’t limited to just one per category which allowed everyone to participate.

Virginia Vineyard Wedding styled shoot - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

Virginia Vineyard styled shoot - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

Virginia Vineyard Wedding styled shoot - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

custom wedding gift Southern Grown Vintage - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

wedding shoe details - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

watercolor crest wedding invitation- Farmstead Design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

Arriving to the venue I was a ball of nerves! I had only met a few other vendors at other meetings and I didn’t even know if they would be there! It was like walking into a new school on the first day! But everyone was so nice and welcoming that I quickly felt comfortable with all these new friends! Since there were so many different vendors collaborating on this styled shoot, there were several different stations and vignettes set up and photographers were split up into different groups to rotate through each station. I had the pleasure of collaborating on two suites for the shoot and while the color palette was pops of teal and pink balanced by simple neutrals, I love how each suite had their own personalities!

watercolor crest wedding menu- Farmstead Design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

Custom watercolor calligraphy + crest wedding invitation suite Farmstead Design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography - calligraphy Jodi Macfarlan Calligraphy - watercolor Gina Langford

The first wedding invitation suite I collaborated with Jodi of Jodi Macfarlan Calligraphy for the calligraphy details and Gina Langford for the watercolor details and I have to say I am STILL obsessed with the hand deckled, watercolor wedding suite that I designed! The details, like the watercolor crest tag wrapped in silk ribbon, hand illustrated map and watercolor envelope liner, combine to really bring this suite to life!

Custom calligraphy fabric wedding invitation suite Farmstead Design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography - calligraphy Ma Belle Calligraphy

The second wedding invitation suite I collaborated with Michelle of Ma Belle Calligraphy for the calligraphy details and our fabric invitation suite definitely made a statement! Creative, out of the box ideas really inspire me especially when untraditional elements are used. I challenged myself to use fabric for this suite (hey my first job was at a fabric store, it’s only fitting!) and this custom fabric wedding invitation is the result.

Virginia Vineyard Wedding styled shoot - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

lace cake Commonwealth Cake Company - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

teal + pink Virginia Vineyard Wedding styled shoot - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

wedding boutonnieres - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

Virginia Vineyard Wedding styled shoot - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Rachel May Photography

Besides meeting some of my closest Charlottesville friends at this shoot, my favorite part was seeing how each vendor lent their talents and how they interpreted the styled shoot. Even though the vignettes and stations were the same for the photographers, seeing how each photographer put their own spin on the images was amazing! The angle, small details in styling and the editing from each photographer made every album feel like a different shoot and not one shoot. And in true spirit of The Rising Tide Society and the Tuesdays Together groups, this styled shoot really demonstrates how community over competition can be achieved by working together to create beauty!

Vendors

January 26, 2018

A Mothers Calligraphy Letter to Her Daughters

Bespoke Wedding Stationery | Calligraphy | Charlottesville, Virginia

mother-daughter-bridal-session

There’s something so pure about a mother’s love and when I was approached to design a calligraphy letter from a mother to her daughters for a bridal session I had to say yes! Shelby was married at the courthouse and never had a chance to wear a wedding gown. She now has two young daughters and wanted to have a bridal session with her girls. Shelby wrote the most beautiful letter to her daughters for their future wedding days and let me tell you, I definitely cried a few times writing that sweet letter! Since becoming a mother I am an emotional wreck whenever I see the mother son dance at weddings, thinking about one day that being Grayson and I and it gets me everytime to think of the man Grayson will become (like now, the extra pregnancy hormones are just adding to me sobbing as I write this)!

I designed and wrote Shelby’s letter to her daughters in pink watercolor calligraphy since the session was being photographed in a grove of blooming cherry blossoms. The bridal session couldn’t have been more beautiful or perfect! Below is the letter Shelby wrote to her daughters,

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

My dear daughters,
My prayer for you is that
the One who created your hearts
will lead you to the men
who will lovingly care for them.
As you grow, I hope that you
come to learn just how
valuable and treasured you are.
My sweet girls, always remember
that you are precious to me
and my love for you will never end.
I pray that on your wedding day
and forever after, you will
experience profound joy
and a rich and lasting love.
Someday you will be brides,
but you will always be my daughters.

watercolor calligraphy love letter by Farmstead Design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Lieb Photographic

cherry-blossom-bridal-session

mother-daughter-calligraphy

I hope Shelby and her daughters treasure this letter for all their days and look back at these photos with joy and love. One of my favorite aspects of my job is being a part of some of the most special days in my clients lives! It bring me so much happiness to know that my bespoke stationery and calligraphy are a piece of the puzzle to making that day one of the best days of their lives, creating memories that will last them a lifetime and something they can look at for years to come!

bridal-session-cherry-blossom

pink wedding watercolor calligraphy love letter vows by Farmstead Design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Lieb Photographic

mother-daughter-family

daughters-cherry-blossom-calligraphy

bridal-session-cherry-blossom-cake

pink watercolor calligraphy love letter by Farmstead Design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Lieb Photographic

calligraphy-bridal-session

custom-gift-calligraphy

pink modern wedding watercolor calligraphy love letter by Farmstead Design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - Lieb Photographic

cherry-blossom-bridal-wedding-dress

See this session published in
Knotsvilla
Lieb Photographic Blog

Vendors

January 3, 2018

My first wedding stationery styled shoot was a dream come true

Bespoke Wedding Stationery | Calligraphy | Charlottesville, Virginia

madeline-stuart-charlottesville-wedding-stationery-calligraphy_19

My very first styled shoot designing a custom bespoke wedding invitation was a whirlwhird of amazing! I was moving to a new state (hello Virginia!) with a toddler and a burgeoning stationery and calligraphy business which is always a little crazy. I hadn’t even started unpacking yet when I saw a post through the Charlottesville Rising Tide Society looking for a Charlottesville wedding stationery designer to design an invitation suite for an upcoming styled shoot. I swallowed my fear and responded back that I would love to contribute.

I had never done a styled shoot before, I literally hadn’t met a single Virginia wedding vendor yet and my computer, along with the rest of my life, was in boxes, but I didn’t let any of that hold me back! I was overjoyed when Isadora of Rixey Manor said they wanted me to design the invitation suite and collaborate with Anna of Simply Handwritten by Anna for the calligraphy. I couldn’t believe it, my very first styled shoot! I immediately sat down and started sketching ideas for the suite. Anna created some beautiful spot calligraphy I used throughout pieces of the suite and she even painted the watercolor crest that complemented the design perfectly. I fell in love with the design aesthetic of the shoot particularly because it mirrored Farmstead’s branding so well.

Madeline Stuart Charlottesville Wedding Styled Shoot featuring green watercolor and calligraphy wedding invitation suite by Farmstead design Studio - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - calligraphy Simply Handwritten by Anna - Lieb Photographic

madeline-stuart-charlottesville-wedding-stationery-calligraphy_10

madeline-stuart-charlottesville-wedding-stationery-calligraphy_13

It was already a dream styled shoot, allowing me to delve creatively into ideas I hadn’t had the chance to showcase before (hello deckled edge!) and then a week before the shoot I received the timeline for the day titled “Madeline Stuart Photoshoot”. I didn’t think much of it until a few days before when I decided maybe I should google Madeline Stuart and see what comes up . . . um am I doing my very first styled shoot with a world renowned fashion model?! A model looking to change society’s perception of beauty and spread her message of acceptance? Why yes, yes I am! To say I was excited is an understatement!

I could hardly contain myself on the drive to the shoot! I was in awe I was participating in my first styled shoot, meeting vendors in my new area, delivering one of my all time favorite invitation suites and about to witness history! I briefly met Madeline and her mom before she was whisked away for hair and makeup, and Madeline was just the sweetest! You could see her genuine enthusiasm for modeling and she literally lit up the room!

Obviously the shoot went fantastic and once the photos were published, y’all the response was overwhelming! We literally broke the internet! The shoot was featured in dozens of media sources all across the world from People to Huffington Post to Wedding Chicks and even CNN. And Nugen Media made a beautiful behind the scenes video, with an awesome shot of the invitation suite at 0:14! So all in all this styled shoot was a dream come true on many fronts and beyond compare for this wedding stationery designer!

madeline-stuart-charlottesville-wedding-stationery-calligraphy_18

Green watercolor monogram crest, leaves and calligraphy wedding invitation suite by Farmstead Design Studio featuring Madeline Stuart Charlottesville Wedding Styled Shoot - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - calligraphy Simply Handwritten by Anna - Lieb Photographic

madeline-stuart-charlottesville-wedding-stationery-calligraphy_14

Green watercolor monogram crest, leaves and calligraphy wedding menu, place card, escort cards, place setting by Farmstead Design Studio featuring Madeline Stuart Charlottesville Wedding Styled Shoot - www.homeonthefarmstead.com - calligraphy Simply Handwritten by Anna - Lieb Photographic