The British Are Coming!

Recent work for a client.  Ephemera and Sundries courtesy of Myers of Keswick.  

What would we Anglophiles do without such a shop?  They even carry Fairy Dish Soap.

However, still miss the individual instant porridge packets.

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Spies in the House of Love

“We need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet… I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything.

The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things… all of it, all of the time,

every day. You’re saying ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.

Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness’.”

– Shall We Dance

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Spreading the Words…

I had the pleasure of working with Gillian Simon, one of the masterminds behind the stationery line, Quotable.

Gillian started this line twenty years ago, born out of a simple frustration for finding cards that would inspire friends and loved ones.  The line now includes calendars, mugs, magnets and other sweet ephemera.  ’Each item features a quotation or proverb written in a distinctive style and script.’

As I do, you probably have one of those cards hanging on your refrigerator right now!

As Ms. Simon says, “They’re inspirational, everyday cards. They have universal sayings, but depending on what place you’re in mentally, the quotes mean different things to different people.”

Avid surfers, Simon and her betrothed used a Bob Marley quote for their Wedding Invitation.  {In high tide or in low tide, I’ll by your side.} It is the first Wedding Invitation of its Quotable kind!  So I was honored to add my white cursive style to her simple and classic quotable style.

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Let It Snow!

Winter Wedding Season has arrived!  Busy with Christmas Card addressing, Announcements, Save the Dates, Invitations and Place cards.    Around here it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas with Event Blossom’s seed paper snowflake place cards – embedded with a handful of annual and perennial wildflower seeds for your guests to plant.  It will certainly remind your guests of your special day, long after Winter has gone.

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Red Letter Day

My recent client chose red and gold envelopes for her Wedding Invitations, both colors in traditional Indian Wedding Ceremonies represent luck and wealth for the future couple!

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Cheers!

You’re not tipsy – not yet anyway.

To get in the ‘spirit’ of things, my client chose my ‘bias style’ for her upcoming New Year’s Eve Nuptials.

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Purple Ways

One of my recent clients chose a pretty lavender ink and a condensed version of my signature style.  Shot at the über cool Lavender Lake Lounge.  Perfect spot  for a pre or post wedding planning cocktail.    {I recommend the St. Basil.}

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Business is Blooming

A recent frugalista client used the “Love In Bloom” collection from  VistaPrint for her invites and envelopes.  The envelopes and invite were not only inexpensive, but surprisingly vintage looking!  Photographed at the incredible Opalia Flowers in Brooklyn.

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Check Out

What can be better on a Summer Day than a nice cold library?  Well, for Bibliophiles, getting married in one!

My clients from Boston will be marrying in the Boston Public Library ♥swoon♥.  Their escort cards will be vintage check/out return cards.

Support your local library – get hitched in one!

 

 

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What I’m Doing On My Summer ‘Vocation’…

My Summer is certainly feeling Olympic!  My first International client, Áine hails from Northwestern Ireland, from the city of Sligo.  Her invitation was done by the über romantic Rifle Paper Company.  Stay tuned for more posts from the Summer of Love.

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This May, Répondez, s’il vous plaît

Spring Wedding Season has kept me busy – suitcases full of invitations kind of busy!

If you are lucky enough to receive and invitation please RSVP!  Brides and Grooms are not only waiting for your reply, but Caterers, Florists, and friendly Calligraphers await your “répondez, s’il vous plaît” to help complete those Brides and Grooms’ special day.

At one point our civilized society didn’t require response cards-it was understood that once someone received a written invitation, it was customary to respond on their own stationery…

The roots of many of our Western etiquette practices seemed to have emanated in the Versailles Court of King Louis XIV.  Etiquette or as the French called them – ‘tickets’ were written on the back of invitations as the ‘rules’ for parties at the Court.

Newspaper columnist “Miss Manners” thinks that “RSVP” came about as a polite way of reminding people of something that they should already know:  If you receive an invitation, you should reply.  She reminds her Gentle Readers of their possible folly in not doing so in this Washington Post column.

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International Mail of Mystery

I love writing International addresses, it gives me a chance to ‘travel’ to places I have not been (yet.)  They all sound so exotic, without moorings or maps.  My favorite addresses, as I have mentioned before on my blog, are those from Ireland.  They are so mysterious, noting Castles and Counties, often without postal codes or street addresses.  It’s always a mystery to me how they find their addressee and yet they do!  In a blog post last year, I  attributed this magic to the Celtic philosophy of Anam Cara – a spiritual notion of  finding your ‘Soul Friend.”  Little did I know, but soon found out, that the photos I featured in that blog post belonged to a client whose ancestry was connected to  John O’Donohue, poet, philosopher and the author of Anam Cara.  Now THAT is the luck of the Irish.  Recently, I worked with two clients of Irish descent, one is even having her Wedding IN Ireland, complete with a Jameson Whisky tour and tasting.  Both clients invites were…numerous.  And when I stood aghast at one client’s mention of how many brothers and sisters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were in her family, she simply shrugged and offered an explanation of ‘her people’:  ”This is what we do.”

May we all have numerous International addresses to send to!

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The Jersey Sure!

Featured in Spring/Summer The Knot New Jersey

“Real Weddings” Erica & Eric

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Winter Write

Work is always best during Snowy Football Weekends.

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In this New Year…

…don’t forget your ‘old acquaintances’ – send them a letter!

Many thanks to all my clients for a wonderful year.  Looking forward to 2012.

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❆ Happy Holidays ❆

“..Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don’t you see? It’s not just Kris that’s on trial, it’s everything he stands for. It’s kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles..” –Miracle on 34th Street

“…What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll give you the moon, Mary.”  –It’s a Wonderful Life

“Oh! The theme I’ve been waiting for all my life. Listen to this sentence: “A Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time”. Poetry. Sheer poetry, Ralph! An A+! ” –A Christmas Story

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Happy Thanksgiving!

{The best recipes are always handwritten}

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All Hallowed Love

Happy Halloween to all the Monsters and their Ghouls.

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…Like dancing…

“The best calligraphy comes gracefully, without thought.  It is like dancing, governed by rhythm and intervals” – Milton Glaser

tuccicursive is happily hunkered down with work for the Fall/Winter Wedding Season!

Exciting News & Sample Work Coming Soon!

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Style is Eternal…

Many thanks and luck to all my Fashion Forward clients!  You make myself and NYC ‘work!’

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Luck of the Irish

It’s always fascinating to me how the residents of Ireland get their mail with so few numbers!

The addresses are mysterious and exotic and some of my favorite to address.

Apparently, both Ireland and Panama do not have national postal code systems.

Check out ‘Frank’s Compulsive Guide to Postal Addressing‘ for information on how to address envelopes for your International Guests.

Personally, I think Anam Cara is responsible for getting letters to their destination–the Celtic spiritual tradition that acknowledges the presence of ‘soul friends.’  When you are blessed with Anam Cara, you have arrived at that very special destination–Home.

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What’s Skew With You?

Inspired by a creative venture with Papel New York, client Ida Pirro and Lilywillow Paper and Press (see below) I am offering a new style to my clients.   Elegantly angled, these addresses fit on the envelope like a bias cut dress.   This works best with larger envelopes (A10), but can work on smaller envelopes.  We’ll work together to make your vision a reality.

And in honor of Lucille Ball’s 100th Birthday, here is a sample with Mr. and Mrs. Ricardo’s famed New York address.  Of course, addresses on 68th Street in NYC, only go up to the 600′s, so this address would have had Lucy and Ricky living in the East River.

This fictitious apartment’s rent was $125.00 per month.

In one episode, Fred Mertz confessed that he charged his famous friend $10.00 more than the other tenants.  But his wife, Ethel also confessed that she gave this $10.00 back to Lucy and Ricky every month.

Fans have recently posted their favorite episodes, personally my favorite was when Superman saved Lucy on the ledge outside of that NYC apartment.

More samples to follow in the coming Fall Wedding Season.

Collaborating with Raegan Hirvela, owner of uber cool but ultra friendly paper store, Papel New York in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn and with the creative team at Lillywillow, I contributed my part for Ida Pirro’s Wedding Invitations.

So proud to be part of such a beautiful invitation!

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a-DRESS-ing…

…with Monique Llluillier fine papers.

Many  top American fashion designers like Vera Wang and Kate Spade
are creating this wedding stationery trend.

So.  ”What are YOU wearing?”

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Breakfast With Tiffany’s

The ‘Morning Drive.’

Attempting to make the world a prettier place–one envelope at a time….

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Sitting Pretty

Congratulations to William and Kate.  

I suppose our invitations got lost in the Royal Mail…

And Congratulations to all my recent clients who share their Wedding Day with the Prince and Princess as well those whose special days are soon to come!

I’ve seen many variations of place cards and escort cards, and many creative ways in displaying them.  I believe that when it is ‘your’ day, you should bring yourself, and your personality through every aspect of your Wedding, including through the place and escort cards.

However, there is traditional etiquette that is worth noting.  I turned to The Wedding Planner Whisperer herself, Lauren Sozmen of Loli Events, for some advice on dealing with this special ‘deck’ of cards.

Lauren reminds us that ‘the escort card table is one of the first things that your guests will see when entering the reception. It is worth spending time thinking about it; use your colors, be creative and set the tone for the party to come!!’

One of my clients, Judy McDermott O’Keefe, did just that by placing wooden gift tags on paper mache trees from the West Elm David Stark Holiday Collection. Tables were not mere numbers but cities, and guests had a great time ‘finding their city.’

Stephanie (nee) Driscoll combined her favors and escort cards. Stephanie used Green Post tags (composed of recycled paper with wildflower seeds that when planted, grow) and put them on wine bottles to demarcate table numbers as well as guest names.  

Although Gabrielle {nee} Obermeier used traditional tent cards, she too used the opportunity to seat guests at ‘meaningful locations’ rather than typical table numbers…

Whatever creativity you do use, Sozmen says that ‘etiquette for the escort cards should follow the formality of your event. If guests were addressed as Mr. and Mrs. John Smith on the invitation then the escort card should be in the same format. A more casual invite and escort card would be Kate and John Smith.’

If someone is bringing a guest you should do two separate cards.   Sozmen feels that is never ‘right’ to ‘write’ “John and Guest.”

If a husband and wife have a different name then it is best to put the woman’s name first.’

And in regard to Placecards, Sozmen goes onto to note that ’place cards are only necessary if you feel strongly about where your guests sit at their table or if you are having a small intimate and formal event of 50 guests or less.’

And unless yours is a kind of casual cocktail party, your Wedding MUST have escort cards!    It makes the mood more of Royal Affair rather than that of a High School Cafeteria.

For more etiquette rules and guidelines check out this page from Crane & Co.’s.

Hope you’re sitting next to someone special!

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Bee Mine {vendor spotlight} Worker Bee Designs

Meet the woman behind the films that make your weddings appear timeless and cinematic.

Meet Jessica Lyons of Worker Bee Designs…

Worker Bee Designs Highlight Reel from Jessica Lysons on Vimeo.

Jessica uses the beauty of Super High 8 Film to make 15 minute heirloom keepsakes of your wedding, union or event.

In an article by Lindsey Eden Turner in Austin’s “Rare” Magazine,  Super 8, developed in 1965, is noted by Phil Vigeant, Owner of Pro88mm in LA, as not only being archival, classic, and lasting forever, but containing a ‘human element.’   “It lends a quality of immediacy that makes the person behind the camera feel connected with the actions in front of it.”

As Jessica notes, her mini epics are like an ‘espresso’, having all of the good stuff and none of the filler.  The look is timeless and the technology is archival.

In other words, it’s the best of both worlds.

But an even more lovelier creation are Jessica’s Flip Books.

As a book, film, and ephemera junkie, this sold me on Jessica’s point of view as an artist.  These books encompass what a great wedding day should be, one that is sweet and clever–A memory you can literally put in your pocket.

See one in Action by Clicking Here!

Jessica Lyons grew up in Spokane and now lives in Brooklyn.  She studied Architecture at Yale and was Clerk of the Works for a general contractor in Seattle. She also happens to be the Vice President of an investment banking firm.

Strange but true.

“I love giving handmade gifts.”  Jessica says.  “ I love objects that display the mastery and passion of the maker.  I started Worker Bee Designs to do what I love on a bigger scale.”

The unique kind of Valentine we’d all like to receive.

Visit Worker Bee Designs for more information on rates and demos.

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Lucky You 幸運您

A recent client got me thinking about Chinese New Year.  After addressing these lovely red envelopes in traditional gold ink for a Corporate Event, my curiosity was piqued about this ancient tradition.

Centuries old, Chinese New Year, the most important festival in Chinese Culture, takes place on February 3rd.  The New Year lasts from this first day until the 15th Day of the year.   2011 is the Year of the Rabbit.   “Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.”

Red symbolizes prosperity and luck and these red envelopes are given out on Chinese New Year and at Traditional Chinese Weddings.  Those that give and receive a red envelope are considered lucky!

This monetary gift is often given to children and unmarried adults.  Married couples give red envelopes to their parents and money in these envelopes must be new and the total must be even, certain numbers such as four are considered unlucky.   On the morning of the New Year, Mandarin children greet their parents with “Gōng xǐ fā cái, hóng bāo ná lái” (Happy New Year, now give me a red envelope!)

Images of carps, dragons or lotus, with four character expressions of well wishes are traditionally featured on the unsigned envelopes.

Giving a red envelope is one of the many traditions practiced on Chinese New Year, and though they vary, other customs include hanging red decorations in windows and sweeping homes of the past year’s misfortune to welcome in the New Year’s luck.

This culture’s tradition is a great way to adopt the idea of reconciliation and renewal in your own New Year.

Why not spread some luck by making your own “Ang Pow” or Chinese Envelope.

Another great source for Chinese Envelopes and Traditional Chinese fare, is Soho’s Pearl River Mart.

Spread the luck and the wealth this year.  And see what returns…

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè

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Dear Mr. President…

For each client that I work with, there is one popular guest I can always count on writing an envelope for.  He and his ‘plus one’ have been getting invited to weddings since his Inauguration.

Apparently if you send President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama an invitation to your wedding, you will receive a personal response from the Prez and the First Lady.  It will probably be a regretful R.s.v.p, but it makes for a sweet keepsake for your wedding!  There’s always a chance?  The audacity of hope!!

You must allow at least six weeks for a response.  Be sure to include your old and/or new address.

The Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama

The White House

Greetings Office Room 39

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

For all you British Citizens {non-British Citizens will not receive a response}  You may also invite the Queen!

And if you would like to receive a Papal Blessing from the Pope of the Catholic Church, write to:

Pope Benedict XVI
Prefettura della Casa Pontifica
00120 Citta del Vaticano, Italia

For more information about inviting V.I.P.’s to your wedding, check out Bliss Weddings.

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