I couldn't be more excited when I was asked to address envelopes for a wedding. I was absolutely mortified also because I had never done calligraphy on any professional level. Someone was going to be paying me to do this! I practiced for days on end and began. White envelopes with medium navy ink. The invitations and wedding colors were navy and tangerine so there was a theme developing here. My bride to be could not have been sweeter, more laid back or pleasant to work with. She wanted a very simple, clean style - to match her and her groom's personalities. The first thing I did was count the invitations and the envelopes. I felt a knot in my stomach when I realized that there were only 2 extra envelopes and that meant, basically, that I couldn't mess up (more than twice). Gulp. I began and quickly realized I'd have to speed things up because I had a pace going of about 10 minutes per envelope x 150 envelopes = 1,500 minutes or 25 hours of work. Because this was my first gig, I only charged $1/envelope for a grand total of $150 which wasn't a lot but I was gaining experience and that was worth more to me at that point than the total amount earned.
I survived and more importantly, I enjoyed every second of that experience. Most importantly, the bride was very happy and commissioned me to do the table names and place cards. I was thrilled and relieved all at the same time.
Here are a few pics of that very first project. It amazes me how much I've improved since then!
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