featured commission: a trio of calligraphy wedding readings

One of my favourite recent commissions was this trio of wedding readings, written out in calligraphy and adorned with watercolour florals inspired by the couple’s real wedding flowers.

The readings were ‘I Like You’ by Sandol Stoddard Warburg; ‘Sonnet 116’ by William Shakespeare; and ‘Yellow Tulips’ and James Fenton. The flowers were inspired by photographs of the couple’s wedding bouquet designed by The Florist Faerie – gorgeous contrasting shades of dusty pink roses, smoky blue thistles, deep red calla lilies, and plenty of rich green foliage.

the floral inspiration

Flowers by The Florist Faerie

Photography by Sarah Beth Photo

Each piece was designed to work together individually and also to complement each other when hung as a trio. After an initial design consultation on the phone, I created a digital design using Photoshop, choosing to put the shortest poem in the middle, which gave extra space for an abundance of watercolour flowers and foliage in the centre poem. The other poems were longer and left less room for the florals, so we opted to put the florals in opposite diagonal corners to give a simple, symmetrical look.

The mock up uses stock imagery of watercolour florals and font that is similar to my calligraphy style. Of course, it’s not an exact match – but it’s a useful tool to check the client is happy with the overall layout and spacing before putting pen to paper.

The modern calligraphy was handwritten first, in black ink so not to distract from the colours of the flowers. We chose my signature ‘bluebell’ font for the writing – an elegant and modern font that suited the occasion without being overly formal. 

The flowers were layered on second, starting with a background of dusty green eucalyptus, then soft pastel hues for the roses and hydrangeas and building up to the deeper colours for the leaves, thistles, and berries.

Photos by Liddy Greenaway

Kind words from my client about the finished artwork:

“The present was absolutely perfect. You took the time to really understand what I wanted, and built on this with your own artistry to create something amazing that will remain special to us for a very long time.”

Have a similar piece in mind? We can work together to bring your wedding vows or readings to life so they can be treasured forever. To get started, please get in touch here.