Chicken scratch...

I have "okay" handwriting but like most other brides out there, I wanted a calligrapher fancy up my invitations. I wanted the swirls and the pizazz and the hoopla with all the nifty writing that comes with that. After seeing my pretty little budget, I realized I just didn't have the juice to hire anyone. That was until I was gifted with a free calligrapher from one of my friends. HOW SWEET!!!

But I know not everyone is as lucky as I am. So I realized I still needed to do some research on costs and styles. On Calligraphy by Maryanne, she has almost all the different styles one can use. From the flourishes to the italic calligraphy you learned in junior high.

On Carta Bella Calligraphy, the outer envelopes are $1.50 each and inner envelopes are $0.50 each, with discounts given when you order your invitations through them. Pretty good price and looks like beautiful penmanship.

Then I found another site:About Invitations and their prices. With examples of their work, it seems pretty reasonable. Their prices are 2.00$ for the outer envelope and .50$ for the inner envelope. They also do place cards and much more!

I found other sites but they seemed to be around the same area of pricing. From 2.00$ to 4.00 you'd get both inner and outer envelopes done. Depending on who you went with. Yes, a bit pricey for just writing but it is the first impression you make on your guests.

Other places where you can find deals is perhaps craigslist or a local university's art department or take a class at your local stationary store or buy a book like Learn Calligraphy from your book store. Here is another site for learning calligraphy on your own.

How are you addressing your invitations?