Wedding Calligraphy: A Guide to Beautiful Hand Lettering Hardcover – May 30, 2017

Packaging and shipping: The book has a sleeve and it was pretty much unusable in the state that it arrived. Pages were ok, though.For some reason, this book only had one review for the longest time. Also, the 'look inside' did not show any of the actual calligraphy, just the intros, and only for the Kindle version. That really worried me but I went ahead and bought it anyway. I don't regret it, because it is pretty, but I'm going to give you a summary of what this book is about so you can take an informed decision (one this listing does not seem to want you to take).I really wanted to love this book, since I am getting married soon and wanted to use it to create the calligraphy for my wedding invitations. This book is not really didactic in that sense. It has a couple of pages with one full alphabet per page and the direction of the pen stroke for all the letters, but if you were looking for styles or more detailed instructions to create words/ variations of letters then this is not the book for you.This is the book structure:1. Weddings & CalligraphyChoosing your calligraphic style or hand (Categories/ scripts/ envelope & invitation formats/ envelope layouts/ selecting your style)Wedding calligraphy applications (Wedding calligraphy checklist/ pre-wedding applications/ ceremony applications/ reception applications)2. Calligraphy guidelines & tipsThe basics (tools/ tool preparation/ technique)Practicing letterforms (Individual letterform patterns/ Consistency/ Best practices checklist)3. ProjectsBasic tented escort cardsGolden pear place cardsEnvelope letteringOyster shell seating cardsMacaron place cardsRiver rock place cardsWood Sign-Afterwards come these sections: In Closing, Contributors, Acknowledgements, Glossary of terms.So what did I find good?-Tons of pretty visual inspiration-Useful layouts and common styles for envelopes etc-Some reasonable projects (sorry but covering a pear with spray paint and then scribble on it is not anywhere near my definition of reasonable...)What was not so good?-Limited alphabets with limited information about them-Definitely not friendly for beginners (while this is not a problem for me, but it could be for brides who could think this is the guide for them to create their lettering, and they would have a really hard time attempting to do it only with the guidance provided in this book.)What was weird?-Like I said, the book is good for somewhat seasoned calligraphers who are going to embark in creating wedding stationery... and at the same time it spends a lot explaining very very basic stuff like how to prepare the tools and how to make a thin stroke... so it's like they never got their target audience clear.Final thoughts-It is undoubtedly very pretty. It is inspiring, but this is probably one of those books that I'll take a look at once in a while, and is nowhere near indispensable or an extremely valuable reference except in very specific circumstances. I give it 3 stars since it is a good book, but just good. (If it were possible I would probably give it 3.5 stars, or 7/10 in real life.)

Laura's entire expertise is in here. Well written, detailed and full of her great tips and recommendations. Really good for beginners interested in learning the artform. There are a few things for more advanced calligraphers as well, such as writing on rocks etc. But a must have in any calligrapher's library

LOVE her books and online courses! HIGHLY recommend this book!

This is NOT for the beginner in calligraphy. A person needs to know how to execute letters on their own. The 4 styles shown are quite nice for an experienced hand letterer.

Fantastic book!!! Loved the pictures! So inspiring!

I was expecting something helpful. This was not.

I bought this book thinking I will get lot of detailed information about how I can use calligraphy to design wedding invitations, how to address envelopes, how to make mirror and wood signage etc. Basically I was looking for in depth information for everything that happens in wedding calligraphy. Since, not much information has been given on whats inside the book, I bought the book anyway believing that the book will be good. The name of the book is wedding calligraphy, and it should teach the calligrapher on how he or she can use her skills into different wedding applications. Instead, the book shows lot of pictures of wedding calligraphy applications, envelope addressing, wood sign, lettering on macarons and pear and such. The author has explained how one can write on a pear but has not mentioned how to address an envelope or how to design a invitation suite. I mean, seriously!?! I don't need to buy a book to see pictures of wedding calligraphy applications, I can see that on Pinterest too. I have books from other authors like Jenna Rainey and Molly Thorpe about calligraphy and their books are so detailed and worth every penny you spend.

This is definitely not a "guide" to hand lettering. There are a few exemplars that are too small to be very useful and no real instruction on how to do wedding (or any) calligraphy at all.

A pretty book, with beautiful photography throughout. Great ideas for weddings, and lots of help and tips for calligraphy, really great advice in this book, def one of the better calligraphy books around, as some just seem to be more style than substance. There are some different calligraphy styles included although they seem a bit small, it's a pity they weren't larger? Some fun project ideas.

Excellent resource to have in my library. Great helpful information !