Golden Hour Paper

wedding paper for the modern, sophisticated bride

portland calligraphy

Jewel-toned wedding inspiration

Stationery inspirationMadeline KellyComment

Okay, confession, I am growing more and more in love with jewel-colored tones being used in weddings. Some people also call these berry tones. Those deep colors, ranging from reds to purples just pop so well against a wedding dress and I feel like it is an elegant but still unique color scheme for a wedding.

When recently designing custom wedding invitations for an Oregon bride, she opened up my world to these colors and I love where her suite ended up. We combined a custom illustration of her venue with a vellum wrap that featured vintage peony illustrations. The wedding invitation design also included a beautiful wax seal, deep mauve envelopes, gold calligraphy addressing, and vintage postage. **insert heart eyes here**

Okay, I won't keep you imagining them, here are some photos of that suite:

Such an elegant combination of colors and postage, don't you agree?!

Such an elegant combination of colors and postage, don't you agree?!

vellum wraps with printed vintage peonies

vellum wraps with printed vintage peonies

 

I am especially in love with deep mauve colors, especially when combined with tones of cream and gold in the wedding design.

Like this shoot from Magnolia Rouge:

jewel-toned wedding inspiration.jpg

Jewel-tones can be used in so many different ways in wedding design and aesthetic and I would love to hear how you've seen them most cleverly used in wedding design!

 

Send me a message if you are interested in having wedding invitations designed to set the tone for your wedding!

Fall color wedding shoot at Perkasie Covered Bridge

CalligraphyMadeline Kelly2 Comments

Calligraphy and design for a fall wedding shoot in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

This was my first styled shoot! It is so fun to look back and see how encouraged I was by this group of vendors & also to see how much my style has changed and grown over the past year!

Wedding calligraphy
Fall wedding inspiration
Handmade paper wedding invitations
Burgundy wedding table design
Watercolor Calligraphy wedding place cards
Handmade paper calligraphy
Calligraphy signage
Wedding cake
Portland wedding calligraphy
Portland Fall wedding

Event design and coordination: Hannah Bee Events

Calligraphy and design: Golden Hour Paper

Wedding beauty services: ReelStyle Bridal

Photography: Mily Photography

Floral and event design: Bloom flower co.

Sweets: Papa's Cupcakes

Stylist: Elizabeth Jones Personal Styling

Decor and Furniture: Heartwood Works

Fall Wedding Inspiration and Colors

Wedding PlanningMadeline KellyComment

Planning a Fall Wedding

As I write this post rain is falling outside for the first time in the Portland area for over a month! And it's 75 degrees out, a nice break from the heat (and smoke we've been having because of all the terrible fires). I am ready for Fall weddings and can't wait to share with you my favorite fall wedding trends and what to expect for Fall weddings in 2017.

Every Fall I find myself wishing summer could be just a little bit longer - but then I'm reminded of the wonderful routine the Fall always seems to bring, the immense combinations of sweaters and scarves to soon be created, and being one step closer to Christmas.

 

Fall Wedding Theme and Colors

Fall weddings also seem a little cozier to me. Of course, less chance of sunburn, layering jackets on the way to the wedding, and overall warmer color schemes. You don't have to get rid of color completely, I've seen some GORGEOUS Fall Weddings with blues, deep reds, and greens - just be ready to own it!

Some people can swing toward the total, all-out Fall theme - pumpkins, leaves, hay bales and all. That is one route you can go but I also want to give another perspective - that a fall wedding can be truly elegant and beautiful.

Below see a beautiful Fall bouquet from Bloom Flower Co. 

Fall wedding calligraphy

Marsala is a super popular color right now. These calligraphed vows were done on handmade marsala colored paper, perfect for a Fall wedding.

first anniversary gift calligraphy

 

Invitations for Fall Wedding

One of my favorite fall wedding invitation designs is below. Every wedding invitation created here at Golden Hour Paper can have a custom color ink (below the invitation was printed in the color Camel). Choosing a warm, Fall color for your wedding invitations can really help your guests get in the mood for Fall.

Have you already decided on a color scheme for your wedding? If so, picture it in any of our designs, reach out to me at goldenhourpaper@gmail.com and I would LOVE to send you a sample.

Fall wedding invitations

Vintage postage for fall weddings can also be a ton of fun to curate! Paired with the wedding invitation above you can see warm colors playing in with the colors of the invitation but also a few pops of color (hot pink and orange!) that could be pulled into your overall wedding color scheme. 

For vintage postage for wedding invitations in the Fall I recommend trees (which scream Fall wedding) to warm tones on the stamps...

Envelope addressing in calligraphy can take your wedding invitations one step further! One of my favorite colors to address Fall wedding invitations with is Walnut ink. It has a beautiful flow to it that changes the lettering from shades of lighter to darker browns.  The photos below show envelopes addressed in walnut ink with the second photo showing a little more detail!

portland calligraphy
Portland calligraphy

Fall Weddings in Portland

All in all, weddings in the Fall are usually some of my favorites! You're typically not sweltering under the sun, can enjoy both warm and cold drinks, and they are always so creative!

Here in Portland it is cooling down nicely and I am so excited to create some beautiful wedding invitations, calligraphy envelope addressing, and vintage postage for all my Fall brides!

 

XO,

Maddy Kelly

Moving a small calligraphy business across the country

Running a small businessMadeline Kelly15 Comments

Moving a Business

I am no expert but am here to offer an honest testimony of what it's been like so far to drive 3,800 miles across the country (Philadelphia to Portland) to a new home.

As I am writing this, I am sitting in the cozy dining room of some dear friends after returning from a short sledding trip. It was dry and 60 degrees when we arrived on Sunday night but the sky decided to drop some flakes down through Monday night. My husband is out snowboarding with one of his closest friends and I am responding to emails between battleship games with their youngest son. No complaints here.

Also, my birthday was yesterday (which thankfully we were not driving during!) and my husband gave me a drone! What a hilarious gift...I've wanted one for so long but had never actually thought I would own one. We are working on sharing our roadtrip through various videos and photos, so that has made the trip more fun.

Goodbyes and looking ahead to Portland

Getting ready to leave Philadelphia was hard! Starting this business 6 months ago and making so many friends in the wedding business, along with some who are my biggest cheerleaders and advocates, was sad, to say the least. Going to my last Rising Tide meeting and saying goodbye to the women who encouraged me to get me work out there, be proud of the things I am making, and other practical things like when taxes are due, what it looks like to outsource jobs, and the dreaded topic of pricing...was also sad. I am so grateful for social media and that I will be able to keep up with so many wonderful ladies!

I also began to research what the calligraphy market looks like in Portland. At first, it seemed as though there weren't many calligraphers or wedding invitation designers but then, after a "#portlandcalligraphy" search I realized the market may be oversaturated. Despair is a little dramatic of an adjective to describe how I felt but I have thought from time to time, "How is this going to work when there are so many talented people that are going to be around me?".

Of course, remembering that Portland is a much more artistic city and that freelancing there is uber popular, I reminded myself that the fact that there are such talented calligraphers and artists really shouldn't surprise me. I took a deep breath, shared my worries with my husband and a few close friends, and reminded myself that my work and my creativity is worthy of being shared with the world, even if there are people out there more famous than I. 

Reminding myself of why I named this business Golden Hour Paper was something that also brought comfort as I wonder what it will look like to reestablish my business and make all new connections on the West Coast. The Golden Hour is the last hour of sunlight each day. You've seen those gorgeous pictures of this last hour - long cast shadows, glowing light, and surroundings framed with a gold that is indescribable, changing color by the moment. It's my favorite time of day. My desire is to create calligraphy and paper goods that elicit a similar feeling of warmth, wonder, and delight when received. 

The Golden Hour is always consistent - there is always a final hour of daylight each day - but it can come in many shapes and forms. Whether it be overcast, snowing, or that perfect day with the high-sitting clouds, waiting to dance in the last light of the day. What I hope to be in my business is also consistent, creating and expanding my abilities while knowing that some days are going to be different than others. Moving to Portland might be a short season of days similar to overcast days - when my work might not be as recognizable or there are other things that people are paying attention to. I hope to work hard, be as consistent as the sun, and that one day the work created shines through and that I can share some of this beauty with this fun, new city.

Legal aspects of moving a business across the country

There are also legal things to come...things like changing my business license over to the state of Oregon. Making sure to move all my accounts, like Yelp, Facebook, etc. over to the new address (once we find a place to live! That's a whole other story!).

And SEO...that is probably the biggest monster I have to battle in the coming weeks as I work to change over my website to be recognizable in my new area and to ensure popping up as people search for calligraphers and wedding invitation designers.

Taxes will also be interesting next year as some of my work was done in the state of Pennsylvania before making our trek out to Oregon. I am trying to keep my Quickbooks account as clear as possible as to avoid hitting any snags come next tax season.

Questions and Advice for moving a business

As I said above, I am not by any means an expert but I would love to try and answer any questions you may have (whether you are moving your small business across the country or just starting out!). 

I also welcome any advice you may have for moving a business across the country or any connections you may have in the greater Portland area.

Below is the photo my husband and I used to announce our move to our friends and family on social media - all outfitted with my Newberg Script lettering.

 

Best, 

Maddy

Photo by Char Beck Shoots

Photo by Char Beck Shoots