Wedding invitations personalisation for Paris and Roger Tempest of Broughton Hall
Wedding invitation for Roger Tempest and Paris Ackrill at Broughton Hall
One of the most exciting calligraphy jobs of this year started with a late evening call. “Unknown Caller ID”, my phone announced and I nearly tapped “Reject”. Curiosity prevailed. On the phone was Roger Tempest of Broughton Hall in Skipton, asking if could write the invites for his wedding to Paris Ackrill.
We arranged to meet with him and Paris at their beautiful estate the following Sunday. I brought a selection of inks so we can choose the best colour together. My vintage Rotring deep red was a perfect match so we didn’t have to mix a custom ink.
Ellie Shopova-Smith personalising the wedding invitations for Roger Tempest's wedding to Paris Ackrill at Broughton Hall.
The invites featured an illustration of Broughton Hall, adorned with meadow flowers and custom lettering, all designed and hand-lettered by Alec Cobbe. It was a delight – and a responsibility – to add the finishing details to such a unique design.
To complement the unique design I had to take cues from the script already written and adapt my own lettering.
Over the next couple days the wedding guests names were carefully handwritten, cross-checked with the guests’ list and delivered back to the estate, ready to be sent to their final destinations around the world.
Among the many distinguished guests were a royal family and I had the opportunity to address an invite to a king and queen! Quick reference with my little blue book and an email to the royal secretary confirmed I was using the correct form before I pencilled and inked the names.
Thank you so much for your help! They looked absolutely fantastic
and everyone has been blown away by them.Paris
A few months later, with the wedding approaching, Roger and Paris contacted me again, this time to personalise their wedding menus. The stunning designs were once again hand-drawn by Alec Cobbe and perfectly complemented the invites.
This project was an exciting opportunity in many ways, but what made it truly special was working with Roger and Paris and their fantastic team. Confident decision makers with a sense of humour and grace – a delight to work with. A lovely note from Paris, sent a few days after the work was completed, made me feel truly appreciated and thankful to share my work with such amazing people.
