Weddingbee Blog

(You thought I was going to say something gwoss, didn’t you?)

I have this awesome “unexplained tremor” in my right hand. It comes out when I’m nervous, tense, doing fine detail work, or just at the worst possible moments. So basically, all the time. Video for proof…

There’s nothing “wrong” with me… I’ve had tests out the wazoo, I’m not a former alcoholic, I wasn’t a hardcore drug user, I’m just unlucky, and it’s just “unexplained.” No worries, for real… except for in the DIY-wedding-stuff realm.

You see, the sucky thing about this little gem is that it has made it nearly impossible to address more than 10 envelopes in one go. I write, get nervous, my muscles tense up, and I get the shakes. I don’t want our guests to think that all of these painstakingly-written-with-a-dip-pen-and-India-ink envelopes were addressed on a moving train.

In taking on this whole calligraphy junk, I thought my problems would lie in not making a mess, learning how to write the letters, not smearing my hand through ink––the norm. I’ve gotten past all of that, and now it’s just my body putting up a fight. Great.

My process has become:

1. Insert lined guide into envelope
2. Write out names
3. Strategically place the envelope somewhere that the cat cannot reach
4. Tell said cat to get back into her box
5. Figure out where pen was put while hiding envelope
6. Lather, rinse, repeat until hand starts shaking
7. Take a break by blow-drying each envelope to make sure that the ink is dry
8. Wait 2 hours for hand to stop shaking
9. Lather, rinse, repeat

Le sigh.

To be perfectly honest, there’s no real point to this post other than to whine about something that I didn’t foresee as being a problem. I will continue writing, shaking, and being irritated until I’m finished with all hand-written goods.

What unexpected sand traps did you find while going about wedding business? Anybody else have the same nervous-or-whatever-it-is shakes problem? How do you deal with it?