Portrait Palooza: Fun + Unique Ideas!

Do you remember the wedding portraits of yesteryear? The bride would pose in her bridal gown and veil while an artist would paint her a portrait. This portrait would last for years and illustrate to ancestors what their great, great, grandmother looked like on her wedding day. These portraits lasted as heirlooms for generations. Ah, those were simpler times before the emergence of film, photography and yes – Photoshop. I’ll bet our forefathers never dreamed a cell phone device could be used to take a photo (high quality nonetheless), upload it wirelessly via a 3G network and share immediately with friends via Facebook (after Instagram effects applied, of course). We’ve come a long way since that simple, less fast-paced period in time. And, throughout all of history, with our incredible technological advances, the fact still remains the same: the portrait is an essential part of the wedding day. The ironic twist? We’ve come full circle with artistic renderings of the couple becoming the new “old” favorite; now, these portraits are available in a variety of mediums.

While searching for inspiration, we spotted several types of handmade wedding portraits created using all sorts of materials. Some were made of wood, printed onto canvas, or embroidered onto hoops while others were painted, drawn, hand-sketched, caricatured, and more. And, while we still love the traditional photo portrait (a must-have from your wedding day), we encourage you to take it one step further. Support an artisan who skillfully, carefully and with a-whole-lot-of-heart will transform your wedding portrait into a masterwork of art. And, perhaps this art will last for your future generations as a treasured heirloom. Take a peek at sixteen of our favorite present-day handmade wedding portraits illustrated below.

One of our favorites comes from this first portrait by an artisan known as Lyndsay Reid. Lyndsay’s work is delicately drawn and hits the mark of truly capturing the couple’s unique look, as illustrated in image number one:

So cute, right? We think so, too! It’s simple + sweet and makes a cute little love nest gift.

And we couldn’t help mentioning find number two, which incorporates a couple’s love for one particular movie: Star Wars. We especially adore the detail, like the bride replacing her bouquet with a light saber (groom has one, too), and her groom suiting up in a Darth Vader mask. Classic! We spotted this find via the artisan, Rigg Art.

Scroll down to see all of our hand-picked favorites including the Star Wars rendition below:

Aren’t they delightful? We adore them all!

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This is just the first post of the day, so we’re just getting warmed up! Stay tuned for more wedding inspiration coming right up!

♥
-E.