To engrave or not to engrave toasting flutes seems to be the question most bridal couples have. For most, it seems to be a luxury they can afford not to indulge in. For others, it is a way of making a special day even more special.
Engraving your wedding toasting flutes is the best way to leave your personal mark on the event. This art requires cutting grooves into another substance like gold, silver, pewter, steel or glass, leaving a permanent indentation in the pattern desired. For glass, either sandblasting or laser engraving is used. While sandblasting is quite commonly used to produce beautiful effects for clear and frosted glass, laser engraving is usually preferred as it is more accurate to a point. Also, with the right power, speed and focus, magnificent results can be achieved. When engraving your glass toasting flutes, avoid large areas or using the engraving to fill up “empty” spots on the glass as this may produce some uneven abrasions. Depending on the engraver’s expertise, the end result may look either excellent or unsightly. As a rule, however, engraving is used for specific spots and to create precise patterns in those spots.
Having your flutes engraved is quite common, particularly for the special set that sits on the main wedding table. Thus, it is affordable and relatively uncomplicated to do even in big amounts. With the appropriate design and inscription, your flutes are not just beautiful; they become meaningful souvenirs as well.
Once you have decided to engrave your flutes, you have a choice of engraving either the cup of the glass or its stem. Engraving the cup of the glass itself is very popular as it is easier and more noticeable. Normally, bridal couples like to engrave their names on the toasting flutes – both names may be engraved on the same glass on both flutes for the bridal couple, or appear separately as “his” and “hers” glasses. Engraving names on the glasses is relatively simple to do and quick to accomplish as well, which means it may be relatively affordable as well. How tacky or exquisite the design will depend on the font used, font size, design placement and size. If not strategically planned, even the simplest yet finest pattern will appear unimpressive.
Other commonly engraved phrases include the typically romantic “Love Forever”, “Always” and “Together” although humorous messages like “Finally Married” have somehow managed to get engraved. Usually messages to be engraved are short and to the point, as most engravers charge per letter – you can bless your parents for naming you Jane instead of Josephine or Persephone – which explains why most couples have their nicknames engraved instead of their full ones. It is far easier, and cheaper, to engrave Liz instead of Elizabeth.
Engraving the stem requires a far higher skill from the engraver. This needs extreme care and focus – one wrong move could mean breaking the stem altogether. This is an extremely rare form of engraving and you may find it difficult to get someone who is willing to do it for you. If you still wish to engrave your toasting flute stems, try for effect like frosting the stems or creating vertical, horizontal or random lines. These are less intrinsic patterns which are less difficult to achieve. Engraving glass stems may also be more costly, depending on what is required. It may be a good idea to not request for your names to be engraved on such a small area as you may be told it will be an impossible task!
Whether to engrave your flute or not also depends on the overall design of your glass. For some flutes, like the crystal ring flutes with frosted glass as its cup the whole design of the glass may be spoilt if additional engraving was done. Likewise for flutes that use pearls, beads or diamonds as part of its external décor. Generally, engraving is done for plain flutes with minimal ornamentation.
All this adds into your final cost for wedding toasting flutes – purchasing the flutes and engraving them. To not burst your budget, you may wish to shop for second-hand toasting flutes, preferably plain, and have them personally engraved. Cursive calligraphy always works magic on even the simplest of texts and remember, it is the significance of the message that is worth millions, and not the price of the flutes themselves.
If having uniformed engraved toasting flutes for your whole wedding party too extravagant, you can limit them to just the ones for you and your spouse on the main wedding table. Your guests can have their toasts in their own glasses, beer mugs, champagne glasses or tumblers. No matter what they raise, it is their hopes for your health and happiness that counts.
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