Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

If you’re like many couples, countless photographs of yourselves – relaxing together with friends, exploring a new city on vacation or just mugging for the camera – dot your living room walls. But how many of them would you describe as art?

Elevate those snapshots by having them turned into custom artwork. What begins as a 4×6 image on your coffee table can be transformed into a personalized illustration of you and your sweetheart, a museum-worthy canvas wall hanging or even a hand-carved stamp perfect for decorating your wedding invitations.

Nan Lawson, a 25-year-old illustrator in Los Angeles, is quickly becoming known for the simple lines and muted colors of her whimsical illustrations. And if you send her a photograph of you and your intended, she’ll whip up a custom 8×10 portrait in a mere six weeks for the bargain basement price of $40. (She’ll also render your dog, your baby or even your favorite pair of boots). As an added bonus, you’ll receive a high-resolution digital version that presents oodles of wedding theme potential – turned into a postcard for save the dates, printed on invitations and thank you notes, or as an anchor image for your wedding website.

As charming as Nan’s illustrations are, she’s not the only artist offering custom portraits from photographs. If your tastes lean more towards realism, Jen Schell, an Arkansas artist, creates truer-to-life 11×14 renderings with bold colors and a pop art feel for a mere $60. (Her style brings to mind those quasi-lifelike “Talk to Chuck” animated ads by Charles Schwab). Sadie Raber, a California illustrator who goes by the handle EmmieBean on Etsy, has a similar aesthetic, and charges $50 for the initial portrait and only $30 for duplicates.

If you’re willing to spend a little more, Etsy crafter fortytworoads will render your photo into a stenciled image that she then converts to an oil painting, complete with customizable background colors including a funky lime green. The 9×12 paintings go for $200, not bad for a commissioned portrait.

For a well-loved photo that needs no embellishment, consider Canvas Pop, which will print your snapshot onto stretched canvas to create a gallery-ready wall hanging. Even if your favorite shot of you and your honey is languishing in your iPhone’s memory (or even on Facebook!), Canvas Pop can blow it up without sacrificing detail. The canvas is finished with a protective matte laminate, but the company will replace it for free if it degrades due to age. With prices starting at $30, why not order a few shots of you with your bridesmaids and groomsmen as gifts?

But good art also comes in small packages, such as these delightful custom rubber stamps that can be hand-carved in your image from a photograph. For $45, you’ll also receive a tiny heart stamp, making fast and fun work of personalizing your wedding stationary. Even after the nuptials, you’ll be looking for excuses to send out more thank you cards!