Love story maps: where we met, where we got engaged, where we said I do

1. Frame3mm dark woodA picture-frame ring glued on top, so the board edge reads in a darker wood.
2. Window board3mm light woodThe heart (or circle, house, star) windows are cut through. Heading, labels and dates are engraved here.
3. Maps3mm birchOne map per window, engraved: water and roads. Sits behind the window board.
4. Backer3mm birchA solid back that closes the stack. Good place for a message on the back.

The common version marks three places: where their story began, where they got engaged, and where they said I do. You can build that a few ways:

• Three map tiles side by side, each with a caption
• Three heart-shaped windows on one board
• One map with three pins, when all three places are in the same town
• A single map cropped into a heart, with the names in a band across it
• A split panel with the maps on one side and a timeline on the other

In MappSmith the love story board sets the window count by size. Every window can take the board’s shape or its own, and the windows can run in a row or a column with the captions beside them.

Window shapes: heart, circle, square, hexagon, house, star, triangle and diamond. A house window for the first home next to two hearts tells the story without words. Want a single piece instead? The heart map frames one place in a heart (10, 12 or 16 in) with the names and date on a band across it and a walnut heart glued on the spot.

Each window needs a short label and a date: FIRST MET, ENGAGED, MARRIED. Add a heading like “Our Love Story” and the names. Latitude and longitude under each window do double duty. They pin the exact spot and they look good engraved.

Put text on solid wood. Words burned into the land layer sit under the raised streets, and the streets run straight through the letters. A band or a window board gives the text a clean surface.

what’s a map without street names

NYC Resistor wiki, feedback on a test map

That feedback was about a city map, but it holds here too. If a window is the street where they met, consider labeling that street.

The ornament version is small but proven: one multi-town map heart ornament sells for $32 with 1 to 3 towns on Baltic birch. See map ornaments and wedding maps for those builds.

Most love story remakes come from bad inputs, not bad cutting. Ask for all of this up front, in one form:

1. 01The placesAn address or coordinates for each one. “The coffee shop on Main” is not enough. If they only know the name of a venue, look it up and confirm.
2. 02Labels and datesExactly as they should read, in order. Ask how they want the date written.
3. 03NamesTyped by them, not by you. Ask for the spelling twice if it is unusual.
4. 04Shape and sizeHearts, or one house window for the first home. Pick the board size from the number of places.
5. 05Message on the backOptional. A vow line or a date. Engraved on the backer so it reads when turned over.
6. 06DeadlineThe date it must arrive, not the date of the event.

A star map of the same night pairs well with a street map. If you already cut edge-lit acrylic, a lit night-sky panel next to a wood love story board is a natural bundle.