Catching Up: Programs

September has been one of those months. Well, now that I think about it, so was August. Anyway, the invites have gone out, I've finished my pre-wedding DIY list, we've (probably) lost a groomsman and gained his replacement, and everyone's attire is all squared away. I know. You would not know that from the way I've been posting.

So I'm going to try and get you caught up, and then bow out gracefully a few days before the wedding. Deal?

Great. Lets get started. Today lets talk about the program.

I was never one of those brides that considered the program to be optional. Granted, my conceptualization of our program has gone through several permutations, I always knew I wanted one, and that it would be teal and green. Just like every other thing with weddings, there are several ways to skin the cat (sorry Naima and BK :/) and I opted to go with one that would be practical + stylish + simple + easy to assemble. Personally, less is more with me - as a guest I'd like to know whats coming when, what the plans are for the food, and a small thank you for being able to make it. And that's all.

So I set out to create something that would be simple and stylish, not too labor intensive, and still fairly practical (as practical as programs are). Here's what I came up with:


What you're looking at is our single panel, double sided program. the program text is printed on white cardstock, and a slightly larger piece of teal is sandwiched imbetween. Please excuse those ugly blue blocks. I didnt think it was a good idea to put everyone's business out there (including the PHI's whole name), and I really wanted you to see the both sides and how they look on the teal.

Okay, since you were so good with the blue-blocked version, here's a blog-appropriate version of the text:


Before our programs, I'd never seen a program exactly like this. The next closest thing is probably a fan program - which I see all the time. In fact, if I had glued a stick between some of those layers, I could have had a fan. But considering the wedding is inside an AC venue, we did not need a fan. But I liked the concept very much and ran with it. When I did that, I knew that every inch of white cardstock was now prime real estate, and that we'd have to be strategic about what we included on (in, on?) the program.

The front features the PHI and I's full government names, the time and location, and the order of the ceremony. Following the ceremony order, there's a quick written thank you to our loved ones, and perhaps the most important tidbits of info: where to go for cocktails, and what time everyone can eat (lol). The only thing on the back is the bridal party - all 18 of them (19 if you include Godmommy who will be directing the rehearsal and the day-of activities).

Not shockingly, I used the same double border (dotted and solid), and fonts from the other paper-goods. Despite being in the same design family as every other piece of wedding paper, I really struggled with the program design. I like that the front is centered, but the back has a right justified title, and left justified text. I also really like how the green accents turned out. Less is definitely more, and I think the fact that only our names and a few headings are both green and script really helps organize the text and capture your attention.

As with the menus, I had the text printed at Office Depot on white cardstock. This time, to save some cash I found two coupon codes and had them printed in two batches. For 115 sheets (115 programs, front and back on 1 sheet), I spent about $60. The teal I got for a steal at Hobby Lobby. I was able to get 2 teal insides from a sheet and spent about $4. Throw in another $10 for adhesive and it brings the grand total for programs up to about $75. Not bad at all.

Assembly went much more smoothly as I learned my lesson from those blasted menus. I made sure that I had plenty of hands on deck and was able to knock them out over several glasses of wine and sangrias while 4 of my maids were in town for my Atlanta shower. I did all of the cutting, but BM Melissa and MdOH Dani did an awesome job making sure everything got glued together. Even the PHI got involved and helped to do some of the gluing. I was so proud. He was very careful with the materials (apparently I give off this anal vibe - lol) and did a really good job.

Sooo...I think thats all I had to say about the programs.

Oh wait, one more thing: Programs, Check!

♥

Are Ya Hungry?

If you weren't, you might be in a little bit. Cause I wanna show you our menus!


I can only take about half the credit for this project. For starters, it was all MamaP's idea. One day we were discussing paper-goods in general, things going on the table specifically, and she mentioned that she thought it would be nice to have something on the table describing the food. I thought she meant a few table tents with the menu on it, but no. She meant individual menus. And what did I do? I agreed to do them, only if I could design them.

MamaP's idea + my DIY muscle = an awesome team.

Here's what I came up with:


Ya'll know me, they were designed in PowerPoint and they had to match everything else. I was able to fit 3 on an 8.5x11 sheet, and had them printed at Office Depot. Since were planning for approximately 150 guests (!), I decided that I should outsource the printing to the professionals. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't terribly expensive either. Plus, I couldn't beat submitting the order online first thing in the morning, and swinging by to pick them up when I got off of work. No sweat, tears or technical difficulties. (I spent about $30 on card stock, printing and peace of mind at Office Depot.)


To finish them off, I layered them over a slightly larger piece of Moss colored card stock from Paper Source. Again, I was able to get 3 back layers out of each sheet of 8.5x11 paper. Ever since I discovered Paper Source early into the wedding planning, I've been dying to find a reason to use them for our paper-goods. And now I have! (I spent about $15 on moss card stock.)

I am not going to lie. Assembling these suckers was an unbelievably huge pain in the arse. Thankfully, BM Naima agreed to come over and help me start them, and my cousins BM Melissa and Natalie helped me finish them this past weekend. Ladies, if you're reading this, thank you from the bottom of my bridal heart.

I know $45 is not bad for about 150 completely custom menus, but I do wish they'd come in a bit cheaper. Nonetheless, I loove how they turned out and I can definitely see why brides pay good money for other people to do this kind of stuff for them.

♥

Where's Patti?

So I completely fell off last week. Normally, I'd say I wasnt sure what happened, but I know exactly what happened.

These happened.


Yes, my lovelies, those are our wedding invites, all assembled, addressed and almost ready to go in the mail. And you know what that means - its almost time for another tell-all post about how I pulled them off. Like last time, you'll have to wait until they are hand-delivered (on August 1st) and mailed. Once I get word that they've made it to the West Coast, you and I have a hot date with the invites. I better start saving up some energy, cause I got a lot of 'splainin to do.

This week (so far) and last week have been full of hunting down addresses, printing labels, using my glue runner and dots, checking and double checking lists, and shouting curse words at the guestlist that finally stopped growing (at 188 guests). My last assembly tasks are to seal them and add the postage.

Ahh, postage. Postage has been on my list of things that I've been secretly fretting about. I really wanted them to only need 1 stamp. One regular (now) $0.44 stamp. The way to do that is to make sure it weighs less than 1 ounce, is not square, and does not have any raised areas. So light, rectangular, and flat. I did that. But I couldn't really relax about it until I took it not one, but two places to be weighed.

They came in at .8 ounce.

So now I can transfer the fret to something else. Maybe the rehearsal and the rehearsal mixer dinner. But that's a story for another day.

Today I am basking in the glow of a mission accomplished. I'm pretty sure I love our invite suite - in all of its one-stamp-needing glory - way more than you're supposed to love paper. They are simply fab, classic without being fussy, and deliciously kiwi and teal.

::swoon::

♥

Being Prepared

Note: I rarely post "secret" things on this blog. MamaP reads it, the PHI occasionally reads it, and several of my bridesmaids are regular readers. Needless to say, if I want to keep it a secret, the blog is so not the place to put it. This is one of those things that should be a secret, so 'maids, you might want to skip this post, k? Cause I'm going to tell everyone else about a project that's going in your gift bags!

As many of you know, I'm a lifetime member of Girl Scouts. Its the only thing I've done longer than be in school - which is really saying something. There are several things that I have naturally incorporated in my life that I've gotten from Girl Scouting, but the one that rears its head most often is our motto: be prepared. All of the tedious planning I've done up until this point has been motivated by that simple statement. And last night, I made something that will hook my 'maids up in the event some unforeseen issue comes up.

Meet the Bridesmaid Survival Kit.


Inside, each 'maid will find tissue, band aids, a pack of Tylenol, a Shout wipe, a tube of chap stick, an emery board, a few bobby pins, and a few peppermints (my fave; pun intended).

Everything was purchased either on that travel aisle at Target or in the beauty section at Walmart, and I maybe spent about $10 total (yup, for all 6). I threw together some labels in PowerPoint that were thankfully as cute on paper as they were in my head. Not bad for $10 and about 30 minutes of my time, huh?

And can we just talk about how cute they are? I think this might be the cutest thing I've made for the wedding. Okay, maybe thats a stretch. They might be the cutest thing I've made this month for the wedding :)

Some of you may be wondering what kind of party I'm planning that would require a "survival" kit. Completely valid (and hilarious) question. No, I'm not planning to host a mosh pit in place of the bouquet toss. But, I do think that when you have so many ladies in close proximity, all dressed up, during (what I hope will be) a very exciting weekend, things are bound to happen.

So now, when they do, at least my 'maids will be prepared.

♥

To Figure Out

Despite having a good chunk of the wedding planned (note, I said planned, not to be confused with paid for), my to do list continues to grow – almost daily.

It’s starting to fill up with a category of things that I simply file under: To Figure Out. Some of it is standard fare: transportation, makeup and hair logistics, etc. But some of it is…well, lemme just give you an example. [Please bear with me, because I realize a lot of what I’m about to say is early onset Bridal Crazy Talk.]

This week I’ve been struggling with table number holders [toldya, crazy talk]. When I designed them, the plan was to rent table number stands (for $1 a piece) from an event rental company. Well, several decisions later, MamaP and I determined we did not need any of our other rentals, and it seemed silly to only rent table number holders. So I cancelled the entire order. But I still hadn’t worked out the table number display.

Initially, I thought I’d buy those same silver table number stands.
Turns out they’re too expensive.
Not willing to spend more than $1 per table (our original commitment).

Then I thought I could mount them onto folded card stock to make tents.
But what color? Teal would clash…
The linens are ivory, so white would stand out a lot…
They already have green backings, so what would I do with that?
Scrapped that idea too (pun intended).

Then I thought [in an especially crazy moment] that I’d use decorated binder clips as holders*.
Yes, binder clips.
And decorate them with paint or paper, a lot like this:


Cute, right?

::crickets::

So very wrong.
That got shot down because…
Well, because I wanted to use binder clips!

Exit crazy talk, enter a real solution. Enter Etsy.

{focus on the holder, not that heinous card. found them here}
It took a little bit of searching, but I was able to find these fairly cute wire table number holders that I plan to purchase as soon as I have a little cash. They have clear bottoms, so they will not clash (v.important), and are $1 each. Cute and cheap (enough).

I would have loved to DIY them, but obviously I was struggling. And that’s the moral of today’s story. With less than 5 months to go, a dissertation prospectus and move to Atlanta eminent, I finally figured out that I need to learn to pick and choose my DIY battles. I just can’t afford to waste the energy when I can simply purchase something that will fit our needs (and our budget) quite nicely.

MamaP always says that she is willing to pay for convenience. At this stage in planning the wedding, depending on what it is…and what it costs….I am too.

♥

*I originally got the idea from Real Simple, found here.

DIY Week: Wanna Make a Toast? (day six/bonus)

Since DIY officially ended yesterday, and I dropped the ball on this last would-be Drive By, I'm posting it today - without a whole lot of hype or text. Its almost not even enough post to call it a drive by...so I'll call it a bonus - lol.

{please excuse the crappy pic, I had a hard time getting a quasi-decent one}
This, my lovely readers, is one of our etched-glass toasting flutes. They (like most of my projects) began with me being disgusted about how much ugly, generic wedding accessories can cost. Being me, I went to Hobby Lobby and got a set of plain toasting flutes for about $7, and then proceeded to personalize them by etching the glass using etching cream and some bootleg stencils.

Naturally, they are etched with "J ♥ P" and "P ♥ J" (not shown).

Glass etching was an interesting experience. You had to be really careful about where the etching cream ends up, which generally keeps you on edge until you've finished the project. But I like the simplicity of the etched glass, and how they could easily be used post-wedding for champagne or (my fave) mimosas.

For the sake of brevity, I won't go into the logistics of etching glass. I really just wanted to show them to to you (and cross them off my DIY list - lol). Let me know if you want me to post a tutorial, k.

Happy Weekend!

♥

DIY Week: Please Sign Our Book (day five)

Today is the very last day of DIY Week.* Its been such an awesome craft filled week, it will be kind of sad to go back to discussing the other wedding business (and you know there's some other stuff we need to discuss). While many of the things I've shown you this week may or may not get noticed, today's project is something I hope that every guest at our wedding will see (and enjoy): the Guestbook.

By now, you already know there was no way we would have a standard, uninspired guest book. Were having a photobook, filled with our engagement pictures (because seriously, what else do you do with those things) and lots of white space for people to sign and leave us messages. Before I go further, I better give you some visuals.


This is what you see when you first lay eyes on the book. It will probably be closed just like this on the guest book table.


Once you open it, you'll see that some of the pages have text. The text is the lyrics of our first dance song.


Some of the pages are just pictures with a good bit of white space. When we showed it to MamaD, she asked where people were supposed to sign. Spread the word: people are welcome to write in any of the white space.


One of my favorite parts of the book are the two-page spreads. I wouldnt really recommend writing on these, as it could be difficult, depending on which spread it is. The two-page spreads have a yearbook-y quality to me, and I think they really showcase our photographer's talent and how beautiful Athens, Georgia can be in the fall.

I've mentioned several times that guests will be instructed to write in the white space. I haven't decided if there's going to be a guest book attendant or not, but in the event there isn't one (or she's busy), I made a little sign (surprise, surprise) to hang out with our book. Here's my mock up:


Essentially, its just the book, some pens in a votive candle holder and the sign telling people what to do. I don't anticipate our guests having a whole lot of trouble with this. You either write a message or you don't. I really hope everyone will though.


There are quite a large number of places you can have photo books made. I decided to go with Blurb, because I'd heard good things about the book quality, the prices were competitive, and the software was very easy to use. I had a positive experience with Blurb and would highly recommend Blurb books to anyone wanting to show case their photography, their writing, or some combination of the two.

So there it is folks. Our photo guestbook. This was not nearly as cheap as many of my other projects, but I was willing to sacrifice cost for quality and bridal satisfaction (lol). The PHI and I love this little book and we can't wait to see what kinds of things our guests decide to fill in the white space with.

♥

*Sidenote: who knew blogging daily would be this much work? When is the last time I posted so many days in a row? Oh, I remember. Spring Break. And then I took almost a month off. I promise I wont do that this time!

DIY Week: Welcome (day four)

I fell in love with the idea of Our Of Town Boxes/Bags before I even knew what they were called. Once I figured out that they were a little treat bag that you can leave for your guests at their hotel to welcome them to the wedding, I knew we had to have them. Today's post is simply about the packaging. Technically I've delegated the task of filling and delivering them to BM Dionne, but MamaP and I have already started discussing the types of things we want to fill them with, including some really cute baked goods. I'll have to dedicate a separate post to the contents, once we figure everything out.

Besides, the packaging is what pulls you in anyway, right?
Right. Packaging it is!

I love these little gable boxes. They are typically used for box lunches (at least that's where I usually see them), and can be expensive if you don't buy them in bulk. I got mine from another bride who ordered 100 but only needed 30. She then sold the remainder out to whomever wanted them. I think I ended up with 20, which should tide me over. If I need more, I'll just supplement with white gift bags.

Then it was time to dress them up a bit.

To make the labels, I designed a fairly simple message in my good friend PowerPoint. To maximize card stock real estate, I put 9 on a page, and print out enough for my 20 gable boxes, plus a few extra. Then I used my trusty Cutterpede (if you don't know about these, they are fab!) to...cut them out.


While I was at it, I cut out some slightly larger teal rectangles. This part was a little trial and error - I think I ended up using 12x12 scrapbook paper for the teal backing. I like to do all my cutting at one time, ending up with these two piles, which I proceeded to glue together.

I measured a length of kiwi polka dot ribbon (again, trial and error - no measuring for me!) and used double sided tape to attach the tag to a piece of kiwi polka dot ribbon on one side.


Then I wrapped the ribbon around the box and used another piece of tape to attach it on the other side. I chose double sided tape for this project, because it works double duty: it attaches the decoration to each other, and to the box itself.


I have only assembled one (as a mockup to make sure the design works) because its easier to store and move the boxes unassembled. This is one of the projects I will tackle a few days before the wedding. Seeing that all the pieces are ready, its just a matter of taping everything together and filling them.


Are out of town boxes necessary? No. And I know that. But I think that if our guests are spending all this money and time to travel and participate in our wedding festivities to express their love and support, the least we could do is spend a little money and time to make them feel welcome.

I saved the best project this week for last...see you tomorrow!
♥

DIY Week: All the Little Ladies (day three)

All the little ladies (all the little ladies)
All the little ladies (all the little ladies)
All the little ladies (all the little ladies)
All the little ladies...now throw your flowers up!

Yesterday I showed you what our little guys were toting down the aisle, so naturally today is about the little girls. As I mentioned before, we're having four little ladies in the wedding. Three of the flower throwing variety (i.e. flower girls), and one of the flower carrying variety (e.g. junior 'maid).

Lets start with the flower girl baskets. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not quite completed the flower girl baskets. They're in SoFla right now with MamaP, so I couldn't finish them this past weekend while tying up other DIY loose ends. They're on the list for August when I'm home for my shower. Here's what I've got so far:

{side view}
Buying any kind of flower girl accessory/prop for three can get expensive quickly. Per my usual, I took matters into my own hands, and purchased plain baskets (from where else, Hobby Lobby) and proceeded to hook them up with some glossy spray paint. It took way more spray paint than I expected to get fairly even coats on the baskets. I'll probably have to touch them up again in August as you can tell they have been bumped around a bit in transit.

{here are all three together}
After several coats of paint, I purchased some ivory fabric and proceeded to hot glue some of it inside in a non-bootleg way. Now that I think about it, fitting the satin inside the baskets was more complicated than I anticipated too - lol.

I plan to finish these baskets off with some teal and (probably polka dot) kiwi ribbon. I'll probably wrap the ribbon around the handle and put some bows at the bottom on each side. We'll have to see when they're in front of me again.

{the flower pomander}
I have a hard time calling the oldest little girl a junior 'maid. She's a good bit older than the other girls, and will love this more grown up role. I'd much rather think of her as the Head Flower Girl (Hm, I kinda like that...it may show up in the program, lol). As such, she gets to carry her flowers down the aisle in the form of a pomander. I got this idea from MnOH Krissi, as I carried a flower pomander in her wedding almost 3 years ago.

{all secure!}
MnOH Krissi gave me some pretty straightforward instructions. To start, I purchased a foam ball and used straight pins to attach the handle to the ball. Depending on the type of flowers you decide to attach, a little ball will go a long way. Also, put more pins than you think you need. I recommend you try to angle the pins as you insert them to make the handle more secure. And then don't use the handle to carry it until absolutely necessary. The handles can be a real headache, and once it decides it wants to come out, its hard to seriously secure it again.

{I call this the Mohawk technique}
After you secure the handle, you can add the flowers. This part is largely trial and error. I ended up using a chopstick to stick a hole in the foam ball first, then I filled it with hot glue and stuck the flower pieces in.

I used pieces of silk hydrangea for the flower ball, since that's what I'm carrying. Unfortunately, they are not the cheapest flower, but I got them on sale at Michaels (surprise, surprise). I would recommend that you pull apart the flowers before you start to stick and glue. It kind of wrecks your flow if you have to keep stopping to this. Also, I cant emphasize enough that you should buy more flowers than you think you need. Like, 2x the amount. I sucks to have to stop mid project because you ran out of materials. Trust me, I know.

{about halfway done}
Once you get your rhythm, the ball comes together quickly. Its just poke and glue, poke and glue. Try and place the flowers fairly close together so that you don't have bald spots in your pomander. If you put them too close, it will take many more flowers. I wouldn't worry too much about it though, bald spots can be fixed. And if you have a disaster, you can just pull the flowers out and start again.

{one last pic}
I love how the ball turned out. Its a little bigger than I intended, but I really think my Head Flower Girl will enjoy carrying this down the aisle, like the other big girls.

So there you have it folks. For the most part, all the props for our little ladies are ready to go. I cant wait to see it all together - them in their dresses and carrying their props. They're going to be so cute!

Tomorrow I'm going to show you something for our guests. And no, I don't mean the favors. Adi!

♥

DIY Week: Giving the Boys Their Props (day two)

Today lets talk entourage. Not the 'maids, but my other set of attendants: the kids!

As I've mentioned before, we have lots of little ones in our wedding. They range in age from 3 to 10, and are all pretty cute and full of personality. Yes, I know having kids in the wedding is a potential attention-hog, but it was a huge wedding compromise for the PHI and I. He wanted kids in the wedding, and I said if were going to do it, we're doing it big. Six kids big.

Four of the kids are little girls - three are our official flower girls (petal throwing) and one will be like a junior bridesmaid (petal carrying). Figuring out what the girls would do was easy, and I'll show you their props in another post. Getting the boys situated was a little more difficult. The youngest boy will be about 3, and he'll get to carry the official ring bearer pillow. This pillow.

{the color is a little off, I promise its teal and kiwi}
I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby, and made this pillow (under MamaP's casual supervision) back while I was home in December. I won't go into detail about how I made the pillow, as they are generally very easy to pull together. Two pieces of fabric, some needle and thread, more stuffing than you might think, and some ribbon to dress it up a bit. Oh, and about 20 minutes of your time. I love how the pattern is green and teal, with an appropriate level of whimsy. Perfect for a little boy to carry down the aisle. Sans rings of course - there's no way I'm placing my diamonds in the hands of a three year old.

The other little boy in the wedding is going to be eight by October. In my opinion, that's a little old for ring-bearing. We needed something him to do. Initially, I thought it would be cute if he walked or ran down the aisle, ringing a bell and shouting "the bride is coming!" While cute in theory, I quickly came to my senses as my mind started going through all the permutations of what could potentially go wrong with that plan. Back to the drawing board.

{image source}
A couple of months ago, I came across these Here Comes the Bride Banners on the I Do Originals website. Loved the look, and the potential photo op, but I was not terribly wild about the cost. Or the size. Or the font. And again, the cost.

Enter DIY...

{I would have heart hooks next to the front door, right?
This is my version of a Here Comes the Bride Banner. I made ours smaller, since only one little boy will be carrying it, and with green accents (since he'll be in the same teal that the bridal party is wearing).

The fabric (muslin; used for rough drafts of sewing projects) was purchased at Hobby Lobby. I chose this fabric because I wanted it to be light weight, but heavier than your standard issue broadcloth. And it was a happy medium between the white and ivory cloth in the fabric section. I think I bought a half a yard and it cost next to nothing. The dowel and the fabric glue (no sewing!) I also got at Hobby Lobby.

I seriously ♥ Hobby Lobby.

The text is stickers. Scrapbooking stickers to be exact. I still have not gotten over my aisle runner experience, so there was no way I was going to be painting anything soon. The stickers worked out perfectly, and were on clearance (score!). The ribbon is some of that same $1 bin ribbon from Michaels. I used a thicker one on the banner itself, and a thinner one for the handle. Still no sewing. All that ribbon is either tied or sewed on, and I used the fabric glue to turn under the sides and make a pocket to slide the dowel through.

The whole banner, including the handle is about 18 inches long. I was a little afraid of making it too big for an 8 year old to manage, but I think the sizing came out just right. All in all, I spent next to nothing on this project, and I'm absolutely enamored with it.

Cute, budget friendly little boys props? Check!

Wanna know what the little girls are carrying?
Guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, wont I.

♥

DIY Week Drive-By: Hair Flower

Whereas most of my DIY Week posts are long and explanation laden, there are at least a couple projects that I can show you without all that. A little text a few pictures will suit them just fine. Enter the drive-by post.

Think of these posts as the equivalent of you coming over to my house to hang out, and I pop up suddenly from the sofa to say "ooh, lemme show you something real quick."*

So, lemme show you the flower I made to wear in my hair for the wedding.

{meet my model, my favorite bear Lorenzo}
This was yet another project that I was not willing to pay very much for. Essentially, I purchased a silk flower (I believe it may have been a gardenia) from Michaels, and took it apart. I wanted it to have a little bit of visual interest, so I added some pieces of tulle between some of the layers.

{its amazing to me what a little tulle can do}
After I decided about petal and tulle placement, I hot glued everything to each other, and then added some pearls to the front. I then used the hot glue to add a piece of felt and a pin back to the back of the flower. This way I have the option of wearing it on my clothes or (with the help of some bobby pins) in my hair.

{thanks Zo!}
And there you have it, easy peasy hair accessory!

♥

*yes, this example is based on my real-life behavior - lol.

DIY Week: U-N-I-T-Y (day one)

Welcome to DIY Week! I'll spare you some grandiose introduction and get right to the goodness.

{that taper on the right has a gangsta lean}
That, my lovely readers, is our recently completed unity candle set. The unity candle, like many other things in the wedding world at large, has the tendency to look tired and cliche, and cost way more than its actually worth (physically, not symbolically of course). I was not willing to spend very much on this, and I was not willing to buy an ugly one. Low cost and non-cookie cutter? Sounds like I needed to make my own.


You should recognize this monogram. Its the same one on our aisle runner, with a slight modification in the way the date is typed. All I had to do to make it candle-ready was make it ALOT smaller. Initially, I wanted to print the monogram on clear vellum, and use teal ribbon as accents. However, my Epson printer was not having any part of that plan, as it refused to print anything on my vellum. Instead, I printed the monogram on white copy paper, and used some teal card stock scraps as an accent. To "decorate" the tapers, I opted to simply wrap some kiwi green ribbon close the the base of the candles. I think its just enough green and teal to keep up with the rest of the decor, but not so much that it beats you over the head with kiwi and teal. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Now lets talk money (for a bit). Remember, in order to be a success, the set needed to not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also inexpensive.

I purchased all of my materials at Michaels and Hobby Lobby. Interestingly, Michaels charged less for the pillar candle (the big one in the middle), and Hobby Lobby always has the tapers on sale (usually half off). I spent $3 for the pillar, and another $1 for the tapers. The silver-tone stand was half off the day I got it, so I only spent $5 on that. Oh, and the ribbon is from the dollar bin at Michaels. All together, the materials ran me $10, since I already had the paper here at the crib. Unity candle sets in the stores start at $19.99, so I was definitely right that it was cheaper to make my own.

Cute + cheap = DIY success.

{one more pic, please excuse my junky apartment}
I struggled with this project for a long time. I've had these materials for ages! Just couldn't decide what I wanted it to look like. This past weekend, while working on some other projects, inspiration finally struck. It was so simple, I felt silly for not having thought of it sooner. And after inspiration arrived (fashionably late), I ran with it because I could see the end result in my mind. I know its going to be a lovely addition to our ceremony space.

One project down, several more to go.

So what do we really think about unity candles? Symbolic? Traditional? Antiquated? In need of a much cooler replacement?

...until tomorrow!
♥

DIY Week! (a.k.a PDI Week)

Starting tomorrow, this upcoming week is going to be all about the DIY. I've been plowing through my list of to-dos (and shamefully adding things) lately, and its time for me to get you, my lovely readers, all caught up.

As I look over my DIY list - which I should really call PDI (for "Patti Did It") - most of the things I'm going to share this upcoming week would fall squarely in the Details category. Generally speaking, I loove details. Not just for weddings, but in my daily life as well (hence the matching small cosmetic, checkbook cover, and coin purse that live inside my handbag...that no one ever sees). Naturally, our wedding would have some delicious little details that only I - and now you - may actually notice.

Which is just the way I like it.

So stick around this week while I show, tell, and flex my creative muscle a bit. I cant wait to hear what you think!

♥

Sans Bouts

I'm not sure what happened first. All I know is that I got it in my mind that we did not need boutonnieres, and that these could be a viable alternative for live flowers.


Here's another view. Pretty cute, huh? I had even considered incorporating some of them into the 'maids bouquets to tie it all together. The instructions seemed simple enough. All I needed was fabric, floral wire, floral tape, modge podge, scissors, and a little bit of time. Those last four things I already had. I found some cute teal and green fabric, the wire and the tape at (my fave) Hobby Lobby.

What seemed like a really cute idea turned out to be a complete and utter disaster! Its so bad I couldn't even take a picture to show you. I just threw it away. All in all, the materials cost very little, so I didn't take a huge financial hit on this crafting failure. If I had to mass produce them they would have been about $1 each, if that much. However, this was my leading contender for boutonniere alternative. So I needed a new plan.

Enter pocket squares.

When MamaP and I first discussed the guys going sans bout, she suggested pocket squares. At the time, I was not sure you could wear them with tuxes. Turns out, people do, and they're considered to be quite chic when done well. (Besides, its not like the guys are dying to wear flowers on their lapel - lol).

Once I found that out, I started thinking about colors. My first choice would some teal and green combo. That was quickly shot down. Then I thought green or teal would be nice. But I was having a hard time finding some online that didn't look cheap or weren't terribly expensive. MamaP suggested I contact our tuxedo "vendor," MW Tux to see if they could help us out. And it was at that point, that I decided to delegate this to the PHI.

Especially since he's always offering to help.

Yesterday while strolling through the mall, we stopped into MW Tux to ask about pocket squares. It was his idea to stop in there, since he hadn't completed his pocket square recon. Turns out that the tuxes already come with pocket squares! But they're black. Against a black tux. And the other options are ivory, red, and other fairly standard colors. They don't carry teal or green. So, if we wanted teal, green, or some combo, we'd need to find some other place to get them from.

What did we decide?
Black pocket squares it is. Something like this:

{found here}

To summarize:
- We decided against live flower boutonieres.
- I thought I could make fabric flowers to use instead.
- That was my first crafting failure.
- Change of plan: pocket squares.
- Tuxes come with black pocket squares.
- We're going to use the black pocket squares.

I love that the current plan manages to save us money. Boutonnieres from the florist would have been about $8 each, and the fabric flowers would have been $1 each. Their pocket squares won't cost us a single brown penny! I would have liked them to be in a wedding color, but frankly, I don't think the guys care. And if they don't care, I'm going to try not to care either.

Well, not that much.

Whatcha think? Boutonnieres: necessary? not needed? good place to save in the budget? opportunity to do something different? Do you plan to have your guys wear them? Why or why not?

♥

Please Save the Date

Now that I've confirmed that a fair number of our guests have gotten them, I'm finally ready to share our save the dates with you!


When I decided to make them myself, I knew that I wanted the fonts to be Century Gothic and Freebooter Script (to match the rest of the paper), that it would include our website address, assumed that it would be teal and kiwi in someway, and have our picture on it. I love that picture of us, and preferred it in black and white, so when I decided to use that photo, I just made the whole card black and white. I think that STDs can be a departure from the invites (especially since they are usually ordered before invites are fully decided upon) as long as they ultimately coordinate with the other paper-goods. Ours do, and I'll prove it...in due time.

I designed the cards in PowerPoint, converted the file to a pdf, and uploaded it to VistaPrint so I could get them for free. There is always some kind of promotion going on where you can get free stuff. I googled "VistaPrint free postcards" or something like that and found a code to get 100 postcards for free. All I had to do was pay the minimal image upload fee (it was like $2.50) and the shipping. Unless you need them yesterday, don't waste your money on the fast shipping. I selected the slowest (and cheapest) rate and got them in about a week and a half. Card printing and shipping: about $8.


To keep with the black and white design, I decided to mail them in black envelopes. I really wanted the envelopes with the Euro (triangle) flap, but these square "announcement" type were a little cheaper so I ordered 100 of those from envelopemall.com. Again, I selected the standard shipping rate. It was kind of expensive, but crazy fast. I think I got them like 2 or 3 days later. I was a little nervous about mailing the black envelopes, but I asked around and determined they should make it okay (they did). Envelope cost and shipping: about $17


I made these wrap around labels using my Xyron 510 sticker maker machine and plain ole copy paper. Designing the labels themselves was a little tricky. I made a table in Word, and then hid all the borders except for the outside one - which I made polka dotted. Then I cut and pasted my formatted table a gazillion times - I was able to fit about 5 labels to a sheet.

After all the labels were printed, I cut them and ran them through my Xyron. I love my Xyron. It doesn't require batteries and will turn almost anything into a sticker. Easy peasy wrap around labels. I purchased my Xyron ages ago, but hadn't used it for a project yet. I'm planning to use it for our favor tags, the programs, and possibly to make another set of wrap around labels for the wedding invites. Haven't decided how I'm going to address them yet. Wrap around labels: a little bridal elbow grease.

As I mentioned last week, to save some change on postage, a good number of the save the dates were hand-delivered. However, we did end up mailing about 40 of them. 40 stamps: $16.80


Here's the gang all ready for their trip to the mailbox.

I have to admit, initially I was against sending STDs. I thought it was a waste of paper and outside of our budget. The PHI felt very strongly about sending notification to our OOT guests and I told him that I would agree to them on one condition: that they'd cost us less than $1 each (I know, I can be awful). I'm so glad we sent them now. I think they are a lovely combination of chic and personal, and invoke the spirit of our wedding invites without being teal and kiwi green. You already know the best part: the price! Forty-two cents each! Couldn't beat that with a stick if I tried.

Are you planning on sending STDs? What qualities would you like yours to have?

♥

Idunno about you, but I need a visual.

I don't know if you noticed, but I failed to mention what I want the cake to look like in my last cake post. The cake design is just as important to me as the contents, and I knew I'd need a visual aide to explain my vision to the baker. So I threw this together in PowerPoint:

click to enlarge
Basically, its my two favorite cake inspiration pics, and an explanation of which aspects of the inspiration cakes that I'd like our cake to have. I also included a small picture of our cake topper so that the baker could see it without me having to tote it around. Here's a larger one.

I made the cake topper using some wooden letters from Michaels, a thin wooden dowel (divided into 3 pieces), metallic green acrylic paint and a little bit of high gloss sealant.

Making these was a really simple project. First, I sanded and painted the letters, then I used hot glue to attach the dowels, and finally I spray painted the letters with the high gloss sealant. The whole project took me less than a couple of hours, and only cost me about $6. I think they're going to be really cute on the cake, and are very similar to the topper from one of our cake inspiration pics.

I was able to leave a copy of our cake planning sheet with Lorene and I'll have a copy in my wedding planner. I'm thinking about updating it to include the cake dimensions and flavors (may as well be thorough, right?). I highly recommend pulling together a comprehensive visual aide when you go speak with your vendors. If you don't know what you like, that's one thing. But when you know what you want, I think it helps your vendor if you can connect the dots between your inspiration pictures so they'll have the vision too...in your own words.

♥

The Makeup Chronicles: Learning Lashes

Previously in the makeup chronicles: intro and manifesto, MAC me over

After I got my makeup done at MAC, I fell in love with the look of false lashes. Problem is, I've never applied them myself before. In a perfect world, I'd pop over to the Sephora across the street from the HHT. Since I'll be made up and dressed by the time Sephora even opens, that's not really an option.

So my bcurrent plan is to purchase some cheapies from my nearest drugstore and practice practice practice. That and watch a bunch of YouTube videos.

I found one today that I wanted to share with you ladies who are interested in developing/perfecting your own fake lashes technique (lol). Lo of Lo&Co (a professional make-up artist and WeddingBee Pro blogger) posted this entertaining how-to video for applying false lashes.



Not only was it hilarious, I really learned alot. I think I'm going to try my first lash application soon. How about you? Anyone feeling like the bold and beautiful and interested in doing them yourself? If so, wanna compare notes?

♥

I spy...

...with my bridal eye something small, black and ready to be mailed.


As you may have guessed, those are our save the dates, all stamped and ready to go out. I am so excited about them! I promised you several weeks ago that I'd show and tell after the recipients got to see them, and we are still on schedule for the big reveal.

I have a small group of that will be hand-delivered (gotta love saving a on postage) to close family and friends. I'm traveling home to SoFla this weekend for Spring Break so it works out quite nicely. The rest will be dropped in the mail sometime tomorrow or Saturday. That means by the end of next week, you'll have seen them too!

Cant wait? Me either!
♥

The Makeup Chronicles: MAC me over

Previously in the makeup chronicles: intro and manifesto

When I decided to do my own makeup, I knew I wanted to consult with some professionals along the way. Well, for some reason I decided to stop by the MAC counter in the mall for my first "make-up consultation." The reason I say "for some reason" is because every time I've gone to a MAC counter, its been too much. Too much color, too much foundation, just...too much. More makeup than a girl like me (who wears little to no makeup most days) would ever apply, even on my wedding day. However, you really cant beat the color selection they offer. Have you seen the displays? Shadows, blushes, lipstick for days! Too tempting for this DIY bride.

Despite my previous experiences, I threw caution to the wind, sat down in the chair, and hoped for the best. Here's what I got. I forgot I should have taken pics before I blended my shadow with my fingers and wiped off some of the makeup. Even with my "sabotage," I think this one with my eyes closed shows off the overall look better:


...and this one that the PHI and MamaP will approve of, with my eyes open:


As anticipated, overall I thought it was too much. The foundation was a greasy mess, the shadow was poorly blended, and the lipliner was a little overkill. However, there were several things I did like:

1. The eyeshadow base (you cant really see it in this pic) was a creamy peachy color. It was awesome by itself, and I didn't understand why she proceeded to put some other colors on top (and then not blend them). I would have posted its info, but come to find out that its not recommended for use on the eyes. Why in the world she put it on me, I have no idea. Maybe she didn't know?


2. Sheertone blush in Pinch O' Peach. Its a shimmery peach blush. I could tell by the way she applied it that a little bit goes a long way. Definitely layer it on a little at a time. It gave me the bridal glow that I have pictured in my mind, without having to add a whole lot of other products.


3. LustreGlass in Beaux on my lips. It's a bronzy-shimmery color. I liked that she asked me what color LipGlass I normally wear (Oh Baby and C-Thru are my faves), and then selected this one. She lined my lips first, a move I haven't done since undergrad, and I started to remember why I used to do that. We'll probably do a little of that day of.


4. Fake lashes! This was my first time in them. I think my natural lashes look pretty good, especially when topped with a good black mascara, but the fake lashes take it to a whole new level. Love.it.

So what did I take from my lessons? Peachy-bronzy neutrals are definitely the look I'm going for. I normally wear neutral/shimmery pinks, so this is a reasonable and logical side step for wedding-day colors. I also literally took away that delicious peachy blush and the LustreGlass.

It goes without saying that she must have used about 15 different products on me, and tried to sell me everything from the moisturizer she used (no wonder I was greasy), to all the makeup products she used, and the brushes she used to apply it with! Seriously. Were talking hundreds of dollars of product. Do people really fall for this? She acted as if I never ever wore makeup and I needed everything! I'm not sure if I was supposed to buy something, but I already had it in my mind that if she used something I really liked, I'd definitely purchase. And that's exactly what I did.

Cheeks and lips? Check. Two products down, several more to go.
To be continued...
♥