Wedding Memory Boxes

Wedding Memory Boxes

December 31st, 2008 @ 3:15 pm by Mrs. Glitter

When Obama became President-elect, Mr. G really wanted to keep a commemorative issue of the L.A. Times from November 5, 2008 showing Obama’s historic win. I was brainstorming ways to display this big piece of history without seeming over-the-top. I am sharing what I came up with because it led me to an important post-wedding project that I really want to create.

Memory box frames! (Are they even called that?) From my limited understanding, it’s the art of collecting beautiful pictures and mementos from the big day; almost like a time capsule that you put on display. I love the idea of creating one of these and either hanging it on the wall or keeping it somewhere safe for many years to come.

I am a beginner do-it-yourself girl (and probably a bit lame) so designing a memory box frame will be a small challenge. You can probably pay someone to do this in L.A., but I refuse! It would defeat the purpose anyway. I can’t wait to create ours. Here are the items I want to put in it:

The wedding invitation
The wedding ceremony program
A few dried flowers from my bouquet
Some fabulous pictures from the day
A page from the guest book (maybe)
A guest favor (maybe)
My veil and/or headpiece (maybe)

Here are a few examples I found through a simple Google search:

Sunset Magazine has a “how to” tutorial for making this tabletop memory box. Check it out here by scrolling down toward the bottom of the page.

I think ours will be a bit smaller in size than the above pictured boxes, because again, I’d love to mount it on the wall.

Are you thinking about doing something similar? If so, what will you include in your memory box?

Image sources (1,2,3)

Tags: diy, los-angeles |

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6 Responses to “Wedding Memory Boxes”

Guest

Michael Warf

What a great idea! perhaps also affixing things vertically as a hanging shadowbox?

12/31/08 @ 3:32 pm (reply)

Guest

Mandy

Mrs G this is a great idea! I am thinking of doing this for all sorts of occasions myself, and it makes an excellent present for pretty much anyone. And also, they are traditionally called shadow boxes, altho i don’t know if that is also what they are called when they are done as furniture and that sort…

12/31/08 @ 3:45 pm (reply)

Guest

linda

FYI - Newspapers yellow with age when exposed to the sun. There is still lignin (the glue that holds tree fibers together) in the newspapers which make it age and yellow. normal copy paper has had bleaching and chemical treatments to remove lignin, so it won’t age as much. It may be best to make a memory frame (air tight) and then put it in the dark for longevity.

12/31/08 @ 3:52 pm (reply)

Guest

jtg

Following up on linda’s comment, any paper that doesn’t a neutral pH balance will yellow, fade, or crumble over time. This includes things like wedding programs, invitations, and even photographs printed with non-archival printer ink. All items that aren’t archival safe ought to be treated with a deacidification spray. This webpage provides a good, quick overview to helping your precious mementos last longer.

12/31/08 @ 4:32 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Avocado (message) 1,407 posts, Bumble bee

I have this huge blank space on my wall and I didn’t know what to do with it, but this may be the answer. Now I just have to figure out what little wedding trinkets I can round up from the wedding!

1/4/09 @ 10:11 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Glitter (message) 880 posts, Busy bee

@linda: Thanks for the helpful tip!!
@jtg: Thank you so much! I will check out the overview you provided.
@Mrs. Avocado: Yay! I’m sure you could create a beautiful shadow box/memory frame.

1/4/09 @ 7:14 pm (reply)