Weddingbee Blog

I really didn’t care about having a card box. I was totally convinced that it was acceptable to collect the gifts and cards when we visited tables as most Vietnamese American weddings do. Mama Hot Wings pushed all the other “norms.” I purposely saved the DIY card box to be one of my last projects. Look at its size! It would be ridiculous to make it in advance and mail it or travel with it back to San Diego. But it’s even more ridiculous to wait until the last minute and think you’ll just put something like a big ol’ card box together with scraps and such, right? Well, ridiculous? Yes. Happy ending? Also yes.

See?

*photo by friend Sally*

Before the happy ending, there was definitely a lot of head scratching.

I sure have a way with these haphazard projects where I just get lucky. Or maybe it’s because I surround myself with some pretty talented people who actually have vision. Can someone say, “foreshadowing”? *wink wink*

So first, I searched for an appropriately sized box. With all of the mailing, gifts, Costco, and BevMo buying we had been doing, I had a lot of different boxes to choose from. I ended up choosing this Frei Brothers wine box that we got from Costco.

I wanted to cut the hole for the cards at the top of the box, so I cut off two of the flaps. Uh oh, bad idea! Don’t do as I did, do as I am about to tell you… don’t cut off two of the flaps. If you do, there won’t be enough support for the 2 flaps still left on the box. In other words, it will be real easy to push the top of the box completely in.

If you do accidentally cut of the flaps like I did, you will need to put a long strip of tape under the flap to support it. Then draw a hole for the cards to be dropped in.

Cut the slot from the cardboard. I got released from this job and demoted to photo taker after messing up and cutting off 2 of the box flaps. Watch Hottie Cousin work the card box. She cut out the card slot and proceeded to cover the entire box with wrapping paper using double-sided tape (my fave sticky product).

Not everyone was working hard on the box. See Mama Hottie laughing at her sister for laying on the couch while the others tried to figure out this card box situation?

Be cautious about making fun of people during the wedding DIY projects. If you mock them, they are likely to feel compelled to help. Three sets of hands and one box? Uh yeah. You’ll see.

Ultimately, the box turned out well. It took longer then it probably should have. It took many more brains than it probably should have, but it became a fun memory to have. Did you notice that I have used that wrapping paper before? See below, it’s the same wrapping paper we used for our invitation envelope liners.

Did you notice that the box didn’t have a special easy way to open up to the cards? Which meant, retrieving the cards looked something like this…

And no more pretty box. How much did this box cost us you ask? Nada. All the materials were laying around the house.

Was a card box necessary for your wedding? Did you make something or just buy one?

*all personal photos unless noted*