Mrs. Macarons, TampaAge and Occupation: 26, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Renaissance ManEngagement Date: September 12, 2009Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Lange FarmAbout Me: I'm creative at heart and a graphic designer with an unhealthy obsession with type. I love roller coasters, spicy foods, and a good glass of Crianza. We’re planning a soft and lovely vintage-meets-modern wedding in a state that’s known for its beaches, glitz and glam. I have a ton of DIY projects and lots of little details I’m dying to share and can't wait to celebrate with our closest friends and family.
Mrs. Balloons, Aspen, COAge and Occupation: 24, Mass Communications graduate, Web Design student, & winery workerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, EngineerEngagement Date: July 10, 2009Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: The Sundeck at The Little NellAbout Me: I'm a small-town Midwest girl planning an intimate mountaintop destination wedding complete with a huge DIY at-home reception. As an honors graduate fallen victim to the worst job market in history in my area, we're doing everything we can to still have the wedding of our dreams on a tighter budget. I currently enjoy working at a winery, but I'm lonnng overdue for a day job! I am: a big-time daydreamer, one of the pickiest eaters you'll ever meet, and a lover of pretty paper and awesome fonts. I'm a girly girl who loves to get dolled up, but also a country girl who loves to get muddy and go 4-wheeler riding. I also enjoy singing in the car, boating, going to concerts, the History Channel, carnival food, and going to watch St. Louis Cardinals baseball with my handsome engineer.
I’ve always loved the look of birch candle holders. As usual, after browsing numerous sites I decided that I wasn’t willing to pay that much for something that I could attempt to do myself. I knew that the exact look of the wood wouldn’t be the same since we have no actual birch trees nearby, but I was OK with that. It was just the overall woodsy, rustic look that I wanted.
If you remember, we had several trees that had to be cut down during the process of clearing area for our reception building. I had Mr. B cut various sizes of stumps from those trees. Then he took his biggest drill bit size that he had in his tool set to drill into the center of each of them.
Ms. Ferris Wheel, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, PsychologistFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, PsychologistEngagement Date: May 23 and 28, 2010 (one for each of us!)Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Parc55 Hotel (city lights ceremony, ballroom reception)About Me: Born in the Southeast, educated in the Northeast, and over-educated on the West Coast, I finally earned my city-girl credentials and have put down roots in gorgeous San Francisco. I’m a raging perfectionist with a lightning quick wit and a terrible sense of both time and direction. Our wedding task list is endlessly growing because of my predilection to think that DIY projects I can make = DIY projects I should make (so not true!). I always go to bed wishing there were more hours in the day to enjoy all the things I adore, whether that be hobbies, friends, my career, our two dogs, or Mr. Ferris Wheel. Ours is a story of a non-traditional couple living an oddly traditional life planning a not-so-traditional wedding in this city we adore. Together we are bustin’ out all of our best skills (and some of our worst ones) to plan a laid-back-chic DIY-craftastic love-alicious affair!
This long holiday weekend saw the completion of phase one of what I’m dubbing Project Floral Creations. (Have, I mentioned that we aren’t using any real flowers in our wedding? Well, we’re not. And now that I’ve remembered to inform you of that, this post is gonna make a lot more sense!) The list of florals that need to be created isn’t all that long, but it’s felt really daunting because I assumed that everything would take a long time to complete. And if phase one is any indication, I was absolutely right about that. Thankfully I’m super pleased with the final outcome.
Ms. Ferris Wheel, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, PsychologistFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, PsychologistEngagement Date: May 23 and 28, 2010 (one for each of us!)Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Parc55 Hotel (city lights ceremony, ballroom reception)About Me: Born in the Southeast, educated in the Northeast, and over-educated on the West Coast, I finally earned my city-girl credentials and have put down roots in gorgeous San Francisco. I’m a raging perfectionist with a lightning quick wit and a terrible sense of both time and direction. Our wedding task list is endlessly growing because of my predilection to think that DIY projects I can make = DIY projects I should make (so not true!). I always go to bed wishing there were more hours in the day to enjoy all the things I adore, whether that be hobbies, friends, my career, our two dogs, or Mr. Ferris Wheel. Ours is a story of a non-traditional couple living an oddly traditional life planning a not-so-traditional wedding in this city we adore. Together we are bustin’ out all of our best skills (and some of our worst ones) to plan a laid-back-chic DIY-craftastic love-alicious affair!
Back in November of 2009 I came across the most amazing post on Design*Sponge, and I have been ridiculously excited about one particular DIY project ever since.
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
I started on my flower arranging adventure with the boutonnieres for the gentlemen. I figured it was best to start small, and these are only a couple flowers each! I decided to use some of the blue roses I had made in the bouts. Our ‘best men’ will be wearing apple green shirts with ivory ties, and Cinnamon Buns will be wearing a teal shirt with an ivory tie.
The world’s longest bouts have both those colours! They’re super-long, because I made all our flowers with long stems for bouquet-making.
Ms. Gazelle, Calgary/VancouverAge and Occupation: 32, EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Technology AnalystEngagement Date: September 3, 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Brock House Restaurant, VancouverAbout Me: I am a marathon runner, cyclist, Ironman triathlete and beautiful shoe fiend who also loves kicking back and watching Glee. I grew up a bit of a nomad as I traveled around the world with my family, living everywhere from Australia to England to South America and Indonesia. I finally settled in Calgary a few years ago and met Mr. Gazelle who loves me even though we cheer for different hockey teams. We are planning a bit of a destination wedding in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia and we can’t wait to share the day with our close family and friends.
Mrs. Seal, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 25, Personal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Sales and Support SpecialistEngagement Date: December 12, 2009Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Sts Peter and Paul Church/The Bently ReserveAbout Me: I am a goofy, wannabe crafty, well-intentioned Renaissance Woman (OK, perhaps "aimless wanderer" is a more aptly suited term for me, but hopefully you get the point)—basically I dabble in just about everything and pride myself in such. Without warning, I occasionally breakout into soulful improvised songs and interpretive dances and there's just no stopping me! As so many others before me, planning our wedding has unearthed a deep, intense passion for all things bridal and I secretly fear the day it will come to an end. Mr. Seal and I are quite the pair and life with him by my side is extremely rewarding—I am so thankful to have found him. Together we are planning a black-tie San Francisco affair for 250—light on the stuffiness and with lots of extra Seal-y flair.
I figure, with about 5 months to go, it’s time for me to actually start doing all of the craft projects I have planned. In my last post I mentioned how my dining room table has turned into the table of temporarily abandoned projects and, while such a description is still accurate, I’ve managed to make progress.
Wanna see?!
I’ve completed about half of our table numbers and it feels goooood. The project has taken a bit longer than I anticipated (and trips to four different Michaels stores to track down all of the wooden numbers), but it’s been pretty simple and fun. I decided against naming our tables and stuck to the basics.
For some incredibly adorable and endearing reason, Mr. Seal took an interest in this project and I really enjoyed both his company and his creative input! Read more…
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
This allows me to cut out many flowers at once, and I can easily re-size the cut file so I can get multiple sizes. The other shortcut that I took was to have the machine cut everything out exactly as I need it. The original tutorial uses a paper punch, then has you cut out single and double petal pieces to make the 5 different bits you need to make each flower. I had the Silhouette do this all for me, by creating a cut file that looks like this: Read more…
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
Mrs. Sand Dollar, HoustonAge and Occupation: 24, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Electrical TechnicianEngagement Date: January 8, 2010Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: MacLean ParkAbout Me: I'm a domestic diva down to the core. I heart cooking, sewing, baking, decorating and making sure we have a hand-crafted home. The best part about the wedding is I get to incorporate it all! I make sure I put my art degree to good use by screen printing, craft knife cutting, and a whole lotta graphic design. We're having a big-time party on a small-time budget, and I promise to show you a boot-scootin', barbecue-eatin', finger-lickin' good time! Mr. Sand Dollar and I spend most of our time on DIY projects or traipsing around the outdoors with our two pooches Rory and Juno. I'm looking forward to sharing our journey with all of you!
Whew! Even though our wedding was nine months ago, I’ve just now finished sewing our guestbook quilt! Why did it take so long? Well, like a crazy person, I decided to hand embroider each and every message on our 40 signed blocks. I was afraid that over time the fabric pen might fade, and I wanted each name and wish to last a lifetime. After all, quilts are often heirlooms, so why not go all out?
Mrs. Waffle, AustinAge and Occupation: 31, Costumer/ArtistFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, AnimatorEngagement Date: July 27, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hummingbird HouseAbout Me: My life is pretty much spent in a sea of fabric, paint, sequins and drama. When I’m not working, I play on a trivia team, take Broadway dance classes, read, buy shoes, and occasionally geek out on video games. I am an American girl who loves all things British and Mr. Waffle is a Brit who loves all things American...I guess it was meant to be!
I know I promised a tutorial for the brunchy Invites, and I’m almost through with that post, but I’m gonna do one for this first because I have all the pictures resized and blah, blah, blah already. Seriously, I promise invites will be next. Pinky swear.
Items you may need for this project:
Blank sign
Wood monogram letter
Graphite paper or pencil
Blue painter tape or masking tape
Thick wired ribbon
Fake flowers
Nails and hammer or screws and drill
Acrylic craft paint
Brushes
Fine point Sharpie
Hot glue and gun
Scissors
Patience
First up, I found a blank stand sign and monogram letter at Michaels and painted them the desired colors with acrylic craft paint. Once that was dry, I got out a sheet of graphite paper (also available at craft and art stores) and taped it to the blank sign with blue painter tape. If you don’t have/can’t find graphite paper, you can also color the back of your text print out with a pencil and transfer that way.
Ms. Ferris Wheel, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, PsychologistFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, PsychologistEngagement Date: May 23 and 28, 2010 (one for each of us!)Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Parc55 Hotel (city lights ceremony, ballroom reception)About Me: Born in the Southeast, educated in the Northeast, and over-educated on the West Coast, I finally earned my city-girl credentials and have put down roots in gorgeous San Francisco. I’m a raging perfectionist with a lightning quick wit and a terrible sense of both time and direction. Our wedding task list is endlessly growing because of my predilection to think that DIY projects I can make = DIY projects I should make (so not true!). I always go to bed wishing there were more hours in the day to enjoy all the things I adore, whether that be hobbies, friends, my career, our two dogs, or Mr. Ferris Wheel. Ours is a story of a non-traditional couple living an oddly traditional life planning a not-so-traditional wedding in this city we adore. Together we are bustin’ out all of our best skills (and some of our worst ones) to plan a laid-back-chic DIY-craftastic love-alicious affair!
While I’m working on answering the rest of your questions, let’s get back to the wedding crafting for just a bit, shall we?
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The wedding blogosphere indicates you need a card box. Some people in our lives have questioned this, but when I googled “Do I need a card box at my wedding?” much of the web evidence points to ’yes.’ We decided to use a gray box we already had (a gift box from some shaving stuff Mr. FW received last year—cuz, ya know, he shaves now). It was the perfect size and, yes, free. While I was taking a post-wedding-meltdown nap one day, Mr. FW put his spin on our card box. He said to me, “If this were just my wedding, this is the way I would do the card box.”
Mrs. Waffle, AustinAge and Occupation: 31, Costumer/ArtistFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, AnimatorEngagement Date: July 27, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hummingbird HouseAbout Me: My life is pretty much spent in a sea of fabric, paint, sequins and drama. When I’m not working, I play on a trivia team, take Broadway dance classes, read, buy shoes, and occasionally geek out on video games. I am an American girl who loves all things British and Mr. Waffle is a Brit who loves all things American...I guess it was meant to be!
I can’t believe how close we are. Seriously. When did time decide to go in to super hyper speed? How is it possible that we’re in the teens portion of the countdown?
My goal through this whole process has been to have everything done before the week of the wedding. That way I can relax and enjoy myself instead of feeling “OMG! I’m never going to finish!” So, in order to reach that goal I have been having a full on “Craft-a-thon 2011″ happening at the Waffle house this week and culminating in a huge group craft day with my friends on Sunday. We will get it done!
Luckily, the only crafts left are those pesky ones that can’t be done until that last slow-poke RSVP comes through your mailbox. You know, the ones that hinge on a seating chart.
Our seating for this extravaganza is being assigned by fabric. Once I got the seating chart finished, I was on to the daunting task of stitching swatches to all the escort cards. Read more…
Mrs. Crepe, Queens, NY/Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 28, Jewelry DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Animation DirectorEngagement Date: September 28, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: A church in downtown NashvilleAbout Me: I'm a native New Yorker who has always been a DIY kind of girl and loves tackling creative projects while getting the most out of a dollar. I'm marrying my college sweetheart and we love frequenting antique stores, exploring together, and playing with kittens. We're planning a fun, "us" wedding in his hometown---with as many handmade touches as we can pack into a day!
This was probably my most intense DIY yet but because I had already decided to do it long before any other amount of planning took place, I started super early. An acquaintance of mine, who is also a jewelry designer, had embroidered her table numbers and said this one thing that stuck in my head—if there are details that are important to you, it’s absolutely possible to do them as long as you start early. I kept her advice in mind and was able to get most of it done at this point (about 3 weeks before the wedding).
My suggestion to any of you who have a really ambitious project that seems almost impossible to tackle is: cut corners where you can without sacrificing the project and then work on it a bit every week. For me, it was about an hour a week for these numbers, 10 to 30 minutes at a time. Basically the length of a TV show or until I didn’t feel like doing it anymore.
If you’re familiar with hand sewing, it actually goes by quite quickly! I didn’t use anything I didn’t learn in 8th grade home ec class. Read more…
Mrs. Magic, Chapel Hill, NCAge and Occupation: 30, Licensed Clinical Social WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, ResearcherEngagement Date: December 1, 2009Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Barn at ValhallaAbout Me: I’m a tall drink of water (5’10”!) and a Southern bride with an enormous appetite for Mexican food, good deals, anything French, and all things wedding! By day I am lucky enough to work with individuals with autism and their families. By night, I’m even luckier to be able to spend time hanging out with awesome friends, crafting, shopping, thinking about exercising, and kicking it with Mr. Magic and our two cats. I tend to have sudden, intense cravings that will not be denied (seafood enchiladas! new jeans!) and I’m prone to being a disorganized mess of anxiety and stress. After waiting (and waiting!) to get engaged, I am finally planning the colorful, fun, fabulously awesome Fall wedding of our dreams. In an effort to share the fun and craziness that is wedding planning, I’m gonna blog about it for y’all---the good, the bad, and the pretty!
Me and Martha Stewart are like so totally on the same page. Today she sent me an email (we’re tight like that) all about how you can use buttons in your ceremony. And I was all like “Thanks Martha, but I’m totally one step ahead of you.”
OK, I’m not gonna lie. I think buttons are cute, I guess, but normally I just throw away the extra ones that come with a blouse. Because if I don’t throw them away, they just end up all lonely in their tiny plastic bags, lost in the bottom of some drawer. So now I just toss them, and find solace in the fact that allllllllll the buttons are ending up in the same spot—erm, the landfill.
Hmm. That’s depressing.
Anyway, recently I was literally freaking OUT over napkins. It turned into this big existential crisis where I drank too much red wine, beat my head against the worn couch pillows, and wondered what “it” all meant. “It” being wedding planning, tsunamis, poverty, autism, circuses, Black Swan, hot and cold water molecules, and that whole Elder Wand thing in Harry Potter.
One Google search later for “wedding DIY napkin rings” and I was back to normal and completing perhaps the best, OK, most easiest DIY wedding project EV-ER.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
