Miss Elk, City: Syracuse/Long IslandAge and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Computer EngineerEngagement Date: November 22, 2010Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: The Old Field Club About Me: I’m a Long Island girl finishing my last year of medical school in western NY, on the road to becoming a pediatrician. When I’m not studying or sleeping at the hospital, I spend my free time watching bad TV (Vampire Diaries anyone?), playing with my pooch, singing incredibly off-key (to the annoyance of Mr. Elk ), and reading Harry Potter for the zillionth time. Mr. Elk and I are planning a secular wedding infused with both Irish and cultural Jewish traditions. Only a week after I become an M.D., I will get my Mrs. degree, too!
After taking a little bit of time off to refuel my wedding fire, I am back with a few major projects checked off my list!
A long time ago I decided I would buy canvas tote bags from cheaptotes.com (99 cents each!) to use for out of town bags. They cost about the same as typical gift bags that I have seen used, but are reusable which I really appreciate. I bought about 50 bags a few months ago, and have had them sitting in my living room since then, waiting to be made special. The problem was I couldn’t decide what to put on them.
My original thoughts were to put a design that did not overwhelmingly scream Mr and Mrs Elks wedding, so guests could potentially reuse them if they wanted without our names and wedding date screaming at the world. Since I love bows, that was the first idea that really suck with me, and I found this adorable tote as inspiration:
Mrs. Giraffe, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 23, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student TeacherEngagement Date: October 23, 2008Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country ClubAbout Me: Coming from the suburbs of the Windy City, you'll often find me with my foot in my mouth while laughing for no reason or telling bad knock knock jokes. I've been crafty for as long as I can remember, and will DIY something twice over before I have someone do it for me. I'm a semi-awkward, typeface obsessed, design junkie and have been know to break out my dance moves for no reason as well as try my best to be ridiculous at all times. My love of pop culture, wordplay, and graph paper almost rivals my love of Mr. Giraffe (who is just the bee's knees). After a 2.5 year engagement, we're planning a modern-in-disguise traditional wedding, and cannot wait!
You guys, I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to think up a favor for our guests. Like, a serious amount of time that could have probably been spent doing other things that were more important. In hindsight, I had no reason to stress about the favors. Our photo booth photos could have been our favor, as well as our sweets table, but I just really wanted something fun at each seat to show our guests how much we appreciated having them with us!
Since I thought so long about it, I feel like it’s only fair to share some of those options as well as the big winner. The runners up were…
Hershey’s Kisses in springtime colors to match our wedding colors, which were baby blue and sage green and chocolate (get it?!) brown (but obviously I’d eat all the pink ones to keep them in our color scheme).
Miss Turkey, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 29, Brand ManagementFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, ConsultantEngagement Date: February 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: The Rittenhouse HotelAbout Me: I'm a marketer who loves a good glass of wine, anything pumpkin-flavored, every crime drama on TV and, of course, Mr. Turkey. It's funny to say out loud, but we're former coworkers turned betrothed---now planning a wedding in the city of Brotherly Love. For three years, we've been eating our way through Philadelphia, playing tourist at home, and cheering for every sports team in the 215. Although we've hit some unplanned snags along the way, we're determined to have a rocking party this spring with our loud, fun families and friends.
Yes, I know we’re throwing a great big rocking party for our wedding guests and that should be enough. However, with a 6:30PM ceremony our out of town guests, even those that arrive Saturday morning, will have a decent amount of time to spare. What ever will they do to keep busy?
To help our guests use their free time wisely, Mr. Turkey and I spent this weekend creating a section on our wedding website entitled “What to do in Philly”. We took this pretty seriously, as we always enjoy exploring when at an out of town wedding and haven’t always found a lot of help prior to our trips.
Miss Fox, Washington DC/Havre de Grace, MDAge and Occupation: 26, Massage TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Field Support EngineerEngagement Date: April 18, 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m a dancer turned massage therapist who was born and raised in New York. Alas, true love has brought me “south” where I still maintain my penchants for pretty shoes, wine, crossword puzzles, cherry blossoms, and the Mets. I own more sunglasses than a normal person should and don’t eat red meat (though I make up for it by eating my weight in sushi). I tend to be a big planner who likes to get things started early, but generally end up being indecisive and procrastinating when it comes down to it. I have a (not so) secret crush on Chris Carrabba, but my loyalty and love ultimately goes to the future hubs, of course! Together, my Foxy man and I love to discuss (read: debate) politics and current events, have Mario Kart and Scrabble duels, and just laugh. A lot. We’re hoping and planning for a laid back, fun, summery, rustic vibe to our June wedding that will be genuinely “us” – that is, if we finally make some decisions. Huzzah!
Remember my newfound love affair with ribbons? Ribbon chandeliers, chair ribbons, ribbons on bouquets, ribbon backdrops…ugh, it’s all just so. good. Ribbon-tastic, if you will. Some of you were awesome enough to point out that I didn’t mention ribbon wands—how silly of me to forget those! They’re fun, festive, and make for fabulous photo ops.
Miss Petit Four, San Antonio/Isla MujeresAge and Occupation: 25, Technology teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Math Teacher and Football CoachEngagement Date: Feb 13, 2010Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Zama Beach Club, Isla Mujeres, MexicoAbout Me: I am a polka-dot obsessed, destination wedding diva living and loving in the great state of Texas. I am an island girl at heart and I visit the beach as often as I can. I am a wannabe DIY goddess, but that doesn’t mean I won’t give it my best shot. I love pearl earrings, the color pink, and ruffles are a part of my everyday wardrobe. My wonderful fiance and I are planning a destination wedding with our closest family and friends and we’re leaving a trail of glitter in our path!
Or Out-Of-Town bags if you’re not hip with the wedding lingo yet.
I decided a long time ago that we would do OOT bags for our guests, since they are going to be traveling so far to come and see us. We want them to be as comfy as possible and not have to worry about little things that they may have forgotten at home.
I bought these tote bags last summer from Dollar Tree and literally drove around to every DT store and cleaned them out. Our OOT bags are going to be pretty practical, but we hope our guests still enjoy them!
Mrs. Sunhat, Dyer, IN Age and Occupation: 32, Tax AccountantFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Landscape ForemanEngagement Date: September 25, 2010Wedding Date: December 2011Venues: St. Andrew the Apostle, Fiesta PalaceAbout Me: I'm a Midwest girl who grew up in the country and now works in the big city! I love cooking, entertaining, reading (addicted to my Kindle) and going to the movies. I don't miss an episode of Hoarders and I start cleaning every time I watch! My profession doesn't call for much creativity so wedding planning has been a great outlet. Mr. Sunhat and I met online three years ago, cheer for rival MLB teams and share a home with our dog, Wrigley. We are planning a traditional, Polish, Catholic wedding with lots of DIY elements and some fun surprises. I'm so excited to be married on New Year's Eve and we can't wait to ring in the new year as husband and wife!
The Wednesday before the wedding, MOB, my sister, and I executed a last-minute favor project.
Long before the days of Pinterest, I ran across an idea for a fortune cookie wedding favor. I liked the symbolism of receiving a fortune at the start of a new year. I saved the idea in one of my umpteen wedding spreadsheets and moved on. Fast forward to when I actually needed to reference it and it was nowhere to be found. I tried to search for it again but never quite found the right post. Oh well—time to wing it!
MOB called her local Chinese restaurant and I stopped in to pick up a box of 200 fortune cookies for $16. I bought some Baker’s chocolate from the grocery store and treat bags from Jo-Ann and we were ready to roll.
Miss Dalmatian, Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 23, Pediatric NurseFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Computer Engineer and Entrepreneur Engagement Date: April 13, 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: Historic CedarwoodAbout Me: I am a Northern girl from Chicago who is planning a wedding filled with Southern charm in Nashville, Tennessee. I love dogs, the White Sox, Full House reruns, and anything with ruffles on it. Mr. Dalmatian is my computer-genius problem-solving fiance who is constantly teaching me new things and making me a better person. We live with our adopted pup Echo, who is very excited that his parents are getting married!
In case you missed it, my current topic of interest is the wonderful world of sweets at weddings, and what the Dalmatians can offer that will be fun, unique, and tasty (while still meeting that pesky criterion of not breaking the bank). While I had begrudgingly let the frozen yogurt bar idea go, I was still hanging on to a desire to incorporate something ice cream related. Then, as luck (or endless internet searching) would have it, I came across something that not only met but exceeded all of my sweet dreams!
That’s right, an ice cream sandwich cart! As I read through their mouth-watering menu and scrolled through their adorable pictures, I was ready to enthusiastically jump aboard the Sugar Wagon!
Mrs. Mole, Los Angeles/Las VegasAge and Occupation: 29, Test Prep InstructorFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, User Experience ArchitectEngagement Date: April 2011Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Wynn Las Vegas/Bouchon BistroAbout Me: I’m a Wisconsinite-turned-Angeleno who is planning a destination wedding in Las Vegas. I am passionate about education: I spent 23 (!) consecutive years in school, and now I work to help other people get into graduate programs. I love running on the treadmill, buying bath products from Lush, learning new moves in step aerobics, and exploring my neighborhood on foot. I am sometimes snobby about food, but I am rarely snobby about books. I read everything from Geoffrey Chaucer to Iris Murdoch to Chuck Klosterman to Candace Bushnell. My fiance and I are getting married on our third anniversary!
Last time I posted about wedding favors, I was pretty stuck on what to give our guests in Milwaukee. The hive gave me a lot of good suggestions—but I have to admit that I ignored them all. Now, it wasn’t because I didn’t appreciate the help; I very much did (and still do). I just got too lazy. Way, way too lazy.
Of course, with our wedding less than four weeks away, now is not the ideal time for my motivation to tank. We still need to make our programs and signage; to arrange our seating charts; to create a photo slideshow; to put together an iPod mix for the reception; to finish gifts for our parents and friends; to sew new pearl buttons on my cardigan shrug; to re-dip my engagement ring; to write our vows; etc. All of these little—and not so little—things are adding up.
So we needed the favors to be something good—but also something incredibly quick and easy to put together. I ordered from Amazon five dozen Chocolove raspberry chocolate bars. They arrived within two days, thanks to Prime shipping. A box of moo mini-cards, a roll of Divine Twine, and an hour later, we had our favors. Ta-da.
Miss Aardvark, Beaver Dam, WIAge and Occupation: 23, Assistant Product ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Business Analyst Engagement Date: May 28th, 2011Wedding Date: April 2012Venue: St. Philip Catholic Church/Arcadia Brewing Co.About Me: I am a resourceful lady who love surprises and adventure. At the same time, I value traditions, family and friends. I like to make crafty messes, sometimes, clean them up, and do pretty much anything outdoors. The Mister and I are pretty avid cyclists---we have nine bikes in our home right now...and one motorcycle! We both enjoy eating food we can't pronounce (language doesn't really matter) and going places we've never been. We currently reside in rural Wisconsin, enjoying the cheese and beer it has to offer, and getting outside whenever we can!
Oh my goodness. Hive, I am no stranger to chocolate. There are so many delicious forms and shapes it comes in. One of my favorites is the chocolate truffle. I had always assumed that there was some secret magic Voodoo behind these bite-sized delights. I got a wild hair and decided I needed to attempt to make some and was THRILLED to find out how easy they are!
While we are not including them in our wedding menu, I think they are perfect for any elegant affair (or casual affair, or lunch in the office, for that matter). You can bet, at some point I will be a hero when I show up with a box of these to a party!
Now, because sharing is caring, and I care about the hive a whole lot, I am going to share my process for making these bad boys. Read more…
Miss Dalmatian, Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 23, Pediatric NurseFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Computer Engineer and Entrepreneur Engagement Date: April 13, 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: Historic CedarwoodAbout Me: I am a Northern girl from Chicago who is planning a wedding filled with Southern charm in Nashville, Tennessee. I love dogs, the White Sox, Full House reruns, and anything with ruffles on it. Mr. Dalmatian is my computer-genius problem-solving fiance who is constantly teaching me new things and making me a better person. We live with our adopted pup Echo, who is very excited that his parents are getting married!
I’ll go ahead and be captain obvious here and comment on the fact that it has become quite popular to do a little something extra when it comes to sweets at weddings. In addition to traditional (or not so traditional) wedding cakes, brides and grooms love providing their guests access to extra dessert. An awesome trend if you ask me—I mean really, you can’t go wrong with extra dessert!
Miss Doe, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 24, Real Estate AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Recycling ManagerEngagement Date: December 25, 2010Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: Monte Verde InnAbout Me: I’m a Rat Pack fan and a Christmas nut that loves to read, good wine, cheesy ’80s movies and ’90s sitcoms. My wiener dog with an attitude problem and lazy basset hound are my constant source of entertainment. He's a hunter and I like cooking so it's not rare to see wild game on our dinner menu. Both of us were born and raised in a small historic farming town where our feet are still firmly planted. We have been together for nearly a decade and have shared many life experiences together, including birthdays that are only one day apart. We are two old souls that are creating our long-awaited wedding with loads of tradition that blends our two styles into rustic elegance in the foothills of Northern California.
Our wedding favors were one of the first decisions we made in planning the wedding. We both fully agreed and loved this idea. Before I reveal it though, I need to say this.
Miss Doe, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 24, Real Estate AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Recycling ManagerEngagement Date: December 25, 2010Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: Monte Verde InnAbout Me: I’m a Rat Pack fan and a Christmas nut that loves to read, good wine, cheesy ’80s movies and ’90s sitcoms. My wiener dog with an attitude problem and lazy basset hound are my constant source of entertainment. He's a hunter and I like cooking so it's not rare to see wild game on our dinner menu. Both of us were born and raised in a small historic farming town where our feet are still firmly planted. We have been together for nearly a decade and have shared many life experiences together, including birthdays that are only one day apart. We are two old souls that are creating our long-awaited wedding with loads of tradition that blends our two styles into rustic elegance in the foothills of Northern California.
So, what’s the deal with favors? I have to say, some of the strangest criticisms I hear about weddings is about the favors. I’ve heard the following far too many times: “I can’t believe they gave us (fill in blank.)”
Excuse me, but do you go to the wedding for the favor? No, most likely you do not. At least I am hoping you don’t. So again I ask, what’s up with favors?
I feel like far too many people put too much concern and worry into the favors. The fact of the matter is, most favors cost anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars. Most likely you are not going to have some outrageous favor to present to your guests. If you do, then hey, that’s awesome! Where I come from though…that just doesn’t really happen.
Your guests know this! I personally have never gone to a wedding expecting some type of incredible favor. Read more…
Miss Doily, Cedar Rapids, IowaAge and Occupation: 25, Autism Paraeducator/ StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer/ PublisherEngagement Date: August 27th, 2010Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Father’s Vineyard Church/ A Touch of Class Banquet CenterAbout Me: I’m an Iowan girl with a deep love of Harry Potter, classic movies, cardigans, and Post-Its. My type-A Virgo tendencies often cause me to drive my laid-back college sweetheart fiance batty with lists and PowerPoint presentations. I love to be crafty and do things myself, which explains why my two crazy kittens often will prance around the house covered in glitter and ribbons. When I am not bogged down with work, school, or wedding planning, I like to travel to visit my expansive family and have wild adventures with my best friends. After a rollercoaster ride of a love story, I’m ready to take that final plunge, marry the love of my life, and become a Mrs.!
Favors pretty much always look the same around my neck of the woods. It’s some type of candy wrapped up in some kind of fabric. It’s a great choice, but it’s just not us. So I started to do some soul-searching as to what I wanted our favor to be.
Mr. D voted for something practical (this is coming from the man who once bought me a comforter for my birthday!). When I asked him to elaborate he said maybe we could do bottle openers or beer coozies. Yes, I come from a population of perdy hard beer drinkers so Mr. D wanted to help them open them or keep them cool. I wasn’t so down with that. I mean these are cute and all:
Then I started considering something eco-friendly. Read more…
Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
Mr. Unicycle had a good laugh when he saw “Moo Cards” on our wedding to-do list, but Vistaprint got the last laugh because I ended up just ordering 250 business cards through them FO’ FREE. Let me back up. I’d seenseveralotherbees use mini Moo cards featuring engagement pics that direct guests to a public Flickr account where they can share pictures they take at their wedding. I love this idea because I know I’ll be waiting on pins and needles for our pro pics to come back, so having guest photos all in one place = winning.
My first step was to create a Flickr account. I ended up first creating a Yahoo account, since Flickr is through Yahoo. I didn’t want to go through my existing Yahoo account because then I’d have to give guests my real password. And it’s kind of an embarrassing password. It involves a certain man with Jheri curls. We debated whether to upgrade to a pro account or not and eventually decided…(drum roll please)…to wait until we get closer to the wedding to actually make a decision. Then I dabbled in Picnik for the first time ever and came up with an overly cutesy design:
Miss Turkey, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 29, Brand ManagementFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, ConsultantEngagement Date: February 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: The Rittenhouse HotelAbout Me: I'm a marketer who loves a good glass of wine, anything pumpkin-flavored, every crime drama on TV and, of course, Mr. Turkey. It's funny to say out loud, but we're former coworkers turned betrothed---now planning a wedding in the city of Brotherly Love. For three years, we've been eating our way through Philadelphia, playing tourist at home, and cheering for every sports team in the 215. Although we've hit some unplanned snags along the way, we're determined to have a rocking party this spring with our loud, fun families and friends.
Here’s another chance to impart my wedding-guest “wisdom.”
As a bridesmaid in a recent wedding, I took on the job of making water-bottle labels for the bachelorette weekend (gotta hydrate after days at the beach and nights on the town!).
I know this is very much “in vogue” right now, so I figured it couldn’t be that hard. I started with some Googling.
Can anyone tell me what a water bottle lanyard is?
Though I expect to be wrong more often than right when judging the simplicity of DIY projects, this time I was correct. Now, a lot of the credit is owed to the site I used to purchase labels, which was OnlineLabels.com. This tutorial is going to focus mainly on using their tools and services, but I’ve also listed specifics that might help if you use a different site for purchasing.
Hershey’s Pastel Kisses via Oriental Trading (Great prices there!)
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
