A blog dedicated to small and intimate weddings. Step inside for wedding venues, DIY wedding ideas and real weddings with 75 or fewer guests.
It’s time to show off those creative DIY wedding projects you’ve been working on and cash in! Amber over at Do It Yourself Weddings is holding a contest for the best DIY wedding tutorial. What about the loot, you ask? Among the prizes are $100, $75, $50, $25 gift certificates from Amazon.com. Contest ends March 31. While you’re at it, why not enter this DIY wedding contest over at VintageGlam?
Just the other day I was singing the praises of consumable wedding favors. Then I found these Oreo Truffles made with Oreo Cookies. Wouldn’t these make divine DIY wedding favors? Place them in a lovely box with ribbon and presto – your guests will love you. I discovered them on Whismy Love and I’ve been dying to make some of my own. I enjoyed the step-by-step photo tutorial on Whimsy Love (especially the Oreo truffle smile photo). Check it out. The recipe is from Recipeazzar.
All you need is:
1 package of OREOS (Whimsy Love HIGHLY recommends the double stuff mint ones. The truffles made from these are TO DIE FOR, she says.)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb. of milk chocolate
1/2 lb. of white chocolate
Go to Whimsy Love for further directions – and enjoy!
Photo: Whimsy Love
I love this idea. The creative folks at Melangerie used little paper shirts, skirts, socks and pants as an alternative to a traditional guest book. From the Melangerie website:
This alternative wedding guestbook encouraged guests to “air out” the bride and groom’s dirty laundry. Instructions inscribed on a detergent bottle prompted guests to write funny stories about Lindsey & Brad on cards shaped like shirts, pants, socks, etc. Guests then clipped the cards to the “clothesline” which was strung at the reception entryway.
We are currently designing a memory book with these cards so notes from Lindsey & Brad’s guests never fade away.
I discovered Melangerie over at Brooklyn Bride. It’s a New York City based design consultancy that specializes in curating, creating, and presenting custom gifts, memorabilia and event related materials. Check out the company website for some wonderfully unique wedding ideas. (Love the geneaology seating charts!)
Guilt space. We all have it. It might be on a bookcase, a shelf, on top of the fridge or inside a china cabinet. It might be on top of a cupboard, or inside a closet. It’s that designated space where objects that you-don’t-really-want-but-feel-obligated-to keep are gently placed. Usually these are presents given to you by dear friends and relatives. These could be, but are not limited to: knick knacks depicting blonde, blue-eyed children holding puppies or decorative plates with snowy scenes of blonde blue-eyed women skating in fur coats. Or they could be wedding favors like the lucky elephant tea light holder that doesn’t match your décor or the Cinderella carriage wedding place card holder or the smiling Buddha place card holder that holds nothing but dust.
The last thing anyone needs is more guilt space. You don’t need it. Your wedding guests don’t need it. That’s why I am crazy about consumable DIY wedding favors. If you are having a small wedding, why not make cookies, fudge, truffles or homemade jam? You could also buy or make your own handmade soap, lotion, lip balm, bath bombs or candles. Your wedding guests will love you for it.
The last thing Mother Earth (and your guests) need is another knick knack.
Sure, flowers are gorgeous, but they’re not the only way you can dress up your reception tables. Check out these inexpensive centerpiece ideas:
Branches – Arrange branches in a glass vase. Willow branches are ideal. Keep natural or spray silver or gold.
Potted Herbs – Place potted rosemary, lavender or thyme in pretty pots. Decorate pots with ribbon or paint pots to match wedding colors. This is a wonderful eco-friendly wedding idea.
Wheat – Earthy and beautiful. Wheat will look good with any color combination.
Fruit – For a summer outdoor reception, arrange lemons, limes, or clementines in a glass vase. For an autumn wedding use apples, pears (gilded pears look gorgeous) or gourds. For a winter wedding, use pomegranates or cranberries. Easy and inexpensive!
Illuminarias or Paper Lanterns -Use illuminarias or paper lanterns that match your wedding colors. Place several at each table.
Chocolate – Create an edible topiary with chocolate truffles. Give away the centerpieces to your guests at the end of the wedding reception.
Photos #1 illustration: (L-R) Branches, MarthaStewart.com; Wheat, MarthaStewart.com; Rosemary Tree, 1800Flowers.com; Potted Herbs, MarthaStewart.com
Photos #2 illustration: (L-R) Gilded Pear, FoodChannel.com; Lime Centerpiece, RealGreenWeddings.com; Lanterns, MarthaStewart.com, Chocolate Truffle Topiary, Betty Crocker.com.
I will never forget the sight of the laundry room floor the night before my wedding. It was COVERED with flower stems, leaves and petals! In fact, the stark white vinyl flooring was barely visible beneath the greenery. And this was at midnight! My mother, my maid of honour, and I had spent the better part of the evening creating the floral centerpieces for my wedding. Thanks to some beautiful wholesale flowers and my talented mom, they turned out beautifully. (Without my mom’s help we would have be lost amongst the stems and leaves.)
DIY flowers can save you a bundle. But not everyone has a family member or friend adept at floral design. That’s where Real Simple’s Wedding Flowers: How to Create Beautiful Bouquets from Supermarket Flowers comes in. The article provides some great visuals on how to create your own wedding bouquets. Carnations never looked so good! Check it out.
Photos: Real Simple
Fill these wedding favor cones with cinnamon roasted almonds. Or Hershey Kisses. Or Jelly Bellies. Or Lavender Buds. What about rose petals? Fill them with whatever your little heart desires. The cool thing? These free wedding templates from Martha Stewart are easy as pie, and depending on what you fill them with, they can be very inexpensive. Just purchase some crepe paper, ribbon and some colored paper to print out the favor cones.
Move over bridezilla. There’s a new bride in town. She’s turning the big, fat, expensive white wedding on its head. And she’s not letting the gloomy economy get in her way.
She’s a recessionista bride.
A recessionista bride knows how to have a fabulous wedding for only a fraction of the $30,000 that the ‘so-called average’ bride spends.
How?
1. A Small Guest List. A recessionista bride scales back her guest list. She invites only the people who matter to her. If she hasn’t seen her friend Sally Nevercalls in five years, chances are she’s not on the list. And she doesn’t invite people simply out of obligation. (Just because she was invited to her hairdresser’s wedding last year doesn’t mean she has to return the favor.) Co-workers and distant relatives are often left off of the list.
2. DIY. With a few clicks of the mouse, a recessionista bride learns how to make everything from centerpieces for her reception to wedding favours. And if she’s not the crafty type she sources out the projects to friends and family - or she posts her projects on Etsy’s Alchemy - a site that connects buyers with artisans who meet requests for custom items.
3. Haggling. A recessionista bride saves money by negotiating with vendors. She realizes vendors are hungrier for clients than they were last year, and she’s not afraid to ask them for a better price or to throw in a few extras.
4. Flexibility. A recessionista bride knows that Saturday evening is the most sought after timeslot for a wedding – and the most expensive, so she’s willing to have her wedding on a Friday night or Sunday – or even during the week.
5. Second-hand. She scours Craigslist, eBay and Kijiji for gently-used wedding items. If she’s into the vintage look, she’ll check out the wedding dresses on sites such as www.vintageous.com. She also uses Craigslist to seek out photographers, bartenders and other wedding professionals who are willing to work within her budget. (She’s a savvy bride who always checks out references and runs fast if she detects event the slightest hint of unprofessionalism.)
6. Prioritizing. A recessionista bride knows her priorities. She splurges only on the things that really matter to her. If she’s a foodie and a decadent meal is important to her, then she’s willing to cut back on wedding items that made her ‘b’ list. That might mean she uses an iPod instead of a deejay, or prints her own invitations instead of having custom letterpress stationery.
7. Resourcefulness. She makes use of the many talents among her relatives and circle of friends. If her aunt is a piano player, she’ll ask her to play at the wedding ceremony. If her sister-in-law is a graphic designer, she’ll hire her to design the invitations. A recessionista bride realizes that getting her loved ones involved will not only cut costs, it will maker her wedding more meaningful.
You’re hiring a photographer to cover the wedding, but what about all the great shots that your guests are going to take with their digital cameras? There’s a good chance you won’t end up seeing many of the photos that your guests take, and that’s a shame. That’s why I loved reading about the invention of a computer-based kiosk that allows wedding guests to insert their camera memory cards and upload photos on the spot. The New York Times online writes:
“{Rush Hambleton’s} invention is a computer-based kiosk for events like wedding receptions. As guests leave, they are invited to insert their cameras’ memory cards into the device. The kiosk stores the photos on a thumb drive that the bride and groom can take home. (His research showed guests didn’t want all those photos.)
The kiosk, the size of a small cabinet, has been to 11 weddings so far as well as summer camps. The next step is to raise half a million dollars to pay for miniaturizing the kiosk — he wants it small enough to be packed and shipped.
What if you don’t live in New York and have no chance of renting this device? Create your own. That’s what Nikki, who hails from Calgary, Alberta, did at her May 2008 wedding. She and her groom didn’t want any of their guests’ photos getting away, so they set up their laptop at the reception and had Nikki’s aunt man the ‘download station.’
“We set up the laptop near the door at the reception. The hall we rented had a coat check area right at the door with a counter that had the necessary plug ins,” she says. “My aunt took care of the station. She did everything, I just gave her the laptop and card reader (which I bought at Walmart for $25) and she took care of the rest.”
The MC and DJ let guests know about the download station throughtout the evening, reminding them to copy their photos before they left the reception.
The result?
“It was SO worth the effort. I would have missed some amazing shots as well as some group shots of friends. I ended up with close to 700 extra photos. At no cost!,” she says.
Her advice?
“I would highly suggest having someone take care of the station for you, that way you aren’t worried about it. Also, as my aunt loaded photos, she had a slide show rolling for people to watch. There was always at least two people standing around and watching the pictures. It is also so much easier than asking everyone to mail you a CD or trying to track people down to get certain photos of people. I now have enough candids to fill in the parts of the day/night that the photographer missed,” she says
If you are considering a ‘download station’ at your wedding, here’s some other things to keep in mind:
Photo: Anne Ryan, zrweddings.com
Into vintage? What about vintage DIY wedding place cards? They’re super easy to make. I came up with the idea for these name cards when I was leafing through some of the vintage children’s books that I own. I’ve got a super, huge stash of them from resale shops and rummage sales. Some of them are classics that I read to my daughters, but lots of them I simply bought for the illustrations. I knew I could put them to good use.
I used a piece of card stock or book page for the background (4″ x3″) Then I cut out faces from vintage children’s books (the ones that I didn’t want to keep for reading purposes.) I folded the cardstock in half, and glued the faces on the cardstock. I then chose a font that I liked (there are gazillions of cool, free fonts at Dafont.com) typed the names of people I know in Microsoft Word, then printed the names out on white card stock. I then glued the names beside the faces on the cardstock. Easy Peezy!
DIY weddings are all the rage. Brides are getting creative with everything from handmade favors, to stationery, to guest books. Although handmade weddings are growing in popularity, there are plenty of brides who love the handmade touch, but simply don’t have the time for the DIY approach.
If you love handmade items and are also thrilled with the idea of supporting independent artisans and cottage industries, you will love Etsy.com for your intimate wedding.
Etsy is an online venue with 600,000 worldwide members and 100,000 sellers of handmade and vintage items.
“I think there is a movement towards buying handmade and I think the success of Etsy is testament to this — I have watched how the site has grown. It’s pretty crazy,” says Matthew Stinchcomb, New York based vice-president of marketing and communications, pointing out that 12,000 to 15,000 handmade items are sold through the site every day.
Although the site sells everything from paintings to purses, there are many unique items for handmade weddings, including a nice variety of wedding invitations and favors. And the prices are reasonable, considering the items are handcrafted- not cranked out in a factory.
Here are 5 of my favorite wedding items currently on Etsy.com.
Etsy shop Gamiworks. This is a collection of Japanese chiyogami (old-paper) gift tins that are ideal for wedding favors (fill with candies, nuts, or mints). This collection of 10 features an array of paper designs or simply choose your favorite designs from other items to compliment a theme. Each glass topped 2.5oz tin measures 2.8″ w x .9″ high. The price is $22.50 for 10. Discounts on large orders.
Etsy shop Digitalpaperie. Pink, handmade crown tags for wedding favors. This set contains 4 designs for a total of 12 tags. Measure 2 1/2″ across.
Cost per order is $4/set of 12.
Etsy shop Inkylivie. Garden themed wedding invitations in deep pink and chartreuse. Printed on thick textured cardstock, and layered on two pieces of colored cardstock. Can order sample set for $5.
Bridal Shower Favor or Wedding Favor
Etsy shop Nest. This wedding tissue holder is created in ivory shantung with a satin floral ribbon accent, lined in white cotton. It comes with a brand new package of soft tissues. Approximately 3.25″ x 5.6″. Cost $8 each.
Etsy shop Buttonempire. Cute bride and groom buttons for the couple to wear to pre-wedding events. $6 for pair.
Looking for more handmade wedding ideas? Check out the Etsy Wedding Blog
Custom wedding invitations for $100? A custom handmade silk wedding dress from a U.S. designer for $500? A hand-bound wedding guest book for $30?
Too good to be true? Not for a savvy recessionista bride who knows all about Etsy Alchemy.
Alchemy, you say? Isn’t that when mystics turn pennies into golden nuggets? Indeed.
Anyone planning a wedding on a budget, will find that alchemy will turn your hard-earned pennies into golden nuggets of handmade good’ness’. How?
Etsy Alchemy allows buyers (it’s free to join and anyone can become a buyer) to post requests for custom handmade items. Buyers state how much they will pay for their completed project. Sellers bid on the opportunity to create the goods.
Requests for wedding invitations, as well as save-the-dates and thank you cards are among the most popular, but you’ll also find requests for veils and headpieces, as well as wedding dresses, rings, favours and cake toppers.
How does a recessionista bride get in on the pot of gold?
1. Sign up for an Etsy account.
2. Click on the Custom tab at the top of the page.
3. Click add new request.
4. Fill in the required information.
5. Watch for Bids.
6. Accept a bid.
7. Pay the bidder.
8. Wait for the item to be created and shipped.
9. Enjoy!
Easy as wedding pie.
Hungry for more info. Check out the guide.
