Ever since the royal wedding, nude, cream colored, and white bridesmaid dresses have been popping up everywhere. If you’re comfortable with your bridesmaids wearing the same color as you, you’ll see that you have several different options.

I love it when bridesmaid dresses have a Grecian feel, where it almost looks like the bridesmaids are attending to royalty.

I also like the look of having the bride in a full length gown while her bridesmaids wear cocktail or tea length dresses. To me, this differentiates the bride from the bridesmaids more clearly.

Nude, or blush colored dresses are also popular. These colors can be more flattering to some skin tones as well. I think this look can be incredibly ethereal.

As always, I love any takes on a trend done with vintage. These vintage light colored bridesmaids dresses are stunning.

Another unique idea is to have the bridesmaids all be white and the bride’s dress be another color. This way you still very much know who the bride is, but it takes a modern spin on it.

Would you choose to have your bridesmaids match you in white, or would you opt for nude or blush colored dresses instead? This is a look that can be done with matching dresses, vintage ones, mix and match styles or lengths. You could even have an alternative colored gown yourself so that your gown pops against your neutral colored bridesmaids’ dresses.

Image One: stylemepretty.com; Image Two: stylemepretty.com; Image Three: stylemepretty.com; Image Four: stylemepretty.com; Image Five: greenweddingshoes.com; Image Six: stylemepretty.com; Image Seven: stylemepretty.com/california; Image Eight: stylemepretty.com; Image Nine: greenweddingshoes.com; Image Ten: stylemepretty.com

Love the idea of a barn wedding? Looking for barn wedding decor ideas? We’ve got ’em!

The barn wedding trend looks like it’s got staying power and will definitely be hotter than ever in 2012. In fact, barn wedding venues are cropping up all over the US and Canada, which is great news for couples pining for a rustic wedding.

There are many different styles of barn weddings, from all-out elegance to simple, country chic.

Here are some barn wedding decor ideas that will go a long way in creating an inviting space:

1. Light Strands – Lots of them! This will help to create instant ambiance and make the barn radiant and enchanting. Barns generally don’t have the greatest lighting – but strands of lights hung about your dining area will make a huge impact. Buy them right after Christmas at a good price.

2. Candles – Everywhere! Again, this will help to light up your space and add a romantic glow. Just be mindful that your barn wedding venue is made of wood! Use open flames with caution.

3. Burlap – Burlap table runners look great at a barn wedding – and burlap is an excellent choice for brides on a budget. (Check out these gorgeous DIY wedding programs made from burlap.)

4. Buntings – Buntings are a great way to add colours and patterns to an earthy backdrop. (If you are looking for handmade buntings, come and visit our handmade buntings shop!)

5. Chalkboards – Chalkboards are a great fit for barn weddings as menu boards or even seating charts. You can make your own chalkboard signs with this DIY chalkboard tutorial.

6. Glass – Bottles in various colors and shapes make for superb barn wedding centerpieces. You can also fill them with flowers and suspend them with string from the ceiling. And even though they are EVERYWHERE, I still love mason jars.

7. Tins – Vintage tin cans and watering cans add a rustic vibe to your table decor.

8. Ribbon– Ribbon will add pops of color to the earthy, rustic tones inside a barn. The soft, flowing quality of ribbon fits in nicely in a barn setting.

9. Drapery – Drapery can be hung from the ceiling or at the entranceway. How inviting!

10. Chandelier – A chandelier adds instant elegance to a space and is one of the most transformative barn wedding elements.

Photo One: California Winery Real Wedding; Photo Two: Tennessee Barn Real Wedding; Photo Three: Style Me Pretty; Photo Four: Tumblr; Photo Five: IW; Photo Six: IW; Photo Seven: IW; Photo Eight: IW; Photo Nine: Craftberry Bush; Photo Ten: Intimate Weddings; Photo Eleven: Intimate Weddings; Photo Twelve: Blissfully Domestic; Photo Thirteen: Martha Stewart Weddings; Photo Fourteen: Style Me Pretty

Now that you’ve made glass magnets to give as DIY wedding favors, here’s a tutorial on how to package them!

You will need:

• Cellophane treat bags (mine were 3 3/4″ x 6″)
• vintage children’s book
• card stock
• a canning jar lid
• Adhesive Photo Squares
• stapler

Cut out two pieces of card stock to fit inside your treat bag.

Using adhesive photo squares to adhere canning jar lid to the inside of one of your pieces of card stock. You can also use steel washers if you don’t have any canning jar lids. (Don’t worry – they will be hidden!)

Place your other piece of card stock on top of the canning jar lid so that it is hidden.

Place four glass magnets onto the card stock. The lid beneath the card stock is magnetic, so the glass magnets will stay in place. Brilliant, huh?

Slide the pieces of card stock into your cellophane bag.

Using a page from a children’s book, cut out a rectangle to fit the top of your bag. Fold in half lengthwise.

Fold cellophane about an inch from the top. Staple illustration to top.

There you have it. Super cool DIY wedding favors for mere pennies!

Glass magnets cost pennies to create – and they make adorable DIY wedding favors.

When I found out that you could make these with the plain ol’ flat bottomed clear glass gems that you can find at the dollar store, I got really excited. I had three bags of these babies sitting around. I had no idea what I was going to do with them – that is until I discovered glass magnets! I also happen to have heaps of vintage kids books in my art room, so I had no problem finding cute illustrations to use. If you don’t have any vintage children’s books, you can use just about any type of paper with an image or pattern that you like. I’ve seen some beautiful glass magnets made with origami paper and scrapbooking paper.

Here’s the lowdown on what you need for DIY glass magnets:

• bag of clear glass gems (mine were 2cm, but you can use larger ones if you want)
• Circle Craft Punch, 5/8-inch (use a larger punch if you are using larger glass gems)
• illustrations
• small, round magnets
• Mod Podge
• E6000 Multi-purpose Adhesive

Punch desired illustration.

Use Mod Podge to glue your punch-out onto the flat side of your clear glass gem. Once glued, add some Mod Podge to the back as well.

If you are using thin paper, punch out a plain piece of white paper and glue on top of illustration. That way you won’t be able to see the magnet through the glass. Use E6000 Multi-purpose Adhesive
to glue magnet to the back of the glass gem. (I used a toothpick to spread the glue.)

Let glass magnets dry overnight before packaging as wedding favors.

Here they are in action:

Come back tomorrow for packaging ideas!

Scrabble tiles are a great way to add detailing to any areas you want to have more visual interest. Whether you use them to spell out a message, as table numbers or an alternative to a sign, Scrabble tiles are perfect for adding a fun or vintage element instead of just stamping or signs.

Using Scrabble tiles among an eclectic mix of other knick-knacks against neutral paper makes for stylish and unique escort cards. Collecting all of these pieces would be half the fun! Vintage Scrabble tiles can be found online, corks can be collected while in the planning process, and flea markets are a great place to find quirky game tokens and other pieces that would be great for this look.

The tiles also make great place seating signs. If you collected enough you could even have all of the bridal party’s names spelled out on the head table.

The tiles are also a fun alternative to small signs you may need to use around the reception area. Guest book sign-in areas, additional head table decor or just for sweet sayings you want to display.

Making small table number signs from the tiles is another cute idea.

Scrabble tiles make nice accessories in wedding or engagement photos as well.

You can even make gifts for your wedding party using Scrabble tiles. Check out this DIY Scrabble tile coaster tutorial.

Scrabble tiles are affordable and incredibly easy to use. Instead of having to hire a calligrapher you can simply glue them together to make small signs or instructions for different reception areas. Vintage Scrabble tiles will have more of an aged wood look to them, new tiles will be more plastic looking and brighter. Garage sales are a great place to stock up on old Scrabble board games to start collecting the tiles or trays (which can be used as bases for the signs).

Image One: greenweddingshoes.com; Image Two: 100layercake.com; Image Three: flickr.com; Image Four: weddingdiaries.com; Image Five: my-wedding-concierge.com; Image Six: labellebride.com; Image Seven: enchanteddreamweddings.com; Image Eight: d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net; Image Nine: kandsphotography.net; Image Ten: ruffledblog.com; Image Eleven: blog.duetevents.com; Image Twelve: theknow.com.au; Image Thirteen: greenweddingshoes.com; Image Fourteen: pocketfulodreams.co.uk; Image Fifteen: inspiredbythis.com; Image Sixteen: grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com: Image Seventeen: IntimateWeddings.com

Rebekah owns the event design company A & B Creative. Read Rebekah’s blog.