I’ve been on a bit of vintage fabric buying bender the past year, and I’m always looking for DIY wedding ideas to put my stash to good use. I stumbled on a few of torn fabric garlands on Etsy and fell in love. They are easy to make – but time-consuming. If you are making uber-long ones to hang at a barn wedding, my advice is to gather your maids and get all hands on deck, er, rope and work on it together. It’s pretty mindless work (you can chit-chat while you are doing it), so it would actually be a fun project to share with your maids over margaritas. Instead of a ‘Stitch and Bitch’ you could call it a ‘Tie One On” party:)

You will need:

• rope in desired thickness (I used 1cm thick rope)
• fabric
• scissors

Gather your vintage fabric and make cuts at the edge it about 2 inches apart. I like the rustic chic look, so my scraps are not all the same width or length.

Are you looking for a unique wedding venue for your small wedding? What about a 120-year old one-room schoolhouse that has been beautifully transformed into a full-service boutique venue?

With its high ceiling, gleaming hardwood and marble floors and beautifully restored exterior, At the Schoolhouse in Ottawa, Ontario marries chic design with historic charm.

The beautiful open space has a 20 foot high ceiling and 8 foot high windows that flood the space with gorgeous natural light. The second floor mezzanine  has a private area getting ready prior to the ceremony.  The venue is beautifully decorated and does not require any additional décor however; you may add upgrades for your wedding ceremony.

If you prefer an outdoor wedding, At the Schoolhouse has a garden with approximately 2500 square feet of interlocked space. The aisle is flanked with roses and foliage that reaches a pergola, all under a canopy of leaves.

Experienced and professional staff at the venue will provide you with peace of mind, knowing the details of your wedding  are being handled, so you can enjoy being the guests of honour on your  day.

Photo Two/Three: Melanie Rebane ; Photo Four and Five: At the Schoolhouse

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Don’t have $26,000 for the so-called ‘average’ wedding? Don’t have even half of that? Then don’t be average!

You can pull off a dazzling, unforgettable, meaningful event with awesome wedding photos to prove it – for only $5,000. An event that is just as stylin’ as any big buck wedding. The key? Go small. Don’t believe me? Here are a fourteen $5,000  and under real intimate weddings that will inspire you to be far from average.

Cara and Ken’s Manitoba cabin wedding. Cost: $5,000

Amanda and Tyler’s $3,000 Florida beach wedding.

Jessica and Paul’s $5,000 NJ inn wedding.

Sibriena and Doug’s stunning Austin, Texas wedding for $4,700!

Kristen and Matthew’s  $3,500 Napa Valley elopement.

Kelly and Steve’s $5,000 Austin wedding.

Elisabeth and Jeshua’s Oregon Lake wedding.

Karie and Marcus’ Texas elopement. The cost? $2,675.

Anne and Jim’s MN cabin wedding for $5,000.

Daniel and Kellie’s $3,000 Colorado elopement.

Erika and Christopher’s $1,200 New Orleans wedding.

Sean and Sarah’s $1,000 wedding in WA.

Shannon and Damien’s historic Houston chapel wedding for $3,000.

Rachel and Sky’s Big Sur forest wedding for $3,300.

Want to see more? Check out these real weddings.

The role of the flower girl has been documented since Ancient Rome, but its thought that they’ve been part of weddings since day one.

Early on, flower girls would walk down the aisle carrying sheaves of wheat and tossing herbs to promote fertility. Through their evolution they also carried garlic, a bride’s cup and snips of rosemary. In the Victorian Era they began carrying baskets of flowers or wearing flowered crowns (which mirrored the shape of the wedding rings). Today flower girls are just as unique as the bride’s wedding day style.

Flower girl fashion can vary widely, but they are still typically dressed in tones similar to the brides or bridesmaids dresses. Often dresses and shoes are white or in pastel or pale palettes.

If your wedding style is vintage influenced and your looking for dresses that are reflective of that look, you can look in vintage shops as well as online (Etsy and Ebay are always great sources) for dresses that fit the look you’re going for. Remember, if you fall in love with an adult sized dress that is perfect you can also have it tailored to fit your flower girl.

Just like brides, flower girls can have fun with their accessories. Hair adornments and wreathes are sweet details that work for weddings with bohemian looks to formal affairs.

Here is a beautiful basket that is not only filled with flowers but has also been adorned with them to create an ethereal look and feel. Another vessel that could be used as a basket is this clever idea for using a vintage tea kettle.

Flower girls don’t have to just carry baskets anymore, this idea of using ribbon wands is a fun and Mid-Summer Night reminiscent look turning the flower girls into sweet fairies.

Another fairy, or ethereal look for your flower girl could be adding wings. I prefer the look of wings to be more natural, like an angel, as opposed to looking like it’s a Halloween costume. I absolutely love these flower girl wings that were made from pampas grass (these plants also come in pink, how adorable would that be?!) she really does look like a little angel.

One of my favorite flower girl basket alternatives is flower girls holding signs. I’m a big fan of text and I love the messages that these girls carry. This is great if you want to have more than one flower girl too.

While flower girl fashion and accessories can range from any style you choose, their symbolism remains the same since their invention. The flower girl (or girls) are supposed to represent who the bride was growing up and her journey from child to woman now as she becomes a wife.

Image One: nellystella.com; Image Two: inspiredbride.net; Image Three: greentreephotography.net; Image Four: marthastewartweddings.com; Image Five: marthastewartweddings.com; Image Six: stylemepretty.com; Image Seven: stylemepretty.com/texas-weddings; Image Eight: stylemepretty.com; Image Nine: greenweddingshoes.com; Image Ten: merrimentevents.com; Image Eleven: bios.weddingbee.com; Images Twelve and Thirteen: greenweddingshoes.com; Image Fourteen: theloveliestday.com; Image Fifteen: 100layercake.com; Image Sixteen: loveandlavendar.com; Image Seventeen: emmalinebride.com

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

Fire + ice. Nothing brings the two together more beautifully than ice candles.

Ice candles add a magical element to a winter wedding. Line walkways, driveways or use them at the entrance of your venue. They are easy to make – and they cost next to NOTHING (assuming you have some tea lights kicking around the house.)

(If you like these, check out our ice shot glasses tutorial.)

Ice Candles Tutorial

You will need:

• plastic containers in two different sizes (I used 2L and 1.5 L ice cream and yogurt containers)
• rocks
• water
• duct tape
• tea lights

Add rocks to smaller plastic container for weight. Fill large container 2/3 full of cold water. Place smaller, rock-filled container into large container. Use duct tape to hold it in place. Make sure you don’t press the smaller container all the way to the bottom. You will want some room at the bottom, as this will be the base for your candle.

Place in freezer overnight. Remove from freezer.

Fill inside container with cold water. This should be enough to release it from the ice.

Run cold water on the outside of the larger container. Do not use hot water or the ice will crack! (I speak from experience.) That’s it!! Now, just add a tea light.

So pretty!