TopWeddings.com's Blog

It's not often that I write a blog post about another blog however I have come across TopWeddings.com's Blog which was not a part of my original list of "The Best Wedding DIY Sites!" but will definitely be added after seeing all of the helpful information for brides and groom-to-be :)

Riki Bynes is the author of TopWeddings.com's Blog and covers everything from the latest wedding trends to ideas on how to hold a fabulous wedding on a budget. There is a variety of categories to find helpful wedding planning information in; Riki Bynes writes a lengthy, detailed blog post each week covering a variety of topics, such as:

Bridal Shower
Ceremony
Etiquette
Favors
Guides
Humorous
Ideas
Preparation
Tips
Trends
Videos

While you are checking out this awesome blog head over to Top Weddings' online shop for wedding favours, decorations, and gifts. Happy Planning!!

The little details...

One of the best things about a DIY Wedding is all the little details that make your wedding day personal and infused with both the Bride and Groom's personalities. After getting all of the major planning out of the way like where the wedding will take place, who will stand with you, and the vows to say "I Do", you can now start focusing on tying everything together with personal touches. Sometimes this is the most daunting task for Brides so here is a little help to get your creative ideas flowing. Depending on your level of craftiness you can choose one of three options when bringing together all of the details for your DIY Wedding... or a combination of each!


Option #1 The "I only need a little inspiration" Bride

This option is for the DIY Bride who has all the latest gadgets, craft supplies, jars of buttons, rolls of ribbon, and even a stamp or two. You watch t.v, read magazines, and automatically want to create something because you know you can. You will likely be the type of Bride who makes everything yourself (occasionally recruiting a few of your friends by inviting them for snacks and wine, and then surprise... we are making wedding favours!). Been there, done that! So if all you need is a little inspiration, inspiration is what you will get...

Check out these websites:

First of all, you have come to the right place (enter modest plug here ---> Everything Wedding DIY). Feel free to browse this blog for DIY Wedding ideas :)

    



















<--------- DIY Flower Girl Baskets

                                                                          DIY Vintage Brooch Bouquet
                                                              (Click the image to go directly to this How-To)

                                     
                                                                             DIY Natural Boutonnieres
                                                              (Click the image to go directly to this How-To)

  

DIY Ring Pillow from ----> Scrap Material















DIY Bird Cage Veil & Facinator

                                                                            DIY Birdie Cake Topper


Another adorable blog I just happened to stumble upon is this one, full of wedding inspiration! Wedding Obsessed, check out some of the adorable DIY ideas I found on the first 5 pages... I will definately be spending more time on this one scoping out ideas for my sister-in-law's upcoming wedding.

     <--- DIY 
    Vintage 
    Hair Pin

                                                                    DIY Earthy Outdoor ------->
                                                                           Place Settings

                               Handmade Bride and Groom Seat Markers and Dried Flower Place Settings

Here are some other really great websites full of inspiration:
Style Me Pretty
Offbeat Bride
Intimate Weddings

Option #2 The "I'm crafty, but not that crafty" Bride

This option is for the DIY Bride who has some skills such as being able to use a glue gun and some sparkle, and tying a pretty bow or two but when it comes to having all of the supplies you are lacking. Fear not, there are places you can go for this... you don't always have to pick up every crafting tool just to DIY some of your wedding details especially if you don't plan on picking up a fancy paper punch or spool of ribbon again. First of all use the above websites, magazines, and wedding Youtube videos for inspiration, plan out your projects, and then make a list of the items you will need to start creating. There is always somewhere to go where someone else has done half of the work for you, saving you time and in many cases money (since you don't have to go out and buy tools you will never use again).

Check out Simple Paper Indulgences' Shop:

This shop is a great start to begin browsing material to use in your DIY Wedding details. Jo is the shop owner and has a great story to share about how her shop got started...

My example in life were/are my parents and step parent. All three of these people were amazing self made business people, working hard to make ends meet and aiming for being debt free. My mom and dad both immigrated from Holland way back in 1949 when they were 5 years old to meet later in life in western Canada. As a child I saw them start and make a go of their own business all the while having "home" as the priority. After my dad's passing, my mom remarried another wonderful man who had the same values of home and family who also ran his own business. Now as an adult, who home schools our two children, I have a lot of opportunity to find inspiration in the things that have always been important, the preciousness of time and family, and frugal living. Out of that was born my craft, salvaging fine papers from amazing vintage books and other sources, and also finding new sources for paper that still holds a high standard of quality that is not so common in today's mass produced world.

I think what I have to offer the DIY bride is the ability to get some unusual handmade supplies that they can then add their own touches to, or put together in their own creative way. I've sold to many brides and gotten pictures back from them for how they've used my items and their creativity for stunning place cards, table centerpieces, guest favors, invitations and more.

My top 3 item pics,
www.etsy.com/listing/84350580/diy-wedding-supplies-kraft-paper-sticker
www.etsy.com/listing/64620752/personalized-kraft-hang-tags-made-to
www.etsy.com/listing/87512163/25-primary-color-cardstock-die-cuts-tag

Here are some others, just click the image to go straight to the listing:

Here are some other really great shops and sites:
East Coast Bride
SANPEDRO CACTUS
Simply Sassy Source
The Front Porch
Sunshine Shoppe Supply
Cheap Bulk Candles
The Wedding Shoppe
Evergreen Memories
Save-on-Crafts


Option #3 The "I want Handmade but not with these hands" Bride

This option is for the DIY Bride who values the time and effort put into handmade items and the uniqueness of DIY details however does not have a crafty bone in her body. You want a DIY look and a handmade feel however you don't have the time to invest in all of the little details. In that case look no further than Etsy where you can find literally anything when it comes to handmade wedding items. I'm not kidding, try it for yourself...

... want a handmade wedding dress
... want a unique flower girl basket
... want a matching set of ties for your Groom and his Groomsmen
... want a Photobooth sign for a unique wedding backdrop
... want a brooch bouquet but just can't find the time to make one

I could go on forever (really, I can't even count the hours I have spent on Etsy) but try it out yourself!


In the end your wedding day will be better than you can even imagine, all of the little details will come together and in the end you are creating more memories with your life partner that will become one of the sweetest moments you will have together. Its the beginning of your life as a married couple, there will be ups and downs during the wedding planning process and some ups and downs after you get married but never forget, the little details.

I'm Back!

I apologize for my disappearance and neglect to this blog... I have been working on a Master's Degree, bought my first house (and all that comes with making it your own), and helping friends with wedding plans! So, to get reconnected with this blog I am going to share with you all of the advice, links, ideas, and pictures I have shared with my friends in preparation for their own weddings.

Friend #1 - Mandy (October Wedding - Gibraltar, Spain)

Mandy is my best friend and when I found out she was getting married I was so excited. I knew that no matter what kind of a wedding, I would offer her whatever help she needed. I was anticipating helping her with some DIY projects, and helping her organize things as much as I could while living in another Province until her big day. Then she shared with me that she and her fiance Jeff were planning a different kind of wedding, kind of low key like mine and not a lot of guest. I thought perfect I already know how to plan a small wedding... then she said the only people at her wedding would be her and Jeff. Mandy and Jeff were planning on going on a trip to Europe and getting married in Spain, followed by a honeymoon in Paris! I was surprised but just the same excited and happy for them. I think it is great when couples stray from the typical traditions of a wedding, the last thing you want to do is have a wedding that pleases everyone else but not yourself. Mandy shared with me that her news wasn't initially well received by her family because they understandably envisioned being a part of that day. They all came around and Mandy and Jeff had an after the wedding reception to celebrate with everyone and they all lived happily ever after...

So, there was not a whole lot of planning or DIYing I could help Mandy with but here is the advice and support I was able to give her for a wedding abroad!

How to elope!:
http://weddings.lovetoknow.com/wiki/How_to_Elope

Great links to find out how to get married in Europe:
http://www.marryabroad.co.uk/how-to-get-married-in-europe.shtml

http://www.brides.com/honeymoons/real-honeymoons/2009/08/how-to-get-married-ineurope

http://www.romantic-vacations-destinations.com/elope-in-europe.html

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/48456802/How-to-get-married-abroad-Europe

Ideas about how to make your small wedding or elopement special... to the very last detail:
http://www.letsrunoff.com/elope.php?page=ad-ideas_and_tips&fb_source=message

http://www.helium.com/items/1450817-after-youve-eloped-how-to-include-family-in-your-wedding-celebration

http://www.ehow.com/list_5813927_ideas-reception-after-destination-wedding.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Sending-Wedding-Invitations-For-a-Reception-After-a-Destination-Wedding&id=2089692&fb_source=message

This may interest you:
http://www.professorshouse.com/Relationships/Weddings/Articles/Running-Away-to-Get-Married/

So this was my contribution to Mandy's wedding and when she came back and had her reception, her cousin Tiffy surprised her by flying me to Ontario for the event when we all thought I wouldn't be able to go. Thanks again Tiffy!! xo

Speaking of Tiffy...

Friend #2 - Tiffy (February Wedding - Carolina Cellars Winery, Virgil, Ontario )

Tiffy is Mandy's cousin (considered a sister) and as long as I have been in Mandy's life I have been in Tiffy's. Although we never thought Tiffy would EVER settle down ;) I wasn't surprised when I heard she was engaged to be married... I knew she had it in her! Tiffy is a lot like me and when she gets something in her head she becomes fully submersed in it. I knew Tiffy wouldn't need a lot of help from me because she would have a lot of her own ideas and she would research the s@*t out of wedding ideas... so I offered and sent her a few links that might start her on her way...

Here is the message I sent to Tiffy:

Hey,
I thought I would share with you some websites that occupied my time and satisfied my wedding planning hunger. Some of them I even got ideas from...

http://www.theknot.com/ <-----------I did my wedding budget, and website on here.

http://www.evergreenmemories.ca/index.php?main_page&zenid=720c7839a65218d67e412ff68f0e6a4f <------- This is what I was going to do for favors but changed my mind.

http://offbeatbride.com/ <-------- Just fun!

http://www.stylemepretty.com/wedding-diy/ <------ Where I found some DIY projects.

http://www.cudge.net/holders_detail5.html <----- A place to get cheap votive candles less than a $1.

http://www.bridalcanvas.com/ <----- A fun place to make a wedding vision board.

http://ruffledblog.com/diy-projects/ <------ Another great place for DIY ideas.

http://www.weddingstar.com/ <------ The Canadian Wedding Magazine, everything in it is in Canadian $$.

http://mydiyweddingday.com/ <----- And again DIY.

www.etsy.com <------- Where I bought anything else that I didn't DIY, that was handmade... You can literally find anything you can think of.

And finally, my wedding blog... still have to get on top of putting my DIY projects how-tos on there! http://everythingweddingdiy.blogspot.com/

Have fun, I did!
xo

I attended Tiffy & Bill's wedding which was a Scrabble/Winter theme and helped with all of the craziness (your final moments will likely be craziness too!) of getting the last DIY projects finished and making sure all of the final touches were in place.

Friend #3 - Tara (July Wedding - The Links at Montague, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia)

Tara and Spencer's wedding hasn't happened yet but they certainly have a great story of how Spencer (and Tara) got her engagement ring (<------ Click the link)!

Tara is a friend that I met through my husband Greg, as he had stumbled into a student teacher supervising position his first year teaching! That's how he met Tara's fiance Spencer... you can make the connections of how Tara and I met. So, knowing that I LOVE everything to do with wedding planning and DIYing Tara asked me for some advice. Here are some tips that I sent along her way to help save some time and money for her Traditional/Not So Traditional Wedding.

One of our first topics was wedding photography, this is one area that you don't want to skimp out on. You can definitely use a family member or friend if you KNOW they are good at what they do so you will be sure you will be happy with the photos you get capturing the moments of the day. I initially suggested Jeff Cooke Photography for Tara because he was local and amazing (I knew from my own photography session with him for mine and Greg's Anniversary). When I checked in with him for Tara's wedding date he was already booked - second piece of advice book your photographer early, the good ones get booked up fast. If you are dead set on a certain photographer have a back up plan but ask to be on a cancellation list for your date with the photographer you really want.

For those of you in Nova Scotia here is the Halifax Wedding Photographer Directory: http://www.wedimg.com/photographers/halifax_nova_scotia

If you would like to cut costs there are some areas you can do it in and still make a big impact with the look. For Tara I am making her bouquet, I had made one for another friend's wedding and it was exactly what Tara was looking for so one less thing she has to worry about. If you have the crafty gene or a friend or family member does ask them if they can put together a bouquet of your favourite flowers to walk down the aisle with and it can be part of your wedding gift from them.

Here is the bouquet I made for my friend Anya and will be making again for Tara, along with some DIY links for making your own wedding bouquet.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8086282_diy-wedding-flower-bouquets.html

http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/weddings/flowers/wedding-flowers-bouquets-supermarket-00000000000483/index.html

The next bit of advice I gave her was along the lines of a DIY bouquet... I found that at my wedding it was all of the handmade and unique details that my guests noticed. Make your wedding your own, don't be afraid to go outside of the traditional box of weddings. Weddings are no longer like our parent's wedding and although some of the older generation are not used to doing things differently in the end they are the ones that say, "Wow that was really nice!" Make your wedding the way you want it to be, don't get hung up on what other people want because in the end it will be a matter of you LOVING your wedding day or having regrets.

If you are looking to do a handmade wedding or just want some special touches that don't come from a mass produced supply of items from a store I would suggest going to Etsy and typing in a search for your wedding theme or anything else you are looking for. I bought a lot from sellers on Etsy for my own wedding. You can see some examples in my other blog posts.

One of the things Tara specifically asked for help with was ideas for centerpieces for her Summer wedding. This is one idea that I loved and she loved too! The variation she is making is using limes instead of lemons.

I've mentioned it before but The Knot is another site I used often when I was planning my Wedding and I recommend it to my friends when they are planning their weddings. The Knot also has a Youtube Channel that has all kinds of ideas and DIY videos. Here is one of my favourites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb6Tv6y-9pE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Another area encountered by brides-to-be or grooms-to-be when planning their wedding outside of a church setting is who do I get to marry us and where do I go? For the Canadians here is one site to find an officiant: http://www.allseasonsweddings.com/wedding-officiants.cfm This is where I and Tara found ours! You will also need to go to your local town hall or the town hall in the area you are getting married to get a marriage license.

For wedding favours you can go to weddingstar for some great ideas or even buy your favours from them (it's a Canadian site so its great for shipping to Canada). I found another really sweet idea for a Summer wedding at candles and such, inc: http://www.candlesandsuch.com/hang-with-us-personalized-favor-card-with-seed-paper-love-birds.html

Another idea for favours could be to get the smallest paper bags from Michael's and a cute stamp to stamp on the outside, then fill the bags with yours and your groom's favourite candy!

To tie in the generations in your family include pieces of their wedding into your own. Use your parents' or your groom's parents' wedding cake knife and server at your wedding. You can up-cycle these things to tie them in to your own wedding theme and colours. Watch out for a future blog DIY of just that... Up-cycled Wedding Cake Knife.

Some more ideas I threw Tara's way were for Guest "Book" Ideas!
 
http://www.mydiyweddingday.com/2010/10/fresh-ideas-for-your-guestbook.html

http://coutureeventsbylottie.com/2010/11/12/a-guest-book-alternative-the-love-seat/

http://rachelevents.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/unique-things-to-sign-at-your-wedding-texas-wedding-planner-rachel-events/

A fancy cover, lined book from the dollarstore and stencil on the front, "If you have one piece of marriage advice what would it be?" Your guests would write their advice and sign it. You could type a little piece of paper with the instructions so they know to sign the "guestbook" and put that in a small frame on a table.

http://mybrideidea.blogspot.com/2009/06/guest-book-alternative.html

http://theweddingdecorator.blogspot.com/2011/02/alternative-guest-book-ideas-for.html


One of my favourite Wedding Hairstyle looks lately is the waterfall braid, it looks great on people with longer hair and could be used during a wedding of any season.

And after overloading Tara with all of this information and I'm sure you, the final link I am going to give you is one to help you not to forget a thing!

http://theknot.ninemsn.com.au/wedding-planning/wedding-planning/essential-tips/10-biggest-things-brides-forget

Happy Planning!