Sneak Peak!

Well it has been some time since the last post with all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for my 10.10.10 wedding. Our wedding day was amazing from beginning to end, my husband Greg thanked me for making our wedding day so perfect with all the personal details and DIY projects and told me it was the "best day of his life so far". I have to agree with him on that one, the whole thing was pretty surreal.

Well, we are now back to reality and I am back to school work and will be taking a week long trip to Newfoundland for school so when I get back, there will definitely be more to come including DIY How-To's specifically from the ideas in our wedding, featured Etsy sellers that I bought some of my handmade wedding items from, and lots of photos. So keep checking back...

Here's a little sneak peak of our DIY Handmade Wedding Day, all within a budget of $5,000 (well actually $8,000 when all was said and done and the bill was paid but I can say we came out of it with no debt)!!

1mADwoman

10 more days!! Here is another shop feature for you that will help inspire you to create your own elegant DIY/Handmade Wedding. These clutches are great as the perfect accessory for yourself or a special gift for your bridesmaids. You could even give them as a mother-of-the-bride/groom gift.



1mADwoman started by making purses and clutches out of fabric left over from other projects. Etsy featured her shop in Etsy Finds, and she had a request from a young lady about doing a set of bridesmaid's clutches. 1mADwoman did them, and while the young lady decided not to take them, 1mADwoman was glad she had done it! She sold them to someone else, and she now has a listing in her shop for custom orders. 1mADwoman will do them in whatever color combination the bride wants.












The clutches she has listed are dupioni silk. They have a flex frame in them to keep everything secure. The roses on the outside match the lining on the inside of the clutch. She has them pleated, but they can also be gathered. They are so feminine and pretty, I just love them!



1mADwoman says, "DIY weddings just have more personality to me!" She made her own dress, designed and put together her own bouquet, and wrapped the boutonnieres herself. Her wedding wasn't big, but it was sweet, and that's what she loved about it the best!

Find your perfect wedding clutch here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/1mADwoman

YesterEra

11 more days... eeekkkk! So as you can tell my wedding is a DIY/Handmade Wedding but what you don't know yet is that it also has vintage touches throughout. I love vintage, and swear I lived in another lifetime possibly in a couple different eras. After my wedding I will tell you about all the details and I will start featuring shops that I bought from.

During one of my searches on Etsy through chatting I found YesterEra, which is a shop inspired by fashions of the past. This shop has great wedding accessories including veils, hair accessories, and even lace garters.



Kelly is the owner of YesterEra and creates vintage inspired clothes and accessories, as well as wedding veils. She uses vintage patterns plus her own designs, and a mix of new and vintage fabric. She tries to create vintage style items that women today would want to wear. Kelly has been sewing since 2004, and she got started doing costuming. She eventually decided that she wanted to branch out into everyday clothing. Kelly got into making wedding veils because when she got married she made her own veil, and then had friends asking if I could make theirs. Kelly says, "the real kick in the butt to get my Etsy shop started was (unfortunately) losing my day job as a teacher. But on the bright side, I'm creating more than I ever have before."














Kelly said there's so much she loves about doing this. For the clothing, she loves being inspired by the past and being able to take a design into the present. It's hard for her to define her favorite time period to draw from, but she's in love with the pin-up look and the classic housewife look. Kelly also really really loves creating wedding veils, and thinks the wedding industry is disgustingly overpriced so... she's glad to offer them at an affordable price to brides.





To browse YesterEra's shop go to: www.etsy.com/shop/YesterEra

mbedesign

12 days left! So today I tried out Etsy chat for the first time and it is a great way to wake you up in the morning, trying to keep track of what everyone is saying. But in the middle of it all I found this great seller. If you are anything like me I want to keep my wedding simple which includes simple hair. To fall in line with my DIY/Handmade wedding I am doing my own hair and makeup. I figured who better when I am the one who does it everyday and you want to look like you on your wedding day right... So just because you are keeping it simple doesn't mean it can't be cute. I will be wearing a birdcage veil, and cute fancy pins bought on Etsy and an up-cycled hair clip that I added some pine cones to that fits the natural theme.

Speaking of cute, here is a shop I found that fits perfectly with a handmade wedding and they sell lovely hairbands that would give that extra special touch to your wedding look.



mbè? design was born by Luigi and Pamela, two Italian creative people who met each other by coincidence in a coffee house. Pamela is a fashion designer, she loves vintage clothes, high level handmade items, shoes, art, and design. In mbè? design she is the rationality, the order, the balance, and the stability. Luigi is an art director in advertising, he loves design, film, photography, and nature. He is the easy side of the couple, he is crazy, has big problems with his memory, and takes everything lightly. Pamela says: "how can't a boy and a girl like them, who have idols like John Lennon and Yoko Ono, fall in love at first sight?" A perfect pair!









mbè? design is Italian handmade, and they want to be synonymous of glamor, fashion, and trends with an easy going soul. It is a project of design, which was born by the Love of two people that want comunicate to you this love. "Love is our mission, and it will be so years after years." This shop couldn't be more perfect for a handmade wedding, how awesome would it be to know that the items you are buying for your wedding are infused with the love and creativity of the couple making them.




Check out mbè? design at: www.etsy.com/shop/mbedesign

thepinkbirdhouse

As I pack my DIY wedding projects, Etsy items, and mine and my fiance's attire a special little often forgotten item comes to mind... the garter!! My garter is blue and my soon-to-be groom caught it 5 years ago at my Aunt's wedding. I am typically not one for traditions but the garter belt and something "old, new, borrowed and blue" found their way into my wedding plans because I think they're fun! If you decide to include a garter into your complete wedding day look here is a great place to start looking.



thepinkbirdhouse is an Etsy shop run by Deborah and she has always loved vintage and silk ribbons, and soon a collection started to grow. Things are beautiful to collect, but even more beautiful when they can be made into something exquisite. And so thepinkbirdhouse garter shop was born! Deborah loves the idea that brides have purchased one of her handmade garters and allowed that little bit of silk satin to be a part of such a special day in their lives. It is a true pleasure for her to think of that! She not only have a love of all things silk, especially ribbons, but of vintage items and in particular vintage laces. Knowing that they are old yet still in such wonderful new condition is a lovely thought for Deborah. Their quality is unsurpassed and she likes to bring them together with the silk satin ribbons to create unique and one of a kind garters. With vintage lace of a limited-supply nature, Deborah finds it nice to be able to create only so many of one design. So for the bride that is looking for something truly different, something that not hundreds of others have worn before her, thepinkbirdhouse shop is the place to search for that one special garter!



As you can see, Deborah also makes garters for all occasions since she is very influenced by the lovely ones that the Flapper girls wore in the 1920's. Those colorful, fun garters are very often Deborah's inspiration for garter sets in bright flashy colors, or sweet pale pastels, and embellished with either Flapper buttons, or decorated with Victorian Ribbonwork roses and blossoms. Ribbonwork, or the art of fashioning roses and flowers out of ribbons is another passion of Deborah's










To browse her garter's check out: www.etsy.com/shop/thepinkbirdhouse

MDCardsandGifts

And the countdown begins... 13 more days until our big day. So reflecting back on the whole process I can't really say that I would change anything. I grew up in a small town in Ontario and had moved to Nova Scotia 3 years ago, so most everything was done from a distance. It was challenging at times but still enjoyable, it added another level of pressure to the mix which was good for distracting me from the little things that can bog you down. When I decided on my bridesmaids it was an easy choice because it fit with my intimate, non-traditional, DIY/Handmade Wedding. I choose three very close women (young lady included) in my life. For my Maid-of-Honour I chose my cousin who is like an older sister to me, when growing up she was the only female cousin I had. I was a bridesmaid in her wedding in 1999 when I was 14 and we have been close ever since. I even had the honour of being her second daughter's Godmother! For my Bridesmaids I chose my friend of 11 years, and my little sister who is 12 years younger than me! I would have loved to be in Ontario and have a little party with the girls to announce my decision to have them be a part of my special day but due to being 2200 Kilometers away all of my interactions were over the phone. I asked each one of them and they were all excited, my cousin was shocked that I was asking her to be my Maid-of-Honour and thought that I would have wanted to ask one of my "younger" friends.

One of the things I am most excited about the day before the wedding is spending the evening with my girls pampering ourselves (DIY manis, pedis, and facials) and spoiling them with DIY and Handmade gifts! Although I didn't think of including this great idea in their gifts you can certainly tie it in to your bridesmaids' gifts to finish off that handmade look.



Maggie of MDCardsandGifts started her shop as a way to sell sets of handmade cards. Once she made the first set of "Will you be my Bridesmaid" cards, they have taken off. Maggie has a whole section in her shop dedicated to "Wedding/Will You Be My..." and they are the primary items she sells now. What makes them different is that she can customize the colors of the cards to the color of the wedding.












Maggie can also do custom wording, she has done all bridal party cards from "Junior Bridesmaid" to "Reader". MDCardsandGifts sells quantities from 1 card to around 15. Here on her blog Random Occurrences, you can see photos of all her custom work (She adds to this list as she makes more cards). I think these cards add such a personal element to the choices a bride makes on her wedding day, and choosing your bridesmaids is almost as big as choosing your groom!

Check out MDCardsandGifts for ideas for your DIY/Handmade Wedding: www.etsy.com/shop/MDCardsandGifts

ScarlettandMaria

Well, as of today I will be getting married in exactly 2 weeks... I am going to be honest I am excited but I am freaking out a little too... I have been planning my wedding for the last year and a half and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved making DIY projects, and searching for great Etsy finds for my wedding. Even though my wedding planning is coming to an end and I will be bringing it all together on October 10th I still love finding unique Etsy stores that would add that special touch to weddings. I am a social worker and currently working on my MSW but when things get stressful I swear I should get into wedding planning. Here is another great shop I found when creating this blog. I am excited to bring such variety to this blog and hope to help some soon-to-be brides in their wedding planning journey.

ScarlettandMaria is an Etsy shop that specializes in floral hair accessories that would be a great addition to yours or your bridesmaids overall wedding look. ScarlettandMaria used to be an online shopping junkie spending crazy amounts of money on clothing and accessories trying to create her look. She was never satisfied and realized the only way to get it was to make it herself. So she asked her mother to teach her how to use a sewing machine, read a pattern, and she has been learning on her own through trial and error for 10 years since. She used to have her own store selling handmade gothic clothing but took a break when she had her son. It's been a few years and she's ready to get back into it but her aesthetic has changed to be more versatile. ScarlettandMaria is a belly dancer, a hippy, a mom, a punk, a dready, a potential bride and so much more. She made a few clothing items but soon discovered Japanese folded fabric flower accessories and have been creating them obsessively all summer. She learned from a book but had to develop her own technique to make them the best quality for others. Kanzashi fabric folding is a Japanese art, but her flowers have a distinctive American twist along with her own personal flavor.






When it comes to weddings ScarlettandMaria can make kanzashi folded fabric flowers for the bride's hair, bridesmaids' hair or gifts, flower girl, ring bearer pillows etc. Her pictures all show bright color varieties but they can all be custom made in white or in your wedding colors. The backs can be customized to be French barrettes, alligator clips, snap clips, brooch pins, bobby pins, combs, ribbon pendents, ornaments or any other idea you can think of. She has not yet done a bouquet but she can't wait to experiment with one. As you can see from the shop she can also do butterflies and dragon flies, and she has even done an owl!











Check out ScarlettandMaria's shop at: www.etsy.com/shop/ScarlettandMaria

Holly Storm

After my DIY/Handmade Wedding I will reveal pictures of my bridesmaids with their handmade clutches that I found on Etsy and I will share with you the sellers that helped me make my day special. Today I found another shop that makes custom handmade clutches that you can use as gifts for your girls and add that special touch to your wedding day accessories.

Holly Storm makes great pieces of jewelry and awesome custom designed clutches for your eclectic and fun DIY/Handmade Wedding. Holly started sewing a little over a year ago and she "caught the bug!" She is a creative person, and Graphic Designer by trade, so for her she said, "it was such a high being able to design and make the things that I wanted to wear and not have to settle for what was "hot" that season." Holly started out sewing for herself and her family, and after getting many complements and people offering to buy her creations she thought she might be able sell them. She did a little online research and came across Etsy, and hasn't looked back since!




Any of the items in Holly Storm's shop are appropriate gifts for anyone in your bridal party. The clutch bags can be used as gifts for your bridesmaids, alone or stuffed with little goodies! You can choose from available prints to match each of their personalities, or send Holly a convo for a custom order of matching bags; She can even coordinate with your wedding theme or colors! The same is true with the cuffs; they can be very fashion forward gifts or can coordinate with their dresses for a more unique wedding look.











She just finished a very sweet clutch for a bride for her upcoming wedding. Holly took her own love letter to her husband, translated it into French, Italian, and Spanish, and designed a custom fabric for her clutch. So sweet! Holly says this was a bit more expensive, so convo her for pricing.

Visit Holly's shop at: www.etsy.com/shop/HollyStorm

BijiBijoux

If you are anything like me planning your DIY/Handmade Wedding, the thought of buying yours and your bridesmaid's jewelry in a chain store just isn't doing it for ya. The mass produced, cheap products will likely be worn once or fall apart. I made my own necklace and bracelet for my wedding as well as necklaces for my bridesmaids but I wanted to buy their earrings. It crossed my mind to buy them at Ardene's because of cost efficiency, but my fiance helped to remind me that these products are mass produced very cheaply in China and have no thoughtful meaning behind them. Greg (my fiance) told me, "Since the rest of our wedding is handmade why don't you spend a couple dollars extra and buy handmade earrings on Etsy for your bridesmaids." And that is just what I did, you will later see features from those sellers, but today I would like to tell you about another seller that has jewelry pieces suitable for a Handmade Wedding.

Here is a lovely Etsy seller who makes handmade and custom jewelry pieces. I met BijiBijoux (a.k.a Mimi) on an Etsy forum. Etsy can be quite competitive with all of the jewelry sellers but once I saw BijiBijoux's jewelry I knew that she made great pieces as could be seen in the creativity and work put into her items. She told me that she has many items in her shop suitable for a wedding as she makes pearl jewelry. I asked Mimi to tell me about her shop and this is what she said:

I've been creating jewelry pieces for over 2 years. I started out showing my work at local art shows and have been so encouraged by the response that I've decided to branch out online. I specialize in designing jewelry pieces including necklaces, matching earrings, bracelets, and anklets. I love to work with high-quality glass beads and Swarovski crystals. I also use gemstones, freshwater pearls, and wood in my creations.

If you are interested in purchasing your wedding jewelry from BijiBijoux you would be making a great choice, she has 100% positive feedback from all her sales and if you would like a custom order just contact her and tell her what you are looking for for your wedding. Here are some of her great handmade wedding items!




If you are not a pearl kind of girl, you can browse the shop and find many other gorgeous items that match your wedding colour scheme. Here are a few other items that would be just perfect with your creative wedding!

You can find BijiBijoux at: www.etsy.com/shop/BijiBijoux

Ruffled Blog

If you haven't seen this website blog yet you have to check it out and see what you have been missing. I have enjoyed all of the vintage and natural wedding posts on this blog, it's pretty amazing. It gives you great inspiration, DIY ideas, and even free DIY template downloads. Check out Ruffled at http://ruffledblog.com/.

One of my favourite DIY projects for my wedding was inspired by a post on saw on this site. I created an amazing vintage brooch bouquet for my wedding after seeing this post http://ruffledblog.com/2010/01/vintage-brooch-bouquets/.

After my 10.10.10 wedding I will be posting a complete how-to guide to create your own Vintage Brooch Bouquet, it can save you on average $300!

Here's a little sneak peek...

Why DIY for your Wedding?

There is a new generation of weddings and they are cost effective, environmentally conscious, and intimate. Trends are beginning to show that more and more couples are opting for more non-traditional weddings that show the personalities of the couple. If you type DIY wedding in a yahoo.ca search you will find 5, 040,000 results. This can be quite overwhelming sifting through all of the sites so in this blog I will share with you how I put together my DIY and handmade wedding with a $5,000 budget, and share the great sites I found along the way to help you create your own beautifully unique DIY Wedding!

Follow me to see upcoming posts and pictures of my 10.10.10 DIY wedding. I will be including How-Tos for most of my DIY projects that you will see as a part of my wedding to re-create and put your own touch on for your own special day :)