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!

DIY How-To! Wedding Decor Up-cycled Votives

List of Materials:

Votive Candle Holders and Votive Candles www.cudge.net

Twigs

26 Gage Crafting Wire www.michaels.com

Vintage Book Pages

Lace Scrapbooking Trim www.michaels.com

Fabric Scrapbooking Leaves www.michaels.com

Leftover Metal Outdoor Lanterns

Spray Paint

Glue Gun with Glue Sticks

Strong Craft Glue

Pen

Instructions:

This would be a fun craft to do with your bridesmaids, after you get all of the materials plan a girl’s night in and have everyone help with the decorations. Depending on how many votive candle holders you need you can choose to but them at your local department store or craft store, or if you want to get a good price on bulk you can purchase them at www.cudge.net $35.88 for a set of 72 holders with candles.

For the other items:

Start by collecting some twigs in your backyard.

Go to your local used bookstore and find an old book or poems.

Look in your shed for those metal outdoor lanterns you no longer use.

Last stop head over to Michael's Craft Store or you local craft store and pick up the remaining items, crafting wire (choose whatever colour you like, in this craft brown was used), lace scrapbooking trim (or other trim that matches with your wedding décor), fabric scrapbooking leaves, and your choice of spray paint.

If you don’t already have a glue gun and glue at home you can also pick this up at the craft store.

The following are specific directions for each individual decorated holder:

Twig Holder

Start by trimming the twigs you have collected to the same height as the candle holder. Depending on the size of twig you have you may get about 5 pieces off of each. Once you have them all trimmed lay them out on the table so you can see the variation in thickness, colour, texture, and shape. Plug in your glue gun and when it is ready to go start gluing on the twigs around the outside of the candle holder. Place the twigs as close beside each other as you can get them. Because of the different shapes it will create small cracks where the light will shine through.

Once all of the twigs are glued on set aside and let them cool. Take your 26 gage crafting wire and cut it long enough that it would wrap around the candle holder twice. Cut three more pieces of wire the same length. Take two pieces of wire and twist them together to double the thickness and give it a twisted effect. Repeat this step for the other two pieces of wire you cut.

Take the two pieces of twisted wire and wrap one around the top of the candle holder and one around the bottom. Once tightly wrapped around twist the wire three times together to hold it in place. Take the left over ends and wrap them around a pen to give it a curled effect, do this to all four left over ends.

Place the candle inside and light it. Repeat the steps to make as many of these candles as you would like.

Lace & Leaves Holder

Plug in your glue gun and while waiting for it to get hot, take your lace scrapbooking trim and wrap it around the centre of the candle holder and trim it to size.  Get your fabric scrapbooking leaves ready. Take the cut piece of trim and glue the two ends at the spot where they join. Take your fabric leaves and place a small bead of glue on them and layer them over top of the seam where the trim came together to cover it up. Let the glue cool and Voila!

Place the candle inside and light it. Repeat the steps to make as many of these candles as you would like.

Vintage Book Page Holder

Take your vintage book and tear out (don’t cut with scissors it takes away from the vintage look) the pages of poems you like the best.  Wrap the page around the candle holder to get an idea or how long you need, tear the page a half an inch longer than what you need to cover it (this will give you extra room to glue and overlap the paper). Then tear the top so it will be a half an inch above the candle holder. After the page is fit to size, run a bead of glue along the edge of the paper. Wrap the paper around the holder and glue the two ends together using the half an inch overlap of paper. Hold this together with your fingers until it dries enough that the paper will not pull apart.

Place the candle inside and light it. Repeat the steps to make as many of these candles as you would like.

Recycled Lantern Holder

If you have old outdoor lanterns strung on lights hanging around where they no longer work or some are damaged this is a perfect way to re-use them. Take the lantern off of the string of lights, you may have to cut the wires that attach them all lanterns are different. Clean them off with some warm water and dish soap and set them to dry. Once they are dry take them outside and spray paint them following the directions on the can. Once dry place the lantern cover over top of the candle holder and as simple as that you have up-cycled the lanterns and candle holder.

Place the candle inside and light it. Repeat the steps to make as many of these candles as you would like.

The cost of this project varies depending on how many candles you will have at your wedding but all and all it is pretty inexpensive as a DIY compared to buying pre-made designer candles!

Handmade Simple Chic Wedding Dresses That Are Easy On The Budget!

So in my ongoing search of all things wedding (even though I got married in October 2010) I decided to look for wedding dresses that were simple, chic, and budget friendly for the financially conscious Bride! Of course my main searching source was Etsy with all things handmade, and I have found some great buys all $500 or less.

Check them out:

ouma
I found a gorgeous whimsical dress made of cotton and tulle and you can't beat the price of $260.00 for a custom wedding dress!

battyazac
With this dress you have so many options to customize it to your style and make your wedding dress one of a kind all for only $500!

featherweight
This dress is so unique and would be great for a retro vintage wedding or even a destination wedding! And it could be yours for $425, that's a great deal for a dress a one of the most important days of your life.

TingBridal
This dress is so romantic and would be lovely for a Spring or Summer wedding. It has the best finishing touches with a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves to make it your dream wedding dress. You can get this custom made dress for $500!!

bustle
This full length layered dress is simply fabulous and could fit the bill for an elegant backyard wedding or even a fancy chapel... and it won't break the budget at $475.

Wedding Jewelry by Tissage!!

So today I am featuring a seller that I bought my wedding earrings from to complete my vintage, eco-friendly look. Here are some pictures of the earrings I bought from Tissage, these earrings were actually my 7th ever purchase on Etsy for my wedding! Once I started buying on Etsy for my wedding I got the bug and haven't stopped since...

 

 

Tory has been making things her whole life. She grew up constantly crafting and creating, and that turned into a year at an art school in the south of France. Tory spent time studying weaving and jewelry making in Italy. She started her Etsy shop Tissage in July of 2008 after her friend Megan urging her to do so. Tory attended some local shows, but was uncertain about expanding into online sales. She got her first sale in about a week and haven't looked back. She says, "It's been great to be able to connect with so many people. I've sent my creations to Europe, Australia and all over North America. I've also had a great time doing custom work; working on bridal jewelry is one of my favorite things to do".



Tory has always been drawn to all things sparkly and she never lost her childhood love of playing dress up, so she thinks it's really fun to be able to make extravagant and sparkly pieces for a special day in a customer's life. Necklaces using vintage rhinestone pieces are probably her favorite things to create, whether they incorporate pearls, faceted glass or gemstones. She also loves searching for rhinestone finds at thrift stores and online. Tory even enlisted her mother in the search; she calls her, "my rhinestone huntress". She often has more luck searching in the midwest than Tory does on the west coast. Once she's found a fabulous vintage rhinestone brooch or earring Tory builds her design around it, sometimes just working with her own ideas and sometimes making something to a customer's specifications. Creating and selling her work has been really rewarding and she's grateful that she gets to do something she loves and add a little sparkle to people's lives at the same time.

For more info about Tory's shop, Tissage or to request a custom order go to: www.etsy.com/shop/Tissage

Eco-Friendly and DIY Wedding Treasuries on Etsy!

So, I don't know about you but I am hooked on Etsy! It is a great place to do some window shopping when you are planning a wedding... or really any other event. So to make it a little easier for you from the sometimes daunting task of searching for all things wedding on Etsy I have put together a list of treasuries that can get you started. So fun!

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives...

Something Blue

Queen of the Woods

If it were my wedding

White dream

Total white

Wedding in Europe

Happy shopping!

Your First DIY How-To!

I know, I know it has been forever... I guess that's what happens when you get married. Life gets even busier because all the things you put on hold for your wedding come creeping up on you. So here it is your first Do-It-Yourself Wedding Day How-To... Boutonnieres for the special men on your wedding day. With my wedding I had a vintage/natural feel to the day and the boutonnieres that I made fit right in made from all natural items found around the yard (not to mention fitting into the budget as well costing $0). So here is a glimpse of what these boutonnieres looked like on my wedding day and a little How-To, to get you started on your own.

List of Materials:

Recycled Brown Paper Bag

Wood Skewers or Popsicle sticks

Feathers

Acorns

Small Pine Cones

Wheat-grass (and other wild weeds)

Birch Bark (or whatever is around the yard)

Moss

Floral Tape

Corsage Pins

Scissors

Strong Glue

Instructions:

To create this earthy addition to the wedding party attire, begin by spending a romantic afternoon with your fiancé in your backyard or a nearby forest. While enjoying the beauty around you collect fallen acorns, small pine cones, stray feathers, broken off tree bark, moss growing on rocks, and trim pieces off of wild wheat-grass and other roadside dry weeds.

When you return home get together the supplies needed to put together this natural project.

You will need:

- wooden skewers or Popsicle sticks

- scissors

- strong glue (wood glue)

- a recycled brown paper bag

- floral tape

- corsage pins

To start think of how many boutonnieres you want to make. Cut out a rough leaf shape out of the paper bag about 3 inches in length. Trace the shape to make enough leaves for the number of boutonnieres you are making (2 per boutonniere).

Trim your skewers or Popsicle sticks to 3 inches in length, you will need one per boutonniere.

Place one leaf on the table and run a line of glue down the center, this is where you will place the skewer for stability. Make sure you place the skewer 1 inch from the top of the leaf so it sticks out at the bottom a bit. Then run glue along the edges of the paper leaf and place the mirroring side of another paper leaf down on top. Repeat this for the remaining boutonnieres.

Now, for the individually creative part. Place the collected items in any arrangement that you like depending on how they fit with one another. Once you decide on placement start gluing the items down onto the paper leaf base.

Let this dry well before picking it up. Once the items are on solid, twist some floral tape around the base where the skewer is sticking out. This is where you will place the corsage pin through to attach it to the jackets of the handsome men in your wedding!

This is a great way to add a natural DIY touch to your wedding and it costs $0! If you are crafty or have kids you can usually find scissors, glue, a brown paper bag, skewers or Popsicle sticks around the house. If you have been making other DIY wedding projects you might have floral tape and corsage pins around the house as well. If not you can pick any of the items up at a craft store or even cheaper the dollar store. All of the items to decorate the boutonnieres are free courtesy of Mother Nature!