Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category
Failure turned Success
June 3rd, 2010 | 
Author: I’m 37 days away from the wedding and it seems like everything that “can” go wrong, IS!!
In the past week we had to “let go” of our current pastor and find someone else, the hotel that we are using to block rooms is not being cooperative and has changed the pricing on me (dramatically), my DIY bouquets for the bridal party were a complete failure and I failed to make the final payment to our photographer by the due date because I have somehow LOST our contract and didn’t know it was due!
I’m emotionally drained. I have never wanted to give up on something so badly as I do this wedding! Why didn’t we go to the courthouse or elope?
But, I can see light at the end of the tunnel….. Our new officiant is so totally cool. She understands our “vision” and hasn’t tried to push us to do something we are uncomfortable with. Not to mention that she has such a great personality. She is funny and a bit of a wise-ass just like my fiance! What a perfect fit!
Yes, the hotel has raised their prices but they are at least working with me on other areas. Originally, as most hotels do, I had to block rooms and whatever rooms were not used I was responsible for payment. They are now letting me block rooms and whatever rooms are not booked they will just open back up to the public a couple weeks before the wedding and I will not be responsible for the cost. The downside is still the fact that I have to make sure my guests book their rooms in the next couple weeks as the blocked rooms are only good up until a certain date.
After giving up on the idea that I would make all the bouquets, I finally broke down and went to a florist. I’m in L-O-V-E with the bridesmaid bouquets that we picked out.
Inspiration picture:
- Bridesmaid’s
And here is the inspiration picture for my bouquet:
- Bride
And lastly, I spoke to our photographer yesterday and explained how sorry I was about missing the payment and she was totally cool. A check went in the mail and all is right with the world again!
Now if only I could make some progress on our rehearsal dinner…….
Posted in 
DIY Wedding Photo Booth
I can’t remember if I told you about our DIY wedding photo booth. Actually, I know I haven’t told you because my sister reminds me about it quite often….Thanks Rach!
After getting engaged I went to my first-ever Bridal Expo! It was so overwhelming….But, nonetheless I walked out of there knowing I wanted a photo booth at our reception. Well, come to find out…photo booths are freaking expensive!! And then I fell upon the following pictures and knew that a custom photo booth was the answer.
Having a photo booth at our wedding reception is going to be a fun way to get guests to interact with each other. And since there was no room in our budget we had to “do it ourselves”. I bribed…errr, I mean begged my brother in law to help me and we (he) was able to bust out this project in one afternoon.
We simply purchased a piece of plywood and made a freestanding wall to be used as the photo booth. It will be covered in Damask fabric and the frames will then be (re)attached. Voila….
A big thank you to my sister, brother in law, brother and nephew for assisting with this project….I think it’s going to be my favorite part of the wedding 
DIY Success
So, yesterday I posted a little DIY project that I wanted to try and I must say….it was a total success!! The bummer part about it is that we have decided not to use these.
And worse yet…the “good” pictures I took were with my iPhone and I don’t know how to upload them to here. So here are a couple pics I took with fiance’s phone.
It took me about 2 minutes total to make this….why can’t all DIY projects be so easy?
DIY Wine Glass Candle Lampshades
Fiance and I were just talking the other night that we need some “fillers” for the tables and we would like to somehow utilize candles for that romatic feel. I found this DIY Tutorial today to make these and I think this just might be what we were looking for.
Centerpieces – Take 2
Worked on centerpieces again this past weekend. Here is my progress so far…..I’m almost done!!! Well, done with this project anyway. There is still a ton more to do.
Centerpiece Progress
After organizing we began working on my centerpieces. My colors for my wedding are red, white and black/white damask. We are doing red and white carnation centerpieces to sit on damask table runners.
Here are a few pictures of the insanity I call DIY…..
White Milk Glass Vases for Centerpieces
I’ve been collecting white milk glass vases and clear vases from thrift stores, goodwill and ebay (along with the help of my mom and sister).
The white milk glass vases (seen above) will hold all of the red centerpieces and the clear vases (seen below) will hold all of the white centerpieces.
Clear Glass Vases for Centerpieces
My sister cut all of the flowers and I did the glueing….we had quite the system down! I’ll admit, my job was much easier than my sister’s. She ended up with many blisters (and even a bruised leg) from the cutting process…..Sorry sister!!
Hard at work
What a Disaster!!
Here are a couple of the white centerpieces up close
Close-up of white centerpieces
And here is a photo of the many white centerpieces that got finished. It doesn’t look like much, but it was a huge accomplishment in my book.
Finished White Centerpieces
And here are the few red centerpieces that got finished. We worked for almost 12 hours that day and I ran out of steam about 11:30pm. But, the good news is that my sister cut so many flowers that they are ready for me the next time I want to work on these.
Finished Red Centerpieces
DIY Wreaths
I just happened to come upon two of the most adorable wreaths today…..
The first one is from Domestifluff made with felt rosettes.
And the second one is from Weddingistas and is made with none other than marshmallows.
How cute would either of these be at your wedding or maybe even just hanging in your house! If only I was crafty I would seriously attempt one of these….but, since I’m not I’ll just drool over the pictures.
Creative Seating Cards
Here are a few new and creative ideas from Martha.
These tiny chairs may be too small for sitting, but they are the perfect size for displaying guests’ names and table numbers. The seats are made from heavyweight paper — we used pale yellow for ladies and pale green for gents — and can be calligraphed or run through a printer. Tidy rows, however, won’t stay that way if a breeze blows by, so make this an indoor display.
Tented seating cards are elevated to new heights atop a pillow of carnations. Cut several standard bricks of floral foam in half horizontally, soak in water, and place in shallow plastic flower-box trays. Snip off the carnation heads, leaving a little bit of stem on each, and insert into the foam; each half-brick should hold about two dozen carnations and four seating cards.
Drawn Diagram
Guests skim the alphabetized list at the right of this elegant seating chart to find their table number, then locate their table on the floor plan.
Creative Seating Cards
Here are a few new and creative ideas from Martha.
These tiny chairs may be too small for sitting, but they are the perfect size for displaying guests’ names and table numbers. The seats are made from heavyweight paper — we used pale yellow for ladies and pale green for gents — and can be calligraphed or run through a printer. Tidy rows, however, won’t stay that way if a breeze blows by, so make this an indoor display.
Tented seating cards are elevated to new heights atop a pillow of carnations. Cut several standard bricks of floral foam in half horizontally, soak in water, and place in shallow plastic flower-box trays. Snip off the carnation heads, leaving a little bit of stem on each, and insert into the foam; each half-brick should hold about two dozen carnations and four seating cards.
Drawn Diagram
Guests skim the alphabetized list at the right of this elegant seating chart to find their table number, then locate their table on the floor plan.
101 DIY Projects
Head over to Stylish Events to check out their list of 101 DIY projects for weddings.