It Has Come . . . and Gone
Now that my dream wedding has come and gone I’m back to share my experiences leading to the big day. The month leading up to the wedding was a crazy one indeed. Although I had most of all my projects completed I still felt overwhelmed. Being the ‘Bride to Be’ you will feel like you have a million things to do and no time to do them. During this month you will also be getting excited. It’s finally time to go and pick up that marriage license and now . . . it’s real. With all of this going on you NEED to stay calm and remain focused! I was doing so well sticking to my plan of remaining calm and focused and then it hit. . . my one and only wedding melt down. There was only 2 weeks to go and it hit me like a ton of bricks. . . its here. . . its time. . .did I get everything done? What else do I need to do? So I sat down and cried for a good 5 minutes and then gathered myself. I sat down with the man who is now my husband and put together a game plan. We made a list of all the things we needed to get done and posted it in the kitchen so we could see it everyday. This allowed us to stay organized. We also created check lists of all the items that needed to be packed and ready the day before. So I have some advice that may be helpful to all of you soon to be brides out there:
1. Make check lists. . .this will help you remain focused and organized. You may find yourself doodling to do lists while at work, there is nothing wrong with this.
2. Let go of things that are out of your control. . .example: you cannot control the weather, checking it every 5 minutes will not make it change. Plan for the worst and hope for the best.
3. Communicate with you Fiancé . . .planning a wedding puts your relationship to the test, don’t throw it all out the window in the last month.
4. Don’t dwell on minor issues. . .things will go wrong and when they did I would tell myself the following “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”
Hope this has been helpful. Happy planning!
Today is Jessica & Eric’s Wedding!
I am so excited for Jessica and Eric’s wedding today! They are such a fun couple. Jessica has been sharing her extremely popular DIY projects with our readers and it will be great to see all her hard work come to fruition. We’ll be sure to have her share her wedding as her final post! For now, here are some of her most popular projects:
Tissue Paper Pomanders
Rememberance Candles
Table Numbers
Church Door Monogrammed Decorations
Monogrammed Favor Boxes
Card Box
Church Bubbles
Wrap around Save the Date Labels
Calligraphy
Wedding Invitation / Save the Date Labels
So when I was getting ready to send out my save the dates I didn’t want to do them all by hand. I felt that I wanted to save that little something special for the invitations themselves. So I created a template using photoshop and incorporated my colors. These wrap around labels were not only used for my save the dates but when wrapped around the opposite side they make for the perfect return labels for your RSVP’s.
So once you have your template printed out your handy dandy paper cutter comes in to save the day. . .
and now you are left with your labels, I suggest folding them in half so you know exactly where to place the label on your envelope.
all you have to do now is apply your adhesive and put on your envelope
and here is your finished result!
Church Bubbles
) I have seen bubbles a million times and its always the same thing. . .wedding cake design or doves on top but you should know me better by now I want more! So I found an AMAZING deal on the knot for bubble wands (which can also be purchased at Michaels). On top there was a heart and although I got the wands to match my color it still wasn’t personal enough so here is where the monogram I mentioned comes into play. . . TAGS! I took some left over paper from my invitations and table numbers and put a mat behind the monogram and then for a hole punch and went to Michaels and got a heart hole punch. . . (I know how cute and for only 5.99) to attach the ribbon onto the bubble wands. Here is the outcome. . .
Bridesmaid Bouquet Accessory
So I love the idea of having each BM have their initial in their bouquet but they are ssoooo expensive. . .something like 30 each. . .um with 7 BM’s that was NOT in budget. So if you couldn’t guess this to begin with. . .UMMMMM DIY! So I went to Michael’s and hit the floor running! I found what is called “eyelet alphabet” which is little metal letters in script. I wanted some bling so I also found Swarovski crystals and got a special type of glue and here is what you will need in addition to the letters. . .
and here is the finished result. . .
DIY Card Box
Here is the perfect project to get your fiance involved in the planning process! So here I am for the past year doing project after project after project and I really didn’t think that my wonderful fiance had the slightest idea how much work I have been doing. I knew I wanted to do this for a while but me and power tools . . . well lets just say that we don’t really get along too well. To begin you will need 4 large picture frames, brackets with screws, hot glue gun, pillow stuffing, and a Styrofoam board. First step here is to pre-drill your picture frames and then use the brackets to attach them. Here is my amazing fiance Eric working on the frames.
You are going to need to do top brackets and bottom brackets. Not only will this hold the box together but it will serve as supports for the top and bottom of your card box. Here is what you should end up with. . .
Next step is to cut down your Styrofoam board to fit the top and bottom of the box. I of course had to take it one step further and make the top fancy by using fabric to cover it (here is where your hot glue gun comes into play) and then I proceeded to stuff it to give it a pillow appearance. Don’t forget to cut a slot in the top! Here is the finished product. . .
I am so happy with the result! We inserted 4 of our engagement pictures (taken by the wonderful Carla Ten Eyck) into the frames you cant make it any more personalized than that! I think that after joining in on this project my fiance has a new found respect for all of my hard work. Good luck ladies )
Church Door Decorations
While looking through some wedding pictures I saw the bride and grooms name in flowers hanging on a church door. Well . . . of course I thought to myself DIY!!! Remember our tissue paper pomanders? This project is similar and can really add to your special day.
Here is what you will need:
- Tissue Paper
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Paper mache letters
- Hot glue gun
First step will be to create your tissue paper flowers. Begin by using 6 pieces of tissue paper and fold paper back and forth. You will then fold the paper in half add your staple to keep it together and round the edges.
From here you will just open your flower by separating one layer of tissue paper from another. (tip: switch back and forth between the sides as you open the flower to give it a round natural look)
Once you have all of your flowers you will now use your hot glue gun to attach your tissue paper flowers to your paper mache letters.
Here is the finished products:
and there you have it yet another DIY project completed!
Table Numbers
If you are looking to personalize your table numbers then this is a project for you! I know in most places they have a plastic card with a simple black number on it being held by a wire fixture. Why not put your personal stamp on this necessity? You can use several different programs to design a template for yourself. I have become familiar with photoshop and so this is what I have used to create pretty much everything for my wedding. The table number is actually going to be three sided and it will not just have your table numbers included. You can put whatever you would like on the other 2 sides such as a favorite place you are your fiance share, a picture, basically the options are limitless! I have chosen to put my menu on one side and then translate love through different languages on the last side.
So here are the templates that I designed:
So once you have printed your template you are going to take card stock mats and tape your ribbon on top. Now you are going tape your template on to the mat right on top of the ribbon. The final step is to tie your bow :0) Here are some pictures of the final product. . .
How To Remember On Your Day
We have all lost someone we have loved at one point or another. These are people that you wanted to spend your special day with. There are many ways to honor those who you have lost on your special day. You can do this by putting out a picture or lighting a candle. I decided to combine these two things for those special people in my life. Here are the instructions for you to remember that someone special on your day.
Here is what you will need:
- Vellum (Michaels $.50 a sheet)
- Glass vase (Michaels $1.99)
- Ribbon
- Double sided tape
- Computer and printer
- Candle
First you will have to design a template that will be printed on your vellum. I used photoshop to create my template this can be a difficult program to use at times but once you become familiar with it you will love it. I also chose to do a black and white photo and I will bring in the color later with my ribbon. Here was the template design that I came up with. . . .
and here it is after you print your template on the vellum
I purchased this paper cutter and it is beyond worth it! So now you have to cut out your template.
So now you have your cut out template
and your vase
time to begin assembly. . .
First you will want to position your vellum
and then use your double sided tape to secure your template
To hide your seam you can use some of your ribbon and the tape will work to secure this as well.
Now to finish it off you will use your ribbon on the top and bottom of the vase. I have chosen to incorporate both of my wedding colors and on the vase and I love the layered look that it produced.
and there you have it your finished product. . .
Here is one in color and black and white. . .
DIY Tissue Paper Pomanders
I have always been quite the crafty person and some have found this skill to be pretty useless. Well needless to say that I am the one laughing now. The smallest craft that you may undertake can make the world of difference in an event and especially in a wedding! Once me and my fiance decided on our color scheme I undertook my first project. . . the tissue paper pomanders. I learned how to make tissue paper flowers back in elementary school for our parade floats. When I saw a real pomander I thought they were beautiful but the price was way out of my range. So I combined these two things together and it is a huge cost saver! Here are the instructions:
What you will need:
Tissue Paper
Floral Wire
Styrofoam Ball
Ribbon
**All of these items can be found at pretty much any craft store**
First thing you will need to do is cut down your pieces of tissue paper. This is totally up to you but do bear in mind the bigger the piece of paper that your using the bigger your flower will be. (One quick hint would be to fold the paper until you get the size your looking for and then just cut along your folded lines)
Your paper will end up looking similar to this.
Next step will be to do an accordion fold. You will fold one way then flip and fold the other. When you are finished it should look like this. . .
While the tissue paper is still folded you will need to fold it in half. The general purpose in this is to find the center of your flower.
To give the flower a more realistic look you can draw a curved line on the top. As you do more of these you will not have to use this line. Now all you have to do is cut along your guide.
Now you will need to take the wire and wrap it around your tissue paper. After you have done that twist the wire together. Now make sure you wrap the wire tight around the tissue paper otherwise your flower will not be very sturdy. Then you will need to spread open the two sides to prepare for the opening of the flower.
Now you are able to begin separating the layers. To make sure you flower is rounded I suggest altering sides as you work. It should begin to look like this. . .
Now you are done with the hard part. You will need to make 45-50 flowers per pomander. Once you have completed all of your flowers you will be able to start putting them into your Styrofoam ball. First step here will be to insert your ribbon into the ball. I used a piece of wire to make sure that it was secure.
Take your flowers and insert the wire into the ball. . . continue until your ball is filled.
And there you have it tissue paper pomanders!
A Brides Journey
My name is Jessica, I’m 25 years old and my life has been consumed by wedding planning. With that being said here is some information about me and how I got here. I am originally from New York and I am the oldest of 4 children. How did I end up in Connecticut you ask? Well after attending St. John’s University in Queens for 3 years I decided it was time for a change. So where would a girl who loves beaches and warm weather decide to go. . . .Connecticut??? Doesn’t make sense right? Well, when I was considering schools I figured that if I went to a school in a place like Florida or California I would never to class. If I went there I figured I would have majored in something like tanning 101. I had no idea that by choosing the University of Connecticut I would never go to class because it was too cold…go figure!
After my first semester I decided to get a part time job and fate led me to Best Buy. I know how romantic right? I was hired as a customer service representative and I immediately had my eye on the computer supervisor, Eric. We were friends for a while and we eventually went on a few dates but the timing was not right. A few months had gone by and after dating a few other people we realized that we were just meant to be together. We have stuck it out through thick and thin and on December 22, 2007 Eric asked me to be his wife. I obviously cried a whole bunch and eventually said yes!
First thing we did was to decide on a date. Surprisingly this was a very quick and easy decision for the both of us. May 29th 2009 is our wedding date and it is quickly approaching. I didn’t believe those around me when they said that time fly’s by but boy was I wrong! So now I am here (thanks to the wonderful Candice!) to share with you my journey down the aisle. So, prepare yourself for tons of do it yourself projects, advice, and stories!
