At this point in wedding planning I'm pretty much just ready for it all to be over. Like many bees who have gone before me have said, there's a pretty pivotal moment in planning one's wedding where the "eff it" attitude takes over. Some of the DIYs I was planning on doing were swapped out for things I could purchase from Etsy, because pulling out my debit card was a lot easier than pulling together a mile-long list of items from the local craft store. While the budget-conscious bride in me would be so ashamed, I realized that the few dollars saved by DIY-ing my own cake topper/lace pennant/chair signs/whatever just weren't worth the added stress. So, I DIY'd the small things I could, bought what I couldn't, and gave up on the rest. C'est la vie and all that.
Here's just a tiny little bit of what I've been up to in the last month of planning...
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| Before all the price stickers were removed, of course! |
Gold glitter votives: The easiest DIY of all the wedding DIYs. I contemplated doing some sort of tutorial, but seriously, these were stupid-easy to do. I found these little glass votives from Michaels last summer and purchased 50 of them when they were on sale for $0.50 a piece. I thought they looked a little sad in their natural state, so why not jazz them up with some mod podge and the herpes of the craft world? I'm pretty happy with how these little votives turned out, and I can't wait to see how they look on our guest tables! A little sneak-peak of those is coming soon!
Floral garland: Alright, I know. I said I gave up on almost all of my wedding DIYs. Well, this one was basically thrust upon me when the original plan I had to decorate my wedding arch fell through, and I had less than 2 weeks to figure out an alternative. Our wedding arch is a very simple birchwood structure, exactly what I had always envisioned. Even though it's already pretty in it's natural state, I wanted to add some floral elements since it will be the backdrop in all of our ceremony photos (and possibly family photos as well!). This floral garland is what I came up with after roaming my local Jo-Ann fabrics for over an hour, trying to find something, anything to decorate our arch with. I used a pre-made garland and adhered those pink flowers with floral wire. It's not totally done being "made" yet, the above photo is in it's half-finished state.
Bridesmaids presents: It took me way to long to decide what I was going to do for my bridesmaid's presents. I originally wanted to get them robes to get ready in, but decided against that when I decided that we'd be getting ready in a salon and not a hotel room. While the robes are totally cute for a group of ladies getting all done up in a private room, I didn't know how practical they'd be for getting ready in a public salon. Once I scrapped the robe idea, I went back to the drawing board and tried to brainstorm presents that I myself would love receiving if I was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. I loved the idea of gifting presents that aren't plastered with "Jenna's Bridesmaid" or "INSERT COUPLE'S LAST NAME HERE", but instead gifts that can be re-used/re-worn after the wedding.
I saw the gold knot bracelet on Pinterest several months back, and loved how simple and elegant it was. The whole symbolism behind it is that my ladies are helping me "tie the knot", hence the knot on the bracelet. Le duh. I went ahead and ordered them, and was so pleasantly surprised when they came in. They're so delicate and pretty, but they have a nice weight to them. I'm asking each lady to wear their bracelet on the wedding day, but they are totally free to wear whatever other jewelry they would like. I also might have ordered an extra one of these for me, totally just to get the group discount...yeah, that's it.
Like every other basic bride before me, I plan on stopping by Starbucks on the morning of my wedding so my bridesmaids and I can fuel up for the busy day ahead of us. While I love the cute photos of the plastic cups that result from these trips, I again wanted to get my girls a gift that can re-use long after the wedding. As soon as I saw these custom re-usable Starbucks coffee cups, I knew I needed to order them. Each lady will get their own cup with their first name on it (not "Bridesmaid"), while mine will still totally say "Bride". I chose sparkly gold for the color of the custom decal, although the shop I ordered them from has tons of different colors to choose from!
Even though I know the bracelet and the coffee cup would have been enough, I wanted to gift my bridesmaids a little something else. The thought of gifting them a cute re-usable tote bag popped into my mind, and I started searching various sites in search of the perfect one. Etsy didn't have anything close to what I was looking for, and other wedding retail sites wanted way too much money for customization. On a random shopping trip into Marshalls one day after work, I happened upon these burlap tote bags. There just so happened to be four bags left, and they were just $5 a piece. While I would have happily spent more on them, I was happy to have found a bag so perfect for such a steal! I can't wait to gift these goodies to all my bridesladies on the night before the wedding!
Although you saw the behind-the-scenes creation of our guestbook poster, it is finally here and it looks lovely! I originally wanted a gold frame for it, but I found this frame at Michaels for $7.99 and could not pass it up - I think the grey wood color complements the florals so well! I am so looking forward to seeing this poster full of well wishes from the people we love most.
I have just a couple more posts before our wedding day, and then it's honeymoon reviews and wedding recaps! I can hardly wait!
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