And, if you aren’t so much of a craft person, there are plenty of fun DIY kits around the web that would inspire event the most novice DIY-er. This first one, found on etsy by Bustle, is so fun…a DIY flower brooch, complete with supplies and a step-by-step tutorial. Perfect, perfect, perfect for your bridesmaids gifts!

And these brilliant sugar details by Wendy Kromer would make just about any simple cake look lovely. Buy (or make…even better) a simple fondant covered cake, then adorn with these little gems…

And of course, who else but Martha to come through in the clutch with some easy-to-use and oh-so-cute templates that just about anyone could master!

If these DIY kits don’t already have you inspired, we are featuring an absolutely beautiful DIY wedding later today…stay tuned!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Brooches, Etsy, Menu Cards
Post categories: Contests, DIY Projects

From the beautiful bride, Beth…

For another little touch…we designed custom menus. I printed out the menus using luxe white cards and used as matting some country floral wrapping paper that I also found at paper-sourceand cut to size.  I taped the menus to table tents also from paper source.  On the other side of the menus were the table “numbers” which were actually locations that were significant to my groom and me.  We had an Oberlin table (where he went to college), a “Dominican Republic” table (where we were engaged and went on our honeymoon),  a Red Hook table (where he used to live while we were in a long distance relationship), etc…  I found pictures of the locations on the internet and printed them out on cardstock and used the country wrapping paper as matting again. 

The out of town bags were a real labor of love, as well.  I bought a bunch of reusable canvas bags from cheaptotes.com.  I printed the cardinal image on transfer paper, cut out the cardinals and ironed them onto all the bags.  I bought various snacks (fruits and nuts, peanuts, goldfish, bottled water, gum, cheerwine (the softdrink of North Carolina).  I filled them up in bags I bought from Nashville wraps and used lables with the cardinal on it to seal them. 

A few other tidbits…My hair and makeup were done by Salon Medusa, which, along with my caterer, I can’t recommend highly enough.  I walked into that salon the day of the wedding a wreck and walked out beaming.  They knew exactly what type of style I was going for a did a great job. 

For the first part of the reception, we used a jazz band, run by Wally West, (my sister, who is a professional pianist knew them and recommended them highly and they were great!). Wally became our DJ the last part of the wedding, where we had him play (almost exclusively) Motown (or Motown-era) songs.

Also, we found our photographer, Linday Brooke Emeigh, on Craigslist (in Greensboro) about 2 weeks before the wedding. She was just starting out and is working to build her portfolio, so she was really inexpensive.  We were planning on not having a photographer at all (!) to cut costs since many of our guests were professional photographers, but I’m glad I did now. The photos all turned out beautiful!

Thank you so much to Beth and Mike for sharing their big day with us! And, if you are a DIY lover like myself, I would love to see your favorite DIY projects for our contest. The deadline for entries is October 15th, so you have a bit of time to craft something fun!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DIY Projects, menu, Menu Cards, Nashville Wraps, Paper Source, Salon Medusa, Wally West band, Welcome bags
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

To Make the Flower Arrangements…

I purchased most of our flowers from Costco. The centerpieces were created using large square vases purchased at IKEA. The space between the stems and the vases were filled with limes, then with pink, green and white flowers. We made the centerpieces the night before then placed them outside in the shade.

To Make the Pink Table Runners...

We had 60″ round tables and made two-toned table runners to create a custom look. I purchased 60″ wide light and medium pink shantun silk and cut them into 12″ wide strips and 61″ long strips. I used the light pink 12″ strip for the center and two 12″ medium pink strips, folded in half, ironed under and sewed onto the middle strip.

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I love these outdoor signs. They are one part vintage, one part charming…altogether a perfect detail in a sweetly sophisticated way…

All you need is some plywood, a saw (and someone who is handy with a saw) and some white paint. If you are afraid of messing up the letters, print them out on sheets of paper, then cut out the letters and arrange them on the board, tracing around the edges. This way, you get the spacing and look that you want.

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I really believe that if you are having a seated dinner, a printed menu is a must. And, these oh-so-elegant DIY Menus make the perfect first impression for your guests…

To Make the Menu Cards…

You’ll want to buy a nice card stock to print on, preferably a white top card and a colored base card. Once you’ve typeset the menu (using Word or something similar) and printed them, you simply need to trim the edges of your top card, then adhere on to your base card. Using a really pretty ribbon, wrap the menu diagonally around the bottom corner towards the back, then up the back of the card, wrapping the opposite top corner. Tie the ribbon in a knot to secure.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Centerpieces, Menu Cards, Table Runners
Post categories: DIY Flowers, DIY Projects, DIY Wedding Decor

To Make the Fortune Inspired Menus…

My husband and I designed a program in Microsoft Visio for the menu and then I went in and played with the layout, the colors, and the fonts until I got a look I was happy with. Each flap had a course listed on the outside and the details listed under the flap. I printed them on our printer at home on Sage colored 8 1/2 x 11 paper from the Paper Source. Each piece of paper had to be cut down after printing to a square size (we designed the menus so there was a faint line where the cut needed to be made and that was really helpful). Then I folded all 180 menus using a boning tool (also from the Paper Source).

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These gorgeous invitations were designed inspired by the green and chocolate color palette, all using very simple (and inexpensive) products…

To Make these Green and Chocolate Invitations…

I used the following materials and methods:

- pocketfolder from Cards and Pockets. 5×7 Signature pocketfolder in Bronze.

- bamboo graphic at the top of the main body of the invite from istockphoto.com. The graphic only cost $3 and I used it many other stationery items (Save the dates, signage etc.)

- design software: 30-day trial version of Adobe InDesign – Free! I figured out the general layout of the invite using Powerpoint, then downloaded the free trial when I was ready to do the real thing. I also did the map in Powerpoint, saved as a .jpg and then inserted into the final InDesign file. That really saved time.

- Fonts: Bernhard Modern & Trajan Pro (part of InDesign), Floralia font (for the floral icon which appears on the left edge of the inserts) in letter “d” downloaded free from www.dafont.com

Quick Tip…play around with different fonts and layouts until you have something that you really love. If you aren’t familiar with InDesign, lay it out in a program that you are familiar with, like Microsoft word. When printing, make sure to use a nice quality paper and print on a good ink jet, like an Epson. Secure the invitation into the folder using the amazing Scotch 3M gun…it will make your life so much easier!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Menu Cards, Wedding Invitations & Stationery
Post categories: DIY Projects, DIY Wedding Decor, DIY Wedding Invitations and Stationery