Beads + Chicken Wire = Magic

I plucked this page from a magazine years ago. I've not yet tried my hand at these super cute little beaded numbers, but it looks super easy, and such a great idea to make a table fantastic.

The Easiest DIY

The idea has been around, nothing new, but here are a couple of sweet versions of wrapping a vase. It's such an easy way of creating something original and distinctive to your wedding. Here we used flocked paper (awesome!) from Paper Source, vintage lace and a modern fun ribbon, and the glassine paper was letterpressed by Stolen Plate Press. 

Idea alert  :::sound of sirens:::   get the person who designs your stationary to print extra bits that you can use in crafty ways, like wrapping your vase. Just, Don't   :::sound of sirens:::   over do it. There's nothing worse than EVERYTHING matching..it drains the specialness out of it, when it all looks the same.

Oh, and by the way, glue dots. You heard it here. 

DIY - In Advance

The thing with DIY projects is that you want them to look polished. 

You want guests to say, "Wow! You did all this YOURSELF?!" not, "so...........sound of crickets.......you did all this yourself! Wow." 

This year we've started consulting with DIY brides. Sometimes you just want a professional opinion. Is this too much burlap? Is it weird to have a tootsie roll pop as a boutonniere? Is this so matchy matchy that everyone is going to puke? And then there are the practical questions that you don't even know to ask. How many times have I heard sad stories about people who did their own flowers but didn't know how to process or buy fresh flowers, so they looked like a sad little display the day of the wedding. 

Here are some boutonnieres that can be made IN ADVANCE! Another key to the DIY world. I've also heard my share of stories that start with, "We ran out of time so....."

If you want help...we map out the whole process so there's nothing but smooth sailing and everything looks as if it was designed by a professional, ahem, because it was.