DIY Valentine's Day

This week we're celebrating love!  And what better way to celebrate than to get your craft on!  I found some fun V-Day inspired DIY projects.  Not good with craftiness?  No worries, I've included some "projects" that merely require a printer.  Check them out:

DIY Ombre Sugar Hearts 

Erica O'Brien (cake designer extraordinaire) shares this fun project.  These would make great wedding favors or sweet wedding shower treats.  And they look pretty easy to make!  O'Brien makes the step by step instructions easy for the amateur baker with easy-to-find ingredients.

DIY Fabric Heart Garland

Jessica Jones over at How About Orange gives us instructions for making some fabulous Valentine's Day decor. I think this garland would be great for wedding or shower decor. And you can make them in any color or print combination! You will need a sewing machine, but only to straight stitch (anyone can do this).

DIY Valentine's Day Cards (and Envelopes)

The Wedding Chicks (queens of printables), have free downloads for these great humming bird Valentine's Day cards and more postcards.  They can be easily printed on standard A2 cards and envelopes which you can easily find at a local craft store or online.  

DIY Paper Straws with Hearts

Adorable!  These heart straws would be perfect for a wedding shower, engagement photo props or just celebrating Valentine's Day with your honey.  Andrea Gray Harper gives simple directions on The Knotty Bride.  If you can work a glue gun, you can make these!

Real Inspiration: Kristin & Chuck

Kristin and Chuck recently shared their engagement shoot with us.  They were kind enough to also share their wedding!  They had their ceremony and reception at the Newton White Mansion in Mitchellville, MD.  Located just under an hour south of Baltimore in Prince George's County, Newton White Mansion, is a Neo-Georgian-style brick mansion that sits on a lush 586 acres.  A beautiful backdrop for a wedding!

 

The bride and groom chose to use Borrowed Blue Photography, who also did their engagement shoot. You can find more of their work on their blog.  Kristin says, "Natalie and Jamie are an amazing team!"  She was very pleased with them.

 

 

 Kristin got her gorgeous gown from the Bridal Boutique, located in Columbia, MD.  Venus was the designer.  You can also find Venus at Lilys Bridal & Formalwear in Baltimore, MD.  The satin heels came from White House/Black Market and were dyed teal at the Bridal Boutique to match the maid's dresses.  The teal bridesmaids dresses, designed by Belsoie, from the Jasmine collection.  They also came from the Bridal Boutique.  The bride was very pleased with her hair and makeup, "done by a great team," sisters Crissy Engelskirch and Sarah Engelskirch-Boothe.

 

 

I really love this venue!  The couple pass by the fountain after their vows. The beautiful teal and white centerpieces were done by Intrigue, based in Annapolis, MD.  They used crystals, white flowers, branches and tall teal glass vases.  They also did the bouquets. 

 The programs were designed by Kristin (impressive!) and were printed at Vistaprint.  A great idea for the DIY bride!  I'm quite smitten with the statues incorporated into the decor.  Great job, Intrigue! 

 

Kristin was completely pleased by the flowers from Intrigue and the decor, including linens and china provided by their caterer,  Dennis Walz.  Walz, characterized by Kristin as, "by far the best caterer around!" also did the bar, appetizers, and main course.  The cake came from Sugar Bakers.  The first tier was amaretto raspberry, second tier, chocolate with peanut butter mousse, and the third tier was vanilla cake with chocolate icing.  All iced in German buttercream.  Ok, now my mouth is watering!

 

Congratulations Kristin & Chuck!

Not So Charming Price Tags- Getting Married in Charm City

According to the Knot.com Baltimore is number 14 out of the 20 most expensive areas to get married!  Worse yet, our neighbors- Washington, DC, Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland are number 11!  The Knot surveyed 19,000 couples married in 2010.  You can read the full report here.  But don't pack up that wedding gown and take the ceremony on the road just yet!  Here are some tips to save some money:

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1.  Choose your date wisely.  Many venues off discounts for “off-months.”  Also, chose any day other than Saturday, and you automatically save money!  Consider having a day-time event or a cocktail ceremony instead of dinner.  Serving guests lunch or hor d'oeuvres is a considerable price difference.  If an evening ceremony is a “must,” consider a buffet.
 
2.  Limit the professional photography.  Look at your photographers smaller packages and make a list of your “must have” shots.  Then think about limiting your time with the photographer to save more money.  For example, do you really need professional shots of you getting ready?  The photographer could arrive just before the ceremony.  And cut the cake early so that the photographer can leave.  You can always supply your guests with disposable cameras for candid photos.  Now that most everyone is using a digital camera, you are likely to be bombarded with candids from guests via email and facebook.  

 
3.  Consider a pre-owned dress.  Designer wedding gowns can cost a small fortune these days.  Often you can find near-perfect condition gowns for less than half the cost of a new dress.  Once you find a style you like, scour upscale consignment stores and the internet.  Sites like preownedweddingdresses.com and ebay.com have a great selection and often the dresses were never worn!

 
4.  DIY the flowers.  Enlist some creative friends and family members to help you with your bouquet and centerpieces.  There are many step-by-step instructions online to help you.  The more simple the arrangement the better.  You can buy flowers in bulk from your local flower market, costco.com or theflowerexchange.com.  Remember it never hurts to ask if a vendor can do better on a price.  You’ll be surprised how often people are willing to work with you.  Try to stay flexible, compromise on things that are less important to save your money for what counts.  Weddings are a celebration and should be a testament to the relationships in your lives, not your wealth.

Carnation-me-beautiful

So everyone thinks, "Carnations, how tacky?"  I remember in a "Sex in the City" episode, Charlotte and Carrie agree that a man bringing carnations to a first date is a "deal-breaker."  But I have found some beautiful arrangements of carnations!  Bonus- they don't cost much and they come in every color possible!

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Better yet, stacking them together doesn't take much creativity.  Therefor the DIY bride is in luck!  Not only are these flowers less expensive, they are easy to handle on your own.  Here are step by step instructions from Eddie Ross on how to make this arrangement:

A beautiful centerpiece for just about 25 bucks, including the vase!  A good source for wholesale flowers is The Flower Exchange.

Lets get nautical!

I decided to try this summer party decor idea from Martha Stewart.  This would be perfect for a nautical themed wedding!  It turns out adorable, but does take a lot of time.  Here's what I made:

It looks a lot cuter hanging, but I just didnt have time to take the photos.  Also I apologize for the photo quality, I was limited on time!

Here's what I did:

I bought grograin ribbon, drapery cord (the smallest available), fabri-tac permanent adhesive, yellow fabric paint marker.  And you'll need a ruler, scissors and patience with getting glue all over your fingers (and work area).

 I wasn't that happy with the ribbon I was able to find, so I decided to make some alterations.  I bought black and white stripped ribbon, then colored in the white stripes with the yellow fabric paint marker.  This was way easier than I thought!

I also made blue and white stripped "flags" but adding a smaller piece of blue grosgrain ribbon to a larger white grosgrain.

I cut all the ribbons into 4" pieces, applied the glue and folded them over the cord.  I spaced them out 1 - 2," I wasn't exact.  The glue is pretty tacky and sets fairly quickly, so I was able to easily move onto the next ribbon.  A small clamp of some sort may have made this a little more time-friendly.  But overall this was a very easy project, just time consuming.

I also bought some lanterns ate JoAnn Fabrics, they're currently 50% off!

Real Inspiration: Crystal & Cary

Last June Crystal and Cary were married at Damascus United Methodist Church in Damascus, MD. Their photographer, Dani Leigh, caught amazing candids and the lighthearted fun of their special day.

With the help of her maids, Crystal put on her beautiful beaded strapless dress she bought from the Columbia Bridal Boutique. She wore her grandmothers' pearls and matching earrings. A perfect complement to her gown!

The beautiful pink bridemaids dresses came from David's Bridal. There are Davids in Glen Burnie, Bowie and Rockville, MD. The bride and her maids all wore flip flops! Love it! Crystal's flip flops were white Reefs. Her maids wore silver flip flop sandals from Payless.

A truly Baltimore tradition, tying cans, Natty Boh cans, to the bumper of the bride and groom's car! The couple head off in Charm City style to their reception at Smokey Glen Farm in Gaithersburg, MD. A beautiful venue with rolling green hills, nature trails, and covered bridge. Smokey Glen Farm was as picturesque as it was meaningful; its where the bride and groom first laid eyes on each other.

The bride and her talented wedding party made the flower arrangements and bouquets from wholesale flowers they bought online. (Tip for the DIY bride: try Costco for fresh bulk flower delivery). The bride and her sister made the adorable seating board and matching table signs.

Crystal picked out her cupcakes at Canapes in Frederick, MD. Cupcakes are a new trend for weddings. Cupcakes are cute, easy to serve and easier to eat! The bride and groom can still participate in the ceremonial cake cutting with a small cake of their own. Visit here for more cupcake display ideas.

One thing that Crystal wanted was the bounce house! She rented it for her day and it was a hit with the guests! Not to mention the priceless photos of the bride and groom bouncing!

 

Crystal's favorite part of her wedding was that "everyone seemed to have fun!" She also loved the paddle dance. I had never heard of the paddle dance, but what a great idea for a wedding! More about this fun dance:

"It begins with opposing lines of men and women. A man may start at the top of the line holding a boat paddle with the first two women at either side. He decides which one he wants to dance with and hands the paddle to the other woman. As the music plays he dances down the center of the lines with his chosen partner while the rejected woman gets ready to chose one of the first two men in next in line. They dance in their own style, as there is no prescribed dance step."

What a fun wedding!

Congratulations Crystal & Cary!