DIY Madness

Every now and then I run across a DIY project that makes me nuts. This is one of them. It is a ring bearer’s pillow made of stephanotis. Yes it is beautiful. Yes it will smell fabulous. Yes you CAN do it yourself. Should you? Well let’s take a little look at what they don’t tell you.

First off the let’s look at the flowers themselves. Stephanotis is beautiful alright but they are one of the most fragile flowers out there. They must be handled much differently from other flowers. As cited in the article there are special cotton tipped stems that must be used to keep them fresh. First you remove the natural stems and insert the moistened cotton tipped wires which you then wrap in floral tape. That is not as easy for a novice as it sounds since steph’s will discolor from the slightest touch. A florist knows to only touch them on the back side of the bloom. It’s also very time consuming.

The article calls for 150 to 175 blooms. I checked yesterday and the current wholesale price is $1 per bloom. Unless you have an inside connection to the floral wholesalers they aren’t going to sell to you. That means you will be paying retail, more like $2 per bloom. I’m betting that you aren’t going to find these bad boys at Costco either; so be prepared for a bit of sticker shock.

The second glaring inconsistence in the article is the use of floral foam. Makes sense on the surface but falls apart in reality. Literally. A 6” x 6” x 1” block of floral foam, once soaked will snap in half from its own weight. So now your little 5 year old nephew is carrying a very fragile, heavy, drippy thing that turns brown where ever he touches it. Good times.

Not only have you got a mess on your hands but it’s a mess you didn’t need in the first place. Remember all the work you did to remove the stems and replace them with the cotton tipped wires? Think about this for a minute; if the blooms have no stems how are they possibly going to soak up water from the foam? Besides, wasn’t the whole point of replacing the stems to give each bloom its own water source?

There are a lot of wonderful DIY projects out there; this my friends, isn’t one of them. Save your money and your sanity and find one that you can do in advance. In fact, this one might just be do-able out of silks. Now I’ll bet that is something you never thought you’d hear your Wedding Diva say. I did kind of shudder as I typed it.

The article is in the Aug Sept 2008 issue of Modern Bride, page 178. Sorry guys, but you know I call them as I see them.

DIY Cake Stands

A pet peeve of mine is seeing a beautiful wedding cake sitting on an ugly cake base. Oh come on, you’ve seen it: a board covered in aluminum foil that some poor florist has had to try to hide with greenery. Yuck Oh!

Well not any more! Martha has come to the rescue with a fast easy solution that you can do yourself and just take to your cake designer to use on your cake. You can find all the details here. I do have one caveat: add an additional foot in the canter of the stand. Wedding cakes are very heavy and if that board bows at all it can destroy your cake. Been there done that---been scrambling to find something to support the center of a sterling silver cake stand. Thank God for chefs that love me!

You have just got to love the people at MS Weddings; they come up with the best ideas

Living Centerpieces for Flower Friday

If you are looking for a more interesting idea for your centerpieces than the standard cut flower arrangement why not go live. I ran across a press release for The Wedding Greenhouse’s new website. The Wedding Greenhouse specializes in live potted saplings to be used as both favors and decorations.

Their offerings range from miniature palms to coffee plants. I wasn’t really keen on the way they try to dress up the pots with cheesy ribbon. I know my DIY readers could improve on that 100%. What I was really taken with was the idea of using a cluster of these to surround a tall candelabrum at center table.

What’s more it got my little brain going on other options along the same lines.

I love African violets and I have one of the largest growers in the world right under my nose. Holtkamp Greenhouses grows the internationally acclaimed line of Optimara Violets. Their miniature line would look fab clustered as a centerpiece for a more casual wedding. They are available in a wide range of colors, including blue. Tiny potted violets would be so sweet and romantic for not only your centerpiece but also as a favor for your guests.

Unlike the plants from The Wedding Greenhouse you would have to order these through your florist to get specific colors in any quantity since they don’t sell directly to the public. One thing I do know about Holtkamp’s is that they only ship plants currently in bloom. No worries about having them not ready to go for the big day.

You can view the Optimara collection in their catalog. It may inspire some ideas of your own.

If you have used violet in your wedding decor, please drop me an image with some images, send to christine(at)thinklikeabride.com.

Rose Petal Monogram

If you follow the Dish then you know I have had my share of stories about rose petals; good, bad and hysterically funny. Whether it’s keeping my head down while the planner and the church lady argued over their very existence or traipsing through the pouring rain and lightning to collect them off the grass, they seem to be ever present. For some reason when I stage with my friend Vicki I always end up on rose petal detail.

The newest trend I have seen emerging is the rose petal monogram. We always place it at the end of the aisle right in front of where the couple stands to take their vows. With so many couples incorporating a monogram in their décor this is the perfect way to carry the theme into the ceremony site. Make sure it is allowed by your church, temple or synagogue first; see aforementioned church lady; then just go for it. Provide your floral décor team with a copy of your monogram and you should be good to go.

If you are going to DIY this, lay out your monogram in sidewalk chalk (concrete or stone), ribbon (carpet) or corsage pins (grass) first then just start adding petals until your design suits you.

The above monogram was done by Branching Out Event Florists at Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

More DIY Flower Ideas

It’s Flower Friday.

The most often used search term that finds Wedding Dish is either ‘Centerpiece’ or 'DIY Centerpiece’

I just happened to run across a video today on video jug on flower arranging so I thought I would see what else I could find.

First up- how about the 411 on how to grow those cool wheat grass centerpieces. You can get flower tubes at a floral supply store. Fill them with water, pop in a flower and stick the tube into your pretty little miniature lawn. It is also a great way to display escort cards; just stick them into the grass.Fun!

Then here is an unbelievably easy centerpiece that goes way beyond rose petals and a floating candle. If you look at it is exactly how we made the centerpieces for the Gala at The Special Event in January.

Last but not least, here is the how to on the boutonnieres for the men in the party. The technique is valid for nearly any combination of flowers, berries and greenery. Remember to choose flowers on the smallish side; no guy wants a full blown peony on his lapel!

Puzzle Guest Book

I saw the cutest idea for an out of the ordinary guest book last weekend. It was a large wooden jigsaw puzzle.

What they had done was create a collage of pictures of the couple as they grew up and of their life together. The collage was decoupaged onto a ¼ inch thick board which was then cut into a jigsaw puzzle. Are you with me so far? Good.

At the wedding guests were asked to take a puzzle piece and sign the back with a Sharpie. Cool, no?

The tag next to it read in part, “You are all an important “piece” of our lives and together you have helped shape the people we are today.”

The couple plan to put it in a floating frame after the wedding so they can view both sides. What a lovely, personal keepsake from such an important day.

Sorry about the pictures. Silly me worked a wedding and forgot my camera. Duh. I have sent a note to the photographer to get a better image and as soon as I get it I will update this post.

Oooooooooooo! Candy

Are you having a candy buffet at your wedding reception? I think they are a lovely idea and I just ran across Candy Warehouse. What is cool about this site is that you can shop by color. Pink and orange wedding? No problem.

The secret to having a gorgeous candy buffet is for it to look abundant, like Willy Wonka set it up himself. Uh, ya…that can get pricey. Here’s a few tricks that might help.

Take a cue from the pros that do gift baskets, use fill on the large containers. Those pretty tall glass cylinders hold a heck of a lot of jelly beans but not if you take a smaller, shorter glass cylinder and place it inside, upside down first. Then you only need candy to fill around and above it. Unless you have 300 people at your wedding they would never have reached the bottom anyway.

If you are using baskets fill the bottom 1/2 with leftover Easter grass then put a piece of cardboard that you have cut to fit and wrapped to match on top before you add the candy. Remember, you are going for the look of abundance, not the real thing.

Group your containers close together and use lifts under them to add height at various levels. You can either wrap sturdy boxes in pretty fabric to match or drape all your lifts in tablecloths like caterers do. That helps with the look too. (Next time you are at a catered buffet sneak a look under the linen. You are likely to find such unlovely things as dish racks and milk crates)

Add some large things like Lollis and ribbon candy to expand the look. You won’t by any means need one of these for every guest, think of them as accents.

Use your guest containers as a part of the display.

If you happen to order any PixiStix or Sour Patch Kids you can always send me your leftovers. Teehee

Branches and Centerpieces

I get a ton of inquires about DIY centerpieces. Some of the easiest and my favorites are the ones made of bare branches. The possibilities are seemingly endless. They run the gambit from simple branches from flowering trees like cherry or crab apple to elaborate confections dripping with orchids, crystals and candles.

Here are a few to get your creative synapses firing.

The first group I took at The Special Event in Atlanta. Granted these are a little over the top.

The Wedding Luncheon, 2. IMG_0156, 3. The Wedding Luncheon, 4. IMG_0157

These are from Lifia & Alex’s bio on the Knot.

This really simple one came from the Japanese Wedding Favors website.

This one is from Floral Rush in Los Angeles

To get you started on your own creations here are some helpful links.

Nettle Hollow has some how to’s along with being a source for all things twig.

Ethereal Décor has a few how to’s and is a source for the crystals.

The blog Twigs and String has some helpful how I did mine type notes.

Now that you are inspired…send in your designs to share with the class.

Goodies from Around the Blogosphere

I have been completely swamped for the last week and just today have gotten a chance to catch up on my blog reading. As usual I found some wonderful things to show you. So let’s get to it.

First up flowers:

Kristin Newman Designs Not a blog but still a worthy stop as you surf for ideas for your wedding décor. Kirstin is an event coordinator in Charleston, South Carolina. Her website has enough photos to keep you delighted and inspired for hours.

Michelle Rago Ltd Michelle is an event designer and florist on West 28^th, in New York. I was lucky enough to find her blog thanks to a couple of the blogs in my reader (see the list at the right). Sorry that I don’t remember which one, like I said last week was crazy. If whoever originally posted about Michelle would leave their link in the comments I would be grateful. Thanks to Michelle for all the inspiration. That is her creation an the left. Very cool.

Oh Happy Day! Wants you to bring the love back for carnations.

On to DIY

Abby Larson’s blog, Style Me Pretty always comes up with marvelous ideas for DIY. You may remember a while back she held a contest to submit your DIY. You can see the entries here. This week she is showcasing some DIY design idea from Matthew Mead. Here, here and here.

Inspiration

Oh Happy Blog some great ideas for a chic modern wedding inspired by all things Ikea.

Finally, Liene is running a quick two question survey on her blog, Blue Orchid Designs. Take a moment and show a fellow blogger the love. Besides, I am dying to see the results

Laser Cut Stationery

A while back I stumbled on the amazing cupcake wrappers at Paper Orchid Stationery and I finally had time to explore some of their other products. LOVE THEM!

Paper Orchid is the leading pioneer in laser cut technology. Now they are pairing with the wildly talented Kat Beilfuss of KatBlu Art & Design Studio to create a new line of couture wedding and special occasion papers. The combined efforts of Kat’s mad design skills and Paper Orchids tech has created something very new and exciting.

In addition to the cupcake wrappers, Paper Orchid carries a complete line of imprintable invitation suites and some very cool filigree favor boxes.

Coolest New Find

I found the coolest new product at The Special Event. No, literally. How about amazing ice sculptures delivered to your door?

Ice Caters has developed a line of ice sculptures and service pieces packaged in special no freezer needed packaging. Everything from elaborated custom pieces to ice shot glasses or martini glasses can be shipped anywhere you happen to be. We had the best time playing with the martini glasses. You can even order the martini luge to go with it. Love that!

The also have partners around the country that can order then for you and handle the set-up. That’s’ really the thing to do to save a bit of sanity on your wedding day. I mean really, who wants to lug a block of ice around while in a lovely wedding gown? Just find what you want and tell your caterer where you found it and let them do the rest; ice and easy.

I told you it was cool.

Savvy Shopping Brides

“Attention Wedding Shoppers, there is a sale in aisle 5 especially for you”

If you are planning a wedding in the next 12 months you have some serious after Christmas shopping to do.

In the days after Christmas nearly everything is on sale. No I’m not talking about your basic wedding stuff like gowns and guest books. I’m talking about all that other cool stuff that anyone with an ounce of creativity can use to decorate and host a fabulous wedding.

Let’ put away our “Christmas eyes” and put on our “event planner eyes” and take a little stroll, shall we?

We’ll start with the Christmas decorations. I’m sure you already know to stock up on white tree lights. You can use them in plants or behind fabric or to dress up the buffet tables. Some of those strands of all blue lights might be useful somewhere too. Keep looking.

If you already know your color scheme you can save a fortune on décor if you see some non-Christmas goodies in that color. One year I racked up on clusters of gold, silver and pearl white grapes for next to nothing, like 75% off! Hehehe. Also look for bead garland in non-traditional colors you can weave into your centerpieces. Another thing to look for is the fake crystallized fruit, there are always pears in that bin. Just perfect to add some glitz to a “perfect pear” motif; even better if you are doing a harvest or
Renaissance theme. Do you see where I’m going with this? Goodness me, they even make ornaments in a beach theme now if that is your wedding vision.

Don’t forget the candles. Every craft store, discount store and big box is full to over flowing with candles. Get them now while the getting is good.

Hurry along girls, we have lot’s more shopping to do! It’s on to accessories, everyone’s favorite. You know all those pretty little baubles they wanted you to buy to adorn your holiday look? Put your “bridal eyes” on and you may just find the perfect earrings, necklace and bracelets for your big day. Hadn’t thought about that, had you? It is also a great time to get deep discounts on pretties you can use as gifts for you attendants.

Check out all the pretty glittery shawls, shrugs and boleros that are out for the holidays. Might just be perfect to complete your bridesmaids outfit or add a bit of coverage for Mommy Dearest and Grandmother too! We’re not done yet.

It’s on to the Men’s department. Have you ever noticed that every men’s department suddenly sprouts displays of interesting little gifts for men this time of year? Things like flasks and wallets and cufflinks and office golf sets. Now isn’t that exactly what most guys end up buying for their groomsmen? Double score if it’s something you can have monogrammed after the holidays. Something else to keep your eyes open for is men’s formal wear. If you time it right you may even be able to buy your guy’s tux for not much more that you will be able to rent one for at the height of the wedding season.

All it takes is looking at those after Christmas sales from a different perspective.

Aren’t you glad you thought of that?

DIY Invitations

If you are a regular reader of the Dish then you already know my philosophy on DIY projects for your wedding. I think they are a great idea as long as you do them in moderation. DIY is a great way to add a very personal touch to a very personal event. Where the trouble starts is when brides bite off more than they can chew and end up more stressed than necessary or they go bridezilla and turn everyone around them into indentured servants. So the key is to pick one project you love and give it your full attention and leave the rest to the pros.

Today’s project is invitations. Here is the breakdown of the national averages spent on the paper wardrobe according to TheWeddingReport.com.

• Bridal shower invitations: $138
• Wedding invitations and response cards: $455
• Personal stationery: $187
• Save the Date cards: $196
• Thank-you notes: $127

That is a sweet little chunk of change and because it can all be done well in advance of the big day, unlike flowers or food, it makes it a perfect place to put your DIY skills. That is if you have any graphic skills, or at least it used to require that.

To the rescue comes PashWeddings.com and their free dowloadable wedding templates. How cool is that? There are already several available and PashWeddings.com plans to add more designs on a regular basis. In addition to the basic invitation each design suite includes the following elements:
Save the Date Card
Wedding Invitation
Wedding Party Card
Reception Card
Response Card
Program Cover
Placecards/Escort Cards
Table Card
Menu

The templates are all ready to edit and print on your home computer. How easy is that?

Now take all that cash you saved and put it towards something that is a lot harder to DIY, like say flowers.

Details, Detail, Details

I had planned a post about escort cards for today but as so often happens on the net I got sidetracked, lost for hours actually. This week has been crazy busy so I had not had time to visit Abby over at Style Me Pretty until now, even though everyone has mentioned the Inspiration Board Contest this week.

What an embarrassment of riches, like the Sunday buffet at the Waldorf there are so many spectacular things to take in. Details great and details small. The passion and creativity of her readers never ceases to amaze me. Right now there is four days worth of boards to stroll though. Each of the boards is a winner on its own but it is the sheer abundance that caught my eye. You will not find a larger collection of details anywhere.

I am sure there are copyright issues to over come but I would love to see these all assembled into a beautiful coffee table book. I am sure that not only would brides love it but it would quickly become the style bible for anyone in the event design arena. Until then set aside an hour or two, pour a glass of wine and curl up for a most incredible design journey.

The above board is just one of my favorites because the off whites stray into the pinks instead of the more common ivory or champagne. This wine country wedding is in my personal palette; ah…those cool greens in this summer swelter.

Thank you Abby for inspiring us all.

Wedding Shadowbox

I was cruising through my blogroll this morning and stumbled on an interesting post by Mrs. Bell Pepper over at Wedding Bee. If you are not familiar, Wedding Bee is a great blog written by a large variety of brides to be and recent brides. The Bee’s take you through every gory little detail of their planning and post wedding tasks. It can be a bit of a task to keep up with because there are SO many posts but I always find something interesting and a lot of good DIY ideas.

Today I found a post about Wedding Shadowboxes. It is a great idea to preserve the memorabilia of your wedding. I spent some time searching for some other examples and came to a conclusion. If you want a brilliant shadowbox you have to plan in advance.

The more I looked the more boring shadowboxes I found. What is great about the one Mrs. Bell Pepper did is the scope of objects she included.

If you like the idea of preserving and showing off the memories of all the hard work you have put in on planning your wedding you should start from the very beginning.

Keep a box and a note pad with your wedding planning stuff. Toss into the box any bits and bobs that you think might provoke memories. Not just the pretty things either. How about that hole punch that nearly drove you to insanity at 4 in the morning as you tried to finish your escort cards? This is as much about memories as it is about pretty.

Use the pad to write down things you want to remember to set aside from the day itself. For instance you may want someone to get a great shot of the signature cocktail you created or a label from the wine you chose, maybe the cork from the bottle of champagne you toasted with. It’s the little things that will bring back memories in years to come.

Have fun creating an heirloom that you can enjoy for all the years to come.

The Sweetest Inspiration

I have talked before about creating a storyboard to help you design your wedding. Well, no one does it better than Abby Jean over at Style Me Pretty. Abby calls them inspiration boards and does them on her computer. This week she is showcasing some of the best of the best entries in an Inspiration Board Contest among her readers.

Wow! What an embarrassment of riches. I could spend all day just ooohing and ahhhing over the beautiful ideas. All perfectly pulled together by Abby’s deft touch.

She has been generous enough to post a list of how-to hints and tips on how to put your own inspiration board together.

Thanks Abby, you always inspire me.

DIY Centerpieces

Those of you that are frequent followers of the Dish know that I am not a huge fan of DIY weddings. Having said that, I also know that there are a ton of brides that are ready to take the hand-made plunge. Centerpieces seem to be a favorite. So here goes…

First my rant. If I see one more lonely little bowl filled with water and one or two floating candle I may just scream. The same goes for a single pillar candle surrounded by rose petals. If you are going to take on this project, how about using a little creativity girls? I am well aware that for most of you saving money is the object, but you are going to have to think outside the box a little for that. Also remember that the standard height rules apply: either tall enough to see under or low enough to see over.

The one on the left I found on Indie Bride: Simple, clean, cheap and easy. If you are going for that urban zen look you can’t beat it. Change the single flower to suit your style. An orchid would be lovely but a rose would look outdated.

The one on the right would work for anything either county or garden. It is simply a flat of wheat grass with flowers in water picks stuck down in it, tie a ribbon around the flat or wrap it in fabric. Easy enough.This one has daisies but change up the fabric and use tulips for spring or for fall use deep colored mums and sprinkle the grass with fall leaves.

We all know that everyone looks better in candle light. If you want to go this route the key is to mass the candles. See if you can order plain white or ivory pillars by the case. Get a case of several different sizes and mix them up on the table. Rent some inexpensive serving trays to put them on and fill in the rest of the tray with stones or coffee beans or even cranberries to fit your mood. Get creative. Tuck a single bloom in among the filler an BOOM, pretty, unique and reasonable inexpensive. Just remember to find out what your venues rules are regarding candles.

Another popular DIY centerpiece is to fill bowls with beautiful fresh fruit. The only problem with that is finding enough pretty fruit the day before your wedding. Plus if you buy that much fruit at the grocery store you may end up paying more that if you had had the florist do standard arrangements. This might help: limit you selection to two or three kinds of fruit that will be in season at the time of your wedding. Arrange with your caterer to order the fruit through their wholesale produce vendor. Rent the bowls. It’s worth a shot.

I would love to see your DIY centerpieces. So send them on.

(Vicki, please don’t hate me)