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!

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.

WOW Invitations

Are you bored to death by most of the invitations you are seeing? Can’t find anything that is YOU? I may have the answer.

I found the coolest line of invitations called Paper Fetish. Johanna Nunez has created 24 complete collections, each unique, each fabulous, each including every item you would need for your paper wardrobe. Better still is there is no minimum order or quantity increments. So if you need 35 you can get 35, perfect for the small intimate wedding or destination event.

These are as close to bespoke invitations as you can get without having to go to that trouble or expense. They are only available ‘to the trade’ as the saying goes so you will have to order them through you wedding coordinator. If they are not already a distributor, by all means turn them on to it.

Plus , kudo on as gorgeous website.

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.

The Greening of the American Wedding

One goal of most every engaged couple is to find ways to express themselves in their wedding; to make it a truly personal representation of who they are as a couple. To do this more and more couples are bringing their social consciousness to the party. From environmentally friendly weddings to ethical jewelry to charitable donation registries, today’s couples are seeking out ways to proclaim their love for the planet and its inhabitants as they proclaim their love for each other.

Going green doesn’t mean wearing hemp and taking your vows in a field of daisies while munching on organic tofu. In 2007 you may not even see much of a difference on the surface. This means that you can do your part for the planet without freaking out Granny.

The key factor in having a green wedding is to make conscience choices and to ask questions. Many vendors in the event industry are catching on to the different options available and jumping in to fill the need. From when and where you decide to get married to the invitations to your honeymoon there are ways to lessen the impact your wedding has on the environment.

As you start to plan your wedding consider the time and place. A ceremony and reception held in the spring or fall will require less energy to heat or cool the space. Host your wedding in a location central to most of your guests to minimize the miles traveled. If possible have your ceremony and reception in the same location or you can provide transportation between the two.

Invitations

If you think about it weddings require an amazing amount of paper goods. This is also one of the easiest ways to go green. Recycled paper has come a long way from the brown rough texture of the early days. Now you can get beautiful invitations printed on recycled papers from most of the major manufacturers. You can also find printers that use soy ink.

Take it another step further and you will discover all the beautiful handmade papers now available for the bride that want to make her own invitations. There are papers that come with embeds like flower petals or seeds. The seeded ones are especially nice to use for your program; guest can take them home and plant them after the wedding. No waste and a new plant in the bargain. Anything you need for your ‘paper wardrobe’ can be found in an ecologically friendly format.

Décor

When you talk about decor the first thing most people think of is flowers. Even though flowers are a natural product they are one of the hardest places to have an impact. Unless you live in an area with a long growing season it can be very hard to find the kinds of flowers you want locally and organically grown. Don’t despair, there are still thing you can do. If you get married in a garden you have flowers all around you. For your table centerpieces you can use a tablescape of small potted plants, maybe a combination of flowers and herbs. Pot them up in a moss lined basket or put them in pretty little pots and have you guests take them home for their gardens. If you still want a more traditional look you can order organically grown flowers on the internet from Organicbouquets.com. Even if you go with completely traditional flowers you can make arrangements with your florist to donate your flowers afterwards. Perenity is an all volunteer organization that will pick up your flowers after the wedding and use them to make arrangement that are delivered next day to patients in hospice care. Harriet Karo of the local Perenity group told me that this trend has grown in Nashville to the point where they quite frequently receive enough donations to not only cover Alive Hospice but the Ronald McDonald House as well. Way to go Nashville brides! Not only that, but the florists love it too. Vicki Sanders owner of Branching Out said “not only are we doing something worth while but we don’t have to haul the leftover flowers back to the shop afterward.”

This is just the beginning of ways you can do your part as you celebrate your marriage. Tomorrow I'll take a look at fashion and jewelery. Stay tuned.

Escort Cards

Maybe one of the hardest tasks you can take on in getting ready for your wedding is planning the seating arrangement. You know what I mean, where are you going to put weird old Uncle Lou that he won’t offend your guests and where are you going to seat the boy’s frat brother that has dated and jilted almost every woman at the wedding? The last thing you want is bloodshed after all.

Since you have gone to all that work don’t you think that the escort card table deserves to be just a little special? I love it when the escort card table is the talk of the cocktail hour, it becomes the centerpiece of the room and gives your guests an excuse to meet and mingle while they seek out their card. So…let’s give them something to talk about.

Here are some galleries that have some interesting ideas.

The Knot

Flickr

Martha Stewart Weddings

Think outside the box. So often I see beautifully lettered very formal escort cards just set up on a table. Yawn. How about tying a very simple card to a small favor box, or pinning them to a board or a “bouquet’ of branches, if its Christmas hang escort card ornaments on a tree. Use your imagination and have fun.