Wedding DIY: Breakaway Brooch Bouquet

I believe DIY crafters have patience, an eye for the finished product and perseverance.  While doing our DIY for the wedding, there were several times when I knew those qualities were not my strongest suits.

During my research, I fell in love with the idea of creating a brooch bouquet for our wedding.  The basic design includes creating "stems" out of wire and attaching brooches, which are inserted into fabric hydrangeas.   They are sparkly, won't wilt during the day and are the perfect keepsake of your wedding day.   Plus, it is one of those things that you can create well in advance of your wedding day.


"Making a brooch bouquet is quite the DIY project!  It takes patience and creativity.  But it is a worthy endeavor.  Especially when you are ready to walk down the aisle carrying a beautiful brooch bouquet of your own making," according to the "How to Design a Brooch Bouquet" post on Fancy Pants Wedding.com. 

It was the instructions included in the above posting that I followed when attempting to create my own bouquet -- with a couple of stylistic changes.

First of all, she suggested using 55 brooches.  While this adds a whole lot of glam factor, it was a bit large and in charge.  I actually used only 16 brooches. I only wanted to highlight a few brooches and opted for a more simple look.

And secondly, my vision included a breakaway option.  Traditionally, the bride tosses her bridal bouquet to a crowd of single females who dive, push, shove and tackle one another to be the next one to walk down the aisle. Some brides have ordered two bouquets from their florist - one for tossing, one for keeping. 

A new twist is to have a breakaway -- a bouquet that is actually several small ones gathered together.  When the tossing comes up, the bride flings all six bouquets at once.

While Mike and I aren't participating in the tossing tradition, I did want two separate heirloom brooch bouquets (the reason which can't be revealed at this time). So, how does one go about creating that? Well, it goes back to the patience and creativity.

I started out following the blogs instructions by attaching the wire to each brooch.  I then twirled the corsage tape down the wire twice.  (Note: Her tip about the tape sticking best when gently pulled is a great one.  It's the only way to get it to stick.

Then, I split the finished brooches into two groups.  Holding one of the hydrangeas in my hand, I inserted one groups of the wired pieces one at a time.  When that was done, I wrapped each bunch from bottom to bouquet with the corsage tape and repeated with the second grouping. 

Once this was done, I wrapped the two stems with ribbons.

Well, then I needed something to hold the two stems, give them a bit of rigidity and "mask" the fact that there were two of them.  My inspiration came from the fact that we had finished a roll of paper towels.   So, I "reused" the roll and decorated with ribbons and decor from our wedding.

While I don't think it turned out as glamorous or professional looking as the one featured on the blog, I have to say that I was a bit impressed with what I was able to do.  Patience may not be my strong suit -- and I may get frustrated with the process . . . but may there is a crafter in all of us.

Resources:

• FancyPantsWedding.com: How to Design a Brooch Bouquet

Aspiration vs. Inspiration: Tap Into Your Creativity This Wedding

While browsing wedding blogs and websites,  I often come across comments or forum topics where people are asking for the template for banners, programs, menus . . .you name it.  While I know that not everyone has access to Photoshop or is handy enough with scissors to cut perfect circles, I find this a bit disheartening.

I don't think weddings should be cookie cut or designed by templates.  I think websites shouldn't be used as a "how-to" guide but rather as a "fodder for future thought" bucket.

Aspiration is defined as a goal or a strong desire for achievement.  Used in context with planning a wedding, these is the eye candy you find in magazines, blogs, "real wedding" photos and idea forums.  This is what causes the "oh, pretty!" phrase to tumble from our lips.  This is what causes us to "pin it" to a board or clip it and paste it in our binders as another "must-have" for our big days.

But don't confuse this with inspiration.  Inspiration is something that generates an idea or sparks a creative slant to your project.  Inspiration can be found on those same blogs, magazines and forums.  However, it isn't the act of finding them but what happens when those images or DIY projects have time to incubate in your mind.

Every new idea is a mashup of one or more ideas.  An each idea, picture, project or decorating concept is a remix of everything you have chosen to let into your life.  As stated in the book "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon, "you can pick the music you listen to and you can pick the books you read and you can pick the movies you see . . . you are the sum of your influences."

Read the blogs, study the wedding magazines and scour through the endless forums on wedding websites.  As Kleon said, "your job is to collect good ideas.  The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by."

Then, it is necessary to let the dust settle. Step away from the influences and wedding input to allow your mind to work the ideas like a Rubix cube, flipping ideas this way and that way in an attempt to find what works for you.

Use the aspirations to add to your influences and then use the influences to inspire your creativity when it comes to reception decor or the perfect gown.  This will help you envision the wedding day of your dreams, and not the vision of the wedding industry, friends or a forum poster.

The Awkward In-Between Phase of Wedding Planning

I have ran into a creative wall with wedding planning. At first, I thought it was the holiday crush putting a stall on any nuptial progression.  Then, I just thought that maybe I missed the whole "bridey" stress thing and was coasting towards altar bliss without the stress.  This, however, was not true.

My wedding stage status became blatantly obvious to me after a trip to my neighborhood arts and crafts superstore.  In reality, I had no reason to be there. I had piles of multiple colors and textures of card stock that are waiting to be transformed into beautiful DIY rosettes or cut into intricate shapes for the banners.  I had football field lengths of fabric that need to be cut and stitched into wonderful homemade runners for the round tables at the reception.

In short, I was past the the "oh and awe" point of discovering what our wedding could be, deciding what we wanted  and was ready to put it into action; but the date was a bit too far out to start.  I was browsing the craft store because that was all I could do at this point.

There's a lovely insert in the "A Practical Wedding" book by Meg Keene written by Kayce Hazelgrove regarding the states of wedding planning.

These states include:

1) Euphoria: Squeeee!
2) Discovery: "Oh, Pretty!"
3) Panic: "How the hell?"
4) Depression: "What the eff? Eff me!"
5) Rebellion: "Eff it!"
6) Zen: "It is what it is."

I think that there is a phase missing.  I'm going to call it the "2.6: Awkward In-Between Let's Get It Started in Here Already" stage - for that's exactly what it is. 

Between "Discovery" and "Panic" is a period of time when your hands are both tied and idol.You are probably reading wedding blogs, surfing the net for ideas and writing down ideas that broadside you while standing in line for the bus.  You are scribbling to-do notes and adding to your list of DIY projects.  However, it is a time period when you are too far ahead of your wedding to actually make any headway on those lists.  This stage is too far out to finalize and print the invites, design the program or even working on outfits (especially during the holidays/winter hibernation weight gain).

You're excited. You want to do something. But, at this point, there is nothing to do. So, you slip into the usual routine of work, shopping, date nights, book club meetings and, possibly, the gym.  Oh, you still check in on your favorite blogs, but it dips down to about once a week.  There may even be a couple weeks that you forget to even visit the wedding sites.

It is this relax in the creative sparks and the motivation that may contribute directly to Stage 3.  It is the "in-between stage" that allows us to relax our guard  and allow some of the deadlines or agendas to slip by with only the passing thought of "we still have time."

Then it happens. One morning you wake up around 2:23 a.m. with your heart racing, a weird spasm in the middle of your back and the odd feeling to just need to have throw a good old fashioned tantrum. All those to-do items that were simmering on the back burner during the 2.6 phase come to a boil in a frightening sense of urgency; each one carrying an immediate due date.

The thought of invites flutters across your mind but the custom envelopes with the cute butterflies haven't been ordered. The custom dress a seamstress on Etsy is making you hasn't even been started because you didn't want to send her the measurements that included the seven extra pounds from spending the holidays with two families this year. 

In short, you are knee-deep in Stage 3 or in full-balls-out Panic mode.

For me, the Awkward In-Between stage hit right around the holidays when my extra time was filled with holiday shopping, planning trips back to the States and block-printing custom Christmas cards.  Oh, I was making progress on the holiday events but that whole wedding thing was swept under the Christmas tree skirt.

Luckily, my trip to the craft store brought the whole wedding planning process to the foreground before Stage 3 kicked in with a vengeance.  I realized that while it was too early for most of my to-do items, like the invites for I still needed to have a meeting with the caterer, I could make small progress on some of the less time sensitive to-do items on my DIY list.

After I got the holiday cards made, filled out and in the out-going box, I made a "wedding planning planner".  This was nothing more than a resolution or commitment to do at least one thing a week. Whether it was stitching a few of the runners or researching how to make fabric flowers for the bouquet.

It is a matter of setting small priorities before everything became a priority.When you find yourself in the 2.6 stage, take a look at your to-do list.  Figure out your priorities (what you want for the wedding) and what of those can be done ahead of time.  Consider the items that aren't on your "have to have" list and maybe use this time to knock some of them out -- this will avoid the "Eff It" stage when these items get cut due to time or costs.

Also, the 2.6 stage is an excellent time to exercise a bit of creative brainstorming.  So, you want a burlap banner but what if you could make one using some of your favorite old t-shirts? Or black and white pictures of you and your beau?  Use this time to think out of the box and develop a game plan for your new ideas. 

In short, don't let this lull before the storm contribute to the wedding frenzy but as a time to prepare for it.

Wedding Lesson #1: It's Your Day, Do What You Want

As many brides are apt to do, I have been scouring the blogs, wedding sites and forums for ideas or even sources of inspirations. I can't pinpoint the exact moment but somewhere in the middle of all that, I started viewing these sources as guidelines or, worse, "must haves". 

Instead of viewing each DIY idea or even ceremony element as a "Oh, that's cute!" idea, I started viewing the posts as "you need this for your event to be a success."  I even read on a website that in order for my wedding to be seen as a success, I needed to distribute favors to guests.

Whoa! What? The whole shindig isn't centered around the amount of flowers in the bouquet, how many vintage chalkboards I am using or if there are poms decorating the aisles.  To me, the event is a success if I can call myself a wife at the end of the day. 

I will be frank. I got overwhelmed with trying to decipher the ideas from what others considered an ideal wedding. I think the candy bar works for some but I don't see giving guests a sugar bomb the secret to making my day special.

So, I took a break from the blogs, posts and sites. I took some time to regroup my views on what I would like to see for my big day.  Mike and I discussed what was important to us, what we want to share with our guests and what was necessary to make that happen.

The two of us realized that what will make our day a success isn't in birdcage centerpieces or rosettes but rather in keeping the ceremony authentic to us.  If it is something we would like to see for our day or share, it will come across as genuine to our guests.  If we are comfortable with the day, our guests will see the magic that is between us and that will leave a longer lasting impression than any custom napkin will.

After we realized that, there were several things the two of us cut from the list of "to have", including: favors, assigned seats and aisle decor.  

It's not about the money you spend but how you spend it.  Make sure you are investing in something that is authentically you and not what blogs, family or even friends tell you is necessary.  It is your day -- allow YOU to shine through.

It was a lesson I'm glad I learned early on.

Project: DIY Western Union Save the Dates

"Do you need to send a Save the Date?" My first reaction was knee-jerk panic. 

In my head, it screamed "too much work."  For me, sending out this announcement meant compiling the guest list WAY ahead of time, coming up with a design that is us and communicates a theme we haven't come up with yet and then mailing it out to our peeps in the States.  

Save the Dates, while they can be intimidating, are actually worth their weight in gold for these reasons:

1) You get an idea of the size of your guest lists.
2) It is a way to announce your engagement.
3) It communicates important information about the event without specifics you don't have.
4) You won't be answering the same questions over and over (ie, Did you pick a date? Where?)
5) Gives friends & family time to plan - especially those out of town or needing to put in for vacation time.

Save the Dates can be as simple as an email to loved ones to customized or store bought invites.  There are several online DIY sites that offer templates for customizing and printing calender Save the Dates or even magnets featuring you, your honey and the date of the upcoming event. 

Searching for the right one got to be a bit overwhelming for me. Picture of us or text? Magnets? Calendars? So, I thought about what needed to be on it:

1) Our names
2) The fact that we were getting married
3) Date
4) Location
5) That we will be getting around to doing invites in the near future

In my opinion, I could put all of this into a Tweet or a Facebook posting.  But I think I would be breaking several rules of wedding etiquette . . . but I did seriously consider it.   And that's when I did a bit of a different search and stumbled upon an idea that merged what we needed to communicate in a short, sweet kind of way -- Western Union telegrams.

DIY Western Union Save the Dates

I found the Western Union StD on a DIY wedding blog site.  While the idea was hatched or perhaps borrowed from another bride, here are the steps and a few tips on our creation process.


What You Need:

• Yellow or cream colored paper*
• Kraft colored coin envelopes (preferable with window, measuring 3.5" x 6.5")
• Paper Cutter
• Branding stamp
• Stamp Pad
• Exacto or sharp-edged utensil (if window-less envelopes)

1)  Download the Western Union template (.pdf) or, for those with Photoshop, click here.

2) Writing the Telegram
I downloaded "CarbonType" from FontSquirrel.com, a free font website. They have several typewriter options.  Or, print out the pdf on paper and actually type them out!

Here are a few tips for the message:

• The first line of the Western Union telegrams were codes regarding where the message was sent from and how many words. Use this to have fun with the initials, date of birth, home states or even special dates for the bride and groom.
  
• People were charged per word, so use them sparingly and to the point. 
  TIP: Our verbiage read, STOPs and all: 
  Breaking news! "Brides name" and "Groom's Name" are getting hitched  STOP
  The wedding is set for (Month, Date & Year spelled out) in (City, State)  STOP
  Details still developing. Formal invitations to follow STOP
  (website) STOP
  
• Sometimes telegrams were handwritten by the clerk. Depending on size of your StDs list, writing out the telegram in longhand may be an option. 

3) Print out your StD onto cream or yellow colored paper. 
We used manila drawing paper which is available from most craft or office supply stores. This paper has the texture and feel of the old telegrams and is easy to print on. Card stock doesn't have the time-period feel -- and it is a bit harder to fold for our uses. We used Creatology Manila Drawing Paper from Michaels but Rose Art's from Office Max will work just as well.

NOTE: Make sure you have a document feeder that can handle 9" x 12" for it is not the standard printer size.  If you don't, it may be wise to cut your paper down to 8" (wide)  x 6.5"(high) before printing (view #6 below).

ONE MORE NOTE: If you are putting the address on the telegram, be sure to change it for every telegram. Just saying.

4)  Apply rubber stamps to the telegram.
Mike and I purchased a custom-made stamp of our brand from Stamp-Connection.  We also purchased a "Special Delivery" stamp to add a bit of authenticity to the telegram.  Feel free to come up with your own date or message stamp - such as "Urgent Delivery".  You can use the brand stamp on the envelope, invites and even future DIY wedding projects.

5) Trim the telegram down to 6.5" x 8"
Real Western Union telegrams were eight inches wide and 6.5 inches high. Also, when the StD is properly folded, it should fit into a #63/4 window envelope. 

6) Fold the telegram
Fold the telegram in half vertically. The WU top and address of the recepiant should be showing (Figure 1).  Then fold the right side back just after the last N in Western (Figure 2).

7) Create windows in your envelopes - if necessary
Using card stock or cardboard, cut a rectangle 3.5 inches wide by 1 1/4 high.  Put a spare piece of cardboard in an envelope and use the rectangle as a pattern. Place it about 1/4 inch from the side and about 1/2 inch from the bottom. Carefully cut out the "window".  Don't press to hard for you don't want it to go through the back.  

TIP: We were not able to find window envelopes in kraft paper or to the quantity we needed (about 60).  So, I purchased some coin envelopes via an Etsy shop, where the owner allowed for a custom listing of the amount we needed and opted to make the windows ourselves.

8) Stuff & Seal 
All that is left is to put the telegram in the envelope, seal it closed.  You can also add the stamps to the outside for additional flair or branding.  

The payoff comes when your family and friends mention that they got your "telegram" and not "your save the date" . . .

In regards to the budget, we spent about $5 on the paper, $25 on the envelopes (mostly shipping to Canada) and about $25 on rubber stamps -- so about $55 on 51 StDs.

Resources:  

• Western Union Printing & Folding
• DIY Western Union Blog Entry
• Kraft Coin Envelopes on Etsy
• Stamp-Connection

First Things First . . . What Kind of Wedding?

Shortly after our engagement (okay, a little before), the groom and I started tossing out ideas about the type of wedding we want.  For us, this was a simple process.  Neither one of us are keen on the large, center of attention bashes nor are we the type to dance the night away.  So, that pretty much eliminated the dinner and dance type for the small, informal wedding.

While visiting family in the States, Mike and I opted to do a little venue shopping (with the help of his mother and aunt).  On our plane ride to Boise, we drafted a list of what we would like to see in/at/for our wedding.  This list looked a bit like this:

• Sunrise/Early morning ceremony
• Pancake reception
• DIY/Recycle/Reuse theme
• Rustic/vintage 
• Tea green? Cream? 
• Simple, low-key, informal
• Outdoor, if possible
• All inclusive, if possible
• Ceremony in a venue, not a church
• Something that doesn't take a lot of decoration
• Ideally, ceremony & reception together 

There were a few things that jumped out as definites for us, including:

1) Ceremony & Reception in Idaho
While the two of us are currently residing in Vancouver, BC, most of the groom's family live in Idaho.  Rather than make it an international destination wedding for everyone, we decided that a wedding in the Gem State would be a "gem" of an idea.

2) Morning Ceremony & Pancake Reception
Mornings are our favorite time of day.  Every weekend, we make pancakes with a homemade fruit compote and a bunch of random toppings.  This is a special tradition and one that means a lot to us.  We want to share this "sweet start" with family and as our first feast as man and wife.

3) Outdoors
The two of us met on a dragonboat and the outdoors has special meaning to both of us, individually and as a couple. 

4) Easy to No Decorations
One of our biggest restraints is that we are coordinating our "destination" wedding from our Canadian home.  We wanted something that was relatively easy to decorate ourselves (hence the DIY theme) and would be managable from another country.

Our list helped us narrow down our list of venues, lock in our vision of the wedding and prepared us to share our concept with the various vendors, property owners and coordinators.
What We Learned and Some Helpful Tips:
As recommended on every blog, forum, wedding website and free bridal booklet vendors give you, the first thing that needs to be decided after the "Oh my goodness, yes!" moment is what kind of wedding.

From church services to waterfront vows to destination weddings at a lodge, there are thousands of options, ideas or opinions on what could be done, should be done and ought to be done.  The best way to focus on what you want and what is true to your personality is to . . . make a list.

I know . . . everyone and their lists. But this will save you time and effort for you will know what it is you are looking for in a ceremony site, reception location, caterer and the style of decorations.  

While making the lists, use this time to think big, dream and collaborate.  Communicate what each of you want to see in the wedding or what is "absolute must."  Share your visions and discuss the things that would make your wedding day the Dream Day. 

Throw out ideas and put them down on a piece of paper or a shared Google document.  Then, step away from it for a couple of days.  Let the ideas sink in or transition into another great idea.  If another one occurs, right it down. 
Then the two of you should take some time, prioritize what you want, need and can't live without.  This will help you as you progress through the planning phases including setting up a budget.  

Why DIY?

So, why a DIY wedding?   In short, do-it-yourself weddings bring the focus back on the soon-to-be just married couple and they tend to be a bit more personalized.

For those who would like the slightly longer version:

It's YOUR Day -- Reclaim It

"Too much of weddings is focused on the guests."
"That's not what it's about. It's your day. You do what you want. We'll follow."

The above words of wisdom was uttered by my little sister and mother during a conversation on my upcoming wedding.  While I didn't necessary mention any frustrations, it sounded like the women in the family were tapped into my struggles and hit upon a very important train of thought.

Whether economy or the ever-changing shift in trends, many brides are looking for ways to make their wedding more memorable and less bank account draining.  They are opting for the DIY or even paring down the budget-busting bash for a more simple, yet still spectacular, moment to be shared with friends and family.

This is not merely a shift from large parties to smaller gatherings.  It is a shift in focus from what brides feel they have to do or provide for wedding guests and more about what they want to share on their big day.

However, this isn't the only reason why my husband-to-be and I chose to march down the DIY wedding aisle together.

It's My Wedding Day and I'll Personalize How I Want To

Around the time my man proposed to me, I stumbled upon a video produced by the fine folks at The Onion.  In this video, there was a bride and groom gushing about how their wedding was going to be unique and show their personalities.  At one point they mentioned having a bluegrass band play 80s music because the groom was fond of the bluegrass sound but the bride was infatuated with the 80s.  They even presented the idea of "sprinklers" as a unique, specialized element to their personalized wedding.

It was funny for it is every wedding.  It's sad for it is every wedding. 

While browsing venues online and then in person, the two of us were shown wedding pictures and sample venue set-up photos.  While the colors of the pomanders or chair sashes changed, it felt like we were seeing the same decor stuck on repeat. I was starting to wonder how many times this person with the same wedding scheme had been married.  It was the same wedding at six different venues -- just maybe the color scheme had changed.

While this sounds like a hundrum wedding, it wasn't what really put a thorn in my side.  It was the fact that most of those sashes, hanging paper lanterns, runners and even centerpieces had been used by numerous brides -- and they were charged top dollar for these reused decorations and recycled themes.   To me, that is not getting the more bang for your buck.

I believe some of the most memorable weddings were those that were comprised of important elements of the bride and groom -- a mutual blend of their personalities and the life they are embarking on.

Our decision to do a DIY wedding wasn't exactly budget, although it played a huge role in it for by nature I am budget-conscious, nor was it because the groom and I are beyond crafty -- far from it.  It was an effort to inject our unique lifestyle and personality into our day rather than passing it off onto a professional who will just apply a "tried and true" style to OUR wedding*. 

Will it be original? Eh, probably not.  It will probably be ideas that were hatched by someone else but modified, tweaked and renovated by us.  We will pick and choose what we want, expand upon some ideas and possibly even Easy-Bake our own innovative ideas.  It will be a slow-going process but one we are excited about.

Is going with the "Acme" wedding bad? No. It has a purpose. Whether you are short on time or would rather focus on other aspects, hiring professionals is an excellent way to go.   

While we may be making up for our lack of pristine elegance with creativity and personalization, it will be a reflection of us -- and thus, memorable.

*Note: I said OUR. The groom has jumped in full-speed, developed ideas and has picked up an Xacto to help slice and dice our STD envelopes.  This is a joint-endeavor -- as both of us believe it should be.