The Life of a DIY Bride

I wanted to document some of the DIY projects I put my blood, sweat and tears into (not really any of those... but I did work hard on them) leading up to our wedding day.  Although I didn't come up with an original, whole DIY crafty wedding (because I would have killed myself with all of that planning and work), I did steal some ideas from Pinterest as well as come up with a few of my own.  

My very first wedding project was a prop for our engagement photos, which I intended on also using for decor for the wedding reception.  Even better, it was something we could easily display in our home after we used it.  All I used was a paper mache letter K, some yarn, and a tulle flower- super easy!

The next thing I made were my bridesmaid cards.  I knew I wanted to ask my girls in a special, creative way.  After searching Pinterest for some inspiration, I decided to make my own version of the "Will you Be My Bridesmaid" DIY found here.  I used the colors of our wedding palate, and tried to create each "bridesmaid" to represent the girl that was receiving it.  Each card had information about the wedding details (that were known at the time); my promise to not be a psycho, crazy, Bridezilla, the attire that I was imaging for them to wear at the time, and each of their contact info.  I was so happy with how they turned out and the girls loved them!  

Cards completed and put together

Chain link bride and bridesmaids

Front of the cards

3 additional cards with all details information

Photobooth props were a must on my DIY to-do list.  We booked Shutterbooth (amazing vendor!) and props came with the package that we purchased, but I still felt the need to create our own little touch.  One of my close friends, Bobbie, helped out with this project (love you, girl!)  Pinterest linked me up to these sites for the props and inspiration for the Team Bride/Team Groom fingers: Props, more props, Foam Fingers

 The Mr. and Mrs. sign (which I created myself) also had a "Thank You" on the back, which we used for our wedding thank you cards!  Again, thanks to our awesome photog, Jennie Slade Photography for taking some amazing pictures!

I also created our own photobooth sign to direct our guests to use the props that we made, which we displayed on the table next to the actual booth.  

I also made another photo prop for our wedding photos after the ceremony.  I also thought of and created this myself, no inspiration necessary!  Just some scrapbook paper, some burlap and some string.  So easy!

I bought a bridal hanger from the etsy site here and decided to add a little of my own flair to match my decor of the wedding.  

Similar to my bridal hanger, I made my bridesmaids their own for their dress the day of the wedding, and it was something they could use later, as well.  I also wanted to get them gifts that they could reuse, and not just have for one day and never look at it again!  So I went the Toms route, and bought each of them a pair of ivory Toms to wear for the reception, as well as a cute necklace with their initials from another Etsy site here.

I also made favors gift bags for the kids at the wedding.  We only had about 10 or so kids that were on our guest list, so I figured it would be an extra special favor for them since the adult favors weren't exactly kid friendly (we did our own DIY cigar tubes and chocolate candy tubes in our wedding palate colors... wish I got pictures of them, but I didn't).  I printed off this coloring book that I put together for each of them, and added in some crayons, some snacks, a magnetic doodle board, silly straw and funny glasses for the photobooth.    

 Just like the yarn wrapped Letter K I made for our engagement photos, I also made all of our table numbers the same way.  Paired with wheat bouquets and some simple hydrangea on every other table, they made a understated, rustic touch to the reception decor.

Finally, the last project I did, literally three or four days before the wedding (last minute, much?) was write out everyone's escort cards for their reception table.  We had assigned seating with both a seating chart as well as escort cards to distinguish each guests' meal choice.  I placed them in corks that I ordered off Etsy, again (source not available).  This by far took the longest of all of my projects and I for sure thought my hand was going to fall off.  Again, I was completely satisfied and happy with how the final result came out.

Sorry for such a long blog post today!  Just wanted to share a little glance into what it took to put together some extra special touches to add to such an amazing day!