Wedding Maps

Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper

There’s a recent trend that I’ve really taken a liking to:  Wedding Maps.  I first saw the wedding map in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine and I fell in love with the idea.  It’s such a creative and fresh take on direction cards!  Fortunately, there are tons of stationers on sites like Etsy that can create a wedding map for you…however, it can be a bit pricey.  So I took matters into my own hands and drew up our map myself! 

I’m a fan of DIY-ing but, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t really want to overwhelm myself since all of my wedding helpers are a few hours away.  😦  Keeping that in mind, I thought drawing a map and sending it to whatever stationer I chose would be a simple and fun project. And I was right.  I went to Google maps, looked up where our wedding is being held and searched for locations nearby that pertain to our wedding weekend.  Clicked print and viola!  A simple template.  I carefully traced the streets that I needed and added in the locations.  Then I drew little symbols that went along with each destination.  For example, there’s a golf course nearby that people can visit, so I drew a tiny golf bag.  Finally, I very carefully hand printed the names of the streets and destinations.  And it looks pretty!  I’m scanning it in to the computer today so that I can pass on to the stationer when I’m ready.  (Yes, I still have to choose invites.  Yes, I have a week left to do so.  I know, I know!)  Pictures to come soon!

Do It Yourself

Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper

As a college Art major and soroity alumnae, I’m big on crafts.  So, I’ve been searching for ways to do little wedding projects myself without taking on too much and driving myself insane.  To date I’ve decided to print the escort cards, menu cards and programs myself, and I’ve even purchased Microsoft Publisher to make them snazy looking.  But I’ve been searching for something a little more “hands on.”  Enter my wedding savior Etsy.  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I LOVE Etsy. I started searching for address wraps for our invites, since I’m not so confident in my caligraphy skils and I thought a plain label would be a little, well, pasee.  Anyway, I found the perfect one from blushprintables.  Ok so it’s not totally do it myself since she has already designed the lovely wraps and all I have to do is type in the address and print.  BUT, it’s just what I was looking for to add an extra touch to our invites.  Whoohoo!

Coming up next:  Birthday weekend dress shopping!  This saturday (my birthday) my mom, sister (and new baby), FMIL and bestest friend ever are going dress shopping to help me make a decision between the two dresses I’ve been dreaming of.

Put a Ring on It!

“I Do” By Jennifer Bueno

Your wedding day is unlike any other, and every aspect of your wedding deserves to be special and unique.  Make it a point to infuse your personality into your wedding in every way feasible.

A good starting point can be the oh so simple ring bearer’s pillow.  Instead of the expected plain pillow, take inspiration from the wonderfully creative and unique ones below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether you are going for a bohemian, beachside, or vintage theme, any of these ideas are a sure way to get your point across and get your creative juices flowing for the rest of your wedding planning!

 

 

 

Stressful DIY Wedding Projects

Okay ladies, so I’ve been reviewing our polls and it appears that some of you are feeling crafty, creative and thrifty. As much as we all love to read up on Martha Stewart’s cute  arts and crafts ideas, it’s important to note that these projects aren’t suitable for every woman’s lifestyle or personality. Not to burst your DIY bubble, but in keeping true to this blog and my passion for informing couples I’ve listed some tips to avoid the stress of attempting to be crafty.

Photo from http://www.oncewed.com

5 tips you need to know before approaching a DIY wedding project:

1. Spending an hour of labor on a project is very different then spending 40 hours of labor on the same project. First, figure out if you have enough FREE time and enough time before your wedding to allocate into your schedule to complete the project or projects you are looking to do. Tack on an additional 30% of time to your initial estimate. Chances are you underestimated how much time it would take you.

2. Never buy exactly what you need! Always buy 20% more of the suggested materials. You will make mistakes and you want to avoid the travel time and cost going to and from to pick up additional supplies. OR you may want to avoid additional or rush shipping costs if you are ordering online.

3. Home printers can cause paper jams, smearing and inconsistent color. Be ready to win the battle with your printer. If you are very particular about your colors then DIY printing projects are not for you. The only way to match colors and get a true color is by supplying a PMS (pantone) color to your printer or production house.

4. Make sure that if you are using scissors, exacto knifes or cutting tools that the blades remain sharp. Once they dull out it makes your job more difficult to maintain a crisp, clean edge.

5. If you get tired…STOP! Don’t push your way through. Trust me people can see when the TLC is missing and there is nothing worse then half-@$$ looking favors, hang tags, etc. Say no to the extra red bull…and yes to taking a break and returning to it later. Not to mention, your boss won’t care that you stayed up all night on a wedding project only to have no energy at work the next day! Prioritize 🙂