More DIY Craftiness Going On....

Now that school is just about over, I have a ton of time on my hands - which is a good thing, as I also have a ton of DIY projects for the wedding to do!

Today, I made the first burlap table runner. I ♥ it! I'm getting much better at sewing straight lines, too! It took forever to sew, well what seemed like forever - 2 hours. After finishing the first one, I realized I couldn't just sit there banging them out one after another, so I took a DIY break to... DIY!

I also "made" clothespins for our photograph clothesline. By made, I mean I glued some cardstock strips onto dollar store clothespins. I like how they came out and it adds some purple to the decor, which I felt has been lacking. I'm certain we won't need all 144 for the clothesline - 72 photos? Probably not. - but I'm sure I will find some other way to use them between now and then.

Other awesome wedding related news - the town has blocked off the grange for the whole week prior to the wedding, so we will have plenty of time to decorate! Holy relief, Batman!




Photograph Clothesline Clothespins




(That's Shirley!)




1st Burlap Table Runner











PS-I do have DIY failures, too. I attempted to make burlap bird's nests this weekend and succeeded in glueing a ton of burlap to our cereal bowls. That one has gone back to the drawing board. =D

Place Settings.

I've been curious how we're going to "mark" the place settings on our tables, as our plates and cutlery will be at the buffet. I think I've figured it out. I'm going to wrap our Digital Photo Cards (business card size) and Guestbook Cards (postcard size) with burlap or twine and place them at each seat. We'll have colored pencils on the table in a mason jar with a little sign on it to ask guests to put the guestbook cards in the "Card Mailbox" that will be on the gift table. Then, after the reception, we can gather the cards and store them in a photo album.

I think this is the final mock-up of both cards. Let us know if you have any suggestions before we print them! Thanks for all the feedback so far, it's been great to have so much involvement from our loved ones!

Photographer Secured!

I've been scouring craigslist and posting ads looking for someone with a good eye and a great personality to fit into our budget. It's not easy. Wedding photographers START at $800 and shoot up to $2000, easily. $2000 is our entire budget! David and I both have family members and friends who have photography talents, but the idea of having someone we'd like to invite as a guest and enjoy themselves, be responsible for recording our event and not be able to relax and have fun seems unfair. We know they have mad skills. We look forward to seeing what photos they take on their own accord (as we all know, anyone who likes to take photos is going to take a ton anyway!). But we just don't want to burden a guest with such responsibilities. So, back to the scouring. I emailed with 2 dozen possible photographers. Some were teenage hopefuls, some were middle aged weekend wedding photographers. Some were just looking for a foot in the door. Some were still way out of our budget. Some willing to shoot for free! Some were right in our budget ballpark. So, who did we choose?

T K & J Lochmandy Photography

Tk&J (specifically the "T", Tyrone, whom I have done all of my communicating with) are wonderful. They are professional. They know the business. They take great photographs and are ambitious. Most importantly, Tyrone has been completely amazing to talk with. He has had all the right answers and been very flexible. He is very kind and personable. I think they are going to be the perfect match for our celebration and I look forward to working with them.

Fun Things To Do....

Dave and I are still thinking up some fun activities for the reception.

Right now, we love the idea of Mad Libs, Word Finds and Crossword Puzzles all about us! I figure we can get large postcards printed online with these on them for not a whole lot. Supply some pencils and instant fun!

(Our parents are going to roll their eyes on this one but...) We also love the idea of customized temporary tattoos! They're not terribly expensive. We can get one design for us and then a bunch of other designs that aren't custom and have a Tattoo Booth!

Please let us know if you have any other group activity ideas. I don't think we will be having any of the traditional dance stuff that most weddings have (partly because we don't really like being the center of attention on the dance floor). The first dance and leg garter thing don't appeal to us (and I think I'd feel weird not having the opportunity to have a father/daughter dance - RIP Dad.) I do want to have a bouquet toss (I don't think my nieces would let anyone leave the wedding if they didn't get a chance to catch it!), so if you have any other ideas, let us know.

For music I'm leaning towards an acoustic guitar during the ceremony with the same guitarist playing for the first hour or so of the reception time (with possible vocals) and then ipod-ing it for the rest with our music selection.

Activities...

Because this will be a dry celebration... I'd like to have activities available around the venue for entertainment value.
A couple things I have seen so far...



I Knew You When...

Making little pins with the guests names on them that they can then stick into a posterboard with years on it.









Another idea I have found is a photobooth. I'm not entirely sure how the logistics would work out yet, but I like all the creative possibilities. Let me know if you have any ideas.









...and then I also like the idea of a creative guest book. Here's one with little notes to get you started.

Decorations Galore!

Some more things I have seen for decorations that I adore.

These grapevine balls are fantastic and reminded me of something else... I could take twine and wrap it around inflated balloons with glue and when it dries, pop the balloons and hang the twine balls in the venue. I think it'd be pretty rad. I don't think we will need much for lighting accents (such as white christmas lights or paper lanterns) because it will be daytime. I do think the twine orbs would be cool looking though. The folks are going to take some photos of the venue so I can have a better idea of what I am working with.








We also really like the idea of getting old family photographs from our parents and hanging them on twine around the venue with clothespins. (We'd likely make copies of the originals to hang.) Perhaps near a "photobooth" area that we hope to have.