DIY Wedding Boutonnieres

In the spirit of all my recent DIY project posts, I came across this great article from BRIDES magazine online on how to create your own wedding boutonnieres.  The article walks you through how to create these flower pieces step-by-step.  The cool thing about this article is that it is so simple that you don't have the use the exact flowers and ribbon used in the instructions.  You can mix and match with flowers and ribbons and other materials to cover the stems!  Check it out and see what you think!

Real Wedding: DIY Envelopes Costs

When assessing the idea of doing DIY projects for your wedding, cost is always something to think about.  Creativity can sometimes come at a cost so it is nice to know what supplies will cost and where you can cut costs if necessary.  If you are the creative type who enjoys doing DIY projects, you're probably wondering about the cost of the supplies of Lauren's envelope project.  Below is a visual compilation of supply costs:

Card Stock: $15
Glue: $7
Rubber Stamps (2): $5 each
Stamp Cleaner: $5
Ink Pad: $3
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Total: $40 for 150 envelopes

With this project, there are a few places to cut costs.  Card stock is the first.  Instead of using card stock, find another type of paper that will be thick enough for your envelopes.  Try going to your local office supply store and trying out different weights of paper.  Many times you will be able to find a weight that is less than card stock and less in price.  The next is with the rubber stamps.  Lauren chose to use two different stamps to create the image on the bottom of her envelopes spending a total of $10 on rubber stamps for the envelopes.  If you are trying to save money, consider only using one stamp or even none.  If you do not use any stamps, you do not have to spend the $5 on stamp cleaner or $3 on the ink pad taking your cost down to $22 total for 150 envelopes.

Real Wedding: DIY Envelopes and Save the Dates

In the spirit of do it yourself projects, I decided to talk to a friend of mine, Lauren Kelley who has done quite a few DIY projects for her wedding coming up later in May including her own Save the Date cards and envelopes.  After creating her own Save the Date cards using the photo strip idea, Lauren realized that that there weren't any envelopes in the perfect size to fit her special cards.  So she decided to create her own out of cardstock.  After measuring the cards, she created a template for her envelopes and started cutting!  "The glue for these was a little bit expensive, but definitely worth it.  It worked really well to hold them together," she said.  She then finished off the envelopes with cute stamps for a personal touch.  In total she made 150 envelopes!

Simple Wedding Decorations

From planters as centerpieces to tissue pomanders to add color to your ceremony chairs, there are plenty of simple, fun wedding decorations you can do yourself (and with friends!) for a stylish but stress-free wedding.  Pretty much anything can be recycled and turned into a classy wedding decoration for a low cost.  Vegetables can be used to hold table numbers (and you thought they were just for healthy eating) and things like surf boards can create a unique altar for a beach wedding.  Check out this article from the Wedding Channel with their top 15 simple ways to decorate your wedding!