School Sweethearts

The DIY Bride

With School back for the year it got me thinking about School Sweethearts. I can't even count how many crushes I had throughout school - all the different boys names I doodled in my notebooks and wondering if I'd ever be any of their Mrs.

Wedding Programs from Etsy

For some couples they are in fact School Sweethearts. They might have been in the same class in elementary school, or went to the same school and didn't hook up until later in life. Or sometimes, they are High School Sweethearts who've been together 5, sometimes 10 years before they tie the knot.

If you met your sweetie in school, check out some awesome ideas from some of the below fabulous sites.

Green Wedding Shoes

Ruffled Blog

Off Beat Bride

Snippet and Ink

CopyKate #03: The bouquet

This is the last post in our CopyKate series. If you want to know how to mimic other elements of William & Kate's wedding that we didn't feature, call us for a Consultation meeting.

CopyKate #03: The bouquet

From the Official Royal Press Release:

The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth. The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the Language of Flowers.

The flowers’ meanings in the bouquet are:
Lily-of-the-valley – Return of happiness;
Sweet William – Gallantry;
Hyacinth – Constancy of love;
Ivy - Fidelity; marriage; wedded love; friendship; affection;

Myrtle - the emblem of marriage; love.

The bouquet contains stems from a myrtle planted at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, by Queen Victoria in 1845, and a sprig from a plant grown from the myrtle used in The Queen’s wedding bouquet of 1947.

Khris from DYIBride.com featured a post on how you can make your own bouquet similar to Kate's. Check out her post here. She estimates that the grand total for a DIY copycat Kate bouquet is roughly: $1167.90

Ouch. Lily-of-the-valley is expensive.

If you decide to work with a florist for your bouquet ask them what other flowers they can recommend to get the same look of Kate's but for much cheaper. Perhaps you only want to have a few stems of Lily-of-the-valley and use white roses and cali lilies to bulk up the bunch. Your florist will be able to work within your requests and budget restraints.

Stay tuned for an upcoming post of our recent Bride, Rebecca. She had Lily-of-the-valley centrepieces and bouquets - for all of her Bridesmaids and herself! Simply beautiful, and classic - just like Kate.

Are you a DIY Bride?

DIY = Do It Yourself.

You know you're a DIY kind of gal when you like to paint, draw or illustrate (in pencil or using computer software). You also like to make homemade gifts for friends and family, and take pride in your skills. Whether you sew, scrapbook, cook, bake or create - you like to do it all by yourself.

When in comes to planning your wedding and all the little details, you might want to go the DIYroute simply to 'save money' - but this isn't always so as you will have to buy all the materials and tools needed, plus factor in some time to make everything - and depending on your ideas, if it's for each guest, that could be a quantity upwards of 100+. We like to recommend vendors to our clients to take care of these things, but if you're adamant that you must make it all yourself, here are a few DO's for DIYers according to DIY expert, Khris Cochran.

1. DO be decisive. Nothing will sabotage your DIY experience more than being wishy-washy about your projects. Once you get a solid theme or project idea down, stick with it, or you'll waste precious time and resources (and drive yourself crazy).

2. DO start early. Most DIYers vastly underestimate the time needed to complete big projects and end up stressed, over budget, and completely burnt out. My handy little tip: Expect each project to take double the time you expect to complete it and budget that into your calendar.

3. DO get help. DIY ≠ DIA (do it alone). Enlist friends and family to lend a hand with the big stuff. There's no better way to get the party started early than with some craft nights with your nearest and dearest. Pour your favorite beverages and get cozy with your crafty selves.

4. DO shop around for supplies. Spending a few hours comparison shopping can save you hundreds of dollars on tools and materials. Look for store coupons, sign up for retailers' newsletters (a good source for advance notice of sales and discounts) and always check shipping costs when shopping online, because that can often make an online purchase more expensive than if you bought locally.

5. DO forget perfection. The beauty of DIY items is that you made them by hand. Little flaws are absolutely okay. Embrace the fact that you're not a machine!

* This post was inspired and based on The DYI Bride's Top 10 Tips for a One-of-a-Kind Wedding on asiledash.com.

For more inspiration and ideas check out Khris Cochran's  The DIY Bride: 40 Fun Projects for Your Ultimate One-of-a-Kind Wedding and The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours Before Your Special Day.