Eco-Vintage Weddings

Showcase Friday: Our DIY Wedding Invitations!

Dear readers, I don’t even know where to begin with this post, except to say that Jordan and I are SO excited to share our DIY wedding invitations with you today! This post is rather lengthy, but for you budget-brides out there, I wanted to give you an extensive look into what it takes to DIY your own wedding invitation suite.

A note on our inspiration

It was quite a challenge to try and explain to Jordan (or anyone, really) what “vintage” means to me, and how exactly I envision us capturing that feel in our wedding invitations. So, I frequented many a web site, from Etsy to super awesome stationery sites to simple Google searches of random objects (mason jars, for instance).

Jordan and I began the design process with the idea that we would utilize Adobe Photo Shop brushes. Since little touches of birds, nature and aviary motifs will appear throughout our wedding, we felt it was important to include a bird in our wedding invitations. We found a Photo Shop brush of a tree, and we started working with that.

However, with each draft of the invitation, we began to hate the look and the feel of it more and more. It didn’t look elegant, it didn’t look lovely, and it didn’t look vintage. So, much to my chagrin (seriously, I was stressed!), we scrapped that idea and started over, a mere month-and-a-half before we wanted to start the printing process.

However, in re-conceptualizing our DIY wedding invitations, I remembered an art class that I took in middle school, where we carved images into a wood block, and then used that wood block to stamp with ink. (I’m sure this was a Mother’s or Father’s Day project from way back when.)

So, I started to try and tell Jordan about what I envisioned based on this look. Then I saw a few invitations around the web utilizing different fonts and a woodblock/boxed layout, and after brainstorming with Jordan, we downloaded a variety of fonts (which is over-simplifying the process – I was very picky about what fonts I wanted to use, and Jordan just would not let me go with Feel Script, no matter how badly I wanted to shell out the money for it – and he was right in the end…) and we  got to work bringing together all of our inspiration into one invitation suite.

A note on the design process

Jordan and I used Adobe Fireworks to design our invitations. Jordan is very familiar with this program, and I found it to be a rather intuitive program myself after playing with it for 20 minutes or so.

Since Jordan and I are living 45 miles apart right now, we designed our entire invitation suite on the weekends we were able to be together. For us, the process worked like this:

1. Sara tells Jordan in advance, “We need to work on this part of our invitation suite this weekend.”
2. Sara sends Jordan links of what she’s found that she likes (”I like this overall look, but with this wording and this graphic and this font.”)
3. Jordan comes home, sits on the couch and designs away, making sure Sara doesn’t look over his shoulder until the project is near completion (it drove him nuts!).
4. Sara edits, says what she’d like changed, and Jordan makes the changes.
5. When Sara and Jordan are both satisfied with the design, they PDF the file and send it to their right-hand person to print a proof.
6. After final proof approval, the document goes to the printer, and a few days later, the final product arrives at Sara’s house.

Multiply this by 5 pieces (there are 5 items in our invitation suite), and you have approximately 24 weekends (6 months!) of design work that we spent working to complete this invitation suite. It was definitely a labor of love; there’s no other way to describe it.

A note on invitation wording

It was important to Jordan and I that we acknowledge the contributions that our parents have made to our lives and to making our wedding happen, so we included them in our invitation wording. In determining the other parts of the wording for our invitation, we spent quite a bit of time (probably two weeks) changing words and tweaking the look of the invitation.

Here’s what we ended up with:

Sara’s parents and
Jordan’s parents
Invite you to celebrate the wedding of their children
Sara Jo and
Jordan Wayne
(Ceremony Details)
(When/Where)
Dinner, Dancing & Merriment to immediately follow
at the Washington Pavilion

A note on the details

First, I spent about 8 – 10 hours of time gluing little doilies (see above picture) inside both the mailing envelopes and the RSVP envelopes (a la Holly) – what a project (!!), but I’m SO happy with how well they turned out. (Everyone thought I was nuts, but I was having a great time!)

I then stamped our return address on each of these envelopes, proceeded to freak out when the ink I used wouldn’t dry, and then our envelopes were miraculously saved by a can of hairspray. Moving on…(I just can’t talk about those darn envelopes anymore!)

Next, once everything was printed, we glued the invitation matte directly to the pocketfold, and then glued the wedding invitation on top of the matte, to create a layered look (again, see above picture).

I knew that I wanted our invitation suite to have a few components to it. While the majority of our guests are from South Dakota (and are rather localized to Sioux Falls, where the wedding will be held), I still wanted to provide guests with a map to help them navigate their way to each location. Thanks to a wonderful classmate of mine, we had a lovely hand-drawn map to showcase to our guests. We placed the map on its end in the right-side pocket of the pocketfold.

For our RSVP card, we wanted to make sure that our guests knew to expect an offbeat, relaxed wedding from the moment they received their invitation. So, we utilized the following check box system, as seen on A $2000 Wedding:

- Gladly Attend
- Regretfully Decline
- Regretfully Attend
- Enthusiastically Decline
- I’m in the wedding, so I have to come
- Other ____________________________

Since Jordan and I are coordinating the music for the wedding dance ourselves, we also wanted feedback from our guests to see what would get them out on the dance floor. Our “Request a Song” card was so much fun to design, and Jordan even made the record player graphic himself!

These two cards were tied together with the RSVP envelope using baker’s twine, which is a special type of yarn that blends two colors (our’s was yellow and white) together. This little package was then placed in the pocketfold in front of the wedding map.

A note on the construction and presentation of the invite

I owe a lot to the lovely Holly at Nothing But Bonfires for introducing us to a company without which our invitations would have lacked cohesion: Cards & Pockets. We ordered nearly everything for our DIY invites from Cards & Pockets … from the pocketfolds in which each piece of our invitation suite was placed to the envelopes that carried our invitations to their destination, we found Cards & Pockets to be the best value for our money. And the quality of the materials? Couldn’t have asked for a better product or better customer service along the way. [No, this is not a sponsored/paid post; I just love the company!]

A note on printing

Jordan and I feel extremely blessed to have had the help and support of one of my father’s business colleagues throughout the DIY invitation design and printing process. From our first initial idea to our final proof, having a person to walk us through the process, telling us what worked and what didn’t, was absolutely invaluable.

While I understand that what’s right for us might not be right for everyone, I would encourage readers who are looking to DIY their own invitations to get them printed by a professional (but local!) printing company. All we supplied was the paper (we chose a partially recycled natural ivory linen cardstock), and the printers and our right-hand person handled the printing and the cutting gratis (yes, we were extremely lucky).

A note on the materials used

Materials:

From Cards & Pockets:

- Perfetto pocketfolds in “Smoke” (We ordered a sample of one, loved it, and then ordered 90 for our invitations)
- 5.75 inch square invitation mattes in “Lemonade” (Again, we ordered a color swatch, then ordered 90 mattes for our invitations)
- 90 6.5 inch square envelopes in “Lemonade” (to hold the invitation; we scrapped the inner envelope, because I think it’s wasteful and frivolous (no offense))
- 90 RSVP envelopes in “Lemonade” (while we initally thought about designing postcards, I loved these little envelopes, so we went with them)

From Etsy:

- Customized stickers from Maxim Creative Invites on Etsy (we ordered two different designs of stickers, one which we used to close the pocketfold and the other which we used to close the envelope)
- Yellow baker’s twine from Whisker Graphics on Etsy (we used this adorable twine to tie a bow around our RSVP package)
- Return address stamp from Love to Create Stamps on Etsy (we used this stamp as a return address and as the “deliver to” address on our RSVP envelopes)

From around town:

- Partially recycled natural ivory linen cardstock (we printed everything on this stock; we probably utilized 250-300 sheets for invitations for our entire guest list)
- Doilies + glue sticks + glue lines + ink pads from Michael’s craft store
- $0.61 cent wedding cake stamp, plus 2 $0.10 cent clock/nautical stamps, per invite, purchased at our local post office (I really wanted stamps with one of our engagement photos on it, but I couldn’t justify the cost)
- $0.44 cent “Love” stamp for our RSVP cards; we chose the stamp with the King and Queen on it!

A note on final cost

After calculating cost for everything ordered, including postage, it seems that the cost for each invitation suite was $3.74.

Here’s the breakdown:

Pocketfolds: $0.98 per invitation
Invitation Mattes: $0.18 per invitation
Natural Ivory Linen Cardstock: $8.00 per ream, $0.09 per invitation
Mailing Envelopes: $0.17 per invitation
RSVP Envelopes: $0.12 per invitation
Stickers: $0.47 per invitation
Address stamp: $0.08 per invitation (includes RSVP envelope)
Doilies: $0.14 per invitation (includes RSVP envelope)
Glue/Glue Lines/Double-stick Tape: $0.22 per invitation (includes all construction)
Baker’s Twine: $0.04 per invitation
Postage: $0.81 per invitation
Postage: $0.44 per RSVP card

TOTAL: $3.74 per invitation

What do you think of our DIY wedding invitations?

[All photos taken by my soon-to-be father-in-law, Steve!]

Showcase Thursday: My DIY Garter!

Last week, my Mom and I worked hard on making a garter for me to wear on my wedding day. It turned out perfectly!

Materials:
-Sewing machine
-Lace trim (the wider the better)
-Ribbon (at least 1/2 inch wide)
-Elastic (1/4 inch wide)
-Adornments/Embellishments as desired

Steps:
1. After estimating how much lace and ribbon is needed by measuring the circumference of your thigh, sew the ribbon to the top or the middle of the lace trim, depending on how wide the lace is and your own personal preference. Sew along the top edge and the bottom edge, so as to create a tunnel of sorts to feed the elastic through.

2. After estimating how much elastic you will need by wrapping the elastic around your thigh, attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic and feed it through the tunnel created by the ribbon.

3. Make sure it fits and feels comfortable, then sew the two ends together.

4. Add embellishments to the garter (we used a lovely vintage brooch), and you’re done!

I’m so pleased with how it turned out! I estimate that the project took about two hours and cost about $20.00.

What DIY projects are you working on now?

[Photo by me]

Showcase Wednesday: DIY Bunting!

I jumped on the bunting bandwagon and crafted up my own bunting to dress up our wedding cake table.

I probably should have taken pictures along the way to dress up this post, but alas, I have only a picture of the finished product (above).

Steps:

1. Gather/purchase fabric. I purchased 2 yards of yellow gingham fabric and 2 yards of charcoal grey polka-dot fabric from Hancock Fabrics in Sioux Falls.

2. Find/draw a triangle shape and print on cardstock. This will be your pattern for the triangles. (I’m a fan of larger triangles, but I’ve seen many a cute bunting with little triangles or squares.)

3. Take a pen/pencil and trace along the outside of the triangle on the BACK side of the fabric.

4. Take (sharpened!) pinking shears and cut alongside the outside of your tracing marks. (I made about 30 triangles.)

5. After all of your triangles are cut, fold over the top of the triangle approximately 1 inch, and use a hot iron (with steam!) to make a crease in the triangle, similar to when you’re hemming pants. The purpose is to create a fold where the string can fit in.

6. When all of your triangles are ironed, grab your string, a pair of scissors and a ruler. (I used twine, but you could use ribbon, ric rac, or any other type of string, depending upon your project!) Determine the spacing between each flag (I had approximately 2 inches between triangles).

7. Plug in your hot glue gun, and once it’s warm, insert the string into the fold of the triangle (created with the iron) and place a line of hot glue in the fold as well. Press lightly to secure. Continue on until you’ve used all of your triangles.

8. Take a look at all of your triangles, and trim as necessary.

And you’re done!

While there are various tutorials online that offer ways to make your own bunting, I definitely prefer the no-sew type.

Enjoy!

[Photo by me]

Our Wedding: Hair Style Inspiration!

I officially made hair appointments for my bridesmaids and I this week, so I’ve started to think about my hairstyle a little more. I know that I want something low and off to the side, yet the top two photos leave me feeling weak in the knees…what a perfectly beautiful vintage style!

How are YOU wearing your hair on your wedding day?

Our Wedding: Wedding Shoes – Part II!

Remember my lamentations about wedding shoes? Well, I think I’ve found a swoon-worthy alternative for trendy sky-high shoes:  Etsy seller OxfordHeaven!

OxfordHeaven crafts fun refashioned & vintage shoes & accessories for your closet. From Rachael, the brains behind OxfordHeaven:  I always think it is unfair that little girls have amazingly fun little shoes, so grown-up girls need something pretty in their lives, too.

I’ve already requested my custom pair of shoes – low heels/wedges in a sunshine yellow color! I can’t wait to work with Rachael on customizing my wedding shoes.

Check out more delightful beauties on OxfordHeaven’s Flickr page!

[All photos courtesy of OxfordHeaven on Etsy]

Green Monday: Mason Jar Love

Happy Monday, readers! I was gifted the entire weekend off from my part-time job at Gymboree, and I got a few wedding-related crafts done! I can’t wait to share them with you soon.

A few weeks ago on Twitter, I stumbled upon a post from Intimate Weddings that literally made me stop in my tracks. Besides boasting a comprehensive venue search for intimate weddings on her site, Christina of Intimate Weddings has also collected tutorials and inspiration for some of the best DIY projects out there, making Intimate Weddings a literal hub of DIY goodness.

Because J and I plan to incorporate mason jars into our wedding decor, Christina’s post on these multi-purpose lovelies caught my eye recently. Before seeing this post, J and I figured that we would utilize mason jars as vases to hold flowers on on our reception tables. But after seeing this picture (at left), I now am on the hunt for more mason jars to achieve this affect!

I’ve always wanted to be married by candlelight, and this picture literally is just oozing with romance. Can you imagine collections of these mason jars lining the aisle?! How amazing.

The best part about mason jars is that they can be reused post-wedding for canning, storing foods like salsa, or utilized for gifts, such as hot chocolate mix, hard ingredients for cookie dough and more. Plus,mason jars are an easy, always available vase for your favorite garden flowers! Therefore, making an investment in mason jars is an eco-friendly, budget-friendly decor idea.

[Photo credit: Intimate Weddings]

Coral?!

Check out this Style Circle board – I am loving the idea of coral and slate grey…goodbye yellow?!

Credits: Karen Wise, Zoom Photography (4), Jose Villa, Olivia Leigh, Dollface Studio, Suthi Picotte

Sara’s Etsy Finds: Part II

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday to you all. Today is like my Thursday; J and I are jetting off to Florida on Friday for a long weekend to celebrate our engagement – the trip is a gift from J’s brother, who is stationed in Kuwait with the Army National Guard. Big thanks for his service, and his generous gift to us! We’re very much looking forward to a mini-vacation.

Anyway, let’s get on with it:  a few more Etsy finds to talk about today!

Looking to cut down on your floral budget, but still offer elegant boutonnierres to the men helping out with your big day? Look no further than Stitton’s Little Shop on Etsy – as soon I as I saw this adorable yellow and grey boutonnierre, I fell in love! Priced at $20.00 per boutonnierre, it’s a bit of a steep price for my budget, but I love Stitton’s work for the inspiration and creativity the shop has to offer! Stitton’s shop also offers beautiful jewelry and whimsical bridal hair fascinators as well; stop by and take a look!

This next shop is all about the beauty found in thematic touches, and if you’re planning to incorporate the holidays into your big day, take a look at AprilHilerDesigns on Etsy. In honor of fall, April has a bunch of autumnal-themed florals posted for sale, in addition to a few rather morose Halloween designs. Check out this beautiful autumn boutonnierre, which is currently selling for $9.00 per bout!

I found SO many beauties in this next shop that I can’t even decide which ones to show you! WhichGoose’s shop on Etsy is full of natural floral crowns and bridal hair fascinators with a rustic touch, and each item is more beautiful than the last! One of my favorites is to the left; it’s named “All is Well” and would be absolutely perfect for an outdoor wedding full of whimsy and rustic touches!

Here’s another one of my favorites, just because I can’t resist showcasing WhichGoose’s shop. This one is called “At Last.” How could you not sing Etta James’ big hit while wearing this beauty? This is so unbeliveable that I can’t believe I’m even saying it…but this fascinator is only $25.00!! Can you believe it?!

Anyway, I think that’s about it for today! One more post tomorrow before J and I head off on our mini-vacay!

Sara’s Etsy Finds: Part I

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I once again find myself apologizing for not posting yesterday, but I wanted to give you all a chance to browse through my post on wedding gown shopping – I hope you all enjoyed reading it! As a reminder, if you would like to see photos/links of the dresses we DID like, email me and I’ll be sure to send them your way!

Today’s post is fun, because it’s full of Etsy goodness! As you may know, Etsy is an online shopping mall of homemade goods. Whether you’re looking for handmade gifts for friends or family, woodworking beauties or a ring bearer pillow for a wedding, Etsy is your one-stop shop! Plus, the best thing about Etsy is that many of the sellers on the site simply reuse fabric or craft goods to make new things, thereby decreasing the amount of waste that’s accrued each year! How’s that for eco-friendly!

Up first are Amanda Archer’s lovely dresses. Made from natural fabrics and trims, Amanda’s creations are both eco-friendly and beautiful; check out this AMAZING printed number! Perfect for summer bridesmaid dresses! Her other dresses (including an adorable blueberry frock and a champagne silk dress) are just as lovely, and are reasonably priced!

Next up is an idea for gifts for bridesmaids or just for fun! Sakizome’s shop on Etsy is full of whimsical handmade bags that really cover the spectrum; from fruit-covered satchels to hydrangea clutches, Sakizome’s shop is your one-stop store for handmade purses!

Up next is a HUGE favorite of mine – RedLightStudio! Seriously, if you’ve never heard of this shop before, click over to their store and you will be WOWED by the whimsy of their wedding cake toppers! Since J and I plan to incorporate an aviary motif throughout our wedding, I can’t imagine putting anything but birds atop our wedding cake! The best part: the artists at RedLightStudio detail each set of birds by hand, according to your wedding colors and what you and your significant other look like/will be wearing!

This next shop is arguably my most favorite shop on Etsy – Y&E Bridal. I heard about this shop through Vintage Glam Weddings, and I have to say, as soon as I clicked over to see the beautiful work Y&E does, I know that I won’t go anywhere else for my garter or ring bearer pillow.

Looking for affordable handmade jewelry? Look no further than JLR Designs on Etsy. JLR Designs offers nearly 50 items that are all $20 and under – and it’s beautiful beaded jewelry that’s perfect for bridesmaids and even for the bride herself! Plus, 20% of every item sold goes to benefit the Arizona Humane Society!

There’s much more to come;
stop by tomorrow for more Etsy finds!

Wedding Dress Shopping – Day #1!

ATTENTION JORDAN: DO NOT READ THIS POST, OR A GRUMPY FIANCE (AND, ACCORDING TO TRADITION, BAD LUCK)
WILL BE BESTOWED UPON YOU!!
(Just kidding…but seriously, don’t look!)

Happy weekend, everyone! I’ve had a WONDERFUL day, so let’s just get right to the good stuff – wedding gown shopping!

This afternoon, my Mom, my Maid of Honor Kristen and I headed to Sioux Falls’ David’s Bridal location. While at the bridal show, we stopped by their booth and signed up for a bridal appointment, so I have been anxiously awaiting this weekend!

I don’t want this to sound badly, but I had entirely different expectations of David’s Bridal before I walked in the doors of the bridal salon today. While I expected to encounter pushy saleswomen and lackluster gowns, I was seriously mistaken: Nikki and Sheri, the two consultants who were helping me, were both LOVELY ladies who were willing to bring me every gown in the shop if I asked. They made my first experience of wedding gown shopping an afternoon of fun, and I am SO grateful to them for that!

While I didn’t purchase a gown today (I plan to purchase my gown from Happily Ever After, a bridal shop in the Beresford/Sioux City area), today proved educational in what shapes work for my body and which styles don’t. Plus, my time today at David’s Bridal also identified the various ways that “vintage-inspired” can translate into our wedding.

Here’s a few photographs of the rejected dresses (I’ve decided not to show you the dresses we really liked, just in case I find something very similar at the other shop, but see the end of this post for a round-about description of them!):

While I LOVED the back of dress #1 (the first dress I tried on!), the front left a lot to be desired, so it went back on the rack. Plus, it also hugged my body (it was a sheath), which I quickly figured out that was a cut I wasn’t crazy about.

Dress #2 was A LOT of fun (the entire skirt is ruffles!), but man, that dress was HEAVY. More importantly, it didn’t illustrate “vintage” to me, so it too made its return to the rack.

This dress was definitely made for a vamp from the 1930s, but not for me; the dropped, embellished waistline did absolutely nothing for me, and this dress was just more evidence of how difficult it can be to contain a bigger chest!

Now here’s a dress I actually liked (more than the gowns above this photo, anyway!). The bottom of the dress is done in accordion pleats, and the main reason this dress didn’t make the cut was due to the embellishment on the bodice; I discovered that I appreciate very little beading or creative stitching, so this dress, as beautiful as it was, made its return to the racks, too.

This dress was one of the final styles of the day; while the all-over lace WOWED me, I was not crazy with the pick-up skirt, which is absolutely surprising – I thought I would love the bustled look. However, this dress made me feel boxy, so it was pushed aside as well.

Dresses that didn’t even warrant a photograph:  two lace gowns that looked like nightgowns (Sorry – I can’t seem to find them on David’s Bridal’s web site!), two more lace gowns that just weren’t my thing (pictured here and here), one satin gown that made me feel silly for some unexplainable reason (pictured here), and two halter gowns that just weren’t right (pictured here and here). All in all, we estimated that I tried on about 15 gowns today – it was quite an afternoon!

I can tell you this, dear readers, about the three dresses I loved today: they surprised me, but in a way, they also were exactly what I expected. Even before I thought about entering a bridal salon, I knew that “vintage-inspired” to me meant lace, and lots of it, and there was not one, but two lace gowns that I loved today. I also walked in the salon and walked out absolutely in love with the look of a birdcage veil; I felt so chic the very second the consultant placed it on my head.

But the dress that surprised me (and I mean REALLY surprised me) had not one swatch of lace on it. But that dress, which was all satin and gorgeous and made my waist look absolutely tiny, made me feel like a different version of “vintage-inspired” – it made me feel like an Old Hollywood actress attending the Oscars. Just add finger waves and an embellished clutch, and I looked like I stepped out of the 1930s. Readers, it was so refreshing that I found a dress I liked outside my label of “vintage-inspired,” but it also scared me a little. Because J and I have been planning a more casual affair, and this dress is all glam, I felt drawn to the dress, but scared of it at the same time.

Thanks for sticking with me throughout this long post – it was so much fun to write, and to relive the day! Hopefully I’ll make it to Beresford/Sioux City in a few weeks (I’m shooting for mid-October) to find the gown of my dreams!

P.S. If you really want to see the three gowns that made me feel gorgeous today, email me and I’ll send links your way!

[Photos courtesy of my lovely MOH, Kristen]