DIY wedding memory box

After spending countless hours on tons of DIY projects, all the elements of my wedding were so dear to my heart, so I knew without a doubt that I had to somehow preserve those wonderful memories. I had seen awesome ideas for shadow boxes and display cases that showcase the preserved bouquet as well as other elements from the wedding in a beautiful way. I decided to create my own memory box in honor of all the highlights of our special day. Initially I considered using a shadow box like the ones shown below.

However after checking out all the options at the Michael's store I decided to go with a glass display box instead.They come in all shapes and sizes and the rectangular boxes with wooden trim appealed to me the most

The main difference between the two is that the items inside a shadow box can only be viewed from the front, but the glass display case allows you to see inside it from the top, front and sides. Basically the shadow box is like a 3D picture frame that can be hung up on the wall, and the display case is well, a display case! The back wall of the display box that I bought from Michael's has a mirror which reflects the light unto the items in the box.

Creating a memory box is all about experimenting with object placement until all the items look effortlessly placed. It is important to strike the right balance between  making sure it doesn't look too cluttered or too bare, and that everything isn’t too close together or too far apart.  Even though I had boxes full of left over scraps from my DIY projects I decided to only use a few items that I felt best represented our wedding

The most important element I wanted to showcase was my bouquet. I made it myself and it has had sentimental value to me right from the beginning.  The bouquet was the main attraction in the display case since it is the biggest piece. For this reason I spent the most time deciding on the perfect placement for the bouquet.
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I also decided to put all three of my veils into my memory box. Yes that's right I had three veils. This is because I wore a metallic edge tulle cathedral veil for the ceremony and a tulle blusher as well. Then I changed into a bird cage veil for the reception. I was especially pleased with bird cage veil as it was originally just a plain Russian tulle veil and I customized it by adding the jeweled flower myself

My three veils all from David's Bridal

I draped the tulle blusher veil over the floor of the display case, to form the base for my memory box. Then I folded the cathedral veil to form a cushion for my bouquet. While we are the subject of bouquets I will just mention that I made my own bouquet from real touch artificial flowers so it was easy for me to save them myself. If you use real fresh cut flowers for your bouquet, you can still save the bouquet but you need to have  it  freeze dried by a professional. Once I was happy with the angle and positioning of the bouquet, all the other smaller pieces easily fell into place.  I added a couple of the wedding programs that were rolled into scrolls, one of the DIY paper fans, a wedding invitation, my crystal head band and one of the pillow boxes we used for the favors.

The photo of the finished product is below

Overall I am really glad I took the time to create this display box because it has now become a time capsule with some of the key elements from our wedding frozen in time forever.

Confessions of a DIY addict

I simply love DIY projects. I just love seeing the transformation from every day items into beautiful crafts. The DIY weddings series will feature tutorials on how to make or customize certain elements of your wedding decor.  First up in the series is DIY pomanders. Pomanders are beautiful and so multi-functional! Some of the many ways they can be used are as folllows

• Carried by flower girls in place of the traditional basket of petals
• Carried by bridesmaids in place of bouquet
• Aisle decoration
• Centerpieces
• Ceiling decoration
• Arch decoration

The sky is the limit on how these can be used.  I posted this tutorial of how I made my DIY pomanders and here are the photos of my first attempt and the final result

A couple of things to keep in mind.
- Dont bother buying a mini glue gun, it is much better to buy a full size one. The mini guns can get annoying to use and constantly need to be refilled with glue.
- When working with styrofoam, ALWAYS turn the hot glue gun down to the lowest heat setting.  I learnt this the hard way when I melted the entire center of one ball by using glue that was too hot. The rubber band was eventually replaced with ribbon!
-You dont have to use flowers in your pomander, you can also use tulle, or even ribbon.

For insiration on how to incorporate pomanders in  your wedding check out the photos below.

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Fall wedding inspiration

Pumpkin & apple pies (chicweddingfavors.com)

Apple cider (Brides.com)

Spiced butternut pumpkin soup (source)

Victor Schrager

Strictly weddings

Joshua Gene

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Read more about fall inspiration and ideas here

xoxo

A bunch of...?

Supposedly all women love flowers. I must have totally missed that memo because I don’t love flowers and I know many women who don’t care for flowers at all. Don’t get me wrong I do like flowers, they are pretty and decorative and can be romantic, but I’m not crazy about them. And even for those who do love flowers, not every bride wants to carry a traditional bridal bouquet. There are many interesting non-floral options for brides to choose from;


The Brooch bouquet- This bouquet takes time and skill to put together. I’ve seen many of these go wrong, but if put together properly they can add an air of delicate vintage romance.

The Pearl bouquet- These are my absolute favorites! They are time consuming to make but so worth the effort. Pearls have a quiet classic beauty about them. I can never get enough to them!

The Crystal bouquet- On their own, these seem to be a cold an icy to me, and would work great for a winter themed wedding. However crystals can be combined with pearls for a softer look.

The Button bouquet- these straddle a fine line between chic and childish, but again its all down to the execution of it. Button bouquets are perfect for a weddings with a whimsical theme.

The Feather bouquet- Now I’ll be completely honest some of these are way too reminiscent of a feather duster for my liking! The trick here is to get the right combo of feather shapes, sizes and colors so it looks decorative rather than like a household cleaning item

                                                                            photo credit [etsy]

The Shell bouquet- These would be right at home at a beach wedding.

The Candy bouquet- These are great for carnival themed casual weddings.

The Christmas ball bouquet- The great thing about these is they dont cost very much especially if bought in bulk online..

                                                photo credit offbeatbride]


The combo bouquet- These combine two or more of the bouquets listed above as well as additional elements like felt, fiddleheads and tissue paper.

Some brides choose to carry something completely different from a bouquet such as a Bible,parasol, candle, lantern, purse or fan etc...

Moral of the story: a bride can carry absolutely anything she wants as she walks down the aisle.

xoxo

You wont believe these aren't real...

So I'll just start by saying that I hate synthetic flowers. Yes I used the H word, because I honestly get oh so frustrated seeing beautiful brides proudly holding on to frightfully ugly bouquets made of rubbery looking flowers and glittery ribbon.. I always felt that the only suitable alternative to a fresh cut bouquet was no bouquet at all, but that was until I found these stunning silk bouquets..

They look amazingly realistic, are more affordable than fresh cut and can last for years after the wedding. In fact the more I think about it, I wonder why anyone would opt for fresh cut flowers over these chic silk creations..

The photos show silk flowers from Mysilkweddingflowers.com and Elegantbridalbouquet.com.

I hope you all enjoy your long Memorial Day weekend!

Dreaming of a white winter...

I'm ever drawn to unusual combinations of bright and fun colors, but my latest interest is completely void of color; all white bridal bouquets. They seem to be appearing in all the recent celebrity weddings like Milla Jovovich, Khloe Kardashian and Ivanka Trump. The white bouquet is appealing because of its simple beauty; it looks ultra chic and stylish without being too loud or over done. An all white bouquet can consist of a mixture of several different kinds of flowers in different shades of white, giving each bride the chance to create their own unique version of the monochrom

e bouquet.

The downside to having a white bouquet is that when the photographs are taken, it is easy for the bouquet to blend into the white wedding gown and fade away from notice. For this reason many photographers and wedding planners strongly advise against white bouquets unless the bride intends to wear a bright colored gown, but there are ways around this; such as choosing flowers that are a significantly darker or lighter shade of white than the bridal gown. Alternatively, incorporating flowers with bright colored centers or even adding non floral elements to the bouquet can make a big difference. The miniature pine cones added to the winter bouquet shown below help to add texture and light to the bouquet, giving it a life of its own and making it stand out more against the white wedding gown. Some brides choose to wrap the handle of the bouquet with a bright colored fabric thereby adding a splash of color and contrast which translates beautifully in the photographs

For more photos of white bouquets visit my page

Photo credit Photos by Carlos Andres Varela and Allan Zepeda, Claire Barrett Photography, Ksenija Savic Photography, Echard Wheeler Photography Azul Photography, Kari Kochar Photography