landlocked bride® | midwest + mountain west wedding inspiration

This week I’ll be posting about Grace over at Design*Sponge‘s wedding.  It was recently featured in the Fall issue of Martha Stewart Weddings and has so many wonderful DIY elements that made her wedding charming.

After reading about her wedding online and in Martha Stewart Weddings, I reached out to Grace because I really wanted to make sure you readers have access to all of her wonderful projects and details!

For their wedding invitations, Grace and Aaron used vintage/antique handkerchiefs, in addition to ones they received from family members.  They had their wedding details screen-printed on to each of the handkerchiefs.  As for the packaging, they wrapped the handkerchiefs around their RSVP card and the little package was held together with a woodgrain paper band.

All images are courtesy of Belathée Photography via Design*Sponge

Many of the male guests arrived to the wedding wearing the handkerchief invitations as their pocket squares! How sweet is that?!

Stay tuned tomorrow for another dose of Grace’s North meets South wedding!

I recently found this post on Style Me Pretty about a week ago and wanted to share.  I’m not one for tradition or going over board on design elements, so I immediately fell in love with the classic simplicity of the decor at this wedding.  Plus, the fact that they used virtually all white and candlelight just really makes the loft space come alive.  Enjoy!

It’s good to note that most of the design elements used by the bride and groom can be easily recreated yourself (woot!).  The table numbers can be printed at home and placed on cardstock.  For the centerpieces, you would just need to find some tall vases and floating candles.  And the candles along the aisle for their ceremony?  That’s an easy one.  Just stop by your local Hobby Lobby or Michael’s to buy large hurricane vases and pillar candles.

All photographs courtesy of Heather Waraska via Style Me Pretty.

The space just really comes to life, which I love. And, all it took was some simple modern decor.

For you creative and DIY brides out there, here is a great site where you can scan in your own handwriting (or that of a friend/family member that you like) and they can turn it into a font. FOR FREE.

You’ll have to download the template and print it out.  Once you do that, you just need to fill in all of the necessary information on the form by following the instructions.  The next step step is to scan it into your computer as a PNG or JPEG format and upload it to the website.

The last step is to wait for it to upload.  You’ll get to preview it to make sure you like it first, and then you can download it to your Mac or PC.

I tried it out for myself before I encouraged you all to use it, and it’s pretty spot on (and easy)!  Check it out for yourself.

And, I’m sure you’re wondering if that’s really my handwriting. Yes, it is.  It’s a pretty accurate representation.

Try it for yourself!

So, I’m all about saving a few bucks. I mean, who isn’t, right? Yeah, I clip coupons, just like my mom does, but this post isn’t about being frugal. It’s about being resourceful.

While a big beautiful flower arrangement is visually appealing and gorgeous, it can also be VERY expensive. And, for any brides out there looking to save a few bucks on centerpieces, here are a few tips.

1. If you absolutely have to have floral centerpieces because you have dreamt of it since you were two, then I suggest making sure you pick flowers that are in season. If you’re having a November wedding, picking ranunculas is not really an option, since they tend to be in season February thru May (Yes, this breaks my heart too, as my wedding is in September. Don’t get me started). You can absolutely find a florist who will order them for you, but they could easily be at least 1 1/2 times more expensive than they normally are.

2. Use fake flowers (gasp!). Yes, you heard me. There are some really realistic fake florals out there. If you plan on submerging calla lilies in a tall cylindrical vase, might I suggest you use fake ones? Although callas are easy to shape, they are also an expensive flower, so opt for the fake version. You can also use fake flowers for the guys bouts, which are actually very easy to make!

3. Choose centerpieces without flowers. This can be achieved by hanging things from the ceiling at various heights over the tables (if you are inside), using fresh produce and candles.

Kelly Oshiro Events

4. If you’re not much of a big wedding cake person, or you want a candy/dessert buffet, why not have different cakes/candies/sweets in the center of the tables? This way your guests can actually enjoy your centerpieces! Plus, it will get your guests moving around after dinner to find a slice of cake in a flavor they like.

And, for the record, the FI and I will not have floral centerpieces. We have opted for something fun and modern, and since we aren’t huge flower people, it wasn’t all that important to us. If you want tips or ideas on different non-floral centerpieces that can be budget friendly, shoot me a message.

Don’t forget, you don’t have to spend a fortune to make your wedding fabulous!

Really, this post can fit under my other posting series “Wedding Day Tips” and “DIY,” too!

Are you making cupcakes for your own wedding (more power to you)?  Maybe your just making them for a shower.  At any rate, I love to bake, which is no secret to those who know me well.  So, it is no surprise that when I found this kit, I just had to buy it.

Bake It Pretty

This kit comes with four large piping tips (round, star, closed star and french), plus a 14 inch reusable pastry bag.

There are many reasons why I love this kit.  But the biggest reason is that the pastry bag is reusable (hello eco-friendly). I have a bunch of disposable pastry bags at home and they are a pain in the but. So, I highly recommend, that if you are baking your own anything (cookies, cupcakes, etc.), that you invest in a good resuable pastry bag. They are so much more sturdy/reliable.

Needless to say, Bake It Pretty is out of that kit, but you can find similar kits at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and even Sur La Table (a favoriate of mine).

As a Type A person, I love to be prepared for everything, with a timeline and all the details mapped out.  It is how I have been since I was young.

And, with bridal parties, most of your bridesmaids are going to care about the details as much as you, so they appreciate your schedule.  Your groomsmen, however, will not.  You’ll hand them a lovely little schedule of the day or weekend activities and where they need to be and when, and they think “Great.” And, the second you turn around, in the trash goes that lovely little schedule you worked so diligently on.

Heartbreaking right?  Well, here’s an idea.  A pocket schedule.  You can give it to the guys to keep in their pockets.  Heck, you can even give it to your bridesmaids and close family members who need to know what is going on during your wedding day.  The guys can put it in their pant pockets or suit coats, and the ladies can drop it in their clutches.

Genius, right? Yes, yes, I think so.  And, if you are wondering what these lovely little pocket schedules look like, Miss Apple Cider, of Weddingbee fame, recently posted about the pocket schedules she created for her wedding.  They are adorable and match her invitation suite and wedding theme perfectly.

Miss Apple Cider at Weddingbee

Miss Apple Cider at Weddingbee

The best part? She created these little beauties on her computer and printed them out home. Easy, DIY project!!

Miss Apple Cider at Weddingbee

Miss Apple Cider at Weddingbee

Miss Apple Cider at Weddingbee

As in place cards/escort cards.  We’ll touch base on seating charts in a much later post.

Here is a great FREE, DIY place card or escort card template for your wedding, as found on Color Me Inspired.  Comes in two great colors, an orange-y color and a blue/ocean color, which are great colors for just about any season!  Would even be great for a random party or event (shower, dinner party, etc.).

Just print them out on paper or cardstock, trim to size and fold.  You can probably even print names directly on to them, or handwrite for a more personal touch.

Color Me Inspired

This is a fantastic DIY idea for cocktail hour, or even a wedding shower.  You can put fun little facts on these about the bride (at a shower) or the bride and the groom (cocktail hour or reception).  The best part?  It gets your guests involved (in a small way).

iDIY

All it takes is little cards, which you can create using printer paper and cardstock. Just print out the fun little facts on pieces of paper and cut into small pieces. Then attach them to the cardstock.

To make the “scratch off” part, just mix two parts of metallic paint and one part liquid washing soap. Use a craft paint brush to paint over the image or fun fact on the paper.

iDIY

It takes about two coats to fully cover the text/image on your little scratch off’s. Be sure to let them dry between coats. Once all of the coats are dry, you are good to go, so grab your pennies!

iDIY

The full tutorial can be found on Artmind website.

The Pilot and I probably are not going to include an icebreaker (I just don’t have the DIY spirit in me), but we may find another way to get our guests mingling.  Although, I honestly don’t think it’ll be a problem.  My side of the family are talkers!

Are you doing any ice breakers for your guests?

I totally just fell in love with a font (is that even possible)?

I thought I had our fonts for our invitations all nailed down (and implemented for that matter), but then I found this today, without even looking.

Source

I have a secret obsession with downloading new fonts. I do this mostly because I love to have a HUGE library of fonts to choose from when I’m designing things, so I check up on the coolest available free fonts from time-to-time. That was when “Circled Font” came along and made me realize we HAVE to use this font. The name says it all. It alone fits our theme. And then, it had to go all “circle-y” on me and would be the perfect font for our names on the invite.

And so it’s done.

(Am I the only one that has a font obsession?)

My new favorite website has to be iDIY. Seriously, this website is like wedding DIY jackpot, among other things.  The lovely Luzel started the site after she was done planning her wedding.  During her planning process, she corralled a ton of DIY info and thought it would be a great idea to put it all in one place for brides-to-be and anyone else who loves a good DIY project.  As a fellow bride who is planning on doing a ton of little craft projects her site, I definitely think this site is towards to top of one of my all time top spots for ideas.

Not only does Luzel and her team provide some great ideas and tips, but they also provide a TON of free templates and images to use.  It’s like DIY without the hassle of trying to design something in Illustrator or Photoshop for your not-so-savvy design program brides.

One of my favorites includes these wrap-around label templates.  I have had my eye on wrap-around labels for quite some time and think these would be fantastic for Save The Date envelopes or your invitations.  It’s a twist on an old stand-by.

Source

I also really love the DIY Wish Tree, which she found via Here Comes The Guide. I’m not a fan of the traditional guest book and think this would be adorable in place of one. Guests write down wishes or words of advice for the bride and groom and then place them on the tree. It’s definitely a great way to “spruce” up the guest book gift table (Sorry for the pun, this one was not intended. Promise).

Source

If any of you use the Wish Tree idea, please take pictures and send them to me. I think it is a fantastic idea and I love how that one looks.  It’s tres chic. Swoon.

Enjoy your Monday inspiration!