New invitations

I was planning on designing my own invitations from scratch but I already have a lot of DIY projects that I want to do for the wedding so I took the easy way out on the invitations. I won a new DIY kit off of eBay that goes with the new color scheme of white, black and platinum, may add red but I don't know yet. A friend of mine bought the invitations that I had already so atleast they'll get used and I got the money that I spent on them back. These new invitations were $9.

New favor kit

I just won this favor kit on eBay for .99!! I saw these and thought that it would be a nice idea to have two different favors so that couples don't get two of the exact same item. I bid .99 and waited. If the price got up to about $3 then I wouldn't have continued bidding, but I lucked out and won. They come with 50 little 'chair' boxes and 50 blank placecards. I am not going to do assigned seating so I will just print Thank you on them.

Paper plates

We will be using paper plates at our reception for two reasons. The first reason is that it seems pointless to rent china for a wedding in a park and the second reason is for the cost. I can buy packs of 20 plates or 20 napkins for $1 each. I just saw these plates at my local dollar store and I thought that they would look really cool at a wedding with a black and white color scheme.

You can also buy them online (in bulk) from www.dollartree.com. They have several different color choices.

Tissue paper flowers

I love these tissue paper flowers. I love how bright and cheerful these are. Now I just have to see how to make them.

Free favor tag template

I found a free template for favor tags. http://familycrafts.about.com/library/projects/bltempltag1.htm They are just this plain design but you could print them out onto some bright cardstock or add your own DIY graphics or monogram to them.

Boutonniere ideas

I came across this mint boutonniere this morning and I fell in love with this idea. You could even make bouquets out of herbs too. And centerpieces.... What a lovely idea this is.

I love these cotton ball boutonnieres that I found at http://bklynbrideonline.com/2009/07/real-wedding-inspiration-josie-adam-p-2/. I think that they would make really cute little bouquets for a wintery wedding too.

Torn between two color schemes/themes

I came across this design and I really like it for our save-the-dates. I would print these with black ink and maybe our names in red ink for a pop of color. I could go with a ivory and black color scheme and have a few deep red accents. For the reception I could have black tablecloths with candle centerpieces and bare branches painted black for decorations and ivory paper rose pomanders hanging from the trees.

Or, I could go with the other idea and use a lot of bright colors and tissue paper flowers and pom-poms.

Decisions, decisions...

Our save-the-dates

I designed our save-the-dates today. I just found a design that I liked (and was fun, colorful and informal) online and I saved the image in my pictures and then opened it for editing and took off the printing that was on the card and added my own information. Now I just have to get some white cardstock and I can print them out. Oh, and buy some envelopes or even better make some!

DIY envelope instructions-http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/diy_envelopes

Christmas ornament bouquet

I came across these insanely amazing bouquets on http://www.offbeatbride.com/. There is a whole article on non-floral bouquet ideas on that site, which I looove. I like the carnation bouquets too but these have just captured my full attention. Oh and I have to mention that these bouquets actually light up!!

The cutest cupcakes

I was in line at the grocery store waiting to check out and I did the usual- grabbed a magazine to flip through and I saw the cutest little cupcakes in InStyle Weddings. They looked like this cupcake, which I found on Flickr by searching for 'cherry cupcakes.' I would love to have these at our wedding. They just make you happy, don't they?

Here's more inspiration from Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=cherry+cupcakes ENJOY!

Tissue paper pom-poms

These pom-poms are made from ordinary tissue paper and seem really easy to do. I am considering making some to hang along the ceiling of the pavilion where our reception will be or even hanging some in the branches of the trees around the park. I found instructions on how to make them from CasaSugar; http://www.casasugar.com/3116890.

Our traditional invitations

I had originally planned on just using plain cardstock and printing our invitation information onto that and then cutting it out, but then I found these. They are a set of 50 invitations and 50 reply cards (envelopes included) in a light creamy color with a very thin raised pearl border. Yes, they scream traditional wedding invitation and I do not care for that at all but their $5 price tag was far too much for me to resist I guess. I would have liked something a bit more personalized but they fit right into our budget, almost perfectly. Now I have to make them perfect for ME.

DIY paper lanterns

I just came across this picture and I had to add it to my collection of ideas! These would look so beautiful hanging from trees at an outdoor wedding. They would look amazing lining a walkway also instead of the paper bag luminaries that many people use.

I think that they also would make really cool centerpieces. Imagine grouping a few mini lanterns together made out of different patterned vintage paper and placing a votive candle in each one. A centerpiece that you can easily DIY for just a few dollars.

The link with instructions: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/07/diy-wednesdays-table-lanterns.html