Wedding Recap #8: Pre-Ceremony

One thing that my husband and I wanted to do was have a "First Look," by seeing each other before the ceremony. I was all for having our pictures done prior to the ceremony, and since I've had problems with panic attacks since I was little, we felt it would be easier to just see each other beforehand. Right before I walked out to see him, I was so nervous! That moment of waiting for him to arrive and for me to see him was such an intense feeling because it really hit me that I was getting married. We were able to take the 3 hours before the ceremony to get 95% of our formal pictures done. Check out our pre-ceremony below!

My daddy =)

Here we go! He's waiting for me!

Wedding Recap #7: Our "Dudleys" Wedding Sign

A few weeks before the wedding, my husband and I wanted to add something extra to our Sweetheart Table. So my husband and I decided to make a plaque that would say, "The Dudleys," and hang it from our table. Plus, we knew once the wedding was over, we could hang the plaque up in our house as a momento. Check it out below!

Wanting to complete this on your own?

Materials Needed:

Wood (My husband suggests 24x48, roughly)

Drill
Heavy duty wire
Wood glue
Paint
Wooden Tapered Plugs (Pegs)
Super glue
Letters
Jigsaw
Oval cardstock template (Created on Microsoft Publisher) - Optional

1. We began by first buying the individual letters to spell out our name at Hobby Lobby, along with some black spray paint.

2. After painting the letters, my husband attached the plugs (pegs) to the back of the letters with the wood glue. The plugs gave the plaque a more 3D look so that the letters didn't just rest on top of the plaque, but actually had some height.

These look similar to the pegs that we used. They were about 1/2 inch tall.

3. My husband then used a jigsaw to shape the wood into the oval shape. I created a simple cardstock template on Microsoft Publisher, printed it off, cut it out and taped it together. My husband attached the template to the top of the wood and then cut the shape out.

4. He then used a high gloss white paint to paint the actual plague.

5. After the paint dried, he used the super glue to attach the letters to the plaque.

6. He drilled two small holes on the top of the plague and ran the heavy duty wire through the holes. He left enough wire so that when we attached it to our table at the reception, the wire was able to reach the legs so that we could wrap the wire around them.

Ladies, if you're looking for a cute, fun, simple project for your husbands-to-be to complete, have them do this! My husband enjoyed doing it, and loves that we incorporated it into the reception. He's even happier that we have it afterwards to remind of us our wonderful wedding day!

DIY We Love: Homemade Chalkboards!

Fellow knottie, Chardonnay, is getting married on September 18, 2010, and has been busy with her DIY Projects! She also has a DIY blog where she provides pictures and tutorials of her projects so that you can easily recreate them on your own. One of my favorite projects that she has made would have to be her homemade chalkboards!

Check out her blog to learn how to create these on your own!

DIY We Love: Incorporating Fruit into Decor!

Incorporating fruit decor into your wedding has become increasingly popular over the past couple of years and I don't see them going away anytime soon! If you want to add a splash of color into your decor and become more budget-friendly in the making when creating your centerpieces, try simple ideas like these:

Or if you're interested in using fruit in different ways, why not use them as escort cards!

You could sprinkle the fruit around your escort card table and use candy to hold your cards too!

I also want to share with you, one my DIY projects from way back before I was a bride or planning a wedding. During my undergrad, and being a Dietetics student, I was required to help plan a formal meal in one of my cooking classes a few years ago. Of course, I love to think outside the box and be different, so I decided to incorporate fruit into our menu cards that we placed at each place setting. Check them out below!

I typed up the menu card and alternated with plum and yellow cardstock and ribbon to match the pineapple and grapes used. I purchased a daisy cookie cutter, a pineapple and a bag of large grapes. I managed to cut about 12 slices from the pineapple and I simply cut the daisy out of the slices with the cookie cutter.

In this photo, you can see me along with my two classmates. We were all in charge of different aspects of the meal, and mine included the main entree and decor (of course!).

Here are the menu cards on the table, at a place setting:

Think outside the box. Be creative! But most of all, have fun!

For Sale!

I've got all of my wedding items up for sale now! Check it out here: http://forsaledudley.weebly.com/

If you're interested in anything, please contact me at diy.bride@yahoo.com

DIY We Love: S'More Kits!

Originally featured on twigandtwistle.com

How adorable are these? If you're going for a fun feel for your favors, how about individual s'more kits for your guests! Or if you don't want to provide one for each guest, provide them per couple or perhaps leave them in hotel rooms of your OOT guests!

 Thinking about doing these yourself?

You can purchase the clear plastic boxes here!

Then, let the creativity soar. Dress them up with some colorful satin ribbon and cute note reading, "Love Is Sweet!"

Our Programs: Up Close & Personal

I was finally able to get better pictures of our programs yesterday for you all to see. As I mentioned previously, one side of the programs listed the order of the ceremony and the bridal party while the other side was filled with either a crossword puzzle or a word search. Also, I know I've had a few requests for the template for these, but I've been having trouble with my computer and with the document itself. I'm in the process of recreating the template entirely, so bear with me! Here are the programs!

If you want to do these with the attached pencil, my only recommendation would be to use different ribbon. I used satin ribbon because it was what I had, but it was too slick and the knots kept coming untied. So if you pick a ribbon, pick one that has texture to it.

Pro Pictures Will Be In This Week!

I still have to recap the Pre-Ceremony, Ceremony and Reception with you all, but I received a text from our photographer saying that she will have all of our photos done and ready to show us this week! So I wanted to hold off on recapping those until I had new and more photos to share. I still have a few more projects to share with you all, and I plan to start a new feature. The feature will highlight new DIY projects that fellow brides are completing on their own, as well as templates and potential tutorials. Just because my wedding is over doesn't mean I'm going to stop sharing projects with you all!

Wedding Recap #6: Getting Ready

After only 3 hours of sleep, and already behind an hour on wedding day, I was off to the salon to get my hair and make-up done. While sitting in the salon, I received word for my husband about our cake and how we were actually going to have one. After hearing that news, only having 3 hours of sleep didn't matter anymore. It rained some while we were at the salon getting pampered and pretty, and my bridesmaids were constantly checking the weather on their phones. Almost every weather website predicted rain from 2:00pm-6:00pm, which was the time we had alloted for pictures and the ceremony. If I could make any recommendations or give any advice to future brides, HIRE A DAY-OF COORDINATOR. My DOC was awesome. The day before, I had given her all of the items needed for the ceremony along with a copy of our ceremony, a list of things I wanted her to do and lay-outs on how I wanted everything to look. She took care of everything for me on the day-of and kept us on schedule. I was able to relax and hang out with our bridal party without any stress. It was so nice. I definitely recommend having one!

Also, I want to thank my bridesmaid, Jennifer, for these photos!

My hair was looking pretty funky at first.

I purchased my hair flowers from Etsy for $20. I highly recommend them. I also purchased my garter set from Etsy for $20 as well.

Getting my make-up done. I had never had someone else do my make-up before, so I was quite skeptical and really happy with how it turned out. I don't look too thrilled in this photo, but I was!

All done!

My Maid of Honor working on her speech at the salon, haha!

My Sister-in-law all done and beautified!

Another one of my bridesmaids hanging out.

Haha, another one of my bridesmaids having fun at the salon!

My Maid of Honor finished her speech and then painted her toes on the salon floor. I love her!

Meanwhile, the men were getting dressed at the reception site.

The groomsmen and ushers opening their gifts. We got them pocket knives.

My handsome groom all ready to go!

Back in the hotel room with my ribbon bouquet that my bridesmaid, Jennifer, made for me! I had forgot to bring it to the rehearsal, so I brought it on the day-of to get ready with.

My Mom and my Aunt bringing in my gown!

Putting on the hot pink crinoline.

The sexy pose with my crinny and garter. Everyone LOVED my crinoline. It was totally unexpected and no one had ever seen that before.