Wedding Readings

Being Catholic I've been to a lot of Catholic weddings of friends and families.  If you've ever been to a Catholic Wedding Ceremony, you tend to memorize the 1 of 2 readings that are always done.  Afraid of falling into this trap with the typical Catholic readings and trying to avoid anything with "fire & brimstone", I turned to the internet for help.  Maybe something modern would be better....

I tried looking up modern wedding readings and nothing seemed appropriate.  Much of what I found was corny or almost seemed to be a joke.  Sorry, but to me a ceremony is a serious commitment. 

Freebie Friday - Feather Collection Download

I hope that you've enjoyed our free downloads as much as we have to provide you them.  Today is the last day of free downloads in our collection of Bridal Shower downloads for the feather collection. 

Today we have a display sign to welcome guests to your Bridal Shower.  It's a little touch that goes a long way in thanking guests for attending your event.  The sign is 8.5" x 11" (Letter paper size).  The sign reads "Thank you for attending the Bridal Shower for our lovely Bride to be"  The bottom has been left blank to add the name of the Bride if you wish.

To display the sign I recommend first printing on cardstock or another heavy stock paper and either using a display stand or mounting the sign to a piece of styrofoam board (yep the same stuff you used in science class to display projects) and then placing on a tall stand.

Simply edit in any art program or open in a word document and add a text box to enter the name of the Bride. 

To Download:
Simply click on the image and the full 8.5x11 document should open.  To save the image right click and select "save as" and save in your desired location.

If clicking will not download the image, try dragging the image off of the screen and droping it onto your desktop.

Welcome bags

The wedding is 2 weeks away and I am at the end of my budget. If you're a bride in the same position, but still want your guests to feel taken care of, DIY Welcome bags might be a good option for you.

What's Involved in a Welcome bag?

A good welcome bag should alieve a few questions and problems that guests might run into while attending your event. If people are staying over, it's always a good idea to give them some of the basics to get them through their stay.  A welcome bag can have as many or as few things below as you want to include.  Below are some common things a welcome bag does:

• It gives guests a little welcome note from the Bride & Groom
• It provides guests with important phone numbers.
• It gives an itenerary of what's going on, where and when.
• It tells guests where they can go to do things in the area
• It provides snacks so they don't have to pay for anything from their fridge
• It helps fix pre & post event trama (hangovers, cuts, headaches, stomachaches)

Some brides know all guests are staying over and have their welcome bags go double duty and work as favors as well.  This is a nice thing to give, however I wanted this to be a separate thing for people staying over. Think of your bag as being ingredients to bake a cake.  What do you want that's special to you or matches your wedding theme that would work in the welcome bag?

My Nautical Themed Welcome / Out-of-Town bag Ingredients:

• Paper lunch bags (yep, just the plain old brown ones you get in a grocery store)
• A Printer
• labels (optional)
• A Welcome brochure - custom made by yours truly.
• cheddar goldfish
• swedish fish
• lifesavers
• treat bags
• treat bag toppers
• Water bottles
• water bottle labels
• Green Tea
• Green Tea packages
• Hot Cocoa packets
• Hot Cocoa packet sleeves
• Ribbon

Instructions:

I designed my own Monogram logo already and created a new file in Adobe Illustrator with the logo, a pretty font that says "Welcome" above the logo and our wedding date under the logo.  I created the artboard size to be the dimensions of a paper bag (I think around 5.25in x 9in).  Modify your working area to match your bag.

Do a test print.  If you printer refuses to take the paper bag and just eats it, move on to printing onto labels and just stick them on the outside of the bag.

Either purchase your own monogramed labels from a company that prints customized products or use printable labels and print them directly from your computer.  Remove the current labels on the bottle and stick these on your water bottles.

I will soon add a teabag template to this site so you can make your own teabag cases.  You could also simply purchase customized teabags to your bags.

Cocoa packet templates will also be available soon.  These are perfect for the fall or chilly winter months.  These can be purchased customized for your wedding as well.

I got my treat bags at Target.  You can get yours here if you need some.  These are little plastic bags perfect for fillings will candy, cookies and other treats.  I filled each bag with either cheddar goldfish, lifesavers or swedish fish.  I made little paper toppers to close up the bags with the title to match the ingredients.  The life savers said "Lifesavers.  Open in case of emergency"  The swedish fish said " Fresh caught Swedish Fish" and the Goldfish said "Goldfish Fish Bait".  You can attach with clear tape or staple the toppers to the bags.

I added my welcome brochure to the bags.  I had custom made these and included important phone numbers (hotel, taxi, hospitals, etc.), great local spots, a link to upload photos, a welcome message for guests and a Hangover helper guide for people recovering from a night of too much fun.  Check out my brochure here

Once you've got all your "ingredients" together, start assembling the bags with your goodies.  Each one of my bags has a welcome brochure, snacks, water, tea & cocoa.  You can also add things like local maps and a postcard.  Fold over the top of your bag and punch a hole.  Tie your ribbon through the hole.  Deliver your box to the hotel front desk and ask that your wedding guests receive their bags during check in.

 Really want guests to feel appreciated.  Provide some food for breakfast the next day or pamper them with a post-wedding bruch at a local restaurant.

It's Freebie Friday! Feather Collection Bridal Shower Menu

Looking to showcase your line-up of delicious foods for your Bridal Shower?  Look no further than the beautiful Blue and Gold Feather-themed menu we have today. 

It's part of our 4 week giveaway.

The menu in this post is an example of what types of foods you could serve at your Bridal Shower. 

In the free download the foods have been left blank so you can add whatever foods you wish.

What are all those crazy titles? 

I've put the titles in English and French.  They run as follows:

• Start - This could be an appetizer, refreshment or simple amuse-bouche 
• Savory - Anything savory would be something without a lot of sweetness to it.  Meat, sandwiches, vegetables.  Place your main food served at your event into this category.
• Sweet - This would be where you would list your dessert(s)
• Refreshments - Any beverages you plan to serve would go in this section.

Free DIY template - Best Wishes Bird Garland

From the Feather collection and part 2 of our series giveaway comes another freebee for you.  Our DIY garland template.

Click here to download the garland template.

What you'll need:

• 2 sheets Heavyweight paper (cardstock is a good choice)
• 
  scissors
• 
  glue
• 
  crepe paper
• satin ribbon (1/2" thick is probably the optimal size)

How to:

1. Print two copies of the file on heavy cardstock and cut out the rounds.
2. Take some crepe paper and fold accordian style around each round from the 1st sheet you cut out so you get a fanned out circle; glue down the crepe paper.
3. Lay out the letters to say "Best Wishes", then flip them so that the backs are facing you.
4. Take a piece of satin ribbon and lay it on top of the crepe papered letters; glue the ribbon to the crepe letter.
5. Place some glue on top of the ribbon on each letter.  Take your matching letter (so "B" with "B", etc.) and place it on top.  You should now have a "letter sandwich"  That is layered letter, crepe paper, ribbon, letter.
6. Repeat this for all the letters spelling out "Best Wishes" 

Use the Bird circles either in the center of the two words, or print extras to make pretty ribbons to hang or pin onto your Bride-to-Be.

Feel free to embelish these with glitter, rhinestones or anything else you like.

I apologize for the shot above.  I had forgotten a big part of the sign, ribbon.  It was really tough to get the sign to stay put because of it.  make sure you remember to use ribbon instead of string.

Hair & Makeup trial run

 

Half updo

This week was hair and makeup trial week. I had done a lot of research on what hairstyles I liked and settled on something very soft and romantic looking. I'm not really an updo person. I feel like they're just not my style.

 

When you begin your hair and makeup search, look at everything. There are three main ways to wear your hair:

1. Updo
2. Half-and-half
3. Down

 If you have very short hair, you may only be able to wear your hair down or possibly have your hairdresser do something in an updo style by pinning small curls or fingerwaves around your face.

 

Half up-do from the back with pinned curls

If your hair length is medium or long hair, you can do any of the three types. There are so many beautiful ways to wear your hair it can be exhausting. I recommend deciding on one of the three categories first, then looking at all the hairstyles that fall into that category.

Hair Tips:

 

• If you tend to have frizz (like me) make sure you put enough pomade or silicone product into your hair to avoid catastrophe. After styling, hold your style with a light hairspray. 

• "Dirty" or unwashed hair with leftover product is easier for a stylist to work with than freshly cleaned hair. The only exception to this is for someone with oily hair.
• If your hair tends to be oily, you'll want to wash it right before your hair appointment or have your hairdresser wash it at the salon.

 

Makeup

If you don't tend to wear a lot of makeup, your wedding day shouldn't be the time to cake it on. For a natural girl, it's best to just stay with a light natural look to your makeup. You should however ALWAYS have makeup on your wedding day. Even if it's basic, it makes a huge difference in your photos.

 

If you love your makeup, today can be the day to flaunt your style.  Are you glamorous, dramatic or fun & flirty?  Just don't go crazy.  Do several different styles and have your bridesmaids, family or friends help you vote on your wedding day look.

 

Makeup Tips:

• Take lots of photos of your trial run. Sometimes the lighting will display your look one way and natural light another.
• You may discover that the glittery eye shadow that looked great at the salon, looks garrish in your photos.
• The easiest way to have beautiful makeup is to first start with beautiful skin.  Drink lots of water, use moisturising day & nightcream.  Exfoliate when necessary and try to get a facial 1 month before your wedding.
• Wear a white shirt to your trial appointment. You may find that the colors you originally wanted don't look good against white.
• Make sure your colors look good with your skintone, haircolor & eyecolor.  If you have a girl with olive skin, black hair and green eyes, it probably won't look the same on a girl with pale skin, blonde hair, and brown eyes.
• Try a base primer for your skin and an eyeshadow primer for your eyes.  Both will help to smooth out imperfections and make your makeup last longer.