DIY Bride Part VII: Finishing Touches
Welcome Sign and Reception Area
I decided it'd be nice to have some sort of welcome sign either outside or just inside the bar. I have a really beautiful, rustic, wood frame I got at a thrift store a while ago. I also had extra blank canvases and thought it'd look pretty to do a background in red/pink/orange with white lettering.
It was a little frustrating working with the pen because every so often the ink would stop flowing. I'd push down on the tip, and a whole bunch of ink would stream out, and I'd have to scratch a bunch of paint off then start over. In the end, though, it turned out really well, and I'm happy with it. I didn't spend any money on the pens because I just used the pens my friend used to make some signs for my bridal shower.
Another finishing touch was to have Hammie & Freddie postcards for people to write messages to us on and a wedding post/mailbox at the reception table for the postcards. This goes with the travel-themed reception and dessert areas, since Hammie & Freddie are our travel avatars. I got the photos printed for free through a Shutterfly 101 free prints special, although shipping was about $6.
It took a while to find a mailbox that wasn't black and wasn't too expensive. In the end, I was able to find a gray, basic mailbox for about $12 at Waikele Lowes.
The same mailbox was at the Kaimuki Ace Hardware for about $20. I'm glad I kept looking to save the $8, but I should give a shout out to the staff at Ace Hardware. They were really helpful and tried to help me make an informed decision. My plan is to give this mailbox to my Mom once I'm done with it, and they made sure I knew which post the mailbox would fit, etc., even if in the end it meant I left without buying it.
I was so impressed by my friends who threw my bridal shower. The decor was girlier than I probably would've chosen for myself, but it was super cute, so I decided to borrow some of the extra supplies and reuse some of the decor. These heart-shaped paper cutouts were part of a bridal advice board. I used some extras to make this sign for the mailbox. The two faux peonies in the mailbox were also from the bridal shower. It looks so rustic romantic :)
Desserts Decor
For the travel-themed desserts decor, in addition to Hammie & Freddie cake toppers, I made a few extra coffee filter flowers and a plane out of cardboard to stick somewhere into the tiered cake. I guess some of the flowers or paper flowers can be used for the dessert area too.
I also made a little tray out of the lid of the Inglenook wine crate we picked up for free at Fujioka's. It's pretty, and I managed to get the entire logo on there. Not sure if we can use this for the wedding, but I'm sure I can find a use for it somewhere.
Small Gifts for Helpers
I decided to give small tokens of appreciation for a few ladies who will be helping with floral arrangements and set-up/clean-up. Yardley bar soaps seemed to get lots of positive reviews online, so I bought 3 lemon verbena scented bars. They smell pretty strong but nice. After that, though, I saw these bars of Good Soap by Alaffia at Whole Foods and thought they'd be great to give as "green" gifts. I bought 9 bars of various scents -- Sunshine, Prairie Rose, and Coconut (I think there was another scent, but I forgot to write down which one I bought), wrapped them in brown paper bags, and tied a Thank You card on top. They were 3 for $6, which is a great deal for these giant bars of soap!
I designed the Thank You linoleum block using my wedding invitation for inspiration, and I'm happy with the way it turned out. The best part was experimenting with printing in multiple colors!
I decided it'd be nice to have some sort of welcome sign either outside or just inside the bar. I have a really beautiful, rustic, wood frame I got at a thrift store a while ago. I also had extra blank canvases and thought it'd look pretty to do a background in red/pink/orange with white lettering.
The colors are a lot darker than the colors I dyed the flowers and everything else, but since I had white pens, I figured the background had to be dark in order for the white to show up over it.
It was a little frustrating working with the pen because every so often the ink would stop flowing. I'd push down on the tip, and a whole bunch of ink would stream out, and I'd have to scratch a bunch of paint off then start over. In the end, though, it turned out really well, and I'm happy with it. I didn't spend any money on the pens because I just used the pens my friend used to make some signs for my bridal shower.
Another finishing touch was to have Hammie & Freddie postcards for people to write messages to us on and a wedding post/mailbox at the reception table for the postcards. This goes with the travel-themed reception and dessert areas, since Hammie & Freddie are our travel avatars. I got the photos printed for free through a Shutterfly 101 free prints special, although shipping was about $6.
It took a while to find a mailbox that wasn't black and wasn't too expensive. In the end, I was able to find a gray, basic mailbox for about $12 at Waikele Lowes.
The same mailbox was at the Kaimuki Ace Hardware for about $20. I'm glad I kept looking to save the $8, but I should give a shout out to the staff at Ace Hardware. They were really helpful and tried to help me make an informed decision. My plan is to give this mailbox to my Mom once I'm done with it, and they made sure I knew which post the mailbox would fit, etc., even if in the end it meant I left without buying it.
I was so impressed by my friends who threw my bridal shower. The decor was girlier than I probably would've chosen for myself, but it was super cute, so I decided to borrow some of the extra supplies and reuse some of the decor. These heart-shaped paper cutouts were part of a bridal advice board. I used some extras to make this sign for the mailbox. The two faux peonies in the mailbox were also from the bridal shower. It looks so rustic romantic :)
Desserts Decor
For the travel-themed desserts decor, in addition to Hammie & Freddie cake toppers, I made a few extra coffee filter flowers and a plane out of cardboard to stick somewhere into the tiered cake. I guess some of the flowers or paper flowers can be used for the dessert area too.
I also made a little tray out of the lid of the Inglenook wine crate we picked up for free at Fujioka's. It's pretty, and I managed to get the entire logo on there. Not sure if we can use this for the wedding, but I'm sure I can find a use for it somewhere.
Small Gifts for Helpers
I decided to give small tokens of appreciation for a few ladies who will be helping with floral arrangements and set-up/clean-up. Yardley bar soaps seemed to get lots of positive reviews online, so I bought 3 lemon verbena scented bars. They smell pretty strong but nice. After that, though, I saw these bars of Good Soap by Alaffia at Whole Foods and thought they'd be great to give as "green" gifts. I bought 9 bars of various scents -- Sunshine, Prairie Rose, and Coconut (I think there was another scent, but I forgot to write down which one I bought), wrapped them in brown paper bags, and tied a Thank You card on top. They were 3 for $6, which is a great deal for these giant bars of soap!
I designed the Thank You linoleum block using my wedding invitation for inspiration, and I'm happy with the way it turned out. The best part was experimenting with printing in multiple colors!
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