Category: Ceremony Accessories

It is a well-known fact that pretty programs for a pretty wedding require a pretty program box. There are no two ways about it; your guests must be informed about what’s going on, and they must pick up their information from a container worthy of the honor.

What’s more, seeing as it’s spring, the container should be light and airy, and seeing as it’s likely to be one of the last elements you’ll organize, it should also be rather cheap. Easy done! Grab a carton box, a bit of material and 30 minutes of time, and your programs will soon find themselves well housed.

Materials:

• Cotton
• Cardboard box
• Scissors
• Material scissors
• Paper
• Pencil
• Pins
• Measuring tape
• Washi tape
• Sewing machine

Directions:

Step 1: Measure and prepare pattern

Measure the box and prepare pieces for the short sides (1 and 2), long sides (3 and 4) and the base (5). Add a ¼-inch seam allowance to all sides of the base, then add a ¼-inch seam allowance to the bottom and sides of the side pieces (1,2,3 and 4).

Step 2: Cut out paper pattern

Cut out the pattern from the paper.

Step 3: Trace onto material

Place the paper onto the back part of the material and trace around it. Then cut the seam allowance away from the paper and trace the inside onto the material.

Step 4: Cut out material

Cut out and iron the pieces of material.

Step 5: Pin together

Pin the pieces together along the seam allowance lines to form a box. Ensure the pretty side of the material is inside.

Step 6: Sew

Sew along the seam allowance lines until the box is complete.

Step 7: Fold top over

Fold the top over ¼ inch and pin it into place.

Step 8: Sew top

Sew around the top of the box.

Step 9: Slide into box

Slide the material you’ve sewn into the box and fold a ¼ inch over the top.

Step 10: Washi tape

Stick it down with washi tape or hand-stitch it into place. Voila! You’re done!

While browsing for centerpiece ideas on Pinterest recently, I came upon a pin which really caught my attention. It was a cute idea to make festive vases using red striped candy canes to decorate a plain vase or jar. One thing which I had been searching for was a unique yet relatively cheap way to add some color and focus to our table arrangements without having to expand on our flower order. So, I had a play around with the concept and looked to make this candy cane idea a little less seasonal yet just as simple to do. So here for you to copy is my short, and incredibly easy tutorial to make your very own “Retro Straw Vase.”

Materials:

• 1 small glass vase or jar (washed and cleaned) – a cylindrical vase or jar about 7” in height works well
• 2 small rubber bands
• 2 packs of retro striped paper straws (1 pack = 25 straws)*
• 1 length of ribbon
• 1 pack of tissue paper

 Directions:

• Get the vase or jar and stretch one band over the top of the vase and one at the bottom, each about 1 1/2 inch from the edge.
• Feed the straws between the rubber band and vase until it is completely covered all the way around.
• Gently re-position the top band towards the center of the vase and remove the bottom band.

• Get your length of ribbon and tie around the center of the straw covered  vase on top of the rubber band.
• Ensure your ribbon is tied securely and carefully trim any excess length.

• To make the tissue paper flower, take your tissue paper and place 3-4 sheets on top of one another.
• Fold the tissue paper layers in half, then fold to make a fan with the folded edge along the bottom.
• Using your spare rubber band, tie the band at one end about 1 inch from the bottom.
• Holding the tissue fan, gently separate the sheets of tissue paper layers (as you would do to make a tissue Pom Pom) creating a half sphere.
• Arrange the tissue layers to resemble a large flower bloom and simply set in the vase.

Of course, you can go ahead and fill your new vase with real flowers if you so choose, or even use it to house the weight for a balloon centerpiece  Or, if you’re after a more rustic looking centerpiece, you could substitute the straws for small twigs cut to about 8-inch lengths.

It’s a new year, and we have a new contributor to introduce!  Meet Jessica – she’s stolen our hearts with her DIY flair!  Take it away, Jessica…

Being a person that loves all things mason jars, burlap, and winter, this centerpiece has won my affection, and will become a centerpiece on my tables for winters to come. I normally adorn my tabletop with a holiday themed centerpiece which would have to be taken down and put away after December 26th. But this year, I challenged myself to come up with an idea that would long surpass the holiday season and bring me well into March. Therein lies the birth of this little gem. I must admit that this was the easiest DIY thing I have EVER done. I swear, I kid you not, this will take you five minutes and you will asked a million times exactly how you did it. I didn’t even have to leave my house to go to Target or the craft store. All these supplies were just lying around, begging me to use them. And so I did…and you can too!

Materials:

• Mason Jar
• Epsom Salt Votive Candle (flameless would work, also)
• 2 Pieces cut from fake evergreen wreath
• Burlap String or Rafia

Directions:

STEP ONE

Fill mason jar with Epsom Salt to the desired height. I filled mine about half way.

STEP TWO

Place your votive candle in jar. I did not want my candle to just sit on top of the salt so I wiggled and wedged it into the salt. Be sure not to bury it too deep, you want the top of the glass candle holder to be above salt level.

STEP THREE

If you haven’t already done so (I had, so I didn’t get any pictures), cut 2 small pieces from either a fake wreath, garland, or christmas tree. I used a wreath I had lying around and used a pair of wire cutters to snip two 2-in pieces.

STEP FOUR

Using the two pieces of cut evergreen, place them in the jar beside the candle. Make sure the candle, when lit, won’t singe these.

STEP FIVE

Cut a few strands of burlap string, long enough to tie a bow in them. I make my own burlap string by fraying burlap and saving those strings. You can also buy Burlap String from Amazon. I used about three or four pieces to tie around the top into a bow.

Voila..Isn’t is pretty?

If you are anything like me you have searched Pinterest for creative decorations and pinned hundreds of inspirational ideas. When you find it comes time to make these projects many amazing photos lack fall short when it comes to what they used. Well I have found countless holiday and Christmas Wedding decorations and have fallen in love with the simple and stunning pinecones and snow decorations.

Here is my favorite pin: a large vase with snow and pinecones.  It has just enough snow scattered around the base to create a truly stunning, classy and simple decoration.

See more Pinecone & Snow Holiday Decorations on Pinterest!

Unforunately, the pinecone and snow centerpiece pictured above didn’t link back to a tutorial; it only had the photo, so my search for the supplies to create my own began. I found wonderful scented pinecones at just about every store. The best deal was $4.99 at my local grocery store for a large bag of pinecones. The vase was also an easy purchase at Michael’s craft store, with my 40% off coupon it only cost $6.99 and looked pretty similar to my inspiration photo above.

Being a few weeks before Christmas it seemed like I should be able to find fake snow in every store but all I could find was pretty pricey plastic snow that looked like shredded plastic grocery bags. No light fluffy snow at all. I hate plastic, fake-looking anything, so my options were less than impressive and many stores said I could order it online but what if the same shredded plastic bag snow showed up? So I got creative about thought about what I could possibly use for “snow”… FOOD! I ran to the cooking aisle and searched for cheap white powered sugar which I could buy a lot of and use as snow.

Now beware, not all food is a good idea. First off, sugar is always a bad idea. You never want to pour mounds of sugar on the table or anywhere really because you don’t want to attract any uninvited guests, like ants. Next I thought flour, well then realized I would have “clouds” of snow blanketing everything in sight including the person setting up the centerpiece, and who would possibly want to set up and clean it up? It would be such a mess.

Then I can across a great idea – salt – and happened to find super cheap store brand Kosher salt. It looked snow-white, so I picked up a good-size box of salt that looked to have white color and hopefully would give the same effect without the huge price tag of ordering fake snow online.

To make this centerpiece it was quite simple you will need the following:

Materials:

• 1 large vase
• several pinecones
• 1 1/2 cups kosher salt

Estimated cost: Approximately $9 per centerpiece 

Here is the break down for the cost for this centerpiece: The vase was $6.99 (saved 40% with coupon), pinecones were $1.24 (1/4^th of the bag), salt  used as the snow was approximately $. 65 ($2.59 for the box and I only used about 1 ½ cups salt to make the centerpiece; the 48-oz box would be enough to make 4 centerpieces) for a total centerpiece cost of $8.88.

Instructions:

1) Pour a little salt in the bottom of the vase to cover the bottom.

2) Place the pinecones in the vase to your liking; I prefer placing the pinecones rather than just dumping them in to get the best effect.

3) Then pour a little more salt over the top to give the pinecones a snow-covered look.

4) Last sprinkle the remaining salt on the tablecloth around the outside of the vase.

There you have it a super simple snow-covered pinecone centerpiece made with salt.

PLEASE NOTE:  Salt can kill plants and flowers so be advised: DO NOT USE SALT WITH PLANTS OR FLOWERS.

I love the idea and of using pinecones as decorations and if you are lucky enough to live near pine trees you could collect all the pinecones for free. You can also add pinecones to the back or chairs for an added touch. You can tie some together to make bunches to hang on doors or around for added decorations. I created a Pinterest board or all these great pinecone pins. Feel free to check out all the pinecone and snow pins here: http://pinterest.com/christa00/pinecone-snow-holiday-decorations/

So you’ve planned your wedding ceremony perfectly. Every second is accounted for and all the important people you want to honor know their spots in line. You deserve a program to highlight how awesome your wedding is going to be. Plus, guests love knowing what comes next and which second cousin will be singing that wonderful rendition of their favorite song.

For outdoor ceremonies, especially in the warmer months, some programs inadvertently double as another item— fans. But if you know it’s inevitable, why not go with it and surprise your guests with a functional roadmap to your wedding ceremony festivities—that’s right, the wedding program fan.

But this tutorial is no average wedding program fan. It doubles as a game for guests who are bored before the ceremony. I’m sure glad I had these at my wedding because my ceremony started 15 minutes late (and for the record, it wasn’t my fault).

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 144 golfing pencils
• 2 – 100-yd spools of 3/8-inch ribbon
• Cardstock
• Rounded edge die cutter
• 100 butter knife fan handles (or paint sticks will do)
• Glue sticks
• Hot glue gun
• A drill

1. Drill the holes in the center of the fan handles. If you’re daring, you can attempt to drill the hole through the pencils as well. However, it is in unnecessary as a hot glue gun can easily and effectively attach the pencils to the ribbon.
2. Print your program on 8 ½ “ x 11” cardstock so you can fold in half like a greeting card.
3. Use your glue stick to cover the wood stick on both sides. Press down in the middle of one of the folded halves. Spread glue stick all over the rest of the card stock, paying extra attention to the edges. Fold over and press.
4. Use the die cutter to round the edges of the fan for an added effect.
5. Measure out your ribbon to how far you think it needs to go to play the game at the highest point on the back of your program. Leave extra space to attach the ribbon to the stick and pencil. Thread the ribbon through the handle’s hole and tie a knot.
6. Use hot glue to attach the ribbon to the golf pencil to the ribbon.

Note: This works best in an assembling line with multiple hands. It gets done in NO TIME.

When designing your program’s game, try to make it personal. We used a series of questions about ourselves that we knew certain groups of people would know. We hoped it would help get the guests to mingle more. We also had certain letters from each answer be used for a “secret message” to be put at the end which thanked our guests for coming.

Get creative with your programs and have fun with it!

Resources:

• 144 golfing pencils – $8.99 (Staples.com)
• 2 – 100 yd spools of 3/8 inch ribbon – $8 (efavormart.com)
• 100 Butter knife fan handles – $15 (Craftparts.com)
• Die cutter – $8 (Michael’s)

Need something to do with all that tissue paper you save from gifts (like from your bridal shower)? If you’re like me, you can’t bear to throw it all away and see it go to waste. This is a very easy tutorial to turn all that tissue paper into a pretty backdrop for your alter, welcome table, or photo booth!

Tissue Paper Leaf Backdrop

Materials:

• Tissue paper (chances are you have a ton of it for free, but if not, you can buy a pack at the dollar store)
• String (I used white elastic because I had some left over from another project, but you can use any kind of string or heavy thread)
• Glue Stick

• Scissors (Let’s assume you already own a pair!)

Estimated cost: $5

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut several strands of string to your desired length. For this project I cut six strands of string that were five feet long. You’ll need to decide the right amount and length for your space.

Step 2: Fold your tissue paper several times over so you can cut a bunch of leaves at once. I cut my leaf by freehand but feel free to use some kind of template or use a pencil to draw it out. Don’t worry – as you can see from my example, they don’t have to be perfectly shaped! In fact, I think it looks better when they are all a little different.

Step 3: Measure about a foot from the top of the string to leave bare. This will allow you to tie your string to whatever you are using. Again, you will have to judge the best length for this based on your needs.

Step 4: Take two leaves of the same color, and preferably from the same batch you cut out so that they match. Carefully apply glue to one side of one leaf, place the string on top, then apply glue to the other leaf, and place it on top of the first leaf and string, lining them up the best you can. Be very careful and gentle with the glue, so you don’t rip your leaves. Also, don’t forget to put down some newspaper or cloth to protect whatever surface you are working on.

Note: Position the leaves differently on the string to for a more natural look, or position all leaves in the same direction for a very modern, symmetrical style.

Step 5: Repeat Step 4 as often as desired! For mine, I did six leaves per string, about six inches apart.

Step 6: Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for each string!

Step 7: Put your leaf strands somewhere safe to dry. Once they are dry, you can use scissors to trim away any imperfections on the leaves (or just leave the imperfections – it adds character!).

Step 8: Hang your leaf stands as desired. Ta-da! Almost instant backdrop!

The leaves are perfect for fall, but you could do this with any shape, like flowers for spring or snowflakes for winter.  What shape would you choose for your wedding?  It’s an easy and cheap project that makes a huge statement. If you try this DIY, be sure to send us pictures!