MY | GATSBY | WEDDING: THE | GATSBY

I wanted to keep our wedding party as small as possible... but we ended up with 7 girls & 7 guys standing up.

The only thing this changed for me was my plan for their accessories. I had originally planned to use Etsy to find them some vintage headpieces to wear and some fabric bouquet arrangements. The problem is with the material cost, the labor and the shipping... for 7 girls, it ended up being more than I had planned in my budget.

Luckily... I LOVE doing DIY projects and decided I was going to make all of the accessories myself!

THE | HEADPIECES (TUTORIAL BELOW)

I went back and forth between buying a lace headpiece to work off of, and just buying the lace material and making them myself. Luckily, I found lace headbands from Hobby Lobby that were the right size, colors - and super reasonable in price.

I got one in a shimmery ivory/champagne color for my maid of honor, and 6 in a black sequin lace material for my bridesmaids.

Available at Hobby Lobby

In the same aisle at Hobby Lobby, they should have beaded, sequin or rhinestone appliques to choose from. I chose a circular rhinestone applique for my maid of honor, and a beaded applique for the bridesmaids.

Available at Hobby Lobby

I also went down the scrapbooking aisle to grab some more pearl/rhinestone decor. I find it is really easy to use the scrapbook decor for projects like this because they will have flat backings & usually have their own adhesive so you can place them and make sure you like how it looks before finally securing it.

Available at Hobby Lobby & Michaels

They do have feather pads at Hobby Lobby - but they didn't have a color selection that I needed, so I went to Etsy.com to order the feather pads.
I ordered them from FEATHERSHOPPE and was very satisfied with the quality and how quickly they shipped.

Etsy Store: FEATHERSHOPPE

Once I had all the parts - it was time to make some headpieces!

HOW TO | TUTORIAL

What you need:
- Hot Glue Gun / Glue
- Foam Ball or Foam Head Form
- Headband
- Feather pads
- Rhinestone Applique
- Rhinestones (separates)

1. Place headband on foam ball or head form. Apply hot glue to the headband where you would like the feathers to be placed. (For me, I wanted them all on the right since that is the side my bridemaids would be showing when they were standing up). Press and hold the feather pad to the headband. If there are any loose edges, apply more hot glue to the band and press the feather pad until secure.

2. Using hot glue gun, apply applique over the area where the feather pad & headband meet to hide edges. It was easiest for me to apply the glue down the center of the applique - press it to the band, and then go back and secure loose edges.

3. OPTIONAL: Using hot glue gun, apply rhinestone pieces or other decorative accents for further "flair" to the applique. It is easiest to apply the glue to the applique and press the rhinestone or accent piece into the glue.

4. OPTIONAL: Using hot glue gun, apply glue to rhinestone piece - allow to cool slightly before pressing to feather pad.

(I used a slightly different applique for half of the bridesmaids hairpieces for some variety)

5. When you are finished, slide the back of the headband up - the front area will most likely be glued slightly to the foam. Start at the ends and work the headpiece away from the foam until it is fully detached.

FINAL LOOK:

For the maid of honor's head piece - I did the same process with different pieces. I used a champagne lace headband, an ivory feather pad, circular rhinestone applique, and pre-formed pearl/rhinestone scrapbooking accessories to accent the feather & around the applique.

***ADDITION TO ORIGINAL POST!!!
Since writing this post, I have also been asked to create headbands/headpieces for the moms, grandmas, my godmother and a few other wedding guests as well as extras for my guests to use in our photo booth! Here is what I have created: