WEDDING | SHOWER | DECOR [Part 1]

We absolutely lucked out for our shower.  My parent's "besties" own a banquet hall nearby who were able to offer us an amazing opportunity to have our wedding shower at their venue.  They were really great with helping with the details of the tablecloth colors, chair colors, bow colors, etc...  and the food was incredible!  If you are in the area and looking for a great banquet hall, please do yourself a favor and look into Alta Villa Banquets in Addison, IL.
(www.altavillabanquets.com)

WEDDING | SHOWER | DECOR  [Part 1]

I still wanted to be able to tie in our wedding Gatsby theme to the shower, so I decided to make/arrange our own centerpieces and other various decorations to give the shower more personality. 

The Dollar Tree has been one of the most useful, money saving places throughout our entire year of wedding planning.  You might have to use your imagination, but they have some great items for ... a dollar.  We used a lot of Dollar Tree items to spruce up the shower.  For example:

THE | CENTERPIECES

I found packs of tissue paper that had plain ivory, plain gold and a gold/ivory design at the Dollar Tree... and basically bought them out!  I used these to make tissue poms to cover the center of each table, as well as for the gift table, sweet table, etc.   Each pack make 4 poms... which is an unbelievable deal when you compare it to the pre-made poms you can buy in the stores.  (i.e. getting 8 Martha Stewart Poms for $12.99 which comes out to $1.62 per pom!)  HERE'S HOW:

Materials:
Tissue Paper Pack
Scissors
Ribbon/String

Step 1 - Leave tissue paper folded in half & cut across to make 2 parts.

Step 2 - Open and cut your 2 remaining parts in half again to be left with 4 square parts.

Step 3 - If you are working with multiple colors or designs, mix up the arrangement to create different final looks.

Step 4 - Starting at one end, fold all the sheets together accordion style in about 1 inch sections all the way to the other end.

Step 5 - Tie a ribbon, string or any other item you wish to use around the center, securely, but keeping the flat shape - don't tie it too tight and bunch the material in the middle, this will make it harder to open.  BEFORE fanning the item out, cut the ends to your desired shape.  I wanted a pointed edge, but you can also do a rounded edge for a different look.

Step 6 - Fan open the top and bottom parts.  Starting on one side, carefully pull the top sheet of the top section towards the bottom, and vice versa.  I found it is easiest to do 1 or two sheets on one side, and then flip to the other side so you end with the sheets in the middle.   Then... just fluff it out to create the circular shape!

Here's what I ended up with for my centerpieces.  When you put them all together, they look really stunning!

To finish off the look at the shower, I purchased tea light candle holders, tea lights  glass pillar candle holders and short pillar candles from the Dollar Tree as well.  Here's a sketch of the final look:

I wasn't done there though... I wanted to add more of our theme and personalities to the decor...

WEDDING | SHOWER | DECOR  [Part 2]

THE | CORSAGES

I wanted to make the corsages for the grandparents & godparents so they would all fit the theme... and could be a nice keepsake for all of them.  I was able to find all the pieces to make these at Hobby Lobby & Michaels.

From Hobby Lobby:

 - Corsage "real touch" flowers

 - Bouquet Accents (pearl/rhinestone pieces)

From Michaels:

 - Pearl Corsage Bracelet

THE | CORSAGES  - HOW TO!

What you need:

 - "His&Hers" Corsage flower - or small single stem flower of your choice

 - Thin 1/2" or less ribbon

 - Rhinestone/Pearl - or accent piece of your choice

 - Corsage bracelet

 - Hot Glue Gun

 - Scissors

1.  I removed the flower bud & leaves from the corsage flowers because I wanted it to be very simple & classic.  The ribbon was already attached to the corsage flower - but if you are using a different flower - tie the ribbon in a bow around the stem & secure with hot glue.

2.  The stem was too long for my liking - so I bent the stem/wire and tucked it back.  You can either secure now with the hot glue gun, or wait until next step.

3.  Using 1 of the bouquet accent pieces - I bent the wire in half and then twisted it to create a shorter, stronger stem.

4.  Place the pearl accent over the center of the ribbon bow.  Wrap the wire around the stem tightly (which should also help to secure the flower stem that was bent back).  Make sure the end is tucked away and use hot glue to secure.

5.  The corsage bracelets from Michaels came with a ribbon already attached.  If not - tie the ribbon to the center of the bracelet.

6.  Place the stem of the flower in the middle and tie the bracelet ribbon in a knot directly underneath the head of the flower and above the decorative ribbon.  Secure with another knot in the same spot.  Then wrap the ribbon to the back side and tie in one more knot.

7.  Using hot glue, secure the knot in the back, underneath the flower.  Then cut off the extra ribbon pieces.

FINISHED LOOK:

Next Up?

WEDDING | SHOWER | DECORATIONS

THE | BOUQUETS

With the headpieces out of the way - the next on my TO-DO list was the bouquets.  We weren't planning on using any real flowers for our wedding - so all our decorations & bouquets are made with silk flowers.  I made single flowers for the bridesmaids, a small bouquet for the maid of honor, 2 rose bouquets for the moms, a toss bouquet, and my keep bouquet.

Here's how I did them!

TOSS | BOUQUET

I used short, single stem flowers from Hobby Lobby for $1.99 each.  For this bouquet, I chose the ivory hydrangeas.  Here's how:

- 2 single stem hydrangeas

- gold ribbon

- rhinestones

- duct tape

- hot glue gun

- scissors

- needle & matching gold thread

1.  Using hot glue, I attached a rhinestone to the center of MOST of the flowers.

 2.  Put the stems together and arrange the bouquet how you would like it to look.  Using the duct tape, wrap it once around the stems to hold them in place.

3.  Starting near the bottom, apply hot glue and slowly start wrapping the ribbon upwards to cover the duct tape.  Glue again at the top to secure, then continue to wrap back down to the starting point.

4.  Tuck the end and then stitch with your needed and thread to secure.

5.  Tie the ribbon to the stem of the flower - over the area that was duct tapped.  Continue to tie into a bow shape - use hot glue gun in the center to secure.

FINISHED LOOK:

MAID OF HONOR | BOUQUET

I also used the short, single stem flowers for this bouquet.  They had ones that were champagne with gold sparkle accents on the petals which were perfect for her.  Here's what I used to make them:

 - 5 single stem flowers

 - gold sparkly button for center accents

 - gold ribbon

 - duct tape  (matching stems)

 - hot glue gun

 - scissors

 - needle & matching gold thread

1. Using hot glue, I applied one gold button to the center of each flower as additional flair.

2.  Arrange the flowers into a bouquet and using duct tape (I used dark green to match the stems) tape stems together to hold shape.

3.  Take the gold ribbon and starting near the bottom of the stems, apply a small amount of hot glue to hold the beginning in place, and then continue wrapping the ribbon around the stems.  Use more of an angle to use less ribbon.  Make sure to go all the way up to cover the duct tape.  Apply a little hot glue at the top to hold in place - then continue to wrap coming back down the stems until you reach the starting point.

4.  Tuck the end of the ribbon and using your needle & thread stitch in place to hold.

FINISHED LOOK:

BRIDESMAIDS | FLOWERS

I wanted the flowers for the bridesmaids to be something small and simple.  In the same section of hobby lobby, I found short stemmed black & white printed flowers that from a slight distance actually resembled feathers.  PERFECT!!  Here's how I made these:

 - 1 Flower for each girl

 - Silver sparkle ribbon

    (this was on clearance in the Christmas aisle at hobby lobby)

 - Rhinestones

 - Scissors

 - Hot Glue Gun

1.  Using hot glue gun, apply rhinestones in any pattern to the center of the flower as an accent.

2.  Tie the silver ribbon to the stem of the flower.  Secure to the stem with hot glue so it doesn't slide down.

3.  Arrange ribbon in a bow shape - use hot glue gun in the center to secure.

FINISHED LOOK:

MOM | BOUQUETS

I wanted to have a small bouquet for each of the moms to carry - instead of the same corsages we were giving to our grandparents & godparents.  I actually got lucky and found a pre-made silk bouquet of roses at Michaels in the clearance bin and decided to use these.  What I added was the pearl/rhinestone accents & ribbons.  The rhinestone/pearl accents were from Hobby Lobby - down the wedding aisle - in the bins for bouquet accents.

Here's how I made these:

1.  I folded the wire of the accent pieces in half and then twisted them.  Then, starting by the top I coiled the wiring until it was completely hidden below the top piece.

2.  Using hot glue, I applied a generous amount to the silk flower where I wanted the accent piece.  Press and hold the accent piece until the glue has cooled.

3.  Repeat until you are happy with the amount of accent pieces.

4.  Using the ribbon, start wrapping near the bottom.  Apply hot glue to hold in place, then continue to wrap the ribbon up the stems.  Apply hot glue at the top to secure, then continue to wrap back down the stems to the starting point.

5.  Tuck the end and using a needle and thread, stitch the bottom in place.

6.  Using a 21" piece of ribbon, tie to the stem, near the bouquet - and apply hot glue to secure.  Finish with a bow and secure with hot glue in the center to hold.

7.  OPTIONAL:  Add a rhinestone button to the center of the bow using needle & thread.

FINISHED LOOK:

The next project on the TO-DO List....

THE | CORSAGES

THE | GATSBY | HEADPIECES

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:

To Make the Comb Headpieces, Just glue the end of the comb

to the center of the feather pad backing

From that point, adding the applique & rhinestone decorations

is the same as the headband instructions above

Up next....

THE | BOUQUETS

MOTHER | OF | THE | BRIDE | GOWN

I'm sure everyone thinks this about their own mother... but I think I have one of the most beautiful moms in the world and was determined not to stick her in a boxy, grandmother-type dress as Mother of the Bride.  It took us both a while to find something that was in our price range, had the vintage look to match our wedding theme, but didn't make her look older.  Here is our journey to find the perfect


MOTHER | OF | THE | BRIDE | GOWN


Most of our searches began online, just trying to find a style we liked, or a type of silhouette that we wanted for her dress.  The problem with shopping online is my mom is a petite sized woman under 5' tall, so we definitely needed for her to be able to try on the gowns before purchasing.  We found a few at Macys and Nordstroms that fit the styles we were looking for - but either didn't work for her size, didn't come in the right color or were out of our price range.

However - Here are some of our favorites:

We continued our search at David's Bridal and House of Brides.  David's Bridal was pretty disappointing with the lack of variety they offered for Mother of the Bride Dresses.  Either very layered or very boxy.  We did find one style that was pretty and very affordable - but since our wedding is in November, the short style wouldn't work.

House of Brides had a larger variety... but only carry 1 size in each style.  For my mom, being so petite, it was hard for us to see what the dresses would really look like on her, even having them all clipped up.  We did find some beautiful dresses, and despite some bad reviews about customer service, thought the consultant was very sweet and helpful!

ONWARD | WITH | THE | SEARCH!


We were referred to a dress boutique in our area called Sassy's Originals in Bloomindale IL.  Let me just start by saying the women who run this store are the sweetest people I think I've ever met.  So friendly and really go out of their way to help you find the right dress.  They started by asking me (the bride) what my color scheme was, my theme, etc so they could get an idea of what dresses to show us... and then ran around the store grabbing dresses for my mom to try on.  (I think they had a blast dressing up my mom in their favorite gowns.  They kept saying "It's like dressing a live doll!"  So sweet!)

We ended up finding the perfect dress for her - and even though it didn't come in a petite size, they reassured us their seamstresses would "work their magic" and make sure everything fit perfectly!

Here's what we chose!




The dress fit my colors and theme & the shape and double layer bottom of the dress helped to elongate my mom's figure.  Here is how she looked on our wedding day:

So... venue, CHECK!  bridesmaids dresses, CHECK!  band, CHECK!  mom's dress, CHECK!  ...next on the list?


THE | ACCESSORIES

THE | BAND

My fiance is a musician, so it was really high on our list to have a live band at our wedding.  We both love Frank Sinatra (I mean really, who doesn't?) so we started looking at bands in our area who played this style of music for wedding venues.

We searched and listened to a few before he pulled up a video that made us both stop and look at each other.  We knew we had to have them!

PETER | OPRISKO

AND HIS ENSEMBLES

We sent a message out to Peter right away letting him know we were interested in having him play at our wedding.  He plays a lot of shows near the Chicago area and had actually done a wedding at our venue in the past (which was nice - knowing the venue would already know how to set up and work with this band!).

Peter contacted us back right away giving us a quote for the quintet or octet for our desired amount of time.  My fiance had his heart set on having the octet perform... but the quote we received for this was out of our budget.

Luckily, Peter was amazing and really worked with us to come up with a compromise so we could have the octet perform within our price range!

He also has an 8 page repertoire list of songs they perform so you can find the songs for your first dance, mother-son dance & father-daughter dance.  There is a great range of classics to modern songs.

Here's a link to the list!

http://www.peteroprisko.com/pdf/Repertoire_List.pdf

And here is a promotional video for his band & performances:

Can't wait to have them perform at our wedding and very glad to have that task crossed off our list...

...so we could move forward and try to find our:

BRIDESMAID | DRESSES

BRIDESMAID | DRESSES

I think even before I started looking at wedding gowns... I was looking for my bridesmaid dresses.  I knew I wanted them to have a "flapper" look to them - without looking like a cheap costume.  So I began the hunt for sequined or feathered or fringed cocktail dresses.



FINDING | THE | DRESSES


My first thought was to find different dresses for each of them, and have the accessories tie them together (same necklaces, headpieces, etc).  However, when I really started to think about our wedding as a big picture, I realized since we are encouraging our guests to all dress to theme... my bridesmaids would end up blending in (and I want them to stand out!)

If mismatched dresses are what you are going for - here are some of my favorite looks!

source: unknown

source: bellethemagazine.com

source:  style me pretty.com

source:  bellethemagazine.com

After making the decision to go all-the-same for the bridesmaids dresses, the hunt was really on.  I had to find 7 bridesmaid dresses that looked good on all of their body types and fit the theme without looking like a cheesy costume.

NOT AN EASY MISSION!

I really didn't want a typical bridesmaid dress - so we didn't even bother shopping for them at a bridal store.  We headed for the mall to check out the dress stores & boutiques there.  It worked out great for us that we were out looking around prom season... so there were lots of formal dresses available.

Our search ended at Jessica McClintock.  One of my bridesmaids picked it out and tried it on, and it looked great... so we had another bridesmaid try it out (one with a completely different body type) and it still looked great!   (I'm pretty sure this dress is magical)

I know it is such a typical bride statement... but I was not the one to say it.... they looked great on everyone (woo hoo!) so it was a done deal!  The dresses were on sale, so we made plans to come back the next weekend, figure out everyone's sizes and place the order.

We came back the next weekend.... and the dresses were on CLEARANCE!  I can't even explain how lucky it was we found these when we did!

I would definitely suggest looking for bridesmaid dresses during homecoming or prom season!



MY | FLAPPER | GIRLS

Here are the dresses we went with (sad to say they are no longer carried in stores or online)

Jessica McClintock

HERE IS HOW THEY TURNED OUT!!

RECEIVED LOTS OF COMPLIMENTS ABOUT HOW

GREAT MY GIRLS LOOKED ALL NIGHT!

POST | WEDDING

Ok... we all know the biggest lie from brides is "Oh my gosh... they look so great... and you can totally wear them again!!"

I am not in some kind of denial about this.  I mean, I know I didn't pick out a typical bridesmaids dress... and some have already told me "I can't wait to wear it again".  But i'm sure for some of them, it's not their style.

That's why I told them all about this website.  You send in your gently used bridesmaid's dress and they send you your choice of a little black dress from their selection!  How sweet is that?!

Here is the link to the site and some pictures of the dresses they have available to choose from!

                                               ---> NEWLY MAID

Next up on our agenda....


MOTHER | OF | THE | BRIDE | GOWN