hot off the press: my first wedding invitation ideas.

So far I've been doing a lot of scribbling of ideas and designs for our wedding invites, but the other day I sat down and actually took the idea from a scribble to a reality. It's quite a simple design based in warm and natural colours. I bought a stamp kit with a letter set, and a beige ink pad (as the inside of the invite is brown!), a gold pen to write what I don't stamp, and some cardboard that had been recycled from beer labels! (cool huh?). What I don't use out of the materials I've bought I'll definitely be using again later for other projects so nothings going to waste.

I was going for the homemade look (hopefully without going as far as cheap and tacky). It looks like a lot of writing (since I'm going to be making these myself!), but we're having a relatively small guest list of our closest friends, so it's not so much work.

 

For a first draft I think they're pretty cute. Also, I'm not all that caught up in having hugely detailed and perfect invitations as they only get thrown away after the wedding anyway (hopefully recycled!).

x

Back in action!

Hey everyone, it's been a while since my last post (nearly 2 months! oh my gosh!) but the last few months have been very busy!

Not only have I had end of the year uni assessments and exams, but I've also started a new blog, Second Hand Jayne, and it's dedicated to second hand fashion! There's loads of pretty goodies up there already with outfit ideas to match, plus some beautiful vintage finds. Check it out if you're interested.

Anyhow, I will be back to posting regularly now, starting with some pictures of the first few trials at handmaking my wedding invitations, and bunting for our save the dates. It's so exciting to be making things for our wedding!

xx

my first wedding goodies purchase (from a second hand store, of course!)

i have been keeping my eye out for goodies for the wedding, things like possible table decorations (vases, port glasses to be made into votive candles, etc), practical things (plates, glasses, cutlery) and other bits and pieces (material for decorations, table cloths, etc) in second hand stores since i got engaged. here are the first ones i've found that i had to buy. i haven't actually decided what they are going to be yet (i was thinking of maybe making a cookie stand out of them for the dessert table?) but they match the colour theme i am aiming for and really have that vintage feel :)

wow, it's kind of beginning to seriously hit home that i am getting married (you'd think that the ring on my left hand would have tipped me off, but i actually think it made it all the more fairytale-esque in my head). of course i've been doing a lot of day dreaming about all the details, but now that i have something that i can physically touch that has no other purpose than to be used on the day it's making my heart jump a little!

oh, and you'll probably also notice one of my little creatures in the top left of the picture. whenever i get the camera out they seem to do their best to be everywhere i point it!


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diy wedding invitation ideas

since i'm planning on doing as much of my wedding as diy as possible, i've been trawling the internet for inspiration. at the moment i'm looking at pretty much everything as our date is still over twelve months away and i've already booked the major vendors that were the most important to me, so i don't have any need to rush or focus on anything in particular. in saying that, i came across these beautiful wedding invitations while browsing one of my favourite wedding blogs, Snippet & Ink, and had one of those "that's exactly what i want" moments.

 photo from Snippet & Ink

i think that their simplicity is what makes them so beautiful.
and the best part(s) for me are, a) i love painting, b) watercolours are one of the easiest and quickest mediums to work with, c) i can totally personalise my design and still keep this diy task as reasonable to achieve, and d) i've already got a complete artists (second hand) set of water colour pencils so i'm halfway there for materials already. i was also thinking of having a stamp made to add some fine detail to the design. however i'm still completely unsure of what design the stamp will be haha.

so far the best sources of inspiration for me have been both my and my fiance's personal interests (we both love the beach and nature/natural locations, hence our ceremony and reception venue is an acerage that looks over the ocean), themes that are relevant to us (our wedding arch is going to be japanese torii gates, to represent our meeting through karate, and also torii gates traditionally mark the entrance to a sacred space which i think is a beautiful symbolic representation of entering into marriage), and our personal values (i'm an eco freak hence i am doing as much of the wedding diy as possible, including invitations, table settings, decorations, and the materials i am using are going to be second hand or eco friendly as much as possible). when i first got engaged and started looking at all things wedding just to get an idea of what is involved in planning one, my head nearly exploded with all the details, but once i got those main ideas straight, it's all started to fall into place (and i'm freaking out a lot less about the hugeness of the process!!)

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green wedding (planning) crazy!

i had two things on my wedding list of 'things to organise' that were absolutely essential for me to have organised before i could relax into the creative side of wedding planning (and by that i mean, colour schemes, table settings, all the decorative stuff that personalises a wedding), and they were the venue and the photographer.
i didn't have an exact dream wedding, just a basic idea. i wanted to avoid the traditional ceremony, photos, reception, a set course dinner and finish up at 11:30. i want everyone (all our close friends and family that are invited to the wedding) to feel comfortable, to enjoy the whole day. i want everyone to love the food and the music, and to party with us until late, to really celebrate our love and love in general.
i see the ceremony as being the very personal part of the wedding, where everyone shares in the official commitment of our love, and also adding their own love for us to the mix. where as the reception is the party! so that is my 'theme'.
the good news is that i have found both my venue and my photographer! i am so relieved and excited!
we are having the ceremony and the reception at the same place (no travel between equals being green! ohh and my humor strikes again) and it is also the accommodation for all of my mans family and friends that are traveling to the wedding. we've also booked it for a week, so we have enough time to decorate with all the goodies that i am going to make! and some time left afterwards to relax. plus that also means no time restrictions on the night! i'm so excited i could pop! it's going to be a massive party! (ridiculously excited really, as you can probably tell from the excessive use of exclamation marks). i met with my photographer for the first time last weekend, and really liked her from the beginning. she ticks all the boxes on my 'must haves' list (beautiful work, sense of humor, honesty, easy going, experienced), and as a bonus, she has worked at our venue before, so she knows the good spots, the bad spots, and the ins and outs of it. brilliant!
here's a sneak peak at where we are planning the ceremony (the gazebo will be off to the side, we are having the signing of the documents in there). so pretty! and it looks out over the ocean!

i'm honestly a very natural person in terms of decor (my house is filled with wooden furniture and natural tones), so my wedding decorations and table settings are going to reflect that. which will also be wonderful in keeping with my goal of being as green as possible, as i'm not looking for exotic or extravagant decorations. i'm actually planning on making the majority of the decorations myself (some call me crazy, but it's important to me, so i will find the time and energy). i've got over a year to do it all, and the two major bookings are done! happy days! if anyone else is planning a green wedding, and has any tips, ideas, or experiences that could help me out, please leave a comment.

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