Give Your Wedding a Personal Touch
(ARA) - If you’re like most brides-do-be, you’ve
been dreaming about your wedding day since you were
a young girl. Whether it’s a lavish gala or an
intimate affair, it will be one of the most
important days in your life. To the tiniest detail,
it must be perfect. If your big day is looming on
the horizon, consider personal touches to make your
dream wedding a reality. Start when considering the
décor for the location of the actual wedding as well
as the reception or party to be held afterwards.
“Instead of hiring someone to do the decorating for
you, do it yourself. It will mean more, and you’ll
be amazed at what you can do,” suggests Laura Byrne
of Michaels Arts and Crafts stores, one of the
nation’s leading suppliers of wedding accessories.
Wedding designs are as varied as the brides
themselves. Some plan around a color palette. For
others, the season or location may provide the
inspiration. Still others may opt for a theme, such
as a beach party or celestial heavens. Whatever
your choice, there are a variety of ways to bring it
to life.
If you can’t take the wedding party to the beach,
bring the beach to your wedding. Make large bows in
coral and sand colored ribbon and attach a starfish
or flat shell to the center. Use them as pew markers
or above doorways. (Most craft supply stores sell
bow-making machines or have the store’s resident
bow-maker give you a lesson.) Rent potted palm trees
or purchase faux ones and place them at the entrance
to the church and around the reception hall. Drape
reception tables with fishnets. For tabletop
centerpieces, fill goldfish bowls with blue-tinted
water and floating candles. For real authenticity,
surround them with play sand.
A
“match made in heaven” can be celebrated with a
celestial wedding. Drape twinkle lights in lengths
of dark blue tulle and drape from ceiling to floor.
Sprinkle gold and silver star confetti on tables
covered in midnight blue cloths. Make candlescape
centerpieces by placing pillar candles of different
heights on a round mirror and dust with iridescent
glitter.
Even if you don’t live in a snowy climate, you can
make guests at your winter wedding shiver with
delight. Bunch shimmery white tulle around the altar
or buffet tables to replicate snowdrifts. Attach
sparkling snowflake ornaments randomly to the tulle.
For centerpieces, place large pillar candles with
multiple wicks in shallow glass bowls and surround
with loose imitation snow. Blue and white icicle
lights will add the feel of starlight on a cold
winter night to your party.
Extend your personal signature to invitations as
well as the décor. You can find all the materials
you need to bring your vision to life -- papers of
all kinds, envelopes, stamps, stencils, and other
embellishments -- at your local arts and crafts
store. Michaels, in fact, carries a large selection
of invitation papers, ranging from every day
cardstock to handmade papers and vellum. You can buy
them individually or in packages. Then, use your
home computer to create the same professional look
you’d get if you ordered them from a printer. Just
select the font, size and color you want and print
away.
The real fun comes after they are printed. Part of
the beauty of making your own invitations is that
they don’t all have to be alike! You can create
borders, add trinkets -- your imagination is the
only limit. Take a stroll down the aisles of your
local arts and craft store for inspiration. For
beach themed invitations, you might stamp the cards
with palm trees or seashells or stencil on starfish.
Or punch a hole near the top and tie beach-themed
cutouts or small charms to the card with thin satin
ribbon. For heavenly cards, choose blue or silver
paper and use star and moon stamps. Drop a few loose
silver stars in the card before putting it in the
envelope. For a beautiful white on white invitation
for a winter wedding, place a snowflake stencil on
top of a white card and “paint” with thinned glue.
Remove the stencil and sprinkle with white
iridescent glitter. When it’s dry, shake off the
excess and voila! A miniature winter wonderland to
send to your friends and family.
Now that you’ve gotten into the excitement of doing
it yourself, don’t forget the smaller details.
Flower girl baskets, ring bearer cushions, guest
books -- even napkin rings -- all add to the unity
of your wedding theme and provide the finishing
touches.
For instance, spray paint a small basket in a color
that coordinates with your theme. Wrap the handle
with satin ribbon and add a bow at the top or on
both sides of the handle. Fill with artificial rose
petals (or imitation snow for a winter wedding) for
your flower girl to scatter as she precedes you down
the aisle. A small nosegay of silk flowers would
make a lovely take home gift for her and start her
dreaming about her own wedding! Small cookie cutters
make great napkin rings. They come in all shapes:
stars and crescent moons work well for a celestial
theme, as do palm trees or fish for a beach party.
Many brides like to give favors to their guests.
Three or four star shaped tea candles wrapped in
tulle and tied with curling ribbon make useful gifts
for guests at a heavenly wedding. Blow-up beach
balls and plastic pail and shovel sets add a touch
of whimsy to a sand and surf theme. Or print thank
you notes on parchment paper, roll them up and tuck
into the necks of small glass bottles. Small snow
globes make charming mementos of winter nuptials.
Whatever style you choose for your wedding, your
guests are sure to appreciate the time and thought
you’ve put into it and you’ll create memories for
you and your family that will last a lifetime.
For more ideas that will help create the
personalized wedding of the bride-to-be’s dreams,
log on to
www.michaels.com/weddings.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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