Wedding details...

I have always been a "jack of many trades, master of none" until I planned my own wedding, when I  finally got to use my creative artist side and love of planning.

I met Andrew at a bar on St. Paddy's day and he proposed to me after a 3 1/2 year courtship. Sounds glamorous, but really I just wore him down (hehehe). Andrew and I knew we would be paying for the majority of our wedding, with that in mind, we didn't want to take a second mortgage out on the house for our "Big Day". So how do you do a budget wedding and still make it fabulous??? Well, in my case it meant a lot of searching on the internet for ideas and inspiration for things I could do myself. I love making and crafting, so this was a way to show-off my of many talents.

If you have a great printer, you can really save money by printing your own invitations, but it can be very stressful...Also if you are feeling adventurous, doing your own flowers is a huge money-saver.

I saw these great ribbon flowers on Etsy. The artist worked with me to get exactly the flower colors I needed. With the flowers, I made boutonnieres for Andrew and his groomsmen and used the rest in my hair. I also wanted to do something special for my bridesmaids and myself, so I made all our necklaces.

I wanted to incorporate my mother's wedding dress. However, she is more petite then me, so her dress was not an option. With her blessing, she allowed it to be cut up and made into a beautiful ring pillow.

As a site marker, I hand painted a banner for the entrance to the wedding.

 Andrew and I didn't want to have a traditional "guest book". While looking online, I saw an art piece similar to the picture above. Luckily, I have a very talented friend who was able to re-create it. The plexiglass was purchased from Tap-Plastics and we had our guests sign them with a silver pen. Unlike your typical guest book that gets tucked away on a shelf, our "book" now decorates our house.

Andrew is a music connoisseur and it only made sense for us to compile our favorite non-traditional love songs to give away as guest favors. It was inexpensive and very personal.

My amazing photographer, Christina, told me early on to remember the details which make great photos. So I did little things like a break-away bouquet. On each bouquet, I hand-stamped little fortunes, so that every girl who got a flower got a special message from me.

I hope this inspires you, and if you need help, I'm always available!