Charmed, I'm Sure

One last detail before I launch into my pre-wedding parties. I've got to recap my bridal shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and of course, both my weddings. But before that... Charms!

I got my bee charms in the mail from Mrs. Seal. She sent them to me in December. I was not as punctual getting my charms to Miss Warbler (I'm Sorry!). I opened the package with delight.

Personal Photo: A sweet note from one bride to another.

Personal Photo: My bees peeking through their gauzy bag.

But there were other charms too! Following the lead of other bees before me, I went to Etsy and asked a seller to make a Kettle especially for me. Sweet and Savory Trinkets saved the day.

Making a kettle in miniature version is no small task. Apparently, the handle gave her some trouble, but she managed it. Finding a hardworking seller who will try their darndest to get you exactly what you want is apparently commonplace on Etsy. If you're looking for another route to what you want outside a physical store, I highly recommend Etsy.

After I sent her a pic of my moniker for Weddingbee, she sent me back a picture of the charm she'd created. It was perfection. I purchased it and an additional charm for one of my bridesmaids, BM Law, who loves red velvet cake.

Personal Photo: A perfect kettle!

Personal Photo: a sweet red velvet cupcake!

Doing The D-I-Y: Flower Girl Baskets

After finally finishing the ring bearer pillows, I wanted to get the matching flower girl baskets done. I scoured for the perfect baskets, purchased them, and then watched them on my kitchen counter for months before I finally found the motivation to decorate them.

Personal Photo: searching through what felt like endless options.

Personal Photo: Narrowing it down and moving baskets around to get a group shot of my options.

Personal Photo: Making a selection!

Personal Photo: Loading up all the supplies. Feeling overwhelmed.

My glue gun and I got real friendly that night I finally got it together. I took me a couple hours, but it was worth it. And now for a montage. Everybody likes a montage. Even Rocky had a montage! (Anyone get that reference? America! F*#k yeah? Moving on)
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Personal Photo: Step 1) Gather your supplies. In my case, it was just the matching ribbons from the ring bearer pillows and my trusty glue gun. Make sure you have plenty of glue sticks on hand.

Personal Photo: Step 2) Cut tulle and glue to bottom of basket. In the photograph, you could see where it was doubled up, but in real life, it looked uniform. Don't use too much glue here, or your fingers will be burned when you press down the tulle into the glue.

Personal Photo: Step 3) Glue ribbon along edge of basket. First, I glue the edge closest to the rim. Then I went back along the bottom edge and glued it into the nooks and crannies so the ribbon hugged all the curves of the basket. Otherwise, the ribbon's end will stick out and will look the opposite of neat.

Personal Photo: Step 3) I wound ribbon around the basket handle to create a criss-crossing look. Do this with as many different ribbons as you'd like. Make sure you leave a length of ribbon on either end if you want to have hanging ribbon from the basket.

Personal Photo: Step 4) Wind end of ribbon around the rim of the basket. This only works if the weaving of the basket winds like the ribbon. cut the ends hanging from either side so they are even. Go back over the ribbon and glue down the parts that the eye won't see to secure the ribbon.

Personal Photo: These are bits of ribbon I cut into short pieces to make a decoration on the basket.

Personal Photo: Step 5) Glue cut pieces together at angles to look like flower petals. Start with a simple cross, then add other pieces at 45 degree angles. Be liberal with the glue gun because you don't want to have to repeat any of these little pieces.

Personal Photo: Step 6) Attach your "flower" to the side of the basket. I put one on each side of each basket. That was a lot of little pieces to glue. A lot of pieces. Also, at this point, you can trim the hanging ribbon into a shape if you'd like.

Personal Photo: Step 7) Admire your work.

Personal Photo: Here are the baskets with the pillows. They ended up matching perfectly!



Wedding Image showing flower girl baskets in action



Raise Your Glass

One of my favorite details from the wedding was our set we purchased from Things Remembered. My mother and I headed over there to pick out champagne flutes and ended up buying a whole set.

There were champagne glasses, cake cutters, picture frames, and a Christmas tree ornament in the set. It was the Christmas tree ornament that really sold me because I love Christmas. I look forward to decorating our first tree as a married couple and getting that ornament out.

Because of our purchase, we got our monogram made for free. We slapped that monogram on everything! It appeared on our STDs, on our wedding day, and especially etched onto all our purchased items. See for yourself!

Image via Things Remembered with a sample monogram

Wedding Image showing our wedding program featuring our monogram.

Wedding Image showing our monogram on our sweetheart table at the reception.

Wedding Image showing our champagne flutes with our monogram.

Wedding Image showing us toasting with our champagne flutes!