Wedding in Review: All the Projects

To wrap up the Wedding Wednesdays, I wanted to provide a wrap-up post of all the projects!  I hope they've inspired you to DIY a few elements of your own wedding, whether it be to personalize, save money, or just to have something to do with friends!

PS: Friends, I still have most of this stuff, so if you'd like to borrow it for your own wedding, just ask!


The DRESS - designed by us and handmade by my Mom

My dress was a hand-beaded, Chantilly lace fit-and-flare gown with a strapless sweetheart neckline and rows and rows of flounces.  It also featured a button-off removable train and beaded belt.

Mismatched Bridesmaid Dresses

Personalized Bridesmaid Robes

Personalized Jewelry for Bridesmaids and Flower Girls

Flower Girl Dresses

American Girl Dresses to Match the Flower Girls

Flower Girl Baskets

Ring Bearer Pillow (made from leftover dress fabric)

Invitation Suite

Thank You Notes

RSVP Map

Will You Be My Bridesmaid Paper Doll Cards

Wreaths for the Chapel

Hydrangea Bouquets

Peony Bouquet and Ranunculus Boutonnieres

Ribbon Wands

Pennants

Pennant Cake Topper

Chair Ribbons

Ribbon Table Runners

Coastal Centerpieces Made From Lantern, Chrome Shells, and Coral

Chrome Coral Table Number Holders

Name Buttons

Photo Guest Book 

Cloth Napkins for Favors

Save-A-Guest Kit

Dancing Shoes

Bonnie Projects

Field Trip: Los Angeles Fashion District

Man oh man, you want to see a kid in a candy shop?  Just put two crafters in the Los Angeles Fashion District!!!  My Mom and I were giddy!

Mom had been there a number of times, but this was my first trip.  First stop: Micheal Levine's!

Imagine a fabric shop the size of WalMart, and you'll get Michael Levines.  They have every kind of fabric imaginable, and I'd never seen anything like it in Hancock's or JoAnn's.

I especially loved their cotton knits, and got yardage from several different prints for a few upcoming projects.

I also found adorable quilters cottons for a baby quilt I'm making soon!

huge batik section

a whole row of polka dots!

From there, we wandered in and out of stores, looking at everything.  I don't have any specific projects coming up (besides the baby quilt), so I was mostly just looking at everything.

Fabric stores are just the beginning.  There are also stores that only sell ribbon, or bridal stuff, or beads.  We went in one bead store the size of my local grocery store, where every vertical inch of the place was covered in beads.  Talk about sensory overload!

I bought a few strands of beads with some upcoming projects in mind...

All that oohing and aahing over stuff made us hungry, so we dined in the International Food Court.  Chicken Shawarma, yum!!!

If I ever get really into making clothing or crazy fabric crafts, I know where I'm taking my pilgrimages.  The LA Fashion District was beyond cool.

Bonnie Projects

 

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2013 Resolutions

2012 has been a phenomenal year.  We got married and bought a house, my sister-in-law got engaged and married (look for the flower photos soon!), my brother-in-laws graduated college, and most everyone close to us is healthy and at a really good point in their lives right now.  We are incredibly blessed and thankful!

All these wonderful things have made me quite a busy person, so my resolutions this year center around making time for the important things.  My professional coursework has drilled into my head that goals be S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound), so I'll try my best.

1. Catch up with friends more often in person and on the phone.  I have some really great friends, and I really miss them!  My goal is to catch up with my best friends at least once a month.

Lovely ladies at my bachelorette party

2. Get in shape.  I've been kind of lapsing on my regular exercise schedule, and we haven't been eating great.  My goal is two-fold here: exercise at least three times per week, and be in shape such that all my clothes fit properly.  Before the wedding, we had good success following the eating guide in The Seven Principles of Fat Burning by Eric Berg.  Basically, you eat lean proteins, fruits, and veggies.  We felt great doing it!  I still don't have time for meal planning, so I'm changing our Emeals subscription to the Paleo plan.  I don't know anything about being Paleo, but the recipes agree with the Fat Burning book, so I'll be using those.

3. Maintain our home as a refuge.  This means staying organized, continuing to work on the projects (but in a timely manner so they don't take over our home), and keeping work separate from home life.

Foyer before and after

4. Travel!  Outside of visiting family, my goal is to go on at least one international trip and one stateside.

In Dominican Republic for our "engagement-moon"

  
5. Volunteer.  My goal is to volunteer for 50 hours this year.

Shopping trip for toy donations

I wish everyone a wonderful year!!!

Wedding Dress Wednesday: The Big Reveal

Wedding Dress Wednesdays are guest posts written by my Mom, Janet

When our daughter Bonnie was born, my friend gave me some tiny dresses, almost doll size!  Bonnie was a pretty big baby (8lbs.12oz), so when she was a few weeks old, I started putting them on her and taking pictures!

My husband laughed, “you dress her up like a doll!”  Sure, it’s fun!  And look how cute she is!

Then I started sewing for her.  I learned to smock, and I made tons of cute outfits for her.  By the time she was in grade school, she preferred store bought clothes, but we still made party dresses, costumes and swim suits.  Then, in high school she re-discovered my talents.  She realized that store bought gowns were not well made, had crappy fabrics and didn’t fit her figure.  I was ‘in’ again!  :)

I always told her, “when you get married, I’ll make any dress you can dream up!”

I used to sew for the public and made lots of wedding gowns over the years.  But doing Bonnie’s gown has been the most special thing – ever!  I’m so happy we decided not to buy a dress, and I really enjoyed the process and working as a team.  For months we discussed whatever daily issues came up.  Of course, the dress was just one thing out of a hundred that had to be taken care of for the wedding! 

Well, if you have been following this blog – you have read about designing the dress, picking fabrics, making and testing the pattern, tweaking the details, beading, all the disasters and joys of making my daughter’s wedding gown! 

It was fun to show our family how it was all coming along.  The Groom’s mother swore he would cry when he saw the bride!  I don’t think he did – he was so excited he couldn’t sleep!  But I do know he was wowed!  You can see in all the photos – both of them are just glowing!! 

Enjoy the photos and I hope you have enjoyed our journey.  Congratulations Bonnie and Tommy!

Love, MOM

Here are a few photos of the journey:

we shopped for inspiration

found a pattern to start from (a vintage 80's pattern no less!)

shopped the garment district for the perfect fabric and lace

tweaked the pattern

did lots of fittings, some long-distance

added accessories and beading to finish the look

and took care of some last-minute issues

And finally it was ready for the wedding!!!  A sweetheart strapless fit and flare beaded lace wedding dress with ruffled train!  (These beautiful images are by Whitney Huynh Photography)