Pinterest didn't exist when I got married.

Tomorrow is my five year anniversary, so let's chat about wedding DIY, shall we?  Money doesn't grow on trees, and the wedding industry just really sucks you in and plays with your emotions, doesn't it?  Of course you need three wedding dresses, how else will people understand the change in mood between the wedding, cocktail hour, and reception?  And don't forget those hand made silk paper, letterpressed, ink made from the behind of the super rare rosy beetle, tied with the finest ribbon France has ever made invitations that you MUST BUY for fear of RSVP rejection...how did our parents and grandparents ever survive and have memorable weddings without these things?!? (insert typed facetiousness here).

I'm sure my parents appreciated my crafty ideas as they have both always been hands on people, and I appreciated their help in making my visions come true!  Let's take a trip down memory lane and ponder some of my finest DIY pieces, shall we?

The first is my version of a guest book.  I knew I didn't want one, but wanted to have something for our guests to sign, and Voila!  The Guest Apron was born.  I bought a plain canvas apron from a craft store, and secured it to a thin piece of luan board (or maybe cardboard?  Who remembers five years later??), and set in on an easel.  Since my wedding colors were orange and cream, I bought a few fabric markers in orange, and that was that.  Easy peazy.

"Someday" I will frame this and hang it up.

DIY #2 was my wedding favors.  I bought a bunch of small jars off the internet, and had the idea to etch a "D" on the front of the jars.  My dad tried this out for me, though, and the home etching wasn't deep enough to see when you filled the jar with jam.  We resorted to Plan B, which was to use a stencil and white paint to paint on the D.  Worked out just fine.  I then printed off stickers for the tops of the jars that said, "Spread the Love", and wrapped each jar with a ribbon.  If you've got the time, make the jam yourself.  If you don't, buy jam, fill your own jars, and slap a sticker on it (ahem).  

Continuing the orange and cream theme.

I also decided that I wanted big chalkboards at the reception.  Not for people to write on, but to fill with love quotes.  My daddio was on board, and made several 6' tall boards and painted them with chalkboard paint.  I found a few quotes that I liked, and my mom used her lovely and elegant cursive to work some magic.  We used some floor uplights that we had to "set the mood" a bit, and placed them in empty spots around the reception hall.  A friend's relative even used them the next summer for her own wedding, so these babies got double use- yay for reusing!!

The mood lighting looked much better when the sun went down.  Promise.

The next DIY was done as a solution to needing a space divider.  The bar area opened up into the dining area at the reception hall, and I needed some type of separator between the two.  I decided to make black and white copies of photos of Dave and I as children, as well as photos of us throughout our years together (11 years before getting married is a looooong time to collect photos!).  I then glued the photos back to back, with fishing line strung between them.  And yes, I went into the garage, took the fishing line off of my dad's pole, and never returned it.  Whoops.  

Weren't we cute?

As I've been writing this, I realized that I have too many DIY's for just one post, so I'll make  a Part II tomorrow.  After reading this, I also don't want to hear from any of you that you can't do something like this too.  None of these DIY pieces requires any sort of special skill- even Lowe's will cut board for you to your specifications if you want to make your own chalkboards.  There's no excuse not to DIY!!

For today, I'll leave you with one of my most treasured pictures from my wedding...simply because it includes my two most favorite men who both loved me from the moment they laid eyes on me.  How lucky am I?!?

Dave might tell you he had just cut an onion, but he'd be lying.