June 2011 Vendor Love

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Thanks to our lovely readers, expert contributors, and drool-worthy wedding submissions, the DIY Bride community is growing.  Our growth is creating a buzz which is attracting a new group of DIY-friendly vendors who can help, inspire, and create.  These new vendors actively support our mission by empowering DIY brides everywhere to create amazing weddings regardless of budget, style, or craftiness. We are certain you will love them as much as we do.  Please welcome our newest vendors to the DIY Bride community.

Kahl Weddings – Andrew (Andy) Kahl is based out of Philadelphia and he has a talent for capturing the love shared between two people through a camera lens.  He is a true artist with a big heart.  Visit his website and read his story, you’ll love him.

Keira Lemonis Photography – Keria is based on of New York but is happy to travel anywhere, worldwide.  A photo shoot with Keira is sure to be fun, non-obtrusive, and fresh.  Her work speaks for itself – check out her blog and you’ll see what I mean!

Megan Schley Photography – Megan is another fabulous photographer based out of New York.  She’s got the skills, the tools, and the vision to capture the ordinary and extraordinary moments of life.  She’s got all the basics covered you don’t have to worry; check her website for more info.

e.m.papers – The concept behind e.m.papers is as unique as the people they work with.  This small business operates exclusively online by offering downloadable wedding invitations and much more.  So neat!  You’ve got to check out their story – truly inspiring.

Wedding Window – If you’re a DIY Bride fan, you should be a Wedding Window fan too.  Creating your own wedding website goes far beyond the norm with this vendor.  You can plan virtually every aspect of the wedding in one convenient location.  They have a great blog too!

Luna Bazaar– I cannot say enough good things about Luna Bazaar.  If you’re obsessed with decorations, their website is sure to please.  Paper lanterns may be what they’re most known for but they have so much more.  They’ve even shared with us where you can find their products at wholesale prices!

Gemvara– This is the ultimate wedding jewelry resource for the DIY bride.  Working with Gemvara has been exciting and we hope you will be as excited as we are to discover a fabulous, DIY-friendly jeweler.

Plant a Memory Favors & Gifts– This is our preferred resource for “green” favors.  They offer tree seedlings, flower seedlings, and all sorts of other favors and gifts which are perfect for the all natural bride.  They are based out of a farm in New York and they ship nationwide.  We love their $1-$2 Favors ideas.

Gammaflowers– DIY bouquets and centerpieces are really hot right now and gammaflowers has everything you need.  They have hard to find flowers in bulk at unbeatable prices and free shipping!

In addition to these fabulous vendors, we’re working with bringing you more fresh talent every day.  In the coming weeks, we’ll be welcoming  Moments by Wayne.  They each have their own unique ideas to share with the DIY Bride crowd.

*Special Offer for Vendors!*  Any new vendor who places a banner ad on our homepage will receive a limited-time discount offer to advertise in the premier issue of our digital magazine coming out this fall.  This offer will expire soon so please do not hesitate!  If you’re a wedding pro or crafty business owner, we want to hear from you.  Contact Valerie at ads {at} diybride {dot} com for details.

DIY Kate Middleton’s Bouquet On A Budget

Posted by Khris in Bouquets + Flowers

Just after the wedding of Kate Middleton to Prince William, we ran a breakdown of materials and an estimate of what it’d cost to recreate Kate’s ultra-lovely monochromatic bouquet. Our verdict: about $1200. A number of professional florists wrote in to tell us our estimated number of flowers, especially the lily of the valley, was a bit off. We were being too conservative, they said. Yikes!

We loved Kate’s bouquet and, from your letters, so do you. However, that $1200+ price tag is simply way out of reach of most of us. We contacted our friends at FiftyFlowers.com to see what we could put together for a DIY Bride version that wouldn’t break the bank. They’ve released a Kate-inspired combination box that brings together some of same elements of the princess’ bouquet but at a price that’s made for us commoners. We got our hands on one of the boxes and made our own Kate bouquet for about $200.

Have you ordered from FiftyFlowers before? Here’s what to expect when you buy their wholesale flowers:

1. The box arrives on your doorstep. You’ll need to get it in your house and get those flowers hydrating ASAP after their journey. When you open the box, you’ll see the flowers in bundles. They’re wrapped in paper during transportation.

2. The flowers are packed very well! The lily of the valley are in a separate box (left). The other bunches of flowers are on the right, stabilized in the box by the pieces of wood. The wood is stapled to the box. Have a screwdriver on hand to remove them or a box cutter to cut around them to get the flowers out without damaging the stems.

3. Oddly, the first thing you notice about the lily of the valley won’t be the extra paper and packaging. It’ll be the scent. It is HEAVENLY.

4. The unpacking shots aren’t the most exciting, I know. I wanted to show you a bit about what to expect. So, let’s get on with making this beautiful bouquet!

Carefully pull the flowers from the box and gently unwrap them from the paper. Please have buckets (or large vases) of water on hand and ready to go when your flowers arrive. They’ll be very thirsty after their journey and may look wilty and tired. A good drink of water rehydrate them. (FiftyFlowers has excellent flower care instructions on each of the flower’s pages. Do read up before you buy! Some flowers require more pampering than others; have a look before hand to see if the work is within your DIY comfort zone.)

Obligatory rehydration shot. (The lily of the valley are very small!):

The stock looking is very smushed and sleepy here. This is to be expected and why the buckets of water are so important! A nice, long drink is in order for these guys. It took about 3 full hours for them to perk up enough to be usable. Plan your time accordingly! Don’t order flowers to be delivered on the day of your wedding. Ever.

It’s also worth noting that stock was substituted for hyacinth (FiftyFlowers.com now lists either/or in the description) because with real flowers, Mother Nature reigns supreme. The grower had problems with the hyacinth. Always, always be flexible in the types of flowers you’ll accept in case a grower has to make a substitution which is quite common.

5. Once your flowers have had time for a drink, it’s time to get started on creating the bouquet. We’re making, like Kate’s, a wired bouquet. What this means is that each flower stem is essentially replaced with floral wire. This serves a couple of purposes: 1.) to eliminate a lot of bulk in the handle if you’re using a lot of flowers and 2.) to allow the flowers to be positioned in less-than-natural positions – like Kate’s shield-shaped bouquet.

The first step is to cut the stem from the flower, leaving about a 1/2 inch to 1 inch from the bottom of the bloom. This remaining stem will be where you wrap wire around later. After you cut a stem, place it back in water so it stays fresh while you’re cutting the rest. (Meet Sweet William, by the way. Isn’t it pretty? There are several blooms on each stem. It’s the foundation of our bouquet.)

6. Because Sweet William has a thick stem, I used the following wiring technique:

Push length of wire (about 18″ long) through the stem, about 1/2 down the stem.

Fold wire in half, once it’s through the stem:

Then wrap one side of the wire around the stem a few times. Repeat with the other side.

Twist the remaining/overhanging wire together. Wrap floral tape around the stem, from the bottom of the bloom to the end of the stem.

[note color="#F5989D"] 

Note: GET HELP when doing this step. It takes a long, long time to cut, wire, and wrap each and every stem. I did this by myself and it took about 3.5 hours. In that time, on a moderately warm afternoon, the flowers started drooping. Get them done as quickly as possible and keep them cool. Once you you wrap the stems, there’s not much you can do to keep them hydrated. The longer you take, the more risk of having wilted flowers by the ceremony.

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Wrapping lily of the valley: Pull apart (actually the flower stems will just fall away) the flower stems from their leaves. Because lily of the valley is so delicate, it’s best to wrap them in bunches of 3 or 4 for strength and stability. With fragile or very thin stems, don’t push wire through them, just wrap the wire around them.

You’ll end up with a number of leftover lily of the valley leaves. Keep those to fill in any spots or add extra greenery later on.

7. Onceyour stems are all wrapped, it’s time to get arranging. I have to say that I agonized over this part, trying to get the arrangement just perfect. Here’s the thing about working with white flowers: the more you handle them, the more they’re going to bruise and show wear. Ideally, you need to work quickly and make placement decisions without too much fuss. Because, silly me, I was working along, I missed out on getting the exact step-by-step shots here. Basically, I put a bunch of Sweet William together, secured with rubber bands, added the other flowers in the gaps, secured with more rubber bands, bend the stems into place, bound the handle with floral tape then covered with ribbon and secured with pins.

More detailed:

I began with bringing together about 12 of the wired Sweet William stems and semi-loosely secured them with a rubber band (elastic for our international readers). I arranged them, in my hand, into a heart formation. When I got the right shape, I used another band to better secure them so that they didn’t lose the formation. This heart shape is the base for the bouquet. You’ll see lots of open gaps; that’s exactly right. In those holes, you’ll be adding the rest of the stems.

The lily of the valley and stock were dispersed throughout the bouquet. The beauty of wired stems is you can manoeuver them into a better position if you find that you’re getting too many of one flower in an area. I tried to keep the flowers fairly evenly distributed throughout so there were no obvious “clumps” of flowers showing. I used only a few sprigs of the myrtle, which is unfortunate. It’s a lovely greenery and, like the lily of the valley, smells utterly divine.

8. Here’s a shot of the wrapped stems/handle. As was Kate’s, the bouquet handle is slightly bent forward to better showcase the flowers to onlookers. It’s a very different approach than the bouquets we’ve been seeing for the last 10 years or so. I kind of dig it.

9. I wrapped the bouquet handle with 5/8″ white double-satin ribbon and secured with DIY Floral Pins, also available from FiftyFlowers.

Ready for the Big Reveal?

Total Cost: $216.98 (prices approximate)

Royal Box Combo $199.99

Pins $5.99

Wire $5.00

Ribbon $3.00

Floral Tape: $3.00

Tools needed (not included in costs): floral shears or a floral knife, buckets for water, wire cutters.

NOTES:

1. Have a cool place to store your flowers while they hydrate.
2. Hall your supplies ready before you begin cutting and assembly.
3. This is a project NOT meant for the bride. Enlisted trusted helpers on this one! It took me, start-to-finish, about 4 solid hours (not including taking pictures) to do this bouquet by myself.
4. Order more flowers than necessary or scale your project to use less than the full amount of flowers you’re receiving. Several blooms of stock did not perk up during the rehydration period and were unusable. This is natural and to be expected. Even professional florists buy a significant more than they’ll need to account for damaged buds, broken stems, wilting leaves, etc. Anything can happen during shipping – delays, extra hot (or cold) weather, exceedingly rough handlers. Be prepared.
5. Work quickly and with as little handling of the flowers as possible. White flowers are very prone to bruising; they turn brown! The less you fuss, the better the end result will be. The stock was the most fragile of this bunch. The lily of the valley was surprisingly robust!
6. If you have issues with highly-scented bouquets, this is NOT the one for you. Lily of the valley and myrtle have beautiful aromas but can overpower if you’re fragrant-sensitive.
7. This was a small bouquet. It was maybe 6 – 7 inches across. Had the bulk of the stock not been wilty and discarded, I could have filled it out more but it still would’ve been on the petite side. If you’re a plus-size gal (like me), a small bouquet can look out of proportion with our body type. FYI on that.
8. There was a ton of myrtle left over. Had I the time, I would’ve loved to have made wreaths from it. It’s gorgeous foliage. Don’t let it go to waste!
9. A sharp floral knife or shears are essential for this project. They’ll make all the cutting SO much easier and faster. (See Tip #5.)

Decorating With Luna Bazaar

Posted by Khris in Fab Finds Friday

From my chats with thousands of you fine folks every year, I know that one of the biggest challenges DIYers face – no matter what the theme or budget – is coming up with beautiful-but-affordable wedding decor.

I’m sincerely excited to introduce you to Luna Bazaar, a small Vermont-based company, that provides stylish items for nearly every aspect of wedding at very reasonable prices. My first encounter with them was last summer when I was in the market for paper parasols for a project in the next DIY Bride book. My transaction with them was absolutely flawless – easy ordering, fast shipping, great prices, and quality products – everything you hope for when you’re buying online.

Though they’re best known as the go-to spot for their 60+ colors of paper lanterns, Luna Bazaar has so much more to offer. In addition to paper lanterns and parasols, they have a vast selection of other elements to make your wedding decor pop. Paper garlands and decorations, lanterns and luminarias, place card holders and favor boxes, and home goods like pillows and statues.

Some of Luna Bazaar’s offerings:

What I love about Luna Bazaar’s is how their in-house color expert has pulled together products that coordinate across product lines. Mixing and matching elements to compliment your unique wedding style, whether it’s anything from rustic chic to sophisticated modern, is so easy! Just a few clicks of the mouse and you can see entire selection of products they have in your colors.

Warm, casual elegance from Cliff Brunk. Do check out their ideas section!:

A peek at their “shop by color” feature:

One of my favorite decorating tips is to use candles as the focal point of a centerpiece. Candlelight makes a room feel intimate and cozy; as an added bonus candles can be a very inexpensive to utilize if your venue allows them. My super-secret decorating tip is to use candle holders for other purposes. Votive cups are fabulous vases for small, individual arrangements. They’re also beautiful favor containers: fill them with silver dragees, scrumptious chocolates, a savory snack mix, or an unlit candle for your guests to take home. Luna Bazaar has over 300 tea light and votive candle holders to choose from!

Instead of a candle, this little beauty would be perfect paired with some dainty baby’s breath for something modern-yet-rustic or a dark red “Black Magic” rose for high drama at each table setting.

If you’re looking for pretty gifts for your maids, check out Luna for that, too! I particularly love this sari journal (it could also serve as a wedding guest book) and this cherry blossom jewelry roll – both are under $13.00.

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There’s something for nearly everyone at Luna Bazaar. We hope you enjoy their products as much as we do!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, meaning that DIY Bride has been compensated for the article. We do firmly stand behind our review and recommendation, however, and are committed to promoting only companies we feel offer our community excellent products, ethical business practices, and outstanding customer service.

Get Published at DIY Bride

Posted by Khris in Opportunties

We are delighted to receive submissions from our you! DIY Bride is currently seeking submissions of the following for inclusion on the DIY Bride site or in an issue of our digital magazine.

Craft tutorials
Real DIY weddings
Real engagement sessions
Articles about wedding planning and crafting

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Craft Tutorials:

Some of our reader’s favorite projects include: invitations and stationery, bouquets and florals, jewelry, decor, favors, and cakes. Projects for weddings, showers, engagement parties, and rehearsal dinners are all welcome.
We prefer projects that are modern and on-trend with the current crop of brides and grooms. (No tulle-wrapped bottles of bubbles, for example.)
Supply lists that must be able to be fulfilled by most crafters (no wholesale-only suppliers, for example)
Directions must be clear, concise, and easy-to-follow. Our audience is primarily at the intermediate to advanced level crafters however, we will accept projects at a beginner level as well.
Step-by-step photos must be submitted whenever possible, along with crafting tips and technique information if needed. Any variations to projects are also beneficial.
We’re open to all wedding-related crafts and would love to see techniques such as sewing, paper crafts, printmaking, floral arranging, jewelry making, and clay.
Use of current popular color schemes and themes should be considered when finalizing projects.

Real Weddings & Engagements:

In the body of an email as plain text (no Word, PDF or other formats are accepted)

Your first names
Wedding date (including year)
Wedding location (include city, state, country, resort, etc.)
What made your wedding creative
What projects you DIY’ed
Any other details that made your wedding special

Please attach: at least 25 pictures of your wedding (25 – 75 is ideal), as attachments to the email. (A zipped file is ok as are individual photos; pdf, word, or other formats are not.)

For photographers and other vendors:

We are a two bright lights editorial partner. This is our preferred method of professional submissions because it’s so easy for all involved however, we also accept direct submissions.

25-100 pictures of the wedding (A zipped file is ok, pdf; word, or other formats are not.)
Your name and company name
Couple’s names
Wedding date (including year)
Wedding location (include city, state, country, resort, etc.)
What made your wedding creative
What projects were DIY’ed
What you loved about this wedding

Everyone:

• Please make sure you have the rights to send in the images of choice. In most cases, the photographer owns the rights to the images she/he took at the wedding – the couple does not. Do ask your photog for permission before you send pro shots, please.
• Please use low-res images! My email server tends to freak out when I get large files and I end up not receiving those emails. Do NOT send links to your photos. Send the actual photos in an email, please.
• Do NOT send your submissions in any format other than text in the body of an email. NO PDF, MS Word or other file types will be accepted.
• Please send images from your wedding(s) only. Do not submit shots from other peoples’ weddings or events (unless you are the photographer or otherwise have permission to do so).
• I cannot guarantee that I’ll use every image or will feature every submission.
• It will take time for me to sort through submissions. Please be patient!

Ready To Submit? Have Questions? Use our handy dandy contact form to hit us up for the 411.

Gallery

Posted by Khris in Uncategorized

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