Here’s the fun part! Decorating your venue.

I have seen so many beautiful photos on the various blogs I read, and had such a hard time narrowing it down, but here’s what we’re planning to do.

Since our Ceremony and Reception are both taking place at the same venue, it will be easy to reuse the flowers and decorations and save money. It is also a great way to tie it all together.

Instead of your typical Escort cards and Name cards the guests will find their names on an alphabetized list (in frames), and their name will be on the paper napkin ring.One great way to save money on Decor is to use the basic linens provided by the Venue and add a punch of colour with rented napkins and a beautiful centre piece.

Images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

Being part of a wedding party is more than just walking down the aisle and standing at the front of the church. The people you choose to stand up with you are usually the closest family or friends that you have, and have shown their support for you both over the time you have been together. No matter how much or how little help they are during the planning process, showing them your appreciation for being part of your life and supporting you on your special day is very important. For me, I really wanted to make the gifts personal and practical.

I ordered each girl a personalized hanger, which they can use the day of, and in the future.

I am also going to pick out a special set of bangles for each girl to match their dresses. I thought it’d be a great way to tie in some Indian flare and add some sparkle (and who doesn’t love some new jewelry?).

Another great way to personalize the jewelry.

The guys will be getting a silver plated zippo lighter with their initials engraved in it, along with a thick cigar. I love the idea of them all lounging around at the reception enjoying the night. I am not trying to endorse smoking, but I know men like to enjoy a good cigar to celebrate special occasions, so we thought we’d take care of that for them.

What are you doing to celebrate your wedding party? What special gifts do you have picked out for them?

All photos via Pinterest

So, the invitations have been one of the biggest DIY’s I’ve tackled, and I’ll be happy once every single one is sent out. Each step was more time consuming than I ever thought, and since I’m somewhat of a perfectionist, having people help kind of made me nervous. Of course it’s very much appreciated and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my family! Thanks Mom! Total invite’s made: 110. Now I’m off to the Post office to mail them out across the world.

We ordered all the black cardstock from a craft supplier, and cut each piece to size. Each invite then had to be scored down the centre and assembled.

We bought ivory pearlized paper and hand embossed each piece.

We had personalized faux wax seals made for the envelopes.All images were taken by me.

Flowers and decor are one of the easiest ways to make a statement but can be done on a very small budget, it’s all about creativity. Flowers were a tough decision for me, seeing as my mother is our florist. She has so many ideas and can pretty much do anything, which makes the sky the limit! She has helped me narrow down what will be in season which will help to keep the cost down considerably.  Here’s a few of our ideas and some hopeful DIY projects.

Ceremony Decor

To include some Indian traditions, we are doing a garland exchange between myself and my fiance and our parents at the end of our ceremony. The garlands are made up traditionally of carnations, and are a symbol of unity between both family. 1, 2

3, 4, 5 are personal photos

After searching high and low for the right type of scrapbook for our diy guestbook, I finally found what I was looking for at Deserre’s art store.

I was wandering around for hours looking at everything trying to decide on a theme for the guest book. I wanted to keep it very simple yet classy so I picked a neutral colour palette of ivory and gold.

I decided to use our engagement photos as a way to tie into our wedding. When choosing photos for your guest book, be sure to group like photos together to create a story throughout the book.

Decide on a layout for your photos that is appealing for your guests to look through, but don’t forget to leave enough space for them to leave you messages as well.

I decided to add my own paper to the inside front and back covers as a formal way to start and finish off the book.

Measure out the exact size of the book cover and cut and paste thoroughly

We did three different looks and styles of photos, so I grouped each one together and gave each page it’s own style. I wanted to keep it simple so that the pictures stood out and allowed the guests as much room to write. I used scrapbooking paper, gold photo corners, and ribbon to add those extra touches. You can create your own theme and use whatever supplies you want to make it fit your personality and style.
Here’s some of the finished pages.