Fun Photo Friday: Wedding booth advice

Photo from Dear Inspiration Blog

Fabulous fall invitations

Today's invitation suite features one of my favourite stamp sets! The leaves are great for fall invitations and thank you cards. It's hard to tell from the picture, but I also used a special "faux" technique for the front of the invitation - it looks like silk but really isn't. Enjoy!

Front of invitation with "faux" silk look

Inside of the invitation

RSVP card

Invitation and response card together

40 First Dance Song Ideas

Sometimes one of the hardest choices is picking which song you'll dance to for your first dance. To help you out, The Wedding Channel has a list (and previews) of 40 songs that are great choice for a first dance. Here's an example of some of their top choices:

Marry Me - TrainYou and Me - Dave Matthews BandWhen You Say Nothing at All - Allison Kraus
The Way You Look Tonight - Frank Sinatra
Make You Feel My Love - Adele
'Til There Was You - The Beatles
At Last - Etta James

To view the complete list, visit The Wedding Channel website.

Fall inspiration board

I know it's only the beginning of August and I hate to put the depressing thought of fall being around the corner out there, but I came across this lovely fall wedding inspiration board and thought I would share it with you:

Image via Here Comes the Blog

I have some fall wedding invitations to post later this week, so stay tuned and have a great week!

Fun Photo Friday: Fist Pump

Image via Tumblr

DIY twine lanterns

Today's DIY is a little messy, but the end result is totally worth it! I think these twine lantern would look perfect hanging from the ceiling or rafters if you're having a ranch or autumn wedding with a "natural" look to it. I found the idea on Pinterest, but the tutorial originated from http://www.craftynest.com/.


The tutorial says to hang them over a lightbulb or electrical fixture, but I think these would look really cool just hanging above at a wedding. Here are the different steps to make the twine lanterns:

Images via Crafty Nest

Supplies and tools

- bouncy balls of various sizes
- clear drying craft glue (about 1 bottle per ball) such as Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue
- hemp string 20lb. weight
(estimated amounts needed):
16 inch diameter ball—400 yards
14 inch diameter ball—300 yards
9 inch diameter ball—100 yards
- plastic gloves (optional but highly recommended)
- trash bag or small drop cloth
- permanent marker
- ball inflating needle

To view the step-by-step tutorial, visit the Crafty Nest website. 

Fun Photo Friday - Behind the door

This is one of my favourite wedding photos I think I've come across so far. As some of you may know if you follow my Facebook page, I have been talking about my obsession with Pinterest this week and all the wonderful wedding inspiration brides can find on there. The photo today is from the author of the Peanut Butter Fingers blog. This was an actual photo of the author and her husband on their wedding day:

Photo from www.pbfingers.com. Sorry, I don't have the photographers name - otherwise I would give credit.

Isn't it just such an adorable picture? The phrase "pictures say a thousand words" definitely applies here. Thanks for stopping by my blog and have a wonderful weekend!

Purple and silver bridal shower invitation

I stumbled across this gorgeous photo of a bridal shower candy buffet and it inspired me to make a coordinating invitation. I just loved the elegance of the cupcake stand in particular. Here's the photo of the buffet:

Photo and design by Enchanted Expectations

And here is the invitation I created as a sample bridal shower invitation that would have coordinated with the theme:

I embossed the design along the left-hand side with silver embossing powder and I just love how it turned out! Here's a closer look at the details:

Thanks for stopping by!

Bridal Shower Themes

If you've ever been responsible for hosting a bridal shower, you know that it's not an easy task. And probably one of the hardest, yet most important, aspects of planning a shower is the theme. You also want to make sure the shower is fun, not cheesy. We searched the web for some unique themes to help inspire those of you who are planning showers for a bride-to-be this summer:

Image from Martha Stewart Weddings

Sweet beginnings
Have a shower centred around a ``sweet beginnings`` theme. You can bring the theme in by hosting a candy and dessert bar, having candy bouquets made for the centrepieces, candy-themed invitations and even gift ideas - bakeware, dessert cookbooks, etc.


Cooking Theme
Do a cooking-themed shower by having guests bring their favourite recipes to the shower and putting together a cookbook for the bride filled with guests` tried and true recipes. You could also have a fun cook-off for one of the bridal shower games, or hire a professional chef to come in and do a cooking lesson.


Around the World Theme
This is perfect for a globetrotting bride or a bride who`s planning an exotic honeymoon! Have guests bring travel-inspired gifts such as travel guides, passport holders, luggage, make-up kits, language books, etc. If the couple is taking an exotic honeymoon, try to tie the place(s) they`re visiting into the theme and activities - for example, if the couple is going to Paris, have mini Eiffel Tower vases as the centrepieces and Parisian food for the guests.

Photo from Hostess with the Mostess blog

Bling Bride
This theme is for the girlie bride who loves her bling! Incorporate a bling-theme by embellishing the invitations with rhinestones; have tiaras for the guests and make a "bride-to-be" tiara out of rhinestones for the bride; place giant-sized ring napkin rings around the room for decor; give out Ring Pops and shimmery lip gloss for bridal shower favours, etc.


Time Theme
This theme is typically known as the 24/7 shower theme, but with a twist - instead of assigning guests a "time" like 9 a.m. that they  have to base their gift around, you can make it more generic so the bride gets a variety of gifts by assinging different time themes to each guest  - for example: time for a bath  - guests could bring towels, handcloths, washcloths, bubble bath, etc. as gifts; time to cook - guests could give gifts of pots and pans, utensils, a crock pot, cookbooks, etc.;  time for bed - guests could give gifts like duvets, pillows, bed sheets, lingerie, etc. This is a very versatile theme.

Fun Photo Friday: Keep Calm

Today's Fun Photo Friday is for my dear friend, Elizabeth, who gets married tomorrow :)

Photo by Hanowell Photography