Hello Readers!

My tip of the week can be very helpful when having a sit-down, plated dinner for your wedding reception, or if you like the idea of assigned seating.

Creating a DIY Wedding Seating Chart can be time-extensive, but can be very inexpensive compared to having a calligrapher or invitation and stationary designer tailor the seating chart.  Also, doing your own seating chart enables you to leave room for error (such as cousin Billy letting you know he and his girlfriend will not be able to make it two days before your wedding).

So where to start?

• Sit down with family members (or call, text, email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc) at least one month prior to the wedding day and start hashing out the details: how many tables are needed, how many chairs, where should the bride and groom sit, where should the wedding party sit, who gets along well with others/who doesn’t get along well with others, which people have common interests, etc.

• Make note that a week before the wedding, the original seating alignment will probably change, so go ahead and tell yourself, “change is ok!”  Some guests that rsvp’d that they could come will not be able to come, or some guests will want to bring an additional person. So a week before the wedding, have another “pre-wedding meeting” with family members to discuss seating.

• Go to your local arts and crafts store (Michaels, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby, even WalMart)about a month prior to wedding day, and purchase a sturdy felt board.  I chose a black felt board as black was in my color palette and I wanted any other colors that I put on the felt board to really stand out to wedding guests.

• While at the arts and crafts store, also purchase items of your choice for your wedding seating chart like: felt numbers, ribbon, beads, sequins, pearls, rhinestones, craft paper, stencils, markers, craft glue, hot glue gun, super glue (just to name a few).  Remember to keep your wedding theme and color palette in mind when purchasing.

• Don’t forget to purchase an easel for the seating chart to rest upon.  If your groom-to-be is especially handy with woodwork, perhaps he can craft together a sturdy easel and you two can then paint the easel in white, black, silver or gold to give it a more elegant feel.  Also, ebay.com has a nice selection of easels.

• Make sure to coordinate with your wedding consultant or a member of your wedding party as to where the seating chart and easel should rest so that wedding guests can easily view it. At our wedding, our wedding consultant set the seating chart and easel out during our one hour cocktail reception. Before guests moved to the grande ballroom–where the wedding reception and dinner would take place–our consultant moved it to the entrance of the grande ballroom.

• Have a bridesmaid or family member with a creative flair help you with this project. Sometimes stuffing invitations and putting ribbons on programs can be a bit monotonous, so enlisting the help of a bridesmaid with some artistic ideas can be worthwhile.

• Let your wedding theme influence your seating chart style!  Some great and free templates for seating charts can be found at:

http://www.smartdraw.com/specials/eventplanning.asp?id=81452

http://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-planning/wedding-seating-tables.html

Stay tuned next week for DIY Out-of-Town boxes!

How-To Tip of the Week: DIY Wedding Seating Chart is a post from: Wedding Blog by With This Favor. With This Favor is your official superstore for wedding favors.

Hello Brides and Grooms!

Here are a couple of tips on how to create DIY table numbers that also help to promote intermingling among your wedding guests.  These are really great if you decide to have assigned seating.

Table Numbers with Pictures

• Go to your local arts and crafts store (AC Moore, Hobby Lobby, etc) and purchase some frames.  I purchased 13 frames, both vertical and horizontal as we had 13 guest tables I wanted to put the frames on.  There are some websites that offer frames at good prices, but it is important to always take in account shipping costs.

• While at the arts and crafts store, also purchase items of your choice for your table numbers like: felt numbers, ribbon, beads, sequins, pearls, rhinestones, craft paper, stencils, markers, craft glue, hot glue gun, super glue (just to name a few). I purchased colors that matched our wedding color palette of: black and hot pink with accents of gold and white.

• If you have 13 tables, then you can number the tables based off of the bride and groom at a certain age.  For example, we had tables numbered 1,3,5,7,9,11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25.  We then found pictures of us at that age. The funnier we looked, the better!  The picture of me at age 13 –with an outlandish wave of bangs– still brings  a warm smile to my face.

• Hopefully most of your pictures will not be copyright protected, and you can take them to a Wal-Mart and make copies at their photo center for just a couple of dollars as it truly is inexpensive.  Plus, you don’t want to use your original pictures in case something happens after the wedding (during clean-up) with the frames.

• Practice decorating your craft paper(where the pictures and table numbers will go) before gluing the pictures.  Sometimes, less embellishment is  better.  I really wanted the decorations to look tasteful and elegant, so it took some practice before I was satisfied. Additionally, too many embellishments makes it very difficult to slide your finished decoration into a frame.

• Use craft glue on the back of the pictures as hot glue and super glue will sometimes distort the front of your pictures.  Scotch-Tape works well too! Adhere the back of the picture onto the craft paper.  By adding the pictures to the table numbers, it can be great conversation starters for your guests, and also to motivate people to get up out of their seats and look at each table.

• Make sure to leave room for the table numbers!  I used black felt numbers that had adhesive on the back, but you can always draw the numbers or use stencils.  Just make sure that the numbers are really highlighted or “pop” on the craft paper, so that when your wedding guests look for table numbers, they can easily identify them.

• Slide your finished creation into the frame and voila!  These table number creations can be made all the same, or you can decorate each one different.

• Let your creativity shine!

More next week on  unique and elegant DIY seating charts!

How-To Tip of the Week: DIY Table Numbers is a post from: Wedding Blog by With This Favor. With This Favor is your official superstore for wedding favors.

Here is another quote to help motivate you to get into the “bridal planning bliss” mode:

Sweet Home Alabama:

Melanie: What do you want to marry me for anyhow?
Jake: So I can kiss you anytime I want.

I have discovered a link to a website I think is incredibly fabulous!  The DIY items are classy and timeless, and provides so many exquisite ideas for your very special wedding day.  Check out the DIY series at: With This Ring Weddings Blog.

Below you will find the final DIY items we used in our wedding.

”Signature Wedding Drinks” Frame

Used during the Cocktail Reception and Wedding Reception to provide guests suggestions on cocktails that coincided with a Fairy Tale theme.  The selection of spirits incorporated the traditions of “Something Old,” “Something New,” “Something Borrowed,” and “Something Blue” that the bride and groom obtained from family members and friends.

”Candy Buffet Table”

Provided guests a selection of candy in jars. Spoons and tongs were attached to the glass jars with pink satin and zebra-striped ribbon.  A framed sign informed guests that the “Sweets” were from the “Sweethearts” and to enjoy!  The monogrammed ice sculpture added the final touch.

“Cora Leigh’s Wine Glasses”

A collection of personalized, hand-painted wine glasses, adorned with brilliant colored crystals, or sparkling Swarovski crystals.  These specialty glasses are accented with a personal touch, including monograms!   An excellent choice for bridesmaid gifts, Cora Leigh’s selection of dazzling Wine Glasses can also be given during bridal showers or bachelorette parties.

Happy DIY Planning and Best Wishes!

Do It Yourself (DIY) Wedding Favors – Part 3 of 3 is a post from: Wedding Blog by With This Favor. With This Favor is your official superstore for wedding favors.

Hello Brides and Grooms!

At the end of a long day of work, I either listened to wedding music or watched romantic movies to jazz my creative side and put me in the mood for some bridal planning bliss.

So, in the spirit of romantic movies, here is one of my favorite quotes from Casablanca that I adored and really enabled me to put a lot of energy toward our DIY items.  I hope the quote jazzes you too!

Casablanca:

Rick: If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

Ilsa: But what about us?

Rick: We’ll always have Paris. We didn’t have it before…we’d…we’d lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.

Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you…

Rick: And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of. Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that. Here’s looking at you, kid.

I have included even more DIY items (don’t forget to check out some of the DIY items from Part One of the series) that were used in our wedding on October 25, 2008.  Also, I provided a description of these DIY items below:

“Restroom Care Baskets”

These were filled with essential items for our guests, such as: needle and thread, hair gel, hair spray, hair brushes, tooth floss, band-aids, feminine products, deodorant, aspirin, nail polish, nail file, etc.

The printed quotes on the baskets read:

Women’s:

“Here is a basket for all our guests,
to make sure everyone feels their best!
The hairspray will help to hold your hair in place,
and the bobby pins to keep your hair out of your face!
If you break a nail, don’t worry!
There’s a file and some glue,
which can also fix a broken heel on a shoe!
The polish will stop that darn run in your hose,
and use the tissues to stop a runny nose!
We hope that you’ll find what you are looking for,
take a mint and now go hit the dance floor!”
then hurry on back and enjoy the fun!”

Men’s:

“So happy you’re here to share our special day!
However, should something happen to go astray,
please help yourself to the contents within:
mouthwash, bandaids, gum, and even aspirin!
Use only what you need and leave the rest,
as it may also be useful to another guest!
So, repair the damage that may have been done,
then hurry on back and enjoy the fun!”

“Wedding Cake” Card Box

Used on our gift table so that our guests could have a secure location to place well-wishes and gift cards.

”Memorial Table”

Placed near our head table during our wedding reception that celebrates the life of loved ones that are  “Forever in our Hearts.”

As a past bride, I wanted to share some of the items  with you that the groom and I created for our special day!  We truly had fun creating these items… together.

Best Wishes!

Do It Yourself (DIY) Wedding Favors – Part 2 of 3 is a post from: Wedding Blog by With This Favor. With This Favor is your official superstore for wedding favors.

Hello Brides and Grooms!

The dream started off with snow-white flower petals floating silently around a Swarovski –accented, satin wedding dress. Taking slow, yet calculated steps toward the group of men dressed in black tuxes with white vests and white ties, and women in gold evening dresses, the realization slowly occurred…this is a wedding.

It was the wedding of my dreams…literally.

But then something went terribly wrong in my dream.

The wedding had to be halted and I didn’t know why.

Well it has been six months since my wedding, and a year since that dream and I still don’t know what halted my “dream” wedding.

Thus, I start thinking about reasons that might halt a wedding.  From other brides, I have heard countless stories about having to cut back on their original wedding plans due to the state of the economy. “My sister lost her job yesterday,” said a friend of mine recently.  Another friend told me her experience of going through a series of layoffs within her company.  These stories don’t hit close to home until you hear it from a loved one or a friend…even perhaps you experience it yourself.

These personal accounts of loss, or perhaps—new opportunity—made me think about what the economy means to a bride planning for her dream wedding.

One WORD: creativity.

But how can bride or groom harness their creativity, save money, and still have a wedding that falls in line with what they specifically want for their very special day?

Do It Yourself (DIY) Wedding Favors and Accessories.

With This Favor supports the DIY approach of creating additional elements for your wedding day that add that “special touch.”

Below you will find some of the products that we used for our wedding day.  These items were constructed by us in an effort to save money.

Best Wishes!

“I DO” Letters

Fairytale Mirror Frame

Do It Yourself (DIY) Wedding Favors – Part 1 of 3 is a post from: Wedding Blog by With This Favor. With This Favor is your official superstore for wedding favors.