Like the napkin ring idea I wrote about earlier, if you commit to potted plant centerpieces, make sure you have ample help on hand the day of for assembly.

Finding the Supplies:

The pots are probably hard to find inexpensively online due to high shipping costs, but please leave a comment if you find some! Your best bet is to find a good deal locally well in advance of the wedding.  It’s one of those things to be on the lookout for.  The flowers you should place an order for in advance as well.  The MOG here placed an order with a local nursery and had them delivered the day before.  It’s probably possible to work out something similar with a Loews or Home Depot as well.  The filler is possible to buy online and cheaply.  I like Save-On-Crafts.  You have many of options here, (I suggest moss, or shredded wood.)

Getting the Look:

Assembly is very simple.  Throw the flower, plastic pot and all into the center of your ceramic pot and gently distribute some of your filler.  It’s really simple and the beauty is in the variation so you don’t have to be perfect.  Voila!  A natural and fun centerpiece.

Here are the steps you can take to get the look.

Supplies

• Shower curtain rings
• Raffia ribbon
• Silk flowers

You can purchase the supplies cheaply if you have time to shop around and online.  I recently saw a 12 pack of clear rings for $1.85 on Amazon.  I also love www.papermart.com for paper supplies for weddings.  They have raffia ribbon there for $4.85 a half pound.  Feel free to email or comment on the best place to get silk flowers, I’ve always gone to Jo-Ann Fabric.

For the nice presentation simply put your hand in the middle of the napkin, then pull the top down through the ring.  Then arrange the rest of the napkin in a fan shape.

The only downside to creating this look is the manpower required! I recommend hosting a crafting party (well in advance of the wedding) with girlfriends.  If you provide the materials, spritzers and appetizers and you’ll able to complete the number you need ten times as fast.  On the day of the event, depending on how many people you are hosting, allow time for setting the tables.  It takes longer than you think to stuff the napkin rings and arrange.

Photo By: Sonja Clanton

Seeing this pumpkin makes me want to have a fall wedding to pursue the endless creative possibilities!  It’s a great example of twisting something formal like a monogram and making it your own.  More and more I see couples using things like monograms, wedding colors, fonts and graphic designs to create a really cohesive feel to their event – essentially to create a wedding brand.  Hiring an event company or a wedding coordinator is probably the easiest way to create this feeling of a produced and polished event, however I’m seeing savvy couples figure out how to do it on a budget.

Marry Monograms, based in Seattle, is the type of tool that can give a wedding a polished look.  You have the option of choosing a design from their portfolio or having a design custom made especially for you.  The personalized logo costs $49.95 and the custom design prices are available by quote.  Once you have the logo or monogram the sky’s the limit: invitations, towels, gifts, gobo spotlights, favors, wine labels, thank-you cards or honeymoon clothing — whatever you can think of to put your monogram on! I think half of the fun is figuring out where and on what to stamp your new family crest.

A final thought: it might make a nice engagement gift for some recently betrothed friends.

Marry Monograms

I was recently at Paper Source in Bellevue and paused to look at their selection of guest books.  The covers are all made out of different papers, colors and patterns.  They’re unique, but also very simple and elegant.  If you can’t get to a store, they show the collection on their website.  They cost $42 each. 

If you have more time to order a book, and don’t want to spend quite as much money, I suggest you check out www.Etsy.com.  There are a lot of crafty people out there making neat things.  I ordered a guest book from a “shop” called BazaarLatino.  The book was custom made according to what I was looking for, but based on one she had already posted for sale on Etsy.  It cost $26 plus shipping.  Below is the guest book from Etsy.  Either way you’ll have a memorable keepsake!

Create a chalkboard menu personalized to your wedding theme and style. I borrowed this crafty tip from a friend (Thanks Drea!). She found an old mirror with a beautiful frame at a home recycling store and spray-painted the mirror with chalkboard paint. She then had another friend skilled in calligraphy write the menu in chalk with a flourish. It was beautiful, inexpensive and fun. She displayed it on an easel at the entrance of the dining room. I loved this idea, but was having my wedding on the beach; an elegant frame would have been out of place. In an homage to my fiancé and his surfing history, replete with wipe-outs and cracked up boards, I took one of his non-surfable boards and created a chalkboard out of it. After washing and smoothing out the front surface I used masking tape to make a white border. Then we painted inside the lines with the special chalkboard paint and waited for it to dry. The results were wonderful. We placed the surfboard menu next to the name card table. It was a lighthearted touch to the surroundings and hopefully signaled to our guests that the evening and event was to be enjoyed and merry.