Artistic, Color Rich Inspired Wedding Theme

By on March 10, 2012 in Daily Scoop, Wedding Design Ideas

O'Keefe watercolor, art installation greenweddingshoes.com

 

I was an art major in college, my favorite medium has to be watercolors, one of my favorite artists is Georgia O’Keefee.  Watercolors create such a soft, yet color powerful image individually unique to the organic forms the paint, water and brushes make.  O’Keeffe is notably known for her large feminine images of flowers. If you take a closer look you’ll see a strong, independent woman who pioneered the way for women artists, all the while creating beautiful images.

I’m going to take a few of my favs along with some great inspiration photos from Afloral.com and the online wedding world.  We’ll pair the beauty, serenity of watercolors and the organic floral forms with a boost of style that you can get with a little artistic creativity when your willing “to paint outside the box”.

From your wedding flowers for your bridal flower bouquets to creative DIY wedding project ideas, here’s your guide for an Artistic, Color Rich Wedding Theme.

spectrum hues wedding cake

Rich, Saturated Color

The watercolor medium, or how it works, is going to influence our color rich wedding palette.  The saturation of your color choice, when working with watercolors, is determined by the amount of water you add to the paint.  The combinations made by adding and subtracting can give you an array of different hues with one color, from a soft pink to a vivid fuschia.

This cake from mysweetandsaucy.com is a beautiful example of the spectrum of color saturation you can get from one color.  Simplicity and color choice make this cake beautiful for any romantic or rustic wedding.

 

pink hue wedding flower bouquet

Feminine Florals

What I explained in our color category is going to transition into our wedding flower color choice.  Pick one or two wedding flower colors, mix with scale of saturated hues.  Take an example from pink on pink Daisy and Rose hand bouquet from Afloral.com, although the roses and gerbera daisies are close to the same hue there is still enough interest in the details of texture and style.  Both are traditional wedding flower choices, rose forever romantic and the daisy a bit more girlie and fun, combined they are a unique play on the ordinary.

A queue to take from O’Keeffe is to make your wedding floral choices a main focal point.  Celebrate their beauty, color and style them to fit, if not make, your wedding theme.  O’Keeffe is known for her larger than life renditions, taking a closer look at ordinary everyday beauty.  You don’t have to go overboard and splurge on big ticket wedding flower arrangements.  This is a great category to use a few DIY wedding project ideas and create your own floral arrangements using silk wedding flowers, possibly saving hundreds, if not more, on your wedding budget.

watercolor wedding invite

Wedding Trends

Watercolor detailed wedding invitations are a popular trend on wedding stationary sites.  weddingpaperdivas.com features a color rich, organic floral form invite, available to customize with your monogram.  The invite captures the delicacy of artistic watercolors, beauty of floral forms, while staying rich with saturated color.  A fitting introduction to an Artistic, Color Rich Wedding.

While it would take quite a bit of skill and time to pull off your own DIY watercolor invites, you could go an easier route and make your own DIY wedding escort table tent cards.  Use several large sheets of watercolor paper, I prefer cold press (note the type of paper makes a huge difference, watercolor paper is thick pressed to work with saturated paints).  Using one or two colors, vary the saturation of each color, you can also let colors blend together.  Once your done creating your own organic watercolor forms on paper let your creation dry.  After the paper has dried, you can cut the large piece into smaller desired sizes to fold table tent cards. Hand write the name of each guest over the watercolor designed paper for a custom handmade touch.

art installation wedding project

Inspired by Art

We’ve kept it feminine, beautiful and soft, but it’s time to step up our game.  Doing so with this unique one of a kind DIY wedding project pulling from our art inspiration.  Once I saw this on greenweddingshoes.com I immediately added it to my favorite list.  At first glance this DIY rolled paper art installation captures and demands your attention.  The bride created an original, organic flowing design by varying colors of rollled paper combining them into this one of a kind, unique installation which sat at the head of the bridal table.

Wow, about sums it up.  While I can’t imagine or begin to describe the amount of time and talent this installation took from the bride, it does go to show how far an original, creative idea can go.  Making the attempt to “paint outside the box” with a few DIY wedding projects will result in a thoughtful and personalized custom wedding.  A look that will pay off.

 Inspired?

I hope our Artistic, Color Rich Wedding Theme inspired you in your wedding planning.  Remember to take the simplicity and beauty of color along with some personalized touches to customize your wedding day.  Guests will appreciate the thoughtful, personalized details and you’ll save big on your wedding budget by going with a few DIY wedding projects.  Don’t forget you can now search our blog by COLOR!  Another great feature to help you plan your special day.

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Romantic Vintage Wedding Theme

By on February 25, 2012 in Daily Scoop

Romantic Vintage Inspiration Wedding, vintage china- greenweddingshoes.com, soft pink- cakesupplies4u.com, cinderella- graphicsfairy.blogspot.com, bride- afloral.com facebook page

A soft, pink romantic wedding is sure to fulfill any girl’s ideal fairytale dreams.  Today I have 4 inspiration photos to help you plan a Romantic Vintage Pink Wedding Theme.

The Vintage China Place Setting is our vintage inspiration, showing that you can take beauty and elegance from the past while also cashing in on savings by picking up second hand items. You don’t have to have a full matching set to serve all your wedding guests. Pick a few color accents like pink or gold trim for plates to have in common.  If you have a few accent colors running through each piece, they will tie together your whole reception table settings.  Keep an eye out at local thrift or second hand stores or visit estate or garage sales to pick up almost full sets.  Colored glass vases are another vintage or second hand find that can add a touch of elegance to your romantic wedding look.

The Soft, Light Pink Hue is going to set the wedding palette, this pink is a warm yet muted tone that will work well with white or cream neutrals, metallics, and greenery accents in floral arrangements.  Pair the pink hue with the beauty of the rose for your bridal bouquet and flower arrangements. Both the color pink and the rose flower are timeless, romantic symbols of love. Build your own silk floral bouquet or check out the 2012 Afloral Bridal Bouquet Line. Personally I’m in love with the tones and textures of the rose, ranunculus and peony arrangement in pink, fuchsia and cream for under $18!

The Cinderella image is a vintage illustration that depicts the classic story of prince charming with his princess.  Your wedding day is a day any bride has dreamed about since she was a little girl and played dress up and make believe.  It is a day you get to say yes to the man you love –  your own prince charming.  As you dreamed of this special day, you imagined the best, just like a princess would have: lavish accents making for an elegant and romantic wedding.  Any modern princess can get her “lavish” looking accents with smart wedding planning.  Map out ways to save like using cheap second-hand china, affordable silk wedding flowers, and setting a budget and sticking to it in each wedding category.

Lastly the Lace Bridal Look showcases the delicate beauty of a lace overlay on the bodice of this gown.  Lace has been a recent popular accent on bridal gowns.  It offers a soft, yet intricate detail that adds a touch of romance and elegance to your look.  Lace allows the bride to feel feminine and beautiful without having to be too revealing.  There is a way to tastefully show a little skin, and lace is the perfect way to do it.

A Romantic Vintage Pink Wedding Theme is feminine, elegant and timelessly beautiful.  Remember key elements like the romantic soft pink palette, classic beauty of the rose, vintage elegance (and savings) in second hand china, and the beauty and grace in lace detailing.  May all your fairytale dreams come true on your special day!

 

 

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DIY Vintage Paper Wedding Projects

By on February 23, 2012 in Daily Scoop, How To

sheet-music-wedding inspiration, alexandranicoledesign.com

 

DIY paper crafts have been quite popular in recent years.   And who wouldn’t love a craft that is as cheap as a piece of paper to transform into a beautiful accessory or decoration?

Paper crafts aren’t limited to kid’s birthday parties, there are countless thoughtful and well crafted ideas for wedding favors, accessories and decorations.  These aren’t cut and paste kids crafts or on the other hand complicated origami creations;  there is a happy medium.  With the right ideas, inspiration and tutorials you can construct beautiful, artistic  and the best of all inexpensive DIY paper wedding projects.

Today we are going to narrow our DIY wedding paper projects to vintage paper crafts, perfect for a romantic or rustic theme wedding.  Pick up vintage books, dictionaries or sheet music at local thrift, second hand stores or at estate or garage sales.  With one or two books you’ll be able to create fabulous wedding favors and decor items for pennies a piece!

Vintage paper music cones, pinterest.com user upload Lisa May

Music Cones

Create these vintage music, paper cones by simply cuttings a square out of sheet music and rolling it into a cone shape.  To get a cone shape, turn the square so it sits like a diamond and then roll the edges across narrowing it at the bottom and securing it with a dab of glue or tape.  Leave it just as a cone or attach a piece of ribbon to hang.

The vintage music cone can be used at reception place settings as shown adorned with flowers or use it to hold a favor like chocolates.  Make larger cones out of whole sheets of paper to hold silk flower arrangement, hang them as chair back decorations at the ceremony or make one for the flower girl to carry down the aisle.

 

 

Vintage music paper flowers, etsy.com

Paper Flowers

Paper flowers have been a recent trendy DIY craft, due in part because there is just so much you can do with them.  Styles  and methods to create paper flowers range from rolled, folded to layered.  They can be used for arrangements, decorations at reception place settings or escort cards and accents on cakes or favors.

The flowers shown are available on etsy.com from seller smilemercantile, they are large stemmed flowers made of vintage 1880s sheet music.  If you’re looking for a similar look and up for the craft project weddingchicks.com had a great tutorial with step by step photos.  Create a layered paper flower with a scalloped paper punch, your choice of paper and a few other miscellaneous tools.

Vintage paper heart confetti, etsy.com seller ddeforest

Confetti

Confetti is cheap and versatile, DIY vintage paper confetti has several possibilities for uses at your wedding.  Break with tradition and have the flower girl toss handfuls of heart shaped confetti cut from vintage sheet music or romance novels as she walks down the aisle.  Use music sheet printed confetti with soft pink flower petals for a true touch of romance that will grace the ceremony aisle.  Heart confetti can also serve as a unique table accent, scattered at the base of the reception table centerpieces or along the cake display table.

Use a craft, heart shaped paper punch to make this not only a cheap but extremely easy DIY project.  And if your really watching your budget or just like being frugal save your scraps of vintage paper from other projects like the music paper cone and punch heart shapes out for your confetti.

diy-wedding-pinwheels, oncewed.com

Paper Pinwheels

Pinwheels are fun favors and whimsical decorations.  Using vintage music sheet to keep with the classic, romantic look you can tie the wands with soft pink ribbons or strings of lace.  These would be a fun, different favor to hand out after the ceremony transitioning into the wedding reception.

Oncewed.com had a fabulous, easy to follow tutorial showing how to make your own beautiful and affordable wedding pinwheel favors.  You’ll need large 12″ X 12″ paper, wooden dowels, push pins and miscellaneous tools; all easy to find items and to by in bulk to save you even more money.

Fall in Love with Vintage Paper Favors

I love it when you can find smart, crafty DIY projects that allow you to transform cheap, everyday materials into beautiful, custom wedding or party decorations.  While realistically you aren’t going to craft your entire wedding look out of paper crafts, a few DIY wedding paper projects can provide you with the right cheap, affordable wedding accessories to bring together your whole look.  It’s about the little and personal touches you can put into your wedding day to make it special and memorable.

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DIY Wedding Floral Planning

By on January 26, 2012 in How To

daisy silk wedding bouquet, afloral.com

An important category of wedding planning is your wedding floral category.

Having an organized list of the type and amount of flowers you’ll need throughout your wedding will not only help you be prepared but also help you stay within your budget.

By using a worksheet or making your own outline you can compile a complete list of wedding floral needs from centerpieces, bouquets to chair backs.  A side by side comparison of real flowers and silk wedding flower prices can show you what a big savings silk alternatives can do for your wedding budget.  With a complete list you can also compare the savings DIY wedding projects can give you within your wedding floral category

Silk wedding flowers are a fabulous, guaranteed money savings option.  They are always in season no matter you look or time of year.  Silks can be ordered in bulk and they offer something real flowers can’t, time.  You have all the time you wan using silk flowers in DIY projects, you can assemble arrangements weeks or months is advance of your wedding day.

Our DIY floral planning post is going to give you a basic rundown, or outline of what categories of flowers you’ll need.  There will be a few stops along the way to compare and discuss the savings silk flowers and DIY wedding projects can offer a particular section.

Silk Wedding Flower Outline

silk bridal wedding bouquet, afloral.com

Bridal Party

  • Bridal Bouquet
  • Bridesmaid Bouquets
  • Groom Boutonniere
  • Groomsmen Boutonnieres
  • Mother/ Grandmother Corsages
  • Father/ Grandfather Boutonnieres

Silk flowers will offer you huge savings in the bridal party section of wedding flowers.  The average real floral bridal bouquet will run around $100, silk bridal bouquets come in at a fraction of that cost around $25.  You don’t have to skimp on your look just because it offers big savings, DIY bouquet ideas will help you customize and design the ideal bridal bouquet.  Boutonnieres are another great illustration of silk flowers savings, featured in our DIY boutonniere post making your own groom’s accessory for around $2-$5 in comparison to paying $5-$15 for real flowers.

white orchid chair back, afloral.com

Ceremony

  • Altar or central arrangements
  • Pew or chair backs
  • Misc. Flower Petals

Items like silk flower petals can be order in bulk in a variety of colors.  They are a beautiful accent to your wedding ceremony aisle.  Use them in the ceremony and carry the look over into your reception by using some silk flower petals to sprinkle on your reception or reception cake tables.

 

DIY wedding centerpiece, afloral.com

Reception

  • Entry arrangements
  • Centerpieces at each table
  • Chair backs
  • Additional serving and/ or cake table arrangements

One of the biggest sections, the reception can easily rack up a lot of your budget.  Even if you go with small, fresh floral arrangements you’ll be looking at spending a good chunk of change just to decorate your reception tables.  Don’t settle for less just  put to good use the right materials, silk flowers and DIY wedding projects.  This is the perfect section to showcase the money saving power of a few good DIY projects.

Featured weekly on our blog, DIY wedding projects range from centerpieces, aisle decor to seasonal chair backs.  Alforal.com tries to offer you stylish arrangements any bride can pull off and pull in under their budget.  The wedding design idea section on the main afloral.com site will give you a run down of wedding themes and projects featured under each theme.  Check out the blog for step by step instructions in the how to section or see if done for yourself in a you tube video.

We spend so much time showing you these great DIY ideas that feature affordable silk flowers and inexpensive accessories and supplies, because they really do offer any bride fabulous savings.  You can be trendy, chic and cheap it is achievable.

Why Get Organized?

There’s an example of an easy wedding flower outline, bullet noted above.  Trim your wedding floral budget down from $1,000s to $100s without having to go without or compromise on your look.  Getting organized you can compare costs and see where you can rack in some savings, while also weighing the value of DIY projects on your final budget.

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Dollar Store DIY Wedding Project Ideas

By on January 7, 2012 in Wedding Design Ideas

Dollar store, dollarstorevendor.com

I scream, you scream…. We all scream for the Dollar Store!

Okay, I will try and tone down my enthusiasm but I do have to admit I get just as excited, if not more, than my kids to go to the Dollar Store.

Choices in seasonal, party, craft, household items and more at an inexpensive cost results in endless possibilities for party and wedding planning.  Some items are no- brainers to pick up at your local Dollar Store, like glass vases featured on our DIY Thursday post.  Others you have to get a little creative and think outside the box for DIY party or wedding projects.

For those more creative, crafty project ideas the Dollar Store has a helpful resource, a website: dollarstorecrafts.com. A site filled with DIY ideas for products you can pick up at most Dollar Store locations.  On a side note, a great tip to remember order items online in bulk to ship to stores and pick up at your convenience.

Dollarstorecrafts.com is one of my favorite online stops for fun, creative project ideas.  But I have to warn you it’s addicting before you know it you’ve spent an hour searching the site.  My other current online fix, Pinterest.com an online personal bulletin board.  If you haven’t heard of it take a look at afloral.com’s pinterest profile, then request your own invite.

Now back to our dollar store discussion.  I’m going to go over a few DIY wedding project ideas using dollar store products.  First some of the basics, items you’d most likely pick up and then a couple fun ideas off their website.  Both will offer you great savings with easily accessible and inexpensive items.

glass vase project, marthastewart.com

Get the Basics

Glass vases are the perfect example of items you should pick up at the Dollar Store.  Why spend $5-$10 a vase when you can get them for a fraction of the cost?  Most dollar stores offer a variety of styles, shapes and heights of vases.  They are the foundation to any great DIY centerpiece, featured in many afloral.com DIY wedding project ideas.  See Thursday’s How To post for a complete run down of centerpiece ideas using glass Dollar Store vases.

 

DIY candy bar, dollarstorecrafts.com

 

Items for a DIY dessert or candy bar can be picked up in your Dollar Store household aisle; plates, bowls, trays, jars and vases.  Don’t worry if they don’t all match take a high gloss spray paint in color or a metallic and you’ll have a custom set.  The example shown uses craft paper and ribbon to create a more uniformed look using plates, jars and bowls.

 

 

DIY cake stand, strawberry-chic.blogspot.com

 

Make your own cake stand display for wedding treats like assorted cakes, pies, cupcakes or cookies.  Remember our non-traditional cake post, any of those options would look great on a cake stand.  Here’s a  tutorial with step by step pics; make the to stand alone or tiered.

 

 

wine glass lamps, decorate.tipjunkie.com

 

Wineglasses have all sorts of uses outside of the holding beverage; here are two of my favorites.  Set the mood with custom mini table lamps.  Make your own lamp shade using velum craft paper, drop a tea light candle into the wineglass and viola.  Or take a literal flip, turning a glass upside down to showcase a trimmed floral bloom, with a votive candle set on the base.

Have Some Fun

Show off a little personal style or quirky fun with a few DIY wedding projects.  Guests will appreciate your craftiness.  This is where you get to think outside the box, think of some uncommon uses for your everyday common Dollar Store products.

cupcake liners shades, dollarstorecrafts.com

 

Twinkle lights are an inexpensive wedding item that adds a touch of romance and DIY lighting.  Step up the look of your lights with an accessory that will cost you pennies.  Mini cupcake liners.  That’s right use this common baking item as mini light shades.  Pick one pattern or mix and match.

 

wine glass tags, dollarstorecrafts.com

 

Make your own glass ID tags, use them as part of the theme décor at a bridal shower or as small favors at the reception.  To make get a template and cut the shape out of assorted colors of foam or felt, available in the craft aisle.  Add a little sparkle with adhesive rhinestones or beads.

 

 

 

faux chalkboard, dollarstorecrafts.com

 

DIY Chalkboard projects are a popular new trend.  But don’t have the time or money to buy expensive chalk board paint?  Fake it.  Use black scrapbook paper or poster board to slide behind a frame.  This would be cute in a small frame as shown, larger frames to designate guest book sign ins or even as little tags on favors.

 

 

It’s easy to see way I’m so in love with the Dollar Store, inexpensive party items, creative DIY projects which results in affordable, stylish wedding décor.  Get planning your perfect wedding day today, using the right resources for products and project ideas like afloral.com and dollarstorecrafts.com.  With the right DIY projects, inexpensive materials and a little personal style you’ll have a fabulous wedding look.

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