Wedding quilt

A couple of weeks ago my sister tagged me in a facebook post. This is not unusual, however it featured one of the most amazing ideas I have seen for a wedding in a long time. For those of you who know me already, you will probably giggle. For those of you who don’t know me, you are about to learn something new about me! I’m craft obsessed. I can’t sit still and I’m always (ALWAYS!) making something for someone. Gifts for babies, gifts for friends, the latest project is ever changing. So when this popped up, I was really excited!

A wedding quilt! Oh my giddy aunt!! This is all kinds of amazing!

The couple in the post asked everyone that they had invited to their wedding to send them a square of  fabric. What an amazing idea, and what a lovely way to have people contribute to something that is going to be a part of the day and a wonderful keepsake. The couple in the post had photos of themselves with the quilt on the day too. How lovely to have people feel a part of the wedding, when they see the fabric that they sent made into the quilt! Especially if you want to include the crafty quilt person in your life in your wedding preparations!  You could take it even further, depending on the amount of fabric that has been collected, and make a ring bearer’s pillow or patchwork pocket squares. The fabric could be used in decorating the tables and in the bonboneries also. The ideas are endless!

Another quilt idea would be to make the quilt using the fabrics sent to you but also include plain squares throughout and use a fabric marker to make your ‘guest book’. People could write advice or well wishes on the plain squares!

Have you seen any other original ideas that incorporate crafts into a wedding day? I’d love to hear about them.

All images are from pintrest

10 ways to honour those that have passed away in your Wedding

Honouring those that have passed away on your wedding day can be very tricky. It can be a real balancing act. You want to make sure you acknowledge people, but you don’t want to go into so much detail that you are upsetting yourself and important guests. A lot of it can depends on who you are honouring. It is understandable that these people are all missed greatly and it is a day that you would have loved to share with them.  Do you need to say something in the ceremony or is it something that you wish to do another way without words?

1. Mentioning your loved one in the ceremony.
This is the most obvious one, and is probably the one that most people think of. You can put as little or as much in to the ceremony as you want about  your loved one. It is much easier to mention elderly relatives that have passed away, especially if they passed away some time ago and they had a full and happy life. It is harder with someone taken too soon, and more recently. You need to think about how you will react when they are mentioned and if you will be glad that they have been acknowledged or if being reminded that they can’t be there with you will hurt too much.

2. Carry them close to your heart.
One way that you can honour the people special to you is to have photos of them in a locket that you wear on the day, or pin into your dress. A photo can be placed inside a pocket watch that is on your suit. A lovely idea I have seen is to have small frames pinned to your bouquet. I think this is a great way to have them with you all day and present in your day.

3. A photo table or photo wall.
I have seen this done at a number of weddings and it is a lovely way to remember all of the people that cannot be with you. You can also have photos of people who are unable to attend for other reasons not just because they have passed away. I have seen this done at quite a few weddings. It is something that is not “too in your face” for guests that are still feeling the hurt of the loss of their loved ones too.

4.  Leaving an empty seat at the ceremony.
I have yet to attend a wedding where this is done. When I first heard about it, I thought that it was a beautiful idea. But then I thought a little more about it and realised that someone has to sit next to that seat. Maybe your dad had passed away, but your mum would have to sit next to an empty chair and be reminded on an already difficult day that the man she loved is not there with her.

5. Choose a song that was special to the person.
This could be a wonderful way to honour someone special to you. You could have it when you are signing the marriage register or when you are walking out of the ceremony after it has finished. Especially if it isn’t a song that everyone knew was their favourite, only a select few would know. Maybe not a great idea if it was played at their funeral. And perhaps if it is known that it was their favourite song, give some of your family a heads up so that they don’t get  a shock on the day.

6. Making a note in your order of service booklets.
This is another way that you can mention special people that are missed on your special day and another way that isn’t too in your face. Although people will read it, it is usually before you have arrived for the ceremony. It isn’t going to be a surprise moment to anyone and those who are missing people are not going to be taken aback by this as much as they might if you were to choose to keep an empty seat or play a song that was special to the person that has passed away.

7.  Light a candle for them during your ceremony, or have one burning near their photo.
This is a lovely idea for inside in a chapel or any wedding that is indoors. If you are having an outdoor wedding maybe use a battery operated one burning for them, it would be upsetting to have a candle blow out when it is representing someone special to you. Something so small could have a big impact on select guests.

8. Use something special to them as part of your favours or bonbonnerie.
This is a great way to represent your loved ones. You could have some family famous biscuits, made from your Nan’s recipe. Or have some special after dinner mints that were a favourite of your uncle. You could choose a candle scented with someones signature scent.  Again you can decide if you mention this fact to your other guests.  I attended a wedding where they used the names of people that they wished were at their wedding instead of table numbers.

9. Release balloons or butterflies.
This can be done at the ceremony or you could just choose to do this for your photos and at a time when you could take a moment or two to think of the person that you have lost. It doesn’t have to be something that is shared with everyone else.

10. Sew something of theirs into your dress or wear it as a pocket square.
It could be some fabric from something that was everyday for them. A handkerchief, or an item of clothing. You can have this visible, maybe in the shape of a heart or you could have it sewn into the dress close to your heart. You could choose one of your Grandpa’s blue ties and have it sewn into the hem of your dress as your something blue. It could be a small piece of someones favourite old t-shirt that they wore all the time.   Maybe they had a lucky coin or charm that you could have in your inner pocket or have little spot sewn into your dress just for it. The options on this one are endless.

At the end of the day, the person you are honouring was probably loved by so many people so be aware of those people too. I know it is your day, but you also need to think of those that might still be hurting and grieving. No matter how many years have passed. I’m a firm believer in that time doesn’t heal. It is just you are more used to the pain.
My Gran tells me all the time that before my grandfather died, he said to her that he would never see my younger sister turn 21. I know that every time one of her grandchildren turned 21, she would think of him and be sad that he couldn’t share the time or celebration with her. She is now seeing some of her great grandchildren turn 21 and I know that it is still a little bit upsetting for her every time she is invited to a party, although she is happy for the person who’s birthday it is.
Have you attended a wedding where they had a great way of honouring someone who had passed away?

Thank you to Love Journal for the photos for this weeks blog. Check them out on their website here or like them on facebook by clicking here.

Wedding invitations

I love a good wedding invitation as all of those whom regularly read my blog would know, I love receiving them in the mail – especially when a lot of thought has gone into creating them. The save the date cards (read my blog about save the date cards here) and wedding invitations you decide on are generally give your guests a sneak peak of the theme of the wedding to come. There are so many different ways to approach your invitations.

The personal angle:

You can choose to go with a personal wedding invitation; with photographs or artistic pictures of the two of you (or more if you are a blended family or have children together already) this is a sure way to grab the attention of your intended guests. Mostly this approach is for the save the date cards. My cousin had a fantastic wedding invitation, which they designed themselves – all the artwork was done by the couple, a truly memorable invitation that is for sure. Not everyone wants photographs on their invites and I can understand that, but there is something truly unique about a personalised invitation. You don’t have to have photographs to make it your own – there are all sorts of ways to make it personal. For example, your favourite colour or a certain animal you are often affiliated with or a personal attribute that your family and/or circle of friends associate you with.

Funky and unique:

You only have to search on the internet to see a range of the funky and unique invitations out there. Usually they follow fashions, for example the chevron pattern, is in style now, is very popular. You could go with a funky pattern or you could go for a bold colour. They could be handmade invitations that are in theme with your decorations at your ceremony. You could go with something fun and unique, like a puzzle, which your guests need to put together.  You can introduce a retro feel to your invitations, with a vintage style or lace invite.

Colour and theme based:

Colour is a great way to create a ‘theme’ for your wedding. Similarly if you choose a certain flower for your ceremony the invitation can be a great way to introduce it. My cousin was proposed to on the Eiffel Tower – they had it feature throughout the whole wedding, it was on the invites, part of the cake tower and on all the bonbonnerie.

Classical and Traditional:

A classic and traditional theme can sometimes be my favourite, especially when the invitations are truly decadent. One of my friends had a beautiful classic invite on super thick and shimmering paper with a heavy lace and ribbon. I think that these work when you are having a classically themed wedding. I not sure they would work as well for a casual garden wedding. Their invite set the tone of the wedding and matched everything perfectly. Her dress was a full, lovely lace and the flowers matched the colour of the invitations.

What were some of the truly unique attributes of a wedding invitation you have received?  What was it that made the invite so different/lovely/interesting?

Thank-you Vision House Photography for the use of their fantastic photos. Check out their website here.

Should we have Bonbonnerie?

Many weddings include bonbonnerie gifts including the traditional sugared almonds. On many occasions I remember almonds wrapped in a piece of delicate tulle or lovely sheer fabric. Traditionally, five Jordan almonds were displayed this way to represent fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness. The bitterness of the almond and the sweetness of the sugary covering are meant to represent the bitter sweetness of a marriage.

Bonbonnerie is a very old tradition at weddings, although sugared almonds are not that popular these days.  One wedding that I conducted had them given out at the ceremony with the Order of Service booklets, as the mother-of-the-bride wanted them to be part of her daughters day, as it her family’s tradition.  My best friend had them on the tables at her wedding too, but had so many other awesome bonbonnerie gifts I think that a lot of people might not have even noticed them. (see all the amazing bonbonnerie that she had on my blog post about her day here)

Bonbonniere is something that you can make part of the theme of your wedding and it doesn’t have to be expensive, neither is it really a crucial part of the wedding, but can be something you have some fun with.  You could make the gifts yourself, and it can be something that has a double purpose like place settings or table centerpieces. Bonbonnerie can be a great way to let people know more about you. For example, you could bake the bonbonnerie, if you are into baking, or create a little book with your recipes, or give some of your favourite spices if you like to cook or barbecue. If you love nature and bushwalking, gifts such as a seed bomb or some sort of seedlings that your guests can put into their own garden. Think of the things that you love and try to find a way to incorporate it into your bonbonnerie. Are you into Spiderman? Maybe either you or one of your artistic friends could make a comic strip style fridge magnet with you and your partner written into the story. This is another thing where only your imagination can limit you.

Do you really need it? No, no one needs Bonbonnerie. It is something that some people come to expect at weddings, although I am not sure why, there are plenty of things that you are spending money on, but again it can be something that can double as something else. Using them for place tags is a great idea if you are having a seating plan. You could always give them out to your guests when you are leaving for the evening or at the end of your reception to make sure that the guests know that they are for them to take home, not just lovely table decorations, and that way you know you will have said goodbye and thank you for coming to all of your guests.

Will it get left behind? Most of the time at weddings some people will always leave the party favours behind. It is sad to see when couples have spent so much time, money and effort on them. Personally, I love to keep a memento from special occasions – so I love all of the bonbonnerie.

Should I choose food for my bonbonbiere gifts?  Food is always popular, in particular chocolates or personalised lollies. Guest are likely to take it with them, or eat it at the wedding. With food at least you know most of the time it isn’t going to be a huge waste.

Have you been to a wedding recently that had fantastic or not so fantastic bonbonnerie? What do you think about not having bonbonnerie at a wedding?

Thanks so much to Untamed images for the use of their stunning images. Check out their website here.