Pretty Paper

I am not a DIY-bride but if you are, or, if you want to feel guilty about not spending dozens of hours slaving over beautiful projects that will likely only be appreciated by those of us with critical eyes, read this article from last week’s Star about the growing trend of DIY paper decorations.

Make sure to check out the slideshow. It showcases some really beautiful pieces, including a paper dress.

While a paper dress probably isn’t for most brides, the idea of using paper décor to replace flowers is definitely an ideal that might appeal to some. Like the article points out, the cost can be comparable and paper does open up a whole new world of possibilities.

20 Beautiful Centrepieces

Toronto’s own Wedding Bells magazine has put together this great slideshow that shows off a wide variety of centrepiece options. Most of these could easily be DIY projects and many of them aren’t the usual flowers-in-a-vase thing.

Here are my three favourite centrepieces from the slideshow (sorry I’m not linking directly to each item, something is either up with Blogger or Wedding Bells and I'm not able to add in the proper links):

Ideas From Martha

Martha Stewart: love her or hate her, you need to admit that she does come up with some great ideas. A few weeks ago my sister sent me a link to this article over on Martha’s wedding site where she (her staff?) highlights “15 years of good things for weddings”.

Some of the stuff listed is super-simple and super-sweet. Below are three of my favourite ideas.

Typewriter Guestbook

Terra-cotta Pot Place Card





Wedding Bouquet with Fortune-toting ribbons

The Knot's 2010 Wedding Trends

The Knot posted its 2010 wedding trend guide the other day. While the email that linked to the guide promises “50 new wedding ideas you haven’t seen before”, a few of the ideas, such as black and white cakes and interactive food stations aren’t exactly novel.

But if you do some digging there are some great ideas in there. Below are some of my highlights.

Die Cut Cakes: The Knot talks about how this style can match your stationery but I just like this really different, but not too different, cake décor idea.

Fun Timeline/Program Cards: If you’re going to have a program, you might as well make something people want to read.

Monochromatic Vases as Centrepieces: This look won’t work for everyone but I think any “off-beat” or even a country-themed wedding could pull it off. Depending on your numbers, the vases could even double as favours.

BBQ Rehearsal Dinners: I’m not a big BBQ girl but I get why a BBQ would be ideal for a rehearsal dinner: it’s casual, it allows people to easily mingle, it’s likely rather different than your actual wedding meal and it’s affordable.

Metallic Touches: Having silver or gold metallic touches on a dress is a great idea for any bride who wants a unique spin on a traditional wedding dress.

20 Ideas For Your Reception

WeddingBells.ca currently has a slideshow up that showcases 20 real-life reception décor ideas. While some are pretty taste-or-theme specific (like using homemade jams as favours), some are just great (such as using calligraphy on your invites or having a seating chart that shows how everyone is connected).

Most of the ideas are also quite affordable and realistic. For example, have guests figure out what their meal is with a find-the-word menu or create a simple but elegant centrepiece using candles, low flowers and horizontally placed bamboo sticks.

Some pics from the slideshow below.

5 Ways To Up The "Wow" Factor

TheKnot.com just posted “10 Ways to Wow your Wedding Guests”. Some of their ideas are certainly “wowing” though not very “common sense” (such as ending the night with fireworks) while others are a bit dated (“Plan Out the First Dance”) or obvious (“Pick a ceremony spot with a gorgeous view...”).

Here are my five wow-your-guest-ideas that are actually wowing and realistic.

1. Live music during the ceremony – A harpist or string quartet always classes things up. Check out local music schools, or the Royal Conservatory of Music, to locate talented but affordable young musicians.

2. A variety of good liquor –And by that I mean have on hand such brands as Kahlua, Sour Puss and Jagermeister. Worried about the extra cost? Then cheap out a bit on your bar stock (so say, Polar Ice instead of SKYY vodka)and use the savings to help pay for this new stock of booze.

3. Tall centrepieces – Height always impresses people so up the wow factor in your decor, by going with centrepieces that tower three feet tall or more. And no, taller doesn’t necessary mean pricier. Tall vases can be picked up for a few bucks at the dollar store and can be filled with decorative branches, long grasses and even feathers (if you want to go that route). See more ideas here.

4. No speeches – Speeches are almost always the least favourite part of any wedding so ditch (at least limit their numbers and lengths) them and leave your guests smiling.

5. On-Site Photo Printing – Okay, maybe not the cheapest idea but if you already have a laptop and photo printer, it’s a doable one. Simply set up your laptop and printer off to the side and include clear instructions on how people can upload and print their photos right there. If you want, you can also use this set up to collect plenty of candid photos for yourself.

Three Great Lists

Who doesn’t love a list? I’m certainly a fan of information being presented in a quick-to-read, easy-to-digest, numerical fashion.

theknot.com recently sent around a newsletter that contained a link to “The 12 Worst Pieces of Wedding Advice Ever.” While that list was a bit of a disappointment (it’s really just twelve brides talking about weird things people told them to do), that list did lead to some interesting and useful articles.

For example, “10 Rules for Every Bride” offers some down-right common sense guidelines such as “I can live without lady’s slipper orchids” and “I won’t have unrealistic weight expectations”. True, both of those examples are rather obvious but they’re also completely true and on theknot.com, a leader in wedding porn, they’re also quite refreshing.

“12 Wedding Day Details Not To Miss”, meanwhile, offers great advice that’s not so obvious. I certainly haven’t given any thoughts to what our exit will be like and I just assumed that the venue would take care of just details as the cake table and the washrooms.

Then there’s “10 Inventive Wedding Ideas”, a lighter-toned list that once again is packed with great ideas, like having a cookie bar instead of a dessert bar. I think that’s a really and affordable idea. I also quite like the low-tech slide show, which is really just a bunch of childhood photos lined up in matching frames. It’s a classy alternative to a traditional slide show which is often more embarrassing than entertaining and, unless it’s being handled by the DJ or some other professional, a source of much stress.

I’m sure that there are more great lists buried on theknot.com and other sites and I’ll be sure to post them as I come across them.

[Note: I believe you’ll have to be a member of theknot.com in order to read some of the above lists.]