BRONZE BUDGET BRIDE

One of the things my brides are asking continually..."Do you have any ideas to make just that extra difference?"  Considering the ideas, websites, blogs, and conversations at numerous Starbuck's that are out there, getting new ideas to give the personal twist to a wedding is becoming harder and harder for us planner girls!  However, I do have one or two still tucked in my sleeve that I'd be happy to share.

One bride and her husband met in English class in graduate school - both getting their Master's Degrees in Literature.  So, for her wedding, we took an aisle runner (you can find plastic runners at Michaels.com, HobbyLobby.com or any discount wedding supplier) and spread it completely out.  Then, with a thick-pointed gold paint marker and using a Carpenter's T -Square (i.e. LARGE RULER) we started a foot or so from the top and wrote some of their favorite poems by Browning, Shelley, Keats, etc. all the way down the length of the wedding runner.  Once we finished that, we went back to the top and wrote at the very beginning "These Are The Words That Led Me To You."  We hot-glued silk rose petals in strategic areas all over the runner, then rolled it carefully back up.  Before the wedding party walked the aisle, one of the ushers rolled it from the back to the altar, and she walked to her groom on the words of the greatest love poems ever.

Another bride had a severe allergy to flowers - of just about any kind.  But, of course, she wanted fresh for her wedding.  Isn't it always the way?  Who could blame her though?  So we had to get creative.  Realizing that our answer was outside in nature all along, we used a combination of some silks for the greenery we could not find seasonally, and made all the boutonnieres and bouquets completely of herbs, Eucalyptus, Ivy, Pampas Grass (yes, pampas grass), and Pussy Willows.  The herbs we put in small batches and wrapped with floral wrap, followed by a small ribbon, and used those as boutonnieres.  The groomsmen told me later that they were starving from smelling Oregano, Thyme and Basil!  We used the Pampas Grass by holding the bottom ends and wrapping them tightly with floral tape, then curved the leaves back down and wrapped them at the bottom as well, creating "loop-de-loops" with the leaves.  We then put in some Baby's Breath to fill in the holes, along with some different lengths of Pussy Willows and Eucalyptus.  We cascaded Ivy around the outside and down the sides, and finished it off with ribbons and pearls.  With 14 total attendants on both sides, we created bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres and the bride's bouquet for a whopping $175.00, including ribbon, floral foam, etc.  It was a very different, and very beautiful!

My last recommendation came from one bride and groom who had been "Sandbox Sweethearts," together since they were 18 months old! Their parents were best friends, and they just always seemed to "click."  For their reception centerpieces, the family had a TON of pictures of the two of them together growing up - literally - with each other.  So, we took the 8 1/2" x 11" Plexiglass sheet displays (from Staples, Office Depot, etc.) making sure they were the ones that didn't lean - you had to be able to see from both sides.  We glued dried flowers around the edges on both sides, then placed two copies of a picture (one on the front, one on the back) in the display and placed in the middle of the table on top of a mirror, which the reception site provided.  Surrounded it with glass tealights (20 for $5.00 at HobbyLobby.com) and glass gardening rocks in her wedding colors around the "frame."  Then, for the seating chart, we printed the name of the guest, and a small "thumbprint" of the photo on their table - they had to mingle to look at all the pictures to find their table.  This made for a wonderful evening of people getting to know each other who otherwise wouldn't have talked, and everyone got to see these two wonderful people in all the stages of their lives.

I hope maybe these have been an inspiration to some of you to think outside your box for things to make your day truly "your" day.  And if not, well, maybe it's at least been a good read!  Thanks!