so i'm marrying an a-hole. well, i mean. not really. but it gives me the opportunity to offer up this clip:

then i get to tell you this story:

matt and i decided to make candles while we were home for the holidays. and they turned out pretty well, actually. he was really great. helping me melt candle wax, plant wicks, and decide scents and colors. then he does this:

but, like he said, i'm doing it for the crafts. and i'm pretty excited about our candles.

so let's make some candles.

what you'll need:
heat-resistant containers (we used tea cups and wine glasses)
wax (we used soy)
wicks, trimmed with bottoms (the larger the container, the thicker the wick)
wick stick-ums
wick stabilizer sticks with rubber bands 
a double boiler (we used a pyrex measuring cup in a pot, set on a steamer and not the bottom of the pot. it worked.)

what you'll do:
1: wick your jars — take your wick and place a wick stickum on the bottom of the tab. push it down in the center of the bottom of your container, securing it in place.

2: melt the wax — put 1lb of wax in your pot and melt it until you have a golf ball size piece of unmelted wax left and turn off the heat. stir it until the ball of wax melts and add 1oz of scent and color (add small amounts until desired color) to the wax and stir it very well.

3: pour the wax — when the wax looks kinda like a slushie, pour it into your container to within a ¼ inch of the top of the container. 

4: adjust your wick — center it, then take your wick stabilizer and slide it over the wick and lay it across the top of your container. 

5: finish your candle — let it cure over night and trim the wick to 1/8 inch.

there's actually more funny story to that night:

after we made the candles, we made dinner. but i left the wax-covered candle-spoon in the spoon rest on the stove. and my dad "helped" by stirring the mashed potatoes with the wax-covered candle-spoon. then we had waxed mashed potatoes for dinner. and i quote, "these potatoes taste like deodorant."

but my dad ate all of his. and all of the rest of ours. right off our plates. like a child who's been told not to do something and does it deliberately to make a point. 

he ate the waxed mashed potatoes. with a smile.

so, as you know, we had an engagement photo sesh with bridesmaid courtney pierce of courtpie photography all around austin, tx. the pics are here on the site.

and we plan to use some of them creatively in things we'll need printed for the wedding and around the ceremony/reception site. but, we want a way to keep them forever. a really meaningful way ...

so, we created a photo guest book here. we really like the lay-flat design and embellishments that snapfish offers. this way, we'll have the photos and a guestbook that won't be gathering dust somewhere before we just decide to throw it away 30 years from now.

that's the cover. here are a few sample pages:

a keepsake, a guest book, and a conversation piece. all for less than $100. coolbeans.

xoxo,
the bride

so, the winmock at kinderton has a crapton of nooks and crannies to decorate. and i have my table decoration plan down for both ceremony and reception — even the guest book table and gift area. i'm covered. but all those nooks and crannies, and all those places you never think about but will need something the day of? i'm not so covered. or should i say wasn't so covered?

i looked around the apartment, and realized that matt and i have a ton of crap we don't need. you know, combining two adult apartments and all ... in fact, we have a crapton of promotional pint glasses.

a crapton of crannies and a crapton of glasses? they should meet.

as you know, we're doing bulk flowers in white and blue. maybe some succulents. but you gotta have something to put them in, right? something you can put water in. and in a nook or cranny, they won't have to withstand really close scrutiny. so i made pint glass vases.

what you do:
- clean the glass

- put the ribbon on with the hot glue gun, or just tie it. tying works.

and ... there you have it. "free" BACKGROUND vases that you can just throw away when you're done with them. i'm pretty brilliant.

xoxo,
the bride

ohmygod, hi. hyper-excited rachel here with the perfect way to start a d.i.y. post: "you'll think this is an amazing idea and i might recruit you to help even if you don't think this is an amazing idea."

ok, so. let's say we have 150-200 people at this shindig. let's just say. that's possibly 25 tables of 8. and we need to dress 25 tables of 8, possibly.

you can rent some really way too tall hurricane vases, 3 per, for $45 a table. then you have to fill them with flowers or rocks or floating candles. and for a long table, that's gonna feel pretty sparse.

i know, i know. i've already invested in the vintage mismatched china. (and i'm still over the moon about it, so excited.) but what if we make it a theme?

because we not only have the tables at the reception, but the standing cocktail rounds at the champagne ceremony to dress. not to mention all the nooks and crannies in that huge room.

my mom and i already had the stroke of genius to use plates (because there are extra plates) on stands — salads as table numbers and dinners as nook-and-cranny decorations. and, as luck would have it, she just happens to collect these totally cool rare vintage teapots.

why not use them? and if we're already using plates and pots, why not cups? and bowls? so i went to ebay, and had an ebasm. yes. an ebasm.

hello, mismatched teacups. i can float a single bud in them. i can make them into candles. i can pot herbs in them. and i can sell them all packaged with my china when we're done. because it's china. wow.

but that's just the reception decor figured out. what about the many standing cocktail tables we'll need for the champagne ceremony? i want them to feel like the whole event belongs together. enter, anchor hocking and hazel atlas. yes, depression glass. and 70's glass. sue me:

let's get some bulk gardenias, maybe some succulents. let's get some fancy white sand. let's make some candles. this wedding is decorated. and it feels like it has a theme. i love that.

oh, and crazy, you can get personalized teabags as a favor. thinking about it. also, excited to make candles.

xoxo,
a very excited d.i.y. bride

rachel here.

so, i've been thinking of ways to invite my girls to be a part of my bridal party. i can't get them all together, or go see each one individually. they're as far flung as new york and to as close as a 90 minute drive. and only two even live in the same place! i've seen cards on etsy, "i've got the guy, now all i need are my girls" and so on. there are actually some pretty cute ones.

but.

not all of my girls know eachother. so i wanted to include little bios. and i'm asking them to pick their own dress and shoes, so i want to give them as much info as possible on that.

you've already seen my d.i.y. dress color guide. but then i went a step further.

each maid gets a tote bag. "totes a maid," get it? i also made a "bride," a "m.o.h.," a "m.o.b." and a "m.o.g" — perfect to tote things on the big day.

she also gets my handy dandy wedding color cheat sheet with attached peacock feather, a personalized card and a "meet the maids" bio with contact info.

k, so, rachel here as always.

i've picked my maids and matt and i have picked our colors. i've been working on an "invitation" for my maids to be a part of my party to send to each of them. i'm pretty sure they all already know they're being invited, but i need to make it official.

when it comes to dresses, i've got one who hates to show her arms, even though there's nothing wrong with them. one who worries about baby body, even though she doesn't have one. one who thinks she weighs too much even though she weighs less than most americans. seriously, if we're not all candidates for body dysmorphic, i'm not sure who is.

so, i'm letting them all pick their own knee-length cocktail dresses. my only criteria, minus "knee-length cocktail dress" is that the color be in the wedding palette. basically, my rule is: if you can find it in the feather of a (nonalbino) peacock, and it's not black or tan, you can wear it. with tan shoes. tan HEELS to be exact. tan = warm caramel from the wedding colors.

i'd love it if the dress could have some type of 20's flare, like fringe or drop waist or lace. but i'm not real picky. i made a handy wedding color guide for each of them:

and (hopefully) there you have it: the best damn bridesmaid dress guide on earth. i guess we'll see ;)

xoxo,
the bride

rachel here (of course) ;)

you've seen it on pinterest. get yourself some mason jars (or any clear glass) and pour paint on the inside, manipulating it into a thin coat covering the entire thing. turn that bad boy upside down and let it dry.

so, i went to home depot and got sample cans of our wedding colors. this is the tale of how it went.

(not well.)

i poured paint into the bottom of the jar. it took more than i thought. then all the rest took less. (lesson kinda learned)

i swirled it around and then turned it over. i know you can't just turn them upside down flush with a surface and expect them to dry. without air, it's just one wet party. so i propped them up on the lids.

they looked great. not so much the next morning ...

they were still wet in the morning, but looked like crap. like rivers in dried mud or something.

so, i took a foam brush and painted the inside with a thin coat, also basically moving around the still wet paint.

i let that dry, right side up, over night.

and that worked.

introducing our wedding colors: peacock blue and warm caramel with accents of rich navy, pure purple and eloquent ivory.

xoxo, 
the bride

there are etsy sellers who make them, tons of brides who pin them, and several laborious how-to's on them: wedding exit wands. 

as a bride and groom exit you can't throw confetti because that's littering. you can't throw rice because that hurts the birds. you can't throw birdseed because that attracts the birds, and the bird shit. flower petals are prohibitively expensive, and are brown by the time the event is over. bubbles can actually cause spots on some fabrics, like expensive dress fabrics you wear to weddings. many venues are prohibiting sparklers as fire hazards. 

so what is the modern couple to do when it comes to their big send off? enter: exit wands. you post a sign that says something like, "wave the bride and groom into the future," or "a colorful ending to a magic night," or "wave your wand and make a wish of happiness for the couple." and each guest takes a wand of ribbons and bells to wave as the couple exits. they become the wedding favor in the new reality of NO wedding favors.

you can buy them on etsy, but you only get two colors per wand and it's like $75 for 50, plus shipping. and they all look the same. so why not make your own? especially if you have a lot to make and a lot of time on your hands.

i made mine (200 of them) for $1 a pop, thanks to a sale at hobby lobby. and they're each different, so it'll be a colorful send off.

what you need:
12" dowel rods (see what fits right in your hand, i used quarter inchers)
ribbon: 2' lengths (3-4 per wand) x the # of guests + extras
crafting bells
a hot glue gun
time

would be great to have:
an extra pair of hands

so, basically, i spent a day acquiring approximately 1400 feet of ribbon, 200 dowel rods in a couple of diameters and over 200 silver crafting bells in several sizes  and then cutting the ribbon into 2' lengths, some 4'. for the thinnest ribbon, i used 4' lengths folded in half. i strung the bells to the middle and used that as the folding point. when you cut your ribbon: if it's satin or organza you can hold the cut edges over a flame for a hot second or three to seal the ends from fraying. i wouldn't suggest doing that with the burlap or lace ribbons ;)

i looked up how-to's online. EVERYone is using eye screws and jewelry rings for the bells. i'm so not that fancy. so i just strung my bells on the ribbons.

pictured here is my practice one with only 2 ribbons. basically it goes like this:
1) select your ribbon combo
2) string a bell onto the skinniest ribbon
3) tie an overhand knot, loosely (with the bell in the middle)
4) put the dowel through the knot
5) put a very small dollop of hot glue on the dowel where you want the knot
6) tighten the knot over the glue
7) again. and again. and again.

and, next thing you know, you have some pretty cute wands for your dream wedding send off. 

all in your wedding colors and all hand-made by you.

love it. love you.

xoxo, the bride