Origami Additions

Living in America, I did not know of many of the "Chinese" marriage customs and from what I had heard, Chinese weddings had become more Westernized.  However, I did know I wanted to keep some traditions and add Asian elements to my wedding atmosphere.  Fortunately, we found a celebrant to marry us who studied and traveled to Hong Kong and China multiple times.  Storyteller by day, civil celebrant by weekend, we knew he was the perfect person to share our story with our family and friends.  Besides the Asian elements he will be incorporating into our ceremony, I decide to spice up the decor with some origami. 
For one, the escort cards will have small origami cranes nesting below a cocktail umbrella.  Two, the table numbers are made through origami as well... an origami frame with 2 small origami butterflies to enhance them.  The table number will go right in the middle.  Table number stands were purchase through WrapWithUs.com

Gifts for the Flower Girls

Looking around, I wanted to get the young ladies something special to thank them for being a part of my wedding.  And what girl doesn't love jewelry.  While there are many flower girl jewelry sets out there, there wasn't one that I particularly loved and I hate paying for shipping and handling.  So I decided to make the bracelet and necklaces myself.  So I made the following two sets out our beads purchased from Michaels.  I decided to make the pendants different to customize it to each girl.  They have an adjustable chain, so i didn't need to worry about it being too small or too big.

Hopefully they will enjoy! =)

Programs - Change in Plans

While I loved the previous design, there was just too many details with assembling it together.  The template was easy enough to cut around, however, the folding and gluing just seem too time consuming and messy.  So I went with a slightly different design, but just as pretty.  The paper is Purple Palisades by Bazzill Basics Paper.  Unfortunately, the original paper company I wanted to buy the materials from went out of business, I ended up getting it from Scrapbook.com.  Still a decent price.

I choose a detailed flourish design that was easy to alternate and create a pattern.  An archival pigment ink pad (rocket red) was used for stamping.  Templates for the program portion was made through word document and cut with a paper cutter.  It took a little time, but I preferred this because the program ended up the way I wanted instead of settling for something that was within my budget. (I will have a better picture once I finish making them)

Wedding Programs Pockets

Being the crafty person that I can sometimes be, I've found inspiration from Martha Stewart to make my own programs. I'm told they would add wonderful color the the chairs during the ceremony and minimize on the aisle decorations needed. The plan is to take 12x12 card stock paper and cut them in half to get 2 program pockets (12x6). From there, I would need to fold up the bottom to form a 3-inch pocket, trim off the corners, and make 1/2" side flats to help hold the pocket in place. This will result in the program pocket dimension to be 9x5.5. The dimension for the insert will probably be 8x5. Colors? Lilac/Lavender pockets with a Burgundy trim, eyelet and ribbon. I haven't decided what stamp or embossing to use for the pocket decor yet.


Helpful sites:
Martha Stewart Wedding
How-to-Make the Pocket Tag
Bulk Cardstock Paper & Vellum

Wedding Favors

To go with our Asian Flair theme I decided to make the following for the wedding favor. It consists of a Chinese take-out box filled with some sort of chocolate, a felt fortune cookie ornament and a pair of chopsticks all tied up with a wine color sheer ribbon. I am thinking about putting our name and date as the "fortune" in the fortune cookie. Or if i do love quotes as fortunes, i might make little tags to tie onto the ribbon as well. Though that may be too many little pieces. Any thoughts?

Helpful links:
Felt Fortune Cookies
Chopsticks in Bulk
Papermark.com - for take-out boxes & ribbon