Handcrafted: The Cure For The Common Wedding

Rainy Days

Since my site and I are having some metaphorical rainy days, I thought I'd find an umbrella to cheer me up a bit. Fox and Prince has custom painted parasols. They have monograms and thank you, and since it is custom, pretty much anything else you'd like a parasol to say. To the photographers out there, it would take very little time at all to use this as a prop while you are taking the other wedding day photographs. Then you could quickly turn them into "Thank You" cards for the happy couple. Send them off to the lab and they'd have them in hand by the time they are ready for their post wedding review.  It would be a nice inexpensive perk for your clients and would wet their appetite for more - win/win.

Paint Me a Picture

Flora Bowley is an artist in the Portland, OR area, and she has a new idea for a special way to capture your wedding. It started as a gift for a friend and grew from there. She went to the wedding and quietly made notes of what she experienced. The flowers, the music, the vows, and much more all were noted. Then, at the reception she set up a canvas and went to work painting all she had taken in. The results were a fantastic piece of art that the couple cherishes.

Thanks to Tor Studio for the image
Now Flora has opened this idea up to her clients. She will come to your wedding, take in all the inspiration and create a one of a kind piece while your guests watch. There is some finishing work that is done in her studio after the wedding, but for the most part you will be able to see your artwork take form.

I have heard rumors of people hiring someone to draw caricatures for their guests, and I really don't want to slam anyone and that is certainly a cool idea for a bar mitzvah, but having an artist come and paint a unique canvas piece is only a million times cooler for weddings.
 I am now realizing that since school has been out and I have been hanging out with my kids more, my vocabulary is suffering. I'll try work on that, and use the word "cool" less tomorrow.

Mother May I

I hope I don't have to remind you that Mother's Day is coming up. You've got two weeks to find the perfect gift not only for your mom but also your about to be mother-in-law. You may be saying, that is his department, but don't fool yourself. Now is the time to step up and embrace your roll as daughter-in-law. Don't panic, you can put your wedding planning to work for you. Take for example GeeZees Custom Canvas Art. Normally I would not suggest buying artwork for another person, too many variable, but this is no ordinary art.

GeeZees takes a personal photo, adds in special sentimental words or phrase, and puts it all together on a wrapped canvas. I know my mother-in-law would flip over one of these. I would flip over one of these. Check out the Unique Gift Gallery for some great ideas.

Now that you have seen this site you can plan ahead for yourself. When looking through the proofs from your wedding you can talk with your photographer ahead of time about purchasing an image for this project. One of these canvases would be the perfect piece for any newlywed's home.   

Shabby Chic

The Back Porch Shoppe has great custom signs for weddings (or whenever ). There are several cleaver signs and elegantly shabby initials. In addition to their regular signs, they also offer custom work. You tell them what you need it to say, and they will make it.  

Handcrafted Sucess Story

Most of the time I write about small mom and pop type shops that are just starting out. I thought it might be nice to take a glimpse at their future. Morgan & Company started 16 years ago as a way to help a new mom spend more time with her new daughter. Now Morgan has a driver's license and Morgan & Company is one of the most complete monogram shops online.

There are a ton of great products in this shop. You can find gifts for your bridesmaids such as jewelry, robes, flip flops, and other fun things to put your monogram on. There are also several really nice things to add to your online registry (if you haven't tried Wishpot yet, I highly recommend it)

I remember seeing an interview with Reese Witherspoon (I think) where she was asked what was the first thing she splurged on when she started making real Hollywood money. She said monogrammed towels. As a kid she thought they were the height of luxury. There is something kind of cool about seeing your new initials in print. Just don't go overboard and cross the line into full blown home decor narcissism.

Roundabout

I love it when I come to a site in a roundabout way. The other day I was researching something for the photography I do odd jobs for. I can not even remember now what it was, but it took me to the site of another photographer, which led me to a blog, that had a picture of custom coat check tags. I knew right away that I had to see the shop of the person who thought to make custom coat check tags. It was Gourmet Invitations.
 
The site is great, but naturally I was drawn to the blog because there are so many untold details about custom work, and with the blog you learn their stories. Take, for example, the lovely design above. It started with a picture of a detail on part of the building that was to be the wedding venue. Sweet!

It turns out my coat check girl has a name, it is Christina, and her wedding looked amazing. I was truly amazed at the number of thing in her design  portfolio that would go under the heading of something you didn't know you needed, but now you absolutely must have. The photographer that got me to the site in the first place is The Shooting Gallery and well worth the look. Their web designer deserves two thumbs up for that one.

Stick with me

I love stickers. When I was a kid I had a huge sticker collection. In fact, I think I still have a box somewhere filled with Lisa Frank stickers.So now when I see a company making custom stickers, the little girl of the 80's in me squeals. Little beane Boutique is just such a company, and this week's Indie Star. These are great for favors, address labels, envelope seals, or adding a quick monogram to anything. She also has some packaging for favors. The label and bag combo would be great for a candy buffet.

Out of the Box

Today's feature comes from real bride Tessa.She was disappointed by many of her wedding vendors and things were just not turning out the way she had pictured them. The bright shining star of all the planning was her card box. Who would have thought that something as simple as a card box could turn everything around, but that is exactly what happened. For the Modern Bride doesn't make your ordinary card box.

I am really impressed by their gallery. You would think that there would be only so many ways to make a card box, but in all of the images pictured, no two were exactly alike. In fact, other than the stack of presents style, it was rare to even two that were similar. If you are still looking for inspiration to strike you to find a color palette or style for your wedding then I would encourage you to scroll through this gallery.

When I looked at these, the first thing that came to my mind is how they would all make amazing looking cakes as well. Then, I got to the bottom of the page and read that they can make your card box a replica of your cake. I think I would be tempted to design my box first and then take it to my bakery and say, "I want this only edible."

Redirected

Sometimes on the way to one thing we find something else even better. First I went to Capitola Gal's Etsy shop because of the the cute computer key necklaces. I thought they would make cute bridesmaid gifts especially for those internet couples out there. Then I got tickled thinking of using the Esc or Ctrl keys as a fun gift to the bride. When I went to the main shop page, I saw so much more. I'm a sucker for copper earrings, which were at the very top, but then my eye went to the obviously bridal pieces, only to find Capitola Gal Bridal shop. There is a lot of great things in these two shops and the prices are great for those brides on a budget.

Damask Every Where

If you are one of the brides looking for accesories with a damask print, then today's Indie Star is right up your alley. Lily Elle has a little bit of everything. Many of her items can be personalized with names and date, and you can select the colors you want to use. The shop isn't limited to damask, it's just what caught my eye first. There is also a great pillow with a fall theme that I adored.