Handcrafted: The Cure For The Common Wedding

know nothing but happiness

The house I grew up in had a lucky clover patch. We were always finding 4-leaf clovers. I even found a few with more than four. I have since found out that it was due to a very rare combination of weather, soil, and random mutations. Being that it is St.Patrick's Day I thought I would search and see if you could buy 4 leaf clovers. It turns out you can buy them from Clovers Online.

Not only do they have single clovers for purchase, but they have also found a way to seal real clovers into things such as ring bearer pillows. There is also a flower girl basket, and favor cards all with real preserved clovers.

This got me to thinking that adding a few shamrocks to a boutonniere might be a nice touch for a March wedding, or any wedding looking for some out of the ordinary green. Then again, if memory serves me, shamrocks start to droop pretty quickly, so maybe they are best left potted on tables with those dainty white flowers blooming out of them.

Go n-eírí an bóthar leat.
May the road rise with you.

On a side note, I've been working on some handcrafted stationery. I got ambitious and tried my hand at envelope cards, the kind with the pocket inside for insert cards. It has been a ton of work, but they are turning out great. Although, I am very glad I only need 16.

Is America Ready?

Since I'm an American, the large majority of my posts focus on American trends. It's a great big world out there full of customs and styles that we might be overlooking. Some of them may be future hits here and others, well, other might never really take off. I was recently sent a link by a british bride. I was intrigued by Beretun Designs. Handcrafted shoes are hard to find. Believe me, I have looked.

I really like the Cinderella line of wedding shoes here. They are not your average shoe. There is something royal about them. I'm not sure Americans are ready for this to be a main stream style here, but they would be beyond perfect for period weddings and themed events. A great bonus of handcrafted shoes is that they will make them for you in any color.

I do have one little warning. If you are browsing from work, you might want to wait until you get home to click this link. This shop also hand makes custom corsets. The site isn't graphic by any means, but some companies frown on viewing frilly undie sites on the company dime.

So, what do you think? Are Americans ready to dump the strappy sandals for a more regal shoe?

Flanders Field

Happy Memorial Day! Today is the day the United States sets aside to honor the memory of people who have died in service to our country. This weekend I heard a beautiful poem that was written by Moina Michael in 1918 who is the school teacher that started the tradition of wearing a red poppy in honor of fallen heroes.  It is called "We Shall Keep the Faith" . The last verse is what started the tradition.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields*.

I never knew why the veterans hand out red poppies today, but after reading the full poem as well as the poem "In Flanders Field" I understand and am deeply touched. I hope you can take a minute to follow the links to read them.

This tradition is easily worked into a wedding for those of you having  military wedding, or if you just want to honor our fallen. You can wear a red poppy such as the one above by In a Frenzy , or you can make a donation to a Veteran's charity as your favors and print an explination card up on paper like the one below that I found in Just Another Day's shop

*(Flanders Field is an American cemetery in Belgium for soldiers who died in battle there)

In Honor of Passover

In honor of Passover I thought I would bring you a Jewish Wedding tradition. The Ketubah is in basic layman terms, a pre-nup, but really the tradition makes it much more than that. It is a husband's commitment to his wife that he will provide for her and if he ever leaves her and breaks this contract he has to cut her a check.  It's like written vows with a penalty clause.  They are beautifully designed artwork that are suitable for display in your home after the marriage.

Now that you know what they are, let me tell you where you can find them. Melissa of KetubahWorks has a beautiful line of ketubahs and full wedding stationery sets that will coordinate with them. In addition to the traditonal style, she offers some more modern designs, and is open to custom work. Each ketubah is personalized to suit your needs.

 

If you are celebrating Passover this weekend, I hope your seder goes well, and that you enjoy this time with your family, passing on your heritage to the next generation.

The World To Me

This is another one of those post that might just be me, but I don't care because I like it. First the intro; I love the movie While You Were Sleeping. There are so many reasons to love this movie. At the very beginning Lucy is describing her parent's marriage and her father tells her he knew her mother was "the one" when she gave him the world. In this case the world was in the form of a light up globe.

This week's Indie Star brings us the world on a necklace. In the Mintd shop of bombalurina you will find several vintage charms and jewelry, but it was this globe that got my attention. One of the things I love most about this necklace is the price. For the right couple this could be an unbelievably romantic gesture for less than $50 (a good bit less). I even love the unplated brass chain with the little bird.

So is this one a personal thing or do you love it, too?

Summer Grooming

I am so excited that there is finally a couture line of clothing for our grooms. The hot new thing coming this summer is from a great design house out of Austria in the form of lederhosen. Keep in mind this is aimed at the bride and groom who want a cutting edge European couture wedding. The Wohlmuther Shop is for the seriously fashion conscience.

The detailing on these shorten traditional pants is simply breath taking. The embroidery is so intricate and stunning. This is the perfect idea for those outdoor summer weddings for a groom that is hoping to stay cool. It also works well for beach weddings. The groom no longer needs to worry about getting his pants wet.

If you are even slightly considering this, then you need to check the date this was posted. I may have an off the wall idea from time to time, but I'm not completely crazy. The Wohlmuther Shop is a real store online, and I should probably mention that most of the pants are actually for women. The site isn't in English which may make shopping a bit hard, but they really do have a few striking designs.

Happy April Fool's Day!

Today's practical tip is beware of advice given on April 1st.

Tease

Today's post is a terrible tease. Not only is it a hard to find designer (only 3 stores in the U.S.), but also the entire site is in German. The Austrian company Feinedinge* Handmade (meaning "fine thing) has the type of things that inspires my creativity, which is why I wanted to show it to you.

I just love the simplicity of these designs. I have spent the better part of the morning  going back and forth between their site and a translation site. I learned that each piece is poured by hand and all of them are dishwasher safe except for the ones with gold or platinum on them. It's is very common for that little metallic detail to make things unsafe for the dishwasher and certainly the microwave, so be sure to ask about that before you end up hand washing your everyday plates.

 

I hope more boutiques here in the U.S. pick up on this designer. Right now there are two shops in California and one in Portland, OR.  The shop in Portland, Olio United has a few pieces in their online site, and Peek Keep has a few as well. That is a great start, but I want more.

 

Okay, so this last picture isn't really something you would put on a registry, but I just love these drop lights. They run about $150 depending on the exchange rate, which seemed like a pretty good price to me. My husband thought they were a little girly, but I see nothing wrong with that.   

Wacky Traditions

It is Christmas Eve morning and I have stolen a few minutes for myself to post a story I heard yesterday from a family friend. He grew up in a very rural mountain town in West Virgina during the 6o's. He told us they they had a tradition that after a couple had been married and moved into their new home all of their friends would gather at the house in the middle of the night and break in. They would grab the bride and put her in a wheel barrel, and catch the groom (they often tried to make a run for it) and tie him  to a fence rail. Then they would run the couple into town and refused to let them go until the groom had bought everyone a coke*. As he was telling this story I thought that maybe this was a tradition from the 1800's, but no. He finished the story by say "If you don't believe me, just ask my wife. When they did it to us they didn't make her ride in the wheel barrel, but they tied me up good."

So this Christmas, if you have nothing else to be thankful for, be thankful that their isn't a mob of your friends waiting outside your door with a wheel barrel and rope. However, if you do live in a rural town where this is still going on, here is a little charm I found on Etsy in Epoch Bead's shop. This just goes to prove, you really can find everything on Etsy.

*In case y'all hadn't guessed by now, I'm a Southern girl, so when I say "coke" you can translate that as pop, soda, or what is more likely in this case, a round of drinks at the pub.

Woven With Love

Once in awhile I'll run into a product that really intrigues me. I was excited about Indigo Handloom from the moment the page loaded. These scarves are exquisite. They would be perfect for bridesmaids, the mothers, or even on the bride.

The story behind the crafting of these scarves is amazing. The idea of a person sitting at a loom and actually weaving fabric is almost unheard of today. Indigo Handloom is working to showcase this art form while bringing some much needed work to the people who depend on this trade.

I can not begin to decide which of these gorgeous creations I like best. These scarves are not only beautiful, they are also eco-friendly, support struggling families, and are socially conscience.  You can probably tell that the story behind this company has fascinated me. 

Jewish Heritage

Ever since Luke gave one to Lorelai on Gilmore Girls, I have been fascinated with chuppahs. A chuppah is a canopy used in Jewish weddings as a symbol of the couple's future home. There are two main parts to a chuppah, there is the frame work and the actual canopy itself.  Because I want to cover both pieces, this gets to be a two for one post.

The foundation of the chuppah is the frame. There are a wide variety of materials available, but I prefer the handcrafted wooden frames that can be found at The Chuppah House. If you are in the metro New York area (or close to it) then you are in luck because these beautiful frames can be rented. Or, for the bride who likes to go custom all the way, you can commission a design all your own.

The second part of the chuppah is the fabric canopy which represents security. A lot of people throw some tulle up there and call it a day, but why do that when you can create a lasting treasure. Aidy Arts specializes in designing exquisite items for Jewish ceremonies. Their canopies are breathtaking. Their embroidery work is very detailed, and made exactly to your specifications.  How many brides can honestly say that their chuppah was handcrafted by the Judaic Tradition in Israel? Aidy Arts makes that statement a reality.