DIY Wedding: Vintage Favour Tutorial

I always knew that which ever favours we chose for our wedding, Mr Styled and I would make them ourselves .  I love the idea of giving a little bit of love back to our guests and wanted to make something that not only reflected the style of our wedding day but also  something that wouldn’t just get left behind on the tables once the dancing started.  These little vintage style sweetie jars were the perfect answer and below you can find my DIY wedding tutorial (it’s my first one so please be gentle!).  Enjoy the ‘how to’ and please feel free to comment, I’d love to know what you all think…

You will need…

•  Small jam jars with lids (I sourced mine on ebay at £26.00 for 70 jars!)
• Retro sweeties – we went for candy ABCs, heart throbs, jazzies and rings
• Small white stringed luggage labels (these were £1.99 for 100 from WH Smith)
• Message stamp and ink (Mine is an East of India stamp)
• Lace (approx 6 inches per jar – this was a bargain 18p per meter at Fabric Land)
• 4inch x 4inch assorted fabric squares (off cuts pre cut, again sourced from ebay)
• Elastic bands (these are just a tool, so old scruffy ones are fine)

Instructions:

• Fill a jar with your chosen sweeties – of course it’s a very good idea to sample the sweets yourself as you go, quality control is a serious matter 😉
• Place one of your fabric squares centrally over the lid of the jam jar and secure temporarily with an elastic band.

• Cut the string from one of the luggage tags and use this to tie around the jar lid, just above or below the elastic band.
• Stamp the luggag tag and, while this dries, remove the elastic band and trim the ends of the string.
• Thread the length of lace through the luggage tag and tie around the top of the jam jar to finish.

Even if you aren’t going for the vinatage, carnival or rustic wedding style, it is still possible to adapt this design by using a single fabric type for all the jars in your chosen accent colour.  For a neater, more uniform look to the jars, try cutting the fabric squares into circles before attaching.

Wedding Trend: Signs and Letters

A picture may speak a thousand words, but when it comes to current wedding trends, the good old fashioned written word is definitely back in fashion.  While searching for a vintage ‘Just Married’ sign for the back of our wedding car, I must confess to becoming additcted to these cute little distressed signs, wooden blocks and memorable quotes.  If these signs and letters are right up your wedding street, remember to shop around, as I was able to find some of these goodies at astonishing price differences between online retailers – and don’t forget to check ebay where I was able to purchase my ‘Just Married’ sign hand made by one of the sellers for a whopping £30.00 cheaper than some virtually identical products in other online stores!

A: Vintage LOVE Heart Wreath, £21, www.notonthehighstreet.com

B: Personalised wedding sign, £44.00, www.brightcandy.com

C: Wooden Mr and Mrs sign, £7.00, www.ohsocherished.co.uk

D: Square personalised crate, £29.50, www.rusticangels.co.uk

E: Time To Drink Champagne & Dance A3 Print, £12.50, www.notonthehighstreet.com

F: To Have and To Hold sign, £4.75, www.pipii.co.uk

G:Wooden blocks, £5.95 each, www.rusticangels.co.uk

H:Bespoke sign, £POA, www.printedwithlove.co.uk

I:  All You Need Is LOVE Wooden Sign, £47.50, www.theweddingofmydreams.co.uk

J: Vintage Shabby Style Wooden “LOVE” Blocks, £14.95, www.littlesomethinggifts.co.uk

K: Wedding sign, £4.75, www.pipii.co.uk

 

Our Rustic Venue

Locally to us, The Old Mill at Aldermaston can’t be beaten for good old fashioned rustic charm. Set on the riverside, the building is a stunning blank canvas of oak floors, wooden beam ceilings and exposed brick work. It features a working water wheel and beautifully landscaped ‘English garden’ grounds.  Coupled with our ceremony at my parent’s local church, I think The Old Mill will be the ideal canvas for our rustic countryside wedding!

The choice of venue can be considered the foundation to a wedding day and can be used to reflect the personalities of the couple, from a chic and sophisticated hotel to quirky pubs and rustic barns, your venue is your canvas…