Hand crafted Wedding decor!

Below you will find photos of several projects I completed for my wedding in November.  While faux finishing is the majority of my business the creative process doesn't stop there.  It was so much fun coming up with these ideas and figuring out how to piece everything together.  None of the materials used were very costly but with a little paint and a lot of creativity we were able to transform the whole atmosphere.  After the new year I will be posting round two of photos taken by our photographers, with even more creative ideas.  Stay tuned!  And enjoy.....

Invitations:  It all began here.  I designed these to incorporate my favorite damask wall pattern. The paper band reads, 'Siete invitati ad un matrimonio!' (You're invited to a wedding!-in Italian)

Our wedding was held at the Historic Weinberg Theater in Frederick, MD.

Movie Poster: Using a photograph taken by our photographers, www.MariaVicenciophoto.com, I designed a large scale poster to hang in the theater lobby.

Ceremony Decor:  Simple hand painted signs. L-O-V-E (a la Martha Stewart) painted on foam board using the same font from the invitations hung across the stage from a thin wire.

Programs: I got to put my old graphic design skills to work.  The programs were printed on yellow linen card stock and designed to resemble a giant movie ticket.  The ceremony was listed as follows:  

Act One: "I Do"

Act Two: "Cocktail Hour in the Lobby"

Act Three: "Eat, Drink, and Be Married!"

The Attire:  We can't talk wedding and not talk about the dress.  I was able to design this dress along with Holly Kristin of U Design by HK.  The top was light pink with a large antique brooch.  In my hair I wore a comb by Brenda's Bridal Veils from Etsy.com.  The girls wore vintage style dresses and the guys were in charcoal gray tuxes. The groom's pants were pin-striped!

The men's boutonnieres were made using ribbon and metal brads.

The flowers:  We kept costs down by using carnations from Costco.  Tight bundles with roses and eucalyptus were used for bridesmaids' bouquets.  The bridal bouquet was made by En Masse in Frederick. 

Onto the Party!: Tissue paper pom poms were made in advance and hung from all over the reception room.

The centerpieces:  These were made by cutting and painting wooden trivets.  Two styles were used.  Half of the centerpieces were made with spray painted baby formula cans (thanks to my growing niece) and the other half with pasta sauce jars.  They were all filled with white carnations and featured a printed paper band.

Backdrops: 'Love is Sweet' was hand-painted and hung behind our candy buffet.  Notice the scalloped valance on top!

The same damask print and font from the invitation were used to make a 6ftx7ft paper backdrop that hung behind the head table.

The same element was used for the back drop to the cake table.

And now for the fun stuff!:  I made a carnival style head cut-out for our wedding.  It is painted on canvas and stretched onto a wood frame.  And yes, it is a painted replica of my dress!  Guests were taking pictures all night!

Details:  We made luminary bags with white paper bags, gold doilies, glue, and a scalloped cutter.  Another nod to Martha.

I made this 1920's inspired 'box car' using foam board, paint, duct tape, Velcro, and ribbon.  For the lights I simply found stick on tap lights and painted the rims silver.  The back read 'Just Married' complete with break lights.  We used this car for our grand entrance and our last song of the evening.

Here you get a glimpse of a custom designed vinyl floor installation by my good friends at Access Media Lab.www.accessmedialab.net

What a great night!