Unique Bridesmaid Jewelry
Even though most brides have stopped forcing their attendants into hideous gowns that, honestly, nobody ever “could wear again”, being a bridesmaid is not an easy job. After months of planning, shopping and providing a shoulder to cry on, they deserve something special.
Sure, you can go out and buy jewelry for your bridesmaids – there is absolutely nothing wrong with that – but if you have the time, making something yourself really adds a special touch. And if you’ve never put together necklaces or bracelets before, don’t worry – it’s really easy, and there are shops and classes all over the country where you can learn.
If you decide to order your supplies online, or from a catalog, it’s a good idea to order one strand or piece of the items you are considering using before placing your entire order. There are many, many sites that sell beads and findings and quality can vary quite a bit. I have ordered stones that looked fabulous online, only to receive pieces of such inferior quality that I wouldn’t use them for anything.
One of my favorite suppliers is Jess Imports, an online store with stunning clasps and pendants. Some of their pieces are a bit pricey, but worth every penny (and don’t forget to check out their bargain bin – you can find great deals there). Another is Beads and Pieces, especially for wood, horn, brass and shell pieces. Beadworks is another dependable seller, and they also have stores all over the US.
Make sure you check the measurements of each piece as well before ordering – take out a ruler and draw a rough image of the items on a piece of paper in the dimensions specified. Sometimes, a pendant can look just right on screen, but when you get it, it’s humongous.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your bridesmaids don’t all have to get identical gifts. One cute way to personalize the jewelry is to include each bridesmaid’s birthstone, favorite gemstone, or perhaps a photo of you and her from a memorable occasion in a locket. And think outside the box: pearls are traditional of course, but out of all my jewelry, what I find myself going back to again and again are simple 20”, brown leather cord necklaces with cute pendants. They look great with jeans and are super easy to make. Since the cord and clasp are inexpensive, you can splurge on a pendant of precious stones. And if leather isn’t your bridesmaid’s style, she can just put the pendant on a different chain.
To add a personal touch to the packaging, get high-quality, but inexpensive, gift boxes at places like Paper Source or the Container Store and paint, draw or use rubber stamps to jazz them up and make them unique. One thing I like to do is to get tiny metal frames – the kind they sell for scrap booking – and put on the lid with a photo underneath.
Filed under The Wedding Party | Comment (0)6 Ideas For Giving Your Printable Wedding Invitations A Unique Look
With so many great looking invitation choices, how do you make yours a standout? Below are a few ideas.
1. Wordle
For a very different look, use Wordle to turn your invitation into a “word cloud”. Just type in your text and watch the magic happen. To make the cloud to the right, I typed in some classic wedding invite lingo, hit go, and voila! Once your text appears as a cloud, you can play around with colors, fonts and layout. For some of the words to appear in larger font, type them in several times (I typed wedding, Justin and Susan four times each, and June and 14 three times). Once I was happy with the cloud, I did a “print screen” (Ctrl+Print Screen on a PC; Apple+Shift+4 on a Mac) and saved it as a jpg. Personally, I would probably use this only as a fun design element, and have the text in an easier-to-understand format somewhere else on the invitation as well. While your 15-year old nephew will most certainly get the message from the cloud, your great aunt may not.
2. Silhouettes
Before the invention of cameras, silhouettes were extremely popular, both in the US and Europe, and talented silhouette artists created portraits of their customers by cutting their profile out of paper with scissors. Once cameras appeared, silhouettes sadly went out of fashion. But they are regaining their popularity and luckily, there are still a few silhouette artists out there who can create custom silhouettes of you, your pets and anything else you’d want. How about wedding invitations with the silhouettes of the two of you? Super cute! Some artists also offer to come to your wedding (or other event) and cut silhouettes of your family and guests.
3. Print your invitation on something other than paper. How about sending out custom printed T-shirts, Frisbees, post-it notes or baseball caps? They can be very affordable, and people are sure to remember them.
4. For very informal invites, take a bunch of Polaroid photos (of the two of you, the location of the wedding, or anything you want) and write the details (by hand) on the white bar on the bottom.
5. Send out bags of printable M&Ms with your names and wedding date printed on them. This works best as a Save-the-Date, since you can’t fit the entire invitation on the tiny candies.
6. DVD Invitations. Sending out your invitations as mini-movies on DVDs allows you to get really creative – acting, singing, or if the thought of that makes you cringe, maybe just the two of you telling your guests about how you met, and/or about the wedding. Include footage of the church, reception hall, and perhaps recommended hotels, etc.
This is just a short list to get your imagination going – there are so many fun possibilities when it comes to making your invitation something very unique, one that people will remember and talk about for years to come. Don’t limit yourself by going with the traditional kind: have fun exploring the alternatives!
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