Pin-spiration

Yes, I'm a Pinterest fan. It was a super-awesome tool for getting wedding ideas and inspiration. I found some really cool ideas that I either stole completely, or adapted to my own taste. (Yeah, when I say "stole completely" I really did make it my own, in some way, even if it was small.)

One idea I adored and managed to bring to life was a pennant banner. I saw it, loved it, and set out to make it.

There was some debating and arguing about this project with MG. He didn't understand what I meant, what I saw in my head, how cute it would turn out to be. Lucky for me, I did get my way on this one... and also lucky that he doesn't shy away from sparkles! Throughout the wedding planning process I didn't have very many clear pictures in my head or really strong feelings about how I wanted things. This was one of the few things that I could really see, and really wanted. So, I pushed for it... and I pushed hard. As I write this, it sounds so bratty that I forced to get my way. It was sort of like that, but I had also compromised or heeded to MG's ideas. In the end, he loved how the banner turned out, too.
Trust me, this wedding was not "all about me." (nor should it have been.) Anyway.. back to the fun-ness of this banner.

I found lots of ideas and similar banners on Pinterest... MG and I talked through what the banner should say, we had lots of good ideas, but settled on the traditional "Just Married". Then we set out to find paper that would match with our bright-beachy theme (and dresses). We struck gold at Michael's... finding all of the colors we wanted in shimmery glitter paper. Hooray! I set to work on the banner, and it turned out like this (us phototed with my nephew and niece):






Another thing that I had a pretty clear vision for, my hair accessory. It's a little hard to see in this photo, but I made a hair pin out of my great grandmother's broach. Last fall, I called my grandma and asked her if she had a broach I could borrow for my wedding to wear in my hair. She brought me several to choose from, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they were broaches she had gotten from her mother-in-law, my great grandma, Viola Evelyn. It meant a lot to me to have a bit of family history with me on my wedding day...obviously this was my something old.
How I made the hair pin: I took ivory colored ribbon and layered it back and forth (in a z-pattern), then I put a pin in the middle of the ribbon fan, and spun the ribbon out into a full circle. I sewed the ribbon into this flower-like position, then fastened the broach on top, and sewed a hair clip to the back. Voila! (I have more detailed images and instructions on how to do that, as that's how I made the bouttennieres too... I promise I'll get those up.)
I thought both of these arts and crafts projects turned out to be wedding-accessory successes!