Wedding on a Budget: Painted Bottle Centerpieces

I swear, Matt and I should just change the theme of our wedding from "country chic" to "Pinterest," because that is where ALL of my ideas have come from.  I knew from the get-go that I wanted to have a DIY wedding for a couple different reasons.  First, because it would be much cheaper than buying and/or renting decor.  Secondly, because I just love doing crafty projects and this gives me a really good excuse to do them!  And finally, because (as I've said many times before) I can make my wedding exactly what I want it to be.

My first project that I took on was possibly the simplest: the centerpieces.  I found a photo of glass bottles that had been painted - on the inside.  I loved the look.  It was clean and simple with a pop of color.  And, with the paint on the inside of the bottle instead of the outside, it looks much more elegant and less "crafty."  You'll be much less likely to scratch or chip the paint when it is on the inside of the bottle.  But, be careful, because the paint is water-based, you cannot put flowers directly into the bottle (unless you want the paint to dissolve away!).  If you'd like to fill the jars/bottles with flowers, I'd recommend putting a small cup of water into the jar/bottle first so that the water doesn't touch the paint.

I enlisted the help of my friends and family members on this one.  I sent out a request via Facebook that all my friends and family members would save any clear glass jars or bottles that they may have and give them to me to be "recycled."  As a result of this request, I got tons of unique glass items of all shapes and sizes - liquor bottles, jelly jars, pickle jars, mason jars, beer bottles, salsa jars, and many many more.  This made my inner environmentalist feel really good about keeping these items out of the landfills!

For this project you will need:

• acrylic paint - use a few different colors or even mix a couple colors in one jar and make it marbled/swirled.
• something for the paint to drip into while drying (I used plastic cups and an empty pizza box!)
• CLEAN glass bottles and/or jars of all shapes and sizes.
• Patience!!
• Small sized paintbrush (that could fit inside the top of the jar/bottle)

You want to start off with clean, dry glassware.  Dirty or wet glass will not hold the paint and it will come right off.  Pour a bit of paint into the jar/bottle being careful to not get it everywhere!  Depending on the size of of the jar, you'll want to have about 1/2 an inch of paint in the bottom for a medium sized jar.  Cover all of the inside with paint by slowly tilting the jar around until all clear sides are covered (this is where the patience comes in!).  Once most of the jar has been covered, use the small paintbrush to touch up any parts that are missing color, especially right inside the mouth/neck of the container.  Leave the bottle/jar to dry upside down until you think the majority of the extra paint has dripped out (I left mine overnight).  After most of the excess paint has dripped out, turn the bottle right side up and let dry completely.  I'd recommend leaving them overnight once more.  Once dry you can clean up the paint around the mouth of the container by simply scratching it off with your fingernail.

Because I'm only using these items for a wedding and not as part of permanent home decor, I did not use enamel paint for glass.  The enamel paint is more "permanent" on glass and is harder to chip away once you've set it.  Because the enamel paint is thicker, I had a harder time getting it to swirl around in the bottle.  Because of this, I used regular acrylic paint as I'm not worried about the paint being "permanent" - it only needs to hold until the wedding is over!

As I said, I'm going to be using these bottles as part of the centerpieces for the reception.  They'll be grouped together with some "slices" of wood, somewhat like the photo below (photo credit: here).  I can't wait to show you all the finished product!  Be sure to check back in a couple months to see the photos of the wedding decorations in all their glory!

A really fun thing to do with this project is add two or three different colors to the jars.  To do this, add paint in a few different colors to the jar and swirl them around to create a marbling effect.  My grandmother and I did this with clear Christmas ball ornaments when I was a kid and they were gorgeous!

Happy painting!

-C

Wedding on a Budget: Getting Organized

I'm sure there are plenty of people in the world who don't care about having things organized.  They're totally fine with things being in piles here or there or just setting things down wherever.  I am not one of those people.  Don't get me wrong, I do have a messy side - especially when it comes to clothes (mine are all over the place) and dishes (I hate doing them).  But, I like to know where things are when I need them.  And, with something as important as the wedding, I have to be organized.

That's why I created my wedding binder.  It keeps all the info I need in one place and is easily put into my laptop bag or backpack and taken along with me when I need it.  If I need a phone number for the venue's building manager or the DJ's, or need to confirm the date of a fitting or hair trial run, I have it right there at my fingertips.  No matter how badly I stress, even on the big day, all the information will be right there in one place easy for anyone to find - even if I'm busy doing something else.

I created custom printable pages - I love making custom organization printables which you will see more of (someday when I find the time) in my home management binder and kitchen organization binder.  I made a contact sheet for the wedding party for my binder and will also distribute copies to each of the party members the week before the big day.  I also included monthly calendars for each month leading up to the wedding to keep track of meetings, due dates, and appointments.

I have a very specific vision of how I want the venue to look for both the ceremony and the reception.  I've had friends and family who are helping out ask me, "how many centerpieces do you need?" or "where is the DJ going to set up?"  I addressed these questions by drawing out very rough sketches of my ideas (Don't judge me - I'm no artist!  Even stick people are a challenge for me!).  Because we're having the reception and ceremony in the same venue, we have a very special challenge ahead of us.  During dinner, while the guests are downstairs eating, drinking, and being merry, the upstairs (where the ceremony was held) will need to be transformed into a dance floor with a few seats, as well as having the DJ set up.  This is one of the biggest reasons why I made the sketches - so someone else can see my idea and carry it out while I'm enjoying newly wedded bliss.

I printed out copies of the invitations (I personally designed, printed, and trimmed each one), our wedding app posters (that'll be another post...), and the program and added them to the book for color and style comparisons (and also just to show them off a bit - I'm really very proud that I designed them all myself).  My binder is also home to a simple pocket folder and a spiral notebook.  The folder stores any and all vendor worksheets and receipts.  I like to keep the spiral notebook with everything else in case I need to jot down a few notes and am away from my computer.  Of course the binder, notebook, and folder are all in our wedding colors.  As well as being organized, I like to color coordinate.

I'll be adding to the binder as time goes on and I find more information that I'll need to keep track of.  One thing that I know I'm going to make and add to the binder: a day of itinerary, which I will (again) distribute to all VIP's a couple days before the wedding.  How did you organize your wedding planning ideas?  What would you suggest that I add to my wedding binder?  I love hearing from you - let me know your ideas in the comments!

-C

Wedding on a Budget: The Beginning!

Maybe you know, maybe you don't, but Matt and I will be getting married this coming fall.  This is one of the main reasons that I haven't been posting anything in a while: I've just been so busy.  Planning a wedding (in under 6 months might I add) plus trying to finish up my degree (I'll graduate one week before the wedding) and working my awesome internship have left me with very little time to spare.  But, my crazy life can be your inspiration! I'm going to be presenting a wedding planning series called Wedding on a Budget (super catchy title, huh?).  I'll be sharing with you how I put together a fabulous wedding on a tight budget.

The first thought that came to my mind when we decided that we were finally going to plan a wedding for this year was: "where do I start?"  I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of decisions I had to make.  Thus, being the nerdy girl I am, I took to Google and searched high and low for something that would help keep me on track and remind me of what needed to be done and when.  That's when I found The Knot.  This site has been a lifesaver to me.  It includes several planning tools such as a budgeter, guest list manager, and a checklist, all of which are accessible for free just for signing up on the site.  The checklist has been the best tool I have encountered for it's purpose.  It provides a timeline of "to do" items for planning a wedding so you won't forget a thing.  It's even customizable - you can delete tasks that you don't need and add custom tasks that aren't already included.  It has really kept me on track and on budget.

Speaking of budget - ours is small.  We've been cutting costs by doing a lot of things ourselves or with the help of our amazing and generous friends and family.  Most of the decorations are DIY projects that I'm working on myself, with the help of lots of other crafty ladies that love me!  The food is going to be home-made, cutting out the expense for catering.  The reception and ceremony will be held at the same place, eliminating the costs of bridal party transportation and a second rental fee on another venue.  We've had to come up with plenty of creative ways to conserve cash while planning this wedding, but I firmly believe that my wedding isn't going to be any less fabulous than even the most extravagant or big-budget weddings - I've just had to think out-of-the-box.

I'm so excited to share my journey with all of you.  I'll be posting about all sorts of topics throughout my planning process - including tutorials for some of my crafty decoration projects and recipes that I'm using - as well as posting more often.

-C