DIY Personalized Hangers

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and create personalized hangers for all the female wedding party members and VIPs (our moms). To those of you that are unfamiliar with the concept, personalized hangers appear to be a new trend among brides, and, from what I can tell, are fairly popular on wedding blogs and message boards. I surfed around on the internet a bit for inspiration, and then I decided to attempt my own. I did not use any specific set of directions, it was more of a situation where I saw a picture and decided "I can do that!" Unfortunately, I was a bad blogger, and I did not take pictures of the process this time. I apologize about that, but in exchange, I will provide some of my best tips. If you still need help, feel free to either comment to this post, or, just google "personalize hangers" and you should get a fair amount of directions. I promise, these are a lot easier to make than they look.

You will need:

• 12 gauge florist wire (I got mine in the floral department at Joann Fabrics)
• Wooden shirt hangers, you want the ones that do NOT have the wooden dowel across the bottom. I got mine at Wal-Mart, five for $4.00
• Wire cutters
• Pliers
• Drill, with a bit that is just larger than the wire
• White glue
• Ribbon, or other embellishments to decorate the hangers

What you do:

1. Using a hanger as a template, bend the wire into the shapes of names. Make sure to leave about six inches of wire at the beginning so that you can center your wire in the hanger. Also, do not cut the wire until you are done shaping the name. Shorter names use less wire than longer names, and there is really no good way to estimate how much wire you will need. I opted to use cursive because the letters naturally flow together. Use the pliers to "crimp" the wire together. I did not use a pattern to shape the letters, I just sort of went with it. Just make sure to periodically compare the wire to the hanger to ensure that the name will fit inside the hanger.
2. Cut the wire once the name is shaped, again leaving a few inches on the end so that you can center the name inside the hanger.
3. Bend the wire in a 90 degree angle (L shape) on either side of the name, such that it will fit inside the hanger and be centered. Mark on the hanger where the wire meets the hanger. Trim the ends of the wire as necessary.
4. Drill holes on either side of the hanger, from the bottom. 
5. Put a drop of white glue inside each hole before popping in the wire. 
6. Shape the name until you achieve your desired look, then lay the hanger flat to allow the glue to dry.
7. Decorate the hanger with ribbons as desired.

Our Colors

About a year ago, when Tom and I first started planning our wedding, we were still in Kansas City, and we were looking at getting married in a rose garden. We were going to have an evening event with the theme "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and we wanted our colors to be dark purple, silver, and black. Then we moved to Maine. Our ceremony went from evening to afternoon, and our rose garden turned into a Civil War era fort surrounded by ocean. Things needed to change. The funny thing is, we never sat back down and discussed a theme or colors, they just sort of, happened.



I should begin by saying that Tom and I both like purple. It's our favorite color. Tom is a bit more subtle with his love for the color, I'm borderline obsessed. So, purple was a given as one of our wedding colors. That being said, the first change I made was to the shade of purple that we would be using. Our wedding ceremony is taking place at 4 in the afternoon. I did not think that a dark purple would be appropriate for attire at that time of day, but I did not want a pastel. I took some inspiration from our venue, and decided to look for a "washed out" or "weathered" purple. I came up with a color that Alfred Angelo calls "Victorian lilac." I went dress shopping with my mom a couple weeks later and saw "Victorian lilac" in person, and fell in love. Speaking of dress shopping, that is where another color came from, ivory. I thought I wanted a white dress, but ivory just looks better with my skin tone. Subsequently, everything else that would have been white has been changed to ivory, and it is also the color of the majority of our stationary.

Celadon green became an accent color after I met with the florist and discovered green hydrangeas. I love the coloring, they are in season in September, and they compliment lavender roses nicely. We chose celadon because it fits in with our "washed out" or "weathered" palette. We also have brushed silver as an accent color for things like our cake topper and serving set, which more or less carried over from our original wedding colors. As for the dark purple, the color I was originally trying to steer away from, it sort of snuck back in, as an accent color. At first I was concerned about having two different shades of purple, but I think they compliment nicely.

What colors are you using for your wedding?

Another DIY Project in the Works

I've been busy with my newest project. What is it you ask? You will have to wait and see. It's not a wedding gown, I'll tell you that much. It is definitely wearable, and ivory. It is also the most ambitious project I have taken on so far. I just hope I can pull it off.  Stay tuned!

Seven Months!

Seven months from today, I will be Mrs. Tomslastname. The whole day is really starting to materialize, and I'm getting to the point that I just want 9.10.11 to be here. We are ready.

This month has proven to be very productive, we sent in the deposits and contracts for the dj and the classical guitarist for the ceremony. This was huge, because not only do we now have music for our big day, we also have all of our major vendors booked. The other major accomplishment is in the area of attire. I finally ordered my dress! Now it is just a matter of waiting 12-18 weeks for it to get here. We also got the remainder of our save-the-date magnets sent out in mid-January.

On the DIY front, I finished up my veil, which I still need to take pictures of. I have also been working on some other projects, but more on those later.

On a personal note, Tom and I celebrated our 1-year engagement anniversary, if that even exists. On the 15th we'll be celebrating two years as a couple. It nearly brings tears to my eyes to think that at this time next year, we'll be husband and wife.

My goals for next month are rather simple, to finish collecting measurements and deposits from my girls so that I can order the bridesmaids dresses, to continue working on the request lists for our DJ, to reserve chairs and things for the ceremony from a rental company, to finalize our ceremony and send it out to our officiants, and to work on any DIY projects that I come up with.

Our Engagement Story

February 8, 2010 was kind of a big deal for me an Tom. It was the day that Tom proposed, and I said yes. I realized that I had not yet shared our engagement story, so I figured today would be a good opportunity to do so.

I knew that something was up when Tom texted me at work one night in the middle of January, 2010. He flat out asked me what size ring I wore. I responded back, "which one?" and he answered, "the one that counts." So I knew that he was, at the very least, ring shopping. He later texted me to inform me that we had dinner reservations for the Wednesday night before Valentine's Day, and that I needed to wear something nice. I immediately put two and two together and got all excited. I thought that Tom was going to propose at the restaurant.

That night, I picked Tom up from work, and started asking questions about the ring. Tom immediately put a damper on everything. He told me that he was looking at rings, but that he wanted to wait a bit before proposing. I asked him a couple more times over the course of the month, and he was adamant that he was not buying me a ring yet. I started to believe him, but in the back of my mind, I was holding out for our Valentine's date. I should also add that during the month of January, Tom and I bought a car together. It was our first major purchase as a couple.

A couple weeks later, it was the week of our big date. Tom and I both worked Thursday-Monday, and were off on Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday night, I was at work, and slightly excited about my upcoming "weekend" and our date. Tom called me, and told me that he was really concerned about black ice on the roads. He insisted on picking me up from work. I am a Maine girl, black ice does not scare me, so I told him that I would be fine. Several hours later, I was making arrangements with my supervisor to leave work an hour early so that Tom could pick me up.

Once I got outside, the first thing I noticed was that there was no black ice in the parking lot. I walked over to Tom, in our new car, and mentioned that to him as I got into the passenger seat. Tom made a comment about how the ice was worse closer to our apartment. He then asked me to get something out of the center console so that we could "listen to music on the way home." Apparently, my ring was in the console, but I somehow missed it. Once we got closer to home, we stopped at a local convenience store and Tom asked me to run inside to get us a couple drinks. We do this all the time, and I did not think anything of it, so I went in. I got back to the car with two drinks, and attempted to put my drink in the cup holder, but it did not fit. Tom asked me if something was in the way, so I reached down, and found a black velvet box. Tom asked me to open it, and I did. From the street lights, I could see a gorgeous three-stone diamond ring. Tom looked me in the eyes and said, "You already know the question that I am going to ask you, I just hope that you say yes." Of course, I said yes and slipped the ring on my finger. I then commenced to giggle maniacally and bounce around in my seat. I was more than a little excited.

Once we got back to our apartment, I wanted to start calling everyone, only, it was 11 o'clock at night. I made due by calling my sister and texting everyone else a picture of my ring and the message "I said yes!." The next day was spent calling friends and family and sharing the good news. We also had an informal "engagement party" in that we invited a bunch of our friends over for to play Rockband.

That Wednesday, Tom and I went out for our fancy dinner to celebrate our engagement. He took me to an Argentinian restaurant that was up on a hill overlooking the Kansas City skyline. I wish I could say I enjoyed the view, but I was much too busy staring at the sparkly ring on my hand, and my handsome fiancé across the table.

That was a year ago, and our wedding seemed so far off. Here we are now, the wedding is just shy of 7 months away and we are in the middle of planning. I still feel like the luckiest girl on earth.

Marriage: The End of MY and the Beginning of OUR

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I hate pink weddings. Fuchsia? I'm okay with that, especially when paired with orange. I can even deal with pink being used as an accent color, but when the primary color of the wedding is a soft, pastel pink it drives me nuts. Maybe I'm just silly, but when I go to a wedding and the groomsmen are wearing soft pink vests/ties, I just get this image in my head of a bride-to-be standing over her fiancé and informing him that she likes pink and the groomsmen will survive if they wear it for one day. Seriously, what kind of guy willingly wears soft pink?  Maybe my issue with pink weddings has less to do with the color and more to do with how the media tries portray things.

Watch a wedding show on TV, just pick one. I can guarantee you that at some point during the 30 minute show you will hear the lines "do what you want, it's YOUR day!" There just seems to be this mindset going around that weddings are all about the bride. Yes, the bride gets to wear the big fancy dress, but last I checked, weddings require a groom (or second bride, or two grooms!) too. A vital part of a healthy marriage is the ability to compromise, to learn how to be flexible, and meet each other half way. The wedding should reflect this as well. After all, if a couple can not find compromise in the year or so that they are planning their wedding, how are they supposed to get through the next fifty years or so of life? 

The wedding should be a celebration and representation of the couple. The groom should have equal say as the bride in all aspects of wedding planning. If a bride's favorite color is pastel pink and she would like her bridesmaids to wear that color, go for it, but that bride should also allow her groom to choose something that he likes, in a color he likes, for his groomsmen to wear. The same goes for decor and every other little detail. My fiancé could care less about what flowers we have, or what the centerpieces look like, but he wanted to have significant input on the music, food, and cake, he also chose exactly what he and the groomsmen would be wearing. In the end, we are creating a wedding that we are both happy with.

I Finally Did It

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I interrupt this seemingly regularly scheduled snow storm for an important announcement. I ordered my dress. The dress. It should be at the bridal shop in between 12 and 18 weeks Alfred Angelo style 2086 in ivory with Victorian lilac trim. To say that I'm excited would be a bit of an understatement. The picture to the left does not do the dress justice. The jewels, the metallic embroidery, the flow, I love it.

I have been wanting to order my dress since Thanksgiving, but one thing after another came up and prevented me from doing so. Life does that. Fortunately, as Tom keeps telling me, everything works out in the end. I asked the seamstress back in November when I would have to have the dress ordered in order to have the alterations done in time. She told me the end of February. Tom and I then made it our goal to have the deposit by the end of January. Last week, my mom found out that she would be finished work an hour and a half early on Friday. We decided to use the extra time to our advantage and headed to the bridal shop to order my dress. I was ready. I had my purple shoes, my long-line bra, and my handmade veil in tow. We got to the bridal shop, and several minutes later they were lacing me into my dress.

No veil, but this is me in the sample of my dress

Did I mention that I made my veil? Ivory, bridal illusion, single-tiered and cathedral length. I put it together one evening. It is really quite simple to do. My goal was to have a veil that extended just beyond the train of my dress. When I tried the veil on at home, it seemed way too long, but I wanted to try it on with my dress before adjusting the length. Good thing I waited. The seamstress had my put my veil on, and it only needed to be trimmed a couple of inches. Then to my surprise, the seamstress pulled out a pair of scissors and trimmed my veil to perfectly match the curve of my dress. I was really impressed with her willingness to go above and beyond. I also appreciated the opportunity to see myself in my veil and dress. I wish I took a picture, but I guess everyone will just have to wait until my dress comes in. I'll post some pictures of just my veil in a later post. ;)

Anyways, I also want to thank everyone for the kind comments to my previous post. I am going to start allowing my personality, and life, to come out a bit in my posts. I will also continue to post my DIY projects as they come up.

Until next time!

A Couple of Changes Around Here

When I first started blogging about Tom and my upcoming wedding, my intention was to help other brides with my budget solutions and DIY projects. This all worked out well until a couple of weeks ago when I realized that I am almost done my DIY projects, all of my vendors are booked, and I have little to write about for the next seven and a half months. That's no fun. I also realized that I was missing out on the whole point of blogging, the entire journaling process. I've documented what I've made and what I've purchased, but I have done little to explain how I've felt through the entire process. I think I've been a bit too candid, so I am going to start being more open about things. I am going to use this blog as my sounding board, to tell my story. Now is a perfect time to start telling the story because Tom and I's anniversary is coming up in about two weeks. At the same time, as they come up, I will continue to share my projects and any milestones with the wedding. I promise.

In my efforts to be less candid, there is one major thing that I need to get off of my chest. This is not my first wedding. It's my second. It's Tom's first. Yes, I am having a big wedding for the second time around, and this is why. I was first married in 2002, I was about two weeks shy of my 21st birthday. I was young and stupid. I got married because I thought I fell in love. I was one of those girls that never had a boyfriend in high school, so once I finally got one, I wanted to hold on and never let go. Big mistake. I ended up marrying a scam artist that was also emotionally and physically abusive. After six years of screaming matches, arguments, and lies, he finally left me in 2008 for a new target. I was heartbroken, but quickly realized that I was given a chance to start over. I took a couple of months for me and re-grounded myself, then I moved on. Tom and I have been close friends forever, he served as a confident throughout my marriage, and after giving me significant time to heal, he asked me to be his. After a year of dating, he proposed, and after a 19 month engagement we will be exchanging vows. I took my time this time around.

I would be lying if I said that my first marriage has no effect on the second one. It does. I'm cautious this time, and I've learned that relationships require patience and compromise. I've learned that it takes two people to have an argument, and that each are responsible for it, regardless of how one-sided an argument may seem. My relationship with Tom is a healthy one, my first marriage was not. It's funny because family and friends have actually commented that I look happy. I definitely feel happier.

Aside from the emotional influences, my first marriage also plays a significant role in the planning of my second one. My first marriage took place in a Catholic church and various details were chosen to please my family. This time, Tom and I are planning our day, although, we are remembering our guests too. When planning my first marriage, I tried to include everything that I thought were supposed to be part of a wedding: expensive invitations, floral centerpieces, limos, etc. and I got really upset if I could not have it, almost as though it would make the wedding less valid. This time around, my mantra is "at the end of the day Tom and I will be husband and wife." We are skipping out on the limo, I'm making my invitations and wedding stationary, and our centerpieces are something that I am putting together as well. Our marriage will be no less valid because of it.

I know that it is not traditional to have a huge wedding the second time around, but I am not a traditional kind of person. I don't want my memories of my wedding day to be with an abusive jerk. I want my memories to be of the day that Tom and I proclaimed our love in front of our families and friends. That is exactly what it will be.

Reception Music

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Every couple has one or two things that they give special attention to when it comes to planning a wedding. For Tom and I, we have two major focuses: food and music. Food has obvious reasons, we wanted to give everyone a good meal. Good music is much more personal. When we selected our ceremony music, I discussed how important music is to me, specifically instrumental music. As we begin to choose our reception music, it's time to discuss the importance of music for us.

Tom and I are both into the music scene. Tom has been to countless concerts, I was a DJ for my college radio station. We both have iPods that are full of music, and have turned to music to help up through some of the more difficult points in our lives. Some of our earliest conversations were about bands that we like, there is a lot of overlap. 

While definitely one of my favorite parts of wedding planning, I mean, who doesn't love blasting music off of youtube? Choosing the reception music is also proving to be one of the more difficult aspects of planning. Music plays a major roll in setting the tone of a space. Just think of the last movie you watched, music plays a huge roll. When I originally hired a DJ for the reception, I was only thinking of the dancing portion of the reception. I completely forgot about the cocktail hour and dinner portions, which also require appropriate music as a backdrop. 

As far as the dancing portion of the reception goes, our wedding has taken on a classic feel. Nothing too trendy (minus my purple shoes), just a classic, timeless wedding. We want our evening music to fit right in. We are trying to avoid most music that was released this millennium, although some newer pieces might  make it in. The music we have selected so far are classic rock pieces from the 70's, a little bit of funk, a little bit of 80's, and the occasional ballad because, well, this is a wedding. As far as dinner and cocktail hour go, our feelings change by the hour. Good thing we have 8 months to go. 

What type of music did you play at your reception? 

Inventing our Own Save-the-Date Etiquette

Tom and I reached a bit of a milestone with our wedding planning on Friday by sending out the save-the-dates, and so far we have gotten a bit of mixed reviews. My future mother-in-law likes the magnet, but keeps telling us that she has never heard of save-the-dates before. Several of our friends have thanked us for the invitation, and others have complimented us for the magnets and "being on top of things" by setting up hotel blocks. I am amused by the mixed reviews, and I would be lying if I said that I did not expect them. Save-the-dates are a new trend. I remember the first time I saw one, I was at a friend's apartment and she had two of them stuck to her refrigerator. I thought to myself, "what a good idea!" and filed it somewhere in my brain. When Tom and I first got engaged, it was the save-the-date magnets that I first started looking at before anything else. When our wedding moved from Missouri to Maine, which subsequently meant that the majority of our guest list would now be coming from out of state, save-the-dates went from being something fun to something necessary. 

In terms of wedding stationary, save-the-dates are definitely the new kid and they are still largely viewed as optional. Due to their novelty, there is very little established etiquette. Save-the-dates did not exist when Emily Post literally wrote the book on wedding stationary etiquette. That being said, Tom and I looked at the "rules" for wedding invitations, and "re-invented" them for our save-the-dates.

Etiquette Rules we Maintained:

• Save-the-dates were only sent to people that would later receive an invitation to the wedding
• We addressed the envelopes with formal titles (Mr., Mrs., Miss)
• We provided hotel information on the save-the-date card as well as on the wedding website. This permits guests that do not use the internet access to the hotel information.

Save-the-Date Rules that we Invented:

• We sent one save-the-date to each household, regardless if adult children lived their or not. Most households consist of one kitchen with one refrigerator. Our save-the-dates are magnets, it did not make sense to us to send multiple magnets to one household. Adult children will each receive an invitation in July. 
• We did not include guests on the envelope. We included the names of people we actually know. For example, if my cousin Beth is dating John, the envelope was addressed to Beth only. The wedding is still 8 months away, things could change between Beth and John, and we want to avoid awkward situations.
• We printed the addresses on then envelopes. The "correct" way is to write each address out by hand, but Tom and I both have horrendous handwriting. I opted to download a font that looks like handwriting. The end result was very nice looking, and legible.

So far, no complaints. We shall see if the proverbial "etiquette police" come after us.