Will you be my Bridesmaid?

Will You Be My Bridesmaid?? -First Part of the Invitation Series

What's a party without an invite?! To me, an invitation is the first glimpse your guests have into what your party is all about and how much fun is inevitably to be had. So my thought was why not put the same love and DIY into our own wedding celebration? Through this whole wedding DIY process I have found a new passion for creating and putting together all things invite.

The first type of invitation I created for the wedding was my "Will you be my Bridesmaid?" Invite Packets. I actually sent these out last December and thankfully took pictures of the process so I can share.

I originally got the idea from one of my favorite bloggers, Elise Blaha. Her DIY wedding stuff is to die for. 

I started by creating the "Will you be my Bridesmaid (Maid of Honor)?" cards on Word using a clip art of a diamond ring as the "o" in the you. Then I added (There's cake in it for you too!) at the bottom. As you can tell, I am not the most tech savvy person by any means but I do enough to get along. So if you can work Publisher or Photoshop or some other creative program like a boss, more power to you! 

Next, I went to Lowe's and grabbed paint swatches in all of the colors I am planning on using as the color scheme for all things wedding. The jade green is the color of the girls' dresses, the sea foam green is the color of the guys' ties, and the pinks and peaches are the flower colors. I then glued them together so that they formed one combined color palette. 

The four insert cards ended up being the perfect sizes to form a graded effect so I just alternated the paper colors which ended up being the perfect colors I needed (Who would have thought they would have jade green and a sea foam together?!)

On the first largest card I labelled it "Attire" and gave the girls a brief idea of what I was thinking of for the dresses, their shoes, hair, and makeup. Obviously, this was early on in the wedding planning process so I didn't have the dresses picked out yet but I gave them an idea of the price I was looking at and colors, etc.

The second largest card was the "Expectations" card. It sounds much more harsh than it was. Basically, I gave them the dates and location of the Wedding and Rehearsal dinner and then let them know that any of the other parties they could attend would be optional if they could.

The third card which I didn't post the picture of included each of the girls' contact information (phone numbers, emails, addresses, etc) so they could all contact each other if need be. 

Finally, the smallest card, the "I Promise" card, was the first card they read and started off by saying "I promise not to turn into a bridezilla..." It was meant to be light hearted and let them know that I am excited for them to each be a part of mine and B's big day. 

The final touch was the packaging. I twined up the packet of info and shipped them off in larger sized envelopes with washi tape on the outside saying "Will you be.." to add to the suspense of the package. 

Overall, I think the Bridesmaid packets were a HIT! The girls loved them and as cute as they were I think the functionality of them is what makes them so great. Accepting to be a bridesmaid is a big venture and I wanted them to know that I understood that and wanted to include them as much as possible. 

Overall, I think these peppy proposals cost me about $10 for the paper, twine, and envelopes.

Did you know these kind Bridesmaids cards are being sold all over the DIY wedding websites for big bucks?! Who knew you could create your own for so CHEAP! 

***Be Sure to Check Out My New DIY Wedding Tab!***

I will frequently update it with all of my wedding projects and links to the tutorials!

Enjoy! Make your own happy!

Peace, 
Allison 

The New Sneaker Theory (Or So I Thought) & Goals for August

Two weeks ago, I bought a new pair of sneakers. Enter, the New Sneaker Theory. By convincing myself to buy this lovely new pair of sneakers that you see below, I also convinced myself that this purchase was going to motivate me to actually start running again. I cannot be the only one that does this! Come on ladies, am I not right?? Doesn't a new set of gym shorts or a beautiful bright colored pair of Nikes make you think that by buying them it is going to help you achieve the goal of getting back in shape? 

...And my theory worked! ...For one day... Until, after going to the gym one afternoon on a day off, I have not returned since. So, my theory FAILED! At least, so far. Here I am less than 60 days from my wedding and I have gone to the gym no more than two times since I graduated from the academy at the end of May. Did I mention I had gotten in great shape by running at least 3 times a week in the academy? And now I have been sitting on the couch the last two months, gorging all my favorite goodies, and avoiding the gym at all costs ever since.

So now I'm going to try and become accountable for my lack of activity and sheer laziness by setting goals for you all (or shall I say y'all for my southerners) to read! I haven't really posted anything other than DIY on my blog yet so I thought this would be a great way to slide on in to blogging about my life as well. 

Here are my personal goals for August:

-Start running at least 3 times a week

-Figure out our wedding ceremony/ readings

-Enjoy my Bridal Shower (Like seriously, let down and ENJOY it!)

-Start reading again (Instead of aimlessly surfing the internet or watching TV)

-Make one meal I have never made (Which could basically be anything seeing as I am an AWFUL cook. I need to become a good housewife, right?? 60 days is not enough time for me, sadly)

These last 8 months have been some of the most stressful, overwhelming, emotional and exciting months of my life. From starting a new job that requires a LOT of training, to planning a wedding (while in the academy no less), to buying a house, I am still trying to find my NORMAL here in SC. I am hoping once the wedding comes and goes (even though I am so, SO EXCITED for it) I will finally be able to let my hair down and ENJOY my life for all of the blessings I know I have taken for granted these last few hectic months.

On a positive note, I have finally made headway at work and am finally done with the "training" part, although I will be learning as I go for quite a while! So cheers on moving forward!

Peace, 

Allison