You guys know I love DIY. I think it makes for a unique, highly personal celebration. On the other hand, it’s not for everyone. Some of us don’t have the time, or the inclination to do the work for ourselves. And let’s face it, there are some amongst us who simply do not have the crafting chops to get the job done right. For example:

(Image via CraftFail)
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to put up that poor mess of string at my wedding reception!

So what do you do if you love DIY but don’t have the time or the space or the talent? Why you go to people who have those things and pay them to do it for you. And that’s where Etsy comes into play.
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Once upon a time, if you mentioned an eco-friendly wedding, people tended to think of something like this:

You know, obviously hand-hewn, crunchy granola, unfashionable, and probably reeking of patchouli.

In short, even a lot of people who admired the commitment these couples made to living lightly on Mother Earth wouldn’t be caught dead in a ditch looking – or smelling – like them.

But times have changed. You don’t have to be a card-carrying hippie to care about the environment anymore. and you don’t have to completely reject both tradition and fashion to follow your convictions.
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When thinking about wedding colors, many of us tend toward pastels or deep jewel tones. Neutrals also have a strong following. But what about neon?

I know, it struck me – child of the sixties and Yellow Submarine fan though I am – as possibly a bit scary and OTT… until I saw it done right.

The key, as shown in this fabulous photo of a real wedding featured at Design Sponge, is restraint. Keep the backgrounds to stark white or black, and use the neons sparingly. Stick to just a couple colors, but don’t fear them.

As you can see here, a bright white background and carefully considered touches of neon pink, neon orange, and lime green make for a festive, fun, yet surprisingly sophisticated look.
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Sorry about yesterday. Technical difficulties. They’ve been handled, so we should be good for a while now.

(Image via Hearts and Flowers)
Flowers are usually one of the fun aspects of planning a wedding. They’re colorful, pretty, and hold special meanings for most of us.

Then again, they can be one of the most frustrating aspects of planning a wedding. They’re often expensive, and they hold those pesky meanings which might vary drastically from one person to another.

But we can all dream big. I didn’t, but then I’m sometimes a bit unusual in my tastes and priorities. My dream was simple: find pretty flowers and tie them into a simple sheaf bouquet. Oh, and I did want a couple red roses in it. Why? Because they’re the flower Mr. Twistie gives me and always has from day one. He does that because roses are literally the only flower he recognizes from one day to the next and he knows I love red.

So my MOH and I headed off to the open-to-the-public florist’s supply in my hometown, bought a bunch or two of whatever happened to be long stemmed, pretty to me, and fairly inexpensive along with a roll of florists’ tape and some corsage pins. I had some pretty red ribbon at home to tie decoratively around the sheafs at the end. And BAM! we were done.

In fact, while I’m a lot better versed at flowers than Mr. Twistie, the only blooms I recognized in my bouquet were the aforementioned roses and some lavender snapdragons. I have no clue to this day what the yellow or the pink flowers I carried were. All I know is I carried the perfect bouquet for me. It was the right shape, I thought all the flowers in it were pretty, and it had a couple red roses. If I’d had more money, I might have had someone else put them together, but I would have wanted something very similar to what I carried.

But I’m curious. What sort of flowers do/did you dream of? Will you/did you get them? What if money were no object?

Tell me all about it!

Ah, the wedding bouquet! That amazing froth of flowers! How beautiful! How charming! How… expensive.

Over the years, pretty much every wedding planning book, magazine, blog, and zine I’ve ever read has suggested using more filler and less flowers to save a couple bucks on this major accessory… but how about we just cut out the flowers altogether?

(Illustration via The Wedding Talk Blog)
Gorgeous, isn’t that? All those delicious herbs! Dry it and use the results in cooking for months to come. Talk about savings plus repurposing!
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Here at Manolo for the Brides, we’re in favor of bridal DIY. It’s a great way to save a buck or three and create an intensely personal celebration.

Whether you’re looking to make centerpieces, design and make your own veil, or coming up with handmade favors, chances are you can find inspiration and instruction somewhere on the net. So I’m going to hunt down some of the coolest ideas and clearest instructions to help you get started finding what projects are right for you.

Today, we’re talking about flowers. I’ve been looking around and I’ve discovered some fun projects that nearly anyone can do.

First up, see that picture at the top of this article? Wouldn’t those be delightful on the tabletops at a spring wedding, particularly with a Japanese theme? They’re also origami. This is the sort of project you can do over time or organize a party to play with.
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I love alternative wedding flowers, as evidenced by this post about paper bridal bouquets and this post about paper wedding flowers and this post about other alternative wedding flower options that links to even more. Flowers, I’ll admit, are beautiful but also sometimes a real pain in the rear when you’re trying to coordinate a wedding that will include traveling or extreme hot weather. DIY? Not always the best idea when it comes to real live blooms and their idiosyncrasies.

But of course, not everyone wants a bridal bouquet that very specifically is not trying to be real flowers. And some of those people don’t want to resort to tacky looking faux blossoms, either. So what’s the middle minded, possibly allergic bride-to-be who wants an alternative that’s not too alternative when it comes to her wedding flowers to do?

Here’s where I come back to paper. Specifically paper bridal bouquets and arrangements created by The Crimson Poppy. Inspired by her family’s genetic black thumb, the artisan behind the company went from 0 to expert in the paper flower realm, always striving for a realistic looking bloom that wouldn’t wilt or die. And judging by these examples, I’d say she succeeded admirably.

Pro 1: Flowers in any color you can imagine

Pro 2: Roll the cost of preservation into your bouquet

Pro 3: Nothing fussy about these flowers

Pro 4: Will survive transport and then some

Anyone out there going for wedding flower alternatives over real blossoms? What are you opting for and where are you buying it?