AlexisinJamaica's Secrets St. James 4.27.13 Planning Journal

[alexisinjamaica]

So now we are on to Etsy purchases. I spent way too much time on Etsy drooling over and purchasing things. Here's everything I've bought. I'd say "so far" except I'm out of time to order anything else.

 

- Cake topper:

 

 

- Mr. & Mrs. signs for our chairs:

 

 

 

- Tassel Garland that I'll hang on the front of our sweetheart table. I'm obsessed with this!

 

 

 

- Sash for wedding dress:

 

 

 

- Handkerchiefs for my parents. Posted about these earlier so just scroll up to page 1!

 

- Barefoot sandals for my MOH. These match her David's Bridal dress. Posted about these earlier so just scroll up to page 1!

 

I don't have all of the seller/shop info for everything near me right now, but if anyone is interested just let me know and I can look it up! Happy shopping ladies.

[alexisinjamaica]

And now here are some DIY projects I did while planning! I can't really claim that these are original ideas (except one) so I have to thank the many creative and amazing BDW brides for inspiration and tips!

 

Straws with flags:

 

 

The first time I saw these I thought they were so cute and knew I had to make some for my wedding! I went with half that have our initials and half with a cute phrase. These were fun and totally easy to make!

 

 

Fans with programs:

 

I bought these fans from another BDW bride, who conveniently had the same colors as me. Most of them were already wrapped with ribbon so I just had to purchase a bit of matching ribbon for the fans that came without. The program was a template from another BDW bride (I can share if anyone is interested, just let me know!) Here's a close-up of the program text (it's front and back.)

 

 

 

Menus:

 

 

These were a free download from WeddingChicks.com. If you haven't yet, check out their free printables section-- they have so many cute options! I just entered my menu items, chose my color and the pattern I wanted (I love anything chevron) and hit print! Here's the link to this pattern (there are options for invitations, RSVP cards, menus, escort cards and more, all in this same pattern): http://www.weddingchicks.com/freebies/invitation-suites/chevron-stripe-free-printable-wedding-invitation-suite/

 

Escort cards/tray:

 

 

The cards were another WeddingChicks.com download. Again, I just picked the pattern (same chevron as the menus so they coordinate), my colors, and typed in the names. I posted a tutorial on the tray here, but here's a hint: that's an Ikea frame that I re-purposed into an escort card tray. Super easy and cheap!! Get all the instructions here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/a/how-to-make-an-etsy-inspired-escort-card-tray

 

Table Numbers:

 

 

 

Are you sensing a theme with the chevron yet? These are the same deal as above. A free download that I used to tie everything together.

 

Thank You Sign:

 

 

 

 

 

Another WeddingChicks.com download! Here's the link: http://www.weddingchicks.com/freebies/wedding-signs-labels/poster-style-wedding-thank-you-card/ One note: I thought that some of the copy was redundant (the original version says "for sharing a day/for sharing the first day") so I removed a line in Photoshop and then just moved the text over to fill the space.

 

Cocktail Menu Sign:

 

 

Ok so for this one I used the same background/outline as the thank you sign, but I deleted all the text in the middle and wrote my own cocktail menu. These cocktail sign and thank you sign will be out during cocktail hour so I wanted them to coordinate.

 

Guestbook:

 

 

Saw this on Etsy and figured I could make it way cheaper myself. I was right and this was very easy! I bought the clear glass jar at Cost Plus for around 6 bucks, the white bucket and ribbon were from The Container Store and were about $10 together. The pens I had because I purchased a bulk order from discountmugs.com to include in OOT bags. So other than that it was paper and a frame! Here's the inspiration pic from Etsy for reference:

 

 

 

Chapsticks:

 

 

 

Here's another thing that I first saw on BDW and loved. I bought the chapsticks on Amazon, and it wasn't until later that I realized there were some great, and much cheaper, options for bulk chapsticks. Wish I'd seen that earlier but oh well! I'm happy with how these turned out. I used a template for the text and then printed these out on clear Avery full-sheet labels and cut them to size.

 

Key card/money holders:

 

 

I bought 50 key card holders and the purple lanyards on eBay for about $25. I decided to buy the key card holders that were slightly larger than business card size so people don't have to try to jam everything in there. Hopefully it works and doesn't look silly. I made the card inserts in Photoshop and ordered 50 business cards with this design from VistaPrint for about $9 after coupon codes.

[Dazeydawl]

wow alexis. Everything looks amazing!!!! great job!!! Our weddings are very similar! I even did the same programs lol. cant wait to see the final results

[muneera0302]

Thanks for posting! Def using the weddingchicks templates and other ideas you gave!!!! Great job

[alexisinjamaica]

Originally Posted by Dazeydawl 

 

wow alexis. Everything looks amazing!!!! great job!!! Our weddings are very similar! I even did the same programs lol. cant wait to see the final results

 

Thanks! If we have similar tastes, I can't wait to see yours!! And haha-- love that we have the same programs!! I still have a few more posts coming...

 

Originally Posted by muneera0302 

 

Thanks for posting! Def using the weddingchicks templates and other ideas you gave!!!! Great job

 

Yes, so many fun things there! Check it out!

[alexisinjamaica]

And now the OOT bags! A lot of BDW brides have said this was their favorite part, and I have to agree. I feel like I edited myself decently because there are so many cute things I liked and wanted to buy, but somehow I was able to resist. Here's what made the cut!

 

Canvas tote bag

 

 

 

I created my own logo (see page 1 of this thread) that I incorporated into a few things: the tote bag of course, the welcome letter, and the key card holders. Once I had the logo I just uploaded it to VistaPrint and had them print it onto 50 canvas bags.

 

Welcome letter

 

 

Plastic tumbler

 

 

 

I bought these from discountmugs.com. I was originally going to get our logo printed on these, too, but decided to leave them plain since I'd already slapped our logo on plenty of things. I love how these straws are hard plastic versions of the ones we'll have at cocktail hour!

 

Oh Sh*t Kit

 

 

 

Almost everything in here is from minimus.biz: alka seltzer, aloe, kleenex, shout wipes, pepto bismol, emergen-c, advil, band-aids, altoids. The other items included are: mini hand sanitizers in tropical scents from Bath and Body Works, the chap sticks I mentioned earlier, and customized matchbooks from theknot.com. We're doing the eco wish lanterns on the beach after the reception so the idea is for people to use the matches to light those.

 

 

Post cards & pens

 

 

 

 

 

These were fun to make! I did a Google image search for some images I liked and then uploaded them to Zazzle.com. For the boat pic, I added some text onto the image. The other post card was great as-is so all I did was add our names and wedding date to the back, really small below the postage area. The pens are from discountmugs.com. I had leftover purple and white baker's twine so I wrapped everything up with that. Everyone gets a copy of each postcard.

 

Underwater camera

 

 

I went back and forth on these and ultimately decided just to go for it. People could very well not use them and it might be a waste of money, but I guess we'll see!

 

Coral wine stopper

 

 

 

I posted a longer thread with more pics and info on where to buy earlier: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/85633/cute-coral-bottle-stoppers-for-oot-bags

 

Key card/money holders (pics above)

 

S’mores

 

 

We're doing a welcome bonfire the night before the wedding, so I'm including a small pack of s'mores in each bag. I'll of course have tons of extra supplies on hand so we can make more, but just thought it was cute to include these in the OOT bag.

 

Sudoku/word find book

 

 

 

Something fun to do while lounging by the pool. Bought these at Dollar Tree for $1 each.

 

Finished bags:

 

 

[safety75]

Hi I would love your program template! Could you please email to me [email protected] Thank you!!!

[safety75]

I forgot to say that everything looks amazing and you did an awesome job!!

[JA2012]

This looks fantastic!! Congratulations on a beautiful wedding. 

I fully intend to copy your welcome letter, time capsule and maybe even your trip to Dunn's. 

Did you book through the hotel or a private tour company?

Thanks for all the beautiful inspiration and congrats again. I'm about 3 wks away and now I'm inspired to take on some more DIY projects.

So thanks...I think. LOL! JK.

[JA2012]

Wait a minute...just realized the wedding hasn't even taken place yet!!! WOW!! You're a superwoman...you've done so much already and you still have time to post all this stuff. I think you may be my new hero. Ok so let me say again, but the proper way. Your projects look FANTASTIC! And I wish you all the best on your upcoming day. 

Cheers!