Centerpieces

I just got a quote from a caterer for the wedding.  It is TWICE what I told them my budget was.  So I am freaking out.  So when the going gets tough, the tough get crafting, at least that is what my "aunt" Karen used to say.  Or maybe it was "the tough go shopping."  But since I have to spend three years of my future child's college tuition on a dinner and some chairs, I decided on cheap crafting instead.  I have been googling and spying etsy and everything I can think of for cheap centerpieces.  It seems that everything that looks cheap really ends up being 8 to 10 dollars a table.  That's not cheap.  13 tables x 10 dollars a piece is $130.  Silliness.  For something that is just going to get thrown out. 

Could I make a cool centerpiece for like 2 dollars?  Have you met me?  Of course I can! 

I love tissue paper poms, but I thought just placing those on the table would be lazy.
Here is a pretty one from etsy:

But some other things I thought of doing started looking like more work than building The Great Wall of China, like these beauties.  I could do them, but that started looking like a TON of work to have a cluster of these on each table. 

 So I made a tissue pom and then added one more step- a light from Dollar Tree.  Voila!  Now I am going to throw some votive candles around it... but not too close..... and maybe throw some flower petals on the table and its done.

Here is the one that I made today, sitting on the coffee table.  It is a little wonky because I was playing with it a lot, adding tissue paper, removing tissue paper, just all-around experimenting with it, so it is a little beat-up looking. 

This one workds because I can make it for a few cents worth of tissue paper (fewer sheets actually let the light shine through better) and a Dollar-tree light. 

Here is the Dollar-tree light.  The tissue paper is just resting on top of the light.  For the real one, it will be affixed with tape or something.  Or perhaps the bottom layer of tissue will just be wrapped under the lamp.    The lights are battery-opperated, but Dollar Tree has inexpensive batteries too. 

What do you think? 

I really shouldn't post until I make a pretty one.  I have a fear that people are going to steal my idea, take a better picture, and post it to their blog and get a million hits and take all the credit.  But then I remembered that no one really reads my blog like that.  Lol. 

Handfasting

Getting ready for the wedding! I really am sick of the unity candle, and my sister already did the sand ceremony, and if someone else that I know did it at their wedding, I don't want to do it at mine.  Different Bride.  That's me. 

"Jumping the Broom" is an African-American tradition from before the emancipation proclamation, but I wasn't really sure if I wanted to do it because I am not African-American, nor were my ancestors enslaved nor forced to create their own marriage ceremony out of thin air because they were prohibited from traditional legal ceremonies.   I thought it might be weird if I did it too since I did not share this past.  But then I remembered. . . oh, yeah, wait, I AM weird.  So I decided to jump right in to that tradition. (pun intended)

But it got the teacher in me thinking about what I could do to incorporate things from the heritage of BOTH of us, and use it as a "lesson" to our guests about our two different cultures.  (I PROMISE NOT TO MAKE THE GUESTS FILL OUT A COMPARE AND CONTRAST WORKSHEET, maybe...)

 I saw "Irish handfasting" on Pinterest, and thought that would be a good idea.  I did a little research and found that it is an ancient Irish custom that pre-dates the church in Ireland, but that the symbolism was so great for marriage that the church often kept it as part of wedding ceremonies, and "Christianized" it.  The Irish hand-fasting tradition is the origin of the term "tying the know."  Great!  I love etymology! 

(Click on the picture to read someone else's blog about it)


I learned in my research that the Irish tradition usually uses 13 different ribbons, each one a different color, and the colors each mean something different. 

(Click the picture to see what the colors mean)

I was thinking of doing that but I thought trying to tie 13 strands at once might be a little tricky.  Then, I found this verse that says "A chord of three strands is not easily broken"  Well, isn't that convenient?! 

I liked the idea of our hands being tied during the vows.  The tie is supposed to be loose enough so that you can slip out of it in order to exchange the rings.  (I guess rings are okay since we can not walk around tied together with cords.)

Then, I needed to add the words into the wedding ceremony.  So I wrote a little script for the pastor, incorporating all my ideas.

Here it is (below) What do you think?

Hand-Fasting

"Tehran and Kristen have chosen to participate in a couple of wedding traditions that honor their different heritage.  One of these traditions, from the bride’s Irish heritage is the ancient Celtic and Irish tradition of hand-fasting.  In pre-Christian Ireland and the times of the early church, it was commonly the way that couples were “married” before the church became involved with weddings.  This ceremony of hand-fasting is in fact the origin of the term 'tying the knot.'”

"Will the bride and groom please cross and hold each other’s hands"

(officiant wraps the chords around the hands and ties a visible knot at the bottom)

"The couple’s hands are tied with a cord of three strands to represent the bride, the groom, and God.   They were inspired by this passage of scripture: "

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

(Prayer)

Now we the bride and groom will exchange their vows.  (Chords are not removed until AFTER the vows)

He he, I love the one about lie down and keep warm- perfect for Chicago winters.  Now I have to write a little ditty for jumping the broom...

Baby's First Birthday!

Liam is one!  I can't believe it.  My little sister's little baby now looks almost toddler-ish.  Oh well, time for a party then! 

I take NO credit for her super-cute decor, whatsoever. I just thought it was awesome and needed to be shared.

She set up a "smash the cake" photo-shoot a day in advance and had a photo-bug friend come over and shoot pictures. These pictures are the ones I took, and they are not quite as good as her friend's pics, but I do have the rights to these to post : )

Jenni is so clever, It was her idea to tape balloons to the back of the house and put out a blanket and snap away!  Those colors were her idea too!  The green and the blue are her go-to colors for everything (her wedding, the baby nursery-click here to see nursery, home decor...) and she usually just changes the accent colors.  This time, the accent is orange.

Party Table!

Hand-made banner by Jenni!

She spray-painted little dinosaurs from the dollar-tree to math the theme, and I hot glued them to a paper runner for decoration.

We made tissue-paper poms and hung them on the chandelier which my dad raised up with zip-ties so no-one would bump their head.  Okay, some people still bumped their head on the tissue poms but they were cute, so they weren't moving!

My sister has been practicing her icing skills, and even has the frosting tips and everything, like a good southern mama practicing her home-making skills.  Super cute cupcakes!

Here is the birthday boy, seeming happy about the attention. (Or at least the cake)

Jenni, Me, and Liam:

Sometimes, we party as hard as we can, and then we just can't eat one more bite of cake.  Happy Birthday, Liam!