I was introduced to a bride that was looking for a bouquet and a few other arrangements by a great San Francisco artist whose mother owns a flower distribution shop at the SF Flower Mart. (If you ever need fantastic roses, you MUST check out “Sunshine International” )

The bride and I spoke over the phone a couple of times, and we went through her special day. The wedding was going to be intimate, with a total of 6 people attending (including the bride and groom) in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais.  The bride had antique blue Hydrangeas in mind as her dress had silver accents on it and she felt that the blue hue would look nice against her dress. She also mentioned that she likes non-traditional flowers, as she’s not a very traditional person, and was adamant that we use the signature Nafis Designs yogurt tubs wrapped in wax paper as her vases! A truly low cost, environmentally friendly wedding!

Total material cost: $80.00

Shopping list: Antique Blue Hydrangeas, Green Hydrangeas, Fig Branches, Sedum, Bells of Ireland, Star of Jerusalem, White Roses, Scabiosa  Seed Pod.

The bride’s bouquet was made up of Star of Jerusalem flower, Sedum, Green Hydrangea, Blue Hydrangea, and Scabiosa Seed Pods, and was wrapped with light silver satin ribbon at its base.

The Groom’s boutonniere was crafted with three Scabiosa Seed Pods and some interwoven silver wire.

There were enough flowers left over for three really full arrangements that could be used as alter pieces, and or table arrangements.

Once again, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get some great looking flowers that will leave a lasting impact in your wedding photo album!

Tip of the day: If you want Hydrangeas to be in full bloom for your event, place the flower head in cold water and watch the blossoms burst open!

I was thinking about what to get my friend for her bridal shower gift and thought to myself “what is something a bride will need, but may not think of for herself?”  Then it hit me: Thank You cards!  My sister and I decided that to make it even more special we would make them ourselves.  It was a little time consuming, but definitely worth it.  Here are a few instructions to help you get started making your own cards too!

One of my favorite techniques is dry embossing.  It is very simple, but always looks great.  Here is what you need to get started:

Items you need:

• Blank cards and envelopes
• Colored paper that matches the wedding colors
• Stencil
• Embossing tool (round tool that fits within the stencil lines)
• Ribbon
• Stamp pad (any color)
• Thank You stamp

Instructions:

Step 1:  I recommend cutting your colored paper to the appropriate sizes.  Measure one color to match the size of your stencil, with another piece slightly larger.  Then, cut your third color to be slightly wider (approximately 1”) than your stencil and a few inches longer so there is room to tie the ribbon.

Step 2: Place your stencil on a clear surface that is lit from the bottom.  (I used my glass coffee table with a flashlight underneath.)  Place your smallest piece of paper over the stencil. Wiith the light shining through, you should be able to see the design.  Trace the design using the round tool from the list above.  If you do not own an embossing tool and do not want to buy one you can try using a small nail head, ballpoint pen, or anything you can think of that will not go through the paper.  When you are finished and you flip over the paper, you should see a copy of the stencil imprinted in it.  That was the hardest part, you are almost done!

Step 3:  Glue your embossed paper to the other two pieces you cut in step 1 (as shown on my card). Tie a piece of ribbon around the bottom and affix the entire thing to the card.

Step 4:  use the stamp to put “thank you” on the card.  I chose the bottom, but you could also put it on the top or running down the side.

Everyone will be super impressed when they find out you made these cards yourself!

Even the least crafty bride can give her wedding a personal touch by making boutonnieres for the groomsmen and important  guests.  Boutonnieres are one of the simplest ways to add a do-it-yourself element to your wedding without getting in over your head.

To get started you’ll need:

floral wire (26 or 24 gauge should do it—you can get pre-cut lengths or buy a spool)

wire snips

scissors

your choice of flower along with some greenery

floral tape (I prefer the light green)

Creating a boutonniere:

Begin by trimming your flowers to remove any thorns and leaves you don’t want to keep. Take one large bloom, such as a single rose or gerbera daisy, grip the stem just below the flower, and trim about the length of three fingers down (roughly an inch to an inch and a half of stem will be left). Take a length of wire roughly 10 inches or so long (you can always trim the ends later) and insert it where the base of the flower bloom meets the stem. Slide the flower until it is centered on the wire, then fold the wire ends together. The wire can now act as an extended stem plus give the flower added strength and stability. Starting at the base of the bloom, begin wrapping green floral tape around the stem and wire. Floral tape is designed to stick to itself, not the flower, and only when it’s stretched a bit, so pull tightly when wrapping and work your way down the stem. Continue wrapping the tape over an additional inch of wire beyond the end of the stem then cut.

To add a leaf to your boutonniere the technique is much the same.  Insert the end of a wire through the middle of a leaf, catching just a bit of the stem. Bring the ends of the wire together and wrap them together with floral wire.  Place the leaf against the flower and wrap their two stems together.  If you’re using baby’s breath or another spray of tiny buds you don’t need to wire their stems, simply wrap them together with the main flower.

Once you’ve wrapped all components together, create a twist at the bottom using your fingers or by wrapping the end around a pen. Attach the finished boutonniere to a lapel with a long pearl-headed stick pin. Voila!  DIY boutonnieres for beginners. Feeling confident in your skills? Spice up a basic flower by covering your finished stem with a plain or patterned ribbon. Or try incorporating ribbons, herbs, fiddle ferns, or crystals into your design.  The possibilities are endless!

Call it “Recession Chic” or “Decor on a Dime.”  A lot of brides are looking for ways to save money on their weddings. This could mean DIY (I was on overly ambitious bride—we did everything from the decor to the food ourselves) or simply some savvy shopping to stay within a budget. When I went looking for inspiration on where to buy unique wedding decor most bridal blogs repeated the same stores:  Ikea, Michaels, Save-On Crafts, Anthropologie (Anthropologie can be very pricey—check the sale section). I love all of these places, and bought from most for my wedding, but here are a few Bay Area locales you might not have spotted that are prime for saving you cash.  Warning: none of these are glamorous places to shop. You have to have a keen eye and creative mind, but when inspiration strikes you can see past the junk and find something terrific.

1) Kamei Restaurant Supply:  Kamei is a restaurant supply store with depth.  Whether you need to outfit your bar, buy water pitchers, tongs, white dishes or serveware, their prices can’t be beat. With a creative eye you can find inexpensive ways to turn restaurant supply staples, like teapots or sake bottles, into beautiful vases and centerpieces. And you can get great prices on white takeout boxes to package homemade favors in. (Kamei: 525-547 Clement Street, San Francisco, (415) 666-3699)

2) Chinatown: Chinatown is terrific for finding favors and decor, if you know what you are looking for.  Best bets are bamboo, vases, lanterns, and favor boxes. I recommend the Far East Flea Market Liquidation Center (729 Grant Avenue, San Francisco), but you have to have a discerning eye to find the right items. The rest of the cheap imports leave much to be desired.

3) San Pablo Flea Market: One woman’s trash is, well, mostly trash but a few real gems. I won’t lead you astray on this one—it’s a junkyard. But if you’re willing to take your time, and deal with the dirt and grime, you can find some great items. With absolutely no digging I found dozens of glass milk bottles, vintage postcards, fun beaker sets for you science buffs, and lovely silver trays that just needed a good polishing. (San Pablo Flea Market: 6100 San Pablo Ave, Emeryville)

4) San Francisco Flower Mart: Many of you must know about the San Francisco Flower Mart, but if you don’t, allow me to blow your mind. The San Francisco Flower Mart is where many of the city’s florists get their blossoms, and after 10am it opens to the public. It has every conceivable type of flower and floral arranging product you need in a warehouse of pop-up shops and permanent storefronts. Some stalls only cater to the wholesale crowd, but catch the retail stalls after 10am (don’t dawdle, many close just an hour or two later) and you’ll be sure to find spectacular blooms. Cultivate a relationship with a seller. Not only will that warm up their sometimes frosty salesmanship, but the seller can tell you when prices will drop, what flowers are in season around your wedding date, and suggest affordable alternatives to create the look you want. Hiring a florist? Make a sample bouquet with flowers from the Mart so you don’t have any surprises on your wedding day. (San Francisco Flower Mart: 640 Brannan Street, San Francisco)

** Everything you see on the table at the top was purchased at one of the above shops. The milk bottles were $1 each at San Pablo Flea, the tall vase is a placemat I got for $1 at Far East Flea Market then wrapped around a vase and filled with 99-cent bamboo from there as well.  The white vases on the right are sake bottles from Kamei, as is the silver votive, all for about $6-$7 total.  The flowers were around $12 at the Flower Mart, but the amount shown is only 1/6th or less of the quantity that bought me.  The rest of the flowers I gave to a neighbor.