It is finished. My friend Sharmee is married. It was a long weekend, but a joyous one. I was honored to be apart of it and to have had a role in her entire wedding weekend. We started working on her wedding about 3 months ago, so it's been non-stop crafting since April.
Unfortunately, I didn't take many pics of the things I was in charge of. Mostly because we were working quickly so I didn't have time to think about it. But I did take a few pics of some of the stuff we made/decorated/wrapped with my iPhone. Our biggest issue was the sheer size of each of the events, so we had think of how to do things as cheap as possible but as pretty as possible.
This was how we wrapped the favors for the mehndi night. I used Sharmee's outfit as inspiration. We used gold tissue and green satin ribbon, tied in a knot to minimize the amount of ribbon we'd need. Since we couldn't afford to wrap the entire gift with cute paper, we cut up small squares of some mehndi inspired paper and taped it to the top.
The next major thing we had to put together was welcome baskets for the groom's side called the jaan. These went inside their hotel rooms and included itineraries for the entire weekend. We had to make 90 of these so, again, cost was a big factor. Instead of going with baskets, we decided to use these gold colored gift boxes. The guests were already getting reusable containers that we decorated filled with snacks (not pictured) so providing a basket as well just proved to be too much to me. We filled them with crinkle and stuffed them with snacks and sweets. Sharmee had some stickers left over from her invitations, so we attached the stickers to the boxes with ribbon and included an itinerary. I will spare you of a pic of the itinerary I made, but we personalized the itineraries for the most important guests. Simple, but thoughtful.
Another thing I was in charge of was decorating the sign that would be displayed in her house. The original one that they had made in India got lost in the shuffle of all things they brought back, so they ordered a new one and asked me to decorate it. Traditionally, it is decorated with a glitter pen, but I, of course, knew nothing else to do but to bring on the bling. Glitter pens just seem so 80's to me. So, we used some gold trim Sharmee purchased and attached it to the border.
Then I blinged it out with rhinestones and pearls. Luckily, I had a bunch of rhinestones left over from the basket I just made that happened to match the colors in the sign. It looked really good in the photographer's light, if I do say so myself.
One of the most important things I had to decorate was the basket that Sharmee's sisters would be using during her wedding ceremony. The basket would contain rice for her sisters to toss periodically during the ceremony. So, I did what I know best here and spray painted it gold. I added some gold trim to it that followed the lines of the basket. I like that the lines were at an angle and not completely straight. Then I used some paisley elements that Sharmee bought in India that happened to match our bridesmaid saris perfectly. Totally on my list of stores to visit when I go back. My friend Anita is the rhinestone queen, so she brought over her bin of rhinestones and I helped myself to her stash.
Since we had plenty of supplies, I added a few elements to the side as well. I was really proud to see it being used during the ceremony. :)
That's about all I got snaps of. If the photographer got pics of the other stuff I made, I will definitely post them!
This was an amazing process to be apart of. It was really touching to see an entire community come together as a family to make sure this wedding ran as seamlessly as possible. Congrats, Sharmee and Nikhil! Here's to your happily ever after!
Unfortunately, I didn't take many pics of the things I was in charge of. Mostly because we were working quickly so I didn't have time to think about it. But I did take a few pics of some of the stuff we made/decorated/wrapped with my iPhone. Our biggest issue was the sheer size of each of the events, so we had think of how to do things as cheap as possible but as pretty as possible.
This was how we wrapped the favors for the mehndi night. I used Sharmee's outfit as inspiration. We used gold tissue and green satin ribbon, tied in a knot to minimize the amount of ribbon we'd need. Since we couldn't afford to wrap the entire gift with cute paper, we cut up small squares of some mehndi inspired paper and taped it to the top.
The next major thing we had to put together was welcome baskets for the groom's side called the jaan. These went inside their hotel rooms and included itineraries for the entire weekend. We had to make 90 of these so, again, cost was a big factor. Instead of going with baskets, we decided to use these gold colored gift boxes. The guests were already getting reusable containers that we decorated filled with snacks (not pictured) so providing a basket as well just proved to be too much to me. We filled them with crinkle and stuffed them with snacks and sweets. Sharmee had some stickers left over from her invitations, so we attached the stickers to the boxes with ribbon and included an itinerary. I will spare you of a pic of the itinerary I made, but we personalized the itineraries for the most important guests. Simple, but thoughtful.
Another thing I was in charge of was decorating the sign that would be displayed in her house. The original one that they had made in India got lost in the shuffle of all things they brought back, so they ordered a new one and asked me to decorate it. Traditionally, it is decorated with a glitter pen, but I, of course, knew nothing else to do but to bring on the bling. Glitter pens just seem so 80's to me. So, we used some gold trim Sharmee purchased and attached it to the border.
Then I blinged it out with rhinestones and pearls. Luckily, I had a bunch of rhinestones left over from the basket I just made that happened to match the colors in the sign. It looked really good in the photographer's light, if I do say so myself.
Since we had plenty of supplies, I added a few elements to the side as well. I was really proud to see it being used during the ceremony. :)
That's about all I got snaps of. If the photographer got pics of the other stuff I made, I will definitely post them!
This was an amazing process to be apart of. It was really touching to see an entire community come together as a family to make sure this wedding ran as seamlessly as possible. Congrats, Sharmee and Nikhil! Here's to your happily ever after!
4 comments:
Way to go, you were voted MVB (most valuable bridesmaid) for the wedding of the SUMMER. :-)
I never saw the side of the basket before with the single paisley and rhinestones. Adoreable work, you basket whisperer, you.
Thanks, Anita. :) I think you were pretty valuable yourself. Especially when accompanied with your rhinestone stash. Which, BTW, you never told me about. Makes me think you are hiding much more from me....and I must find out what.... ;)
Duuude, you'll never believe me, but I had bought this little 'tube' of gems from HL when I found myself there without realizing how I got there!! It was another bout of sleep-driving-to-craft. I should probably use a respirator when I'm gluing things. ;)
Oh man! I wish I would've sent you the (few) pics I had of the filled canisters before you posted this!!
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