Ring Bearer Bag

What to do with a ring bearer that is 12?  Well, in my opinion he would look and feel silly carrying a pillow.  Yah, that's a no go.   We went back and forth, looking at ring bowls on Etsy; way cool but not quiet right for us.  We searched endlessly for the right option.  And mom came to the rescue once again.  She had a bright idea, so it took come convincing but in the end I let her run with it.

And look how marvelous "IT" is...

 

The top decorated layer, flips up revealing a pocket which holds the rings nice and securely.  The saying "Rings for a Champion and his Trophy" was an inside joke and affectionate thing my soon to be husband and I have.  I'm his trophy,  but you only get trophies if you are a champion.  So he is my Champion!  :)  He didn't see this Ring Bag before his son handed him the bag at the alter,  we were hoping it would make for lots of smiles and giggles from him.  Honestly, I was so caught up in the moment, I'm not sure of his actual reaction, guess that's how thing go.  His son carried this in his pocket.   But what did he carry to keep him from fidgeting and looking uncomfortable.  What else but another mommy-made sign.  We love SIGNAGE!

One side for walking down the aisle before the bride...

And one side for the walk back up the aisle, in front of the newly married couple...

Mommy did good!  Plus my wonderful ring bag is small enough, I can easily keep it as a keepsake; without cluttering my life.  Go, Mommy, Go.

Official Wedding Photography by Mandy Ballard

Vintage Hankies

Oh My Gosh!!!  This is my most favorite thing.  Well almost my most favorite thing,  there are lots of things in my life, that get me all wound up.  This is WAY WAY WAY up there though.  "Vintage Hankies" of all shapes, colors and uses.  They are such a wonderful creative addition to just about everything.  I wish I would have used them more in my wedding, by making a cohesive theme of them.  However, I didn't come across the idea until my wedding planning way too far along.

Here are some great ideas I wish I would have had the chance to utilize:

Save the Dates thanks to The Wedding Chicks:

 or even Invitations thanks to June Bugs Weddings:

Napkins maybe, from Joielala:

  

Plus, I like Hankie Banners, Placemats, Coasters, everything really...

No, not for me, not this time at least!  I'm sure I'll be trying to blend these ideas into my life in the near future.  But, I couldn't live without "Tears of Joy."  All over weddingbee are wonderful ladies praising the glory of this wonderful idea.

First, I bought lots and lots of hankies on ebay.  I bought only "lots" which basically mean large bulk hankies,  I tried to find ones from old real estate auctions. I didn't care if they said they were "well used" or "for crafting."  I got so excited everyday when I would see my next lot of hankies delivered in the mail.  It was a true surprise to see what I would get inside.  I ordered about 200 hankies for my wedding of about 100 guests.  This way, I could sort out all the ugly and stained specimens.  I only wanted fun hankies and found it cheaper to buy in bulk risking getting some ugly ducklings along the way.  I ended up using about 100 hankies, and ended up having about 40 over after the wedding.  The men didn't partake in the hankie fun, but some girls got excited and had to have more than 1. :)

I machine washed and dried my hankies, throwing out the truly holey and ruined hankies.  This is the result, hanging in my parents back yard.  My test hankies!  Oh, I got so excited!  So So excited!!!

 

Colorful, floral, vintage, unique, just what I wanted to surprise and bring a sentimental touch to my wedding.  I ironed the hankies.  My mom made another sign!  This one to tell our guests to take a hankie for their "Tears of Joy".  I found a lovely corner which all the guests would walk by on the way to the wedding, from which to hang my touching tear rags. 

And for a final touch, I dyed some of wooden clothespins with RIT dye green.  A lovely finishing touch.

I really like how it turned out and got lots of compliments from the guests.  It's apparently a totally unique and creative idea; well at least for those who don't read wedding blogs obsessively, hahaha

Update:  Do you wanna Upcycle your Hankies post wedding.  Here is a great idea for incorporating Hankies into your decor.

Official Photography by Mandy Ballard