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Friday, June 06, 2008

A train and bustle?; an etsy wedding

My wedding hair pin

Apparently, I'm so short, (I prefer to say petite) that the seamstress was able to add a train and bustle to my wedding gown, where there was no train or bustle to begin with! She asked me if my dress had a train, and I said no, so she said, Well, we'll make a little train and bustle here. It was so amazing. I had no idea that could be accomplished.

I was a bit alarmed at how my dress felt on me. When I first bought it and tried it on, I was considering exchanging it for a smaller size. I'm glad now that I didn't.

I felt a little sad when I left the seamstress. I guess it's because my mother worked for years as a seamstress, and my mother would lovingly go over each and every stitch when I modeled something she was making for me and make sure that each and every pin was in just right. My mother would make sure I was standing up straight, would want to make sure that everything felt and fit just right, her hands moving over my frame lovingly. It didn't feel right that my wedding dress was fitted by someone who did not love me.

An etsy wedding

Etsy has been so good to me, and I wanted to give back by making etsy a part of my wedding. I want to share with you some of the wedding things I found on etsy.

I wanted to be able to use items in my wedding that had been crafted with care; I also wanted to support craftsters who are trying to make a life for themselves making things they love.

I'm having a bird nest and eggs theme for my wedding, as if these pictures didn't give that away.

In the picture at the top of this post, you're seeing the hair pin that I'll be using. It was made by Designs by Portobello.

The next two items were made by Rain's End. If you're getting married within the next year, you might want to get her to make you a custom cake topper--you have to place your order six months in advance. Because my engagement was so short, I didn't have enough time. Her cake toppers are very, very popular and beautiful.

I was able, however, to get this ring pillow and flower girl purse.

My wedding ring pillow

My wedding flower girl purse

For escort cards, I purchased about 120 gift tags from Blue Bird Lane. The seller was really great to work with. I'm going to try to hang these from a tree branch or something. I'm not quite sure just yet how that will be accomplished.

My wedding escort cards

My bridal party gifts were made by Starry Designs. The seller lives in Singapore, but she shipped my items very promptly and they arrived in no time. Because I placed such a huge order, she offered me a 10% discount, which I really appreciated. I can't post pictures of the gifts just yet in case anyone in my bridal party reads this blog, but the gifts are just lovely.

I even got my veil on etsy from Ann Leslie Designs. The seller took care to send me fabric samples so that I could match the fabric to my dress.

So if you're getting married or having any sort of affair, consider using at least one etsy craftster in your party planning. There are printers who make invitations using letter presses, and even people who will hand write in calligraphy for you. If you're a craftster yourself but don't have the time to handmake everything yourself, consider letting other craftsters do the work for you.