Prying through the veil

The history of the veil stretches back many years and it is used to symbolise many things.

In the Roman times, the bride would wear a brightly colourful veil to ward off evil spirits whereas nowadays it is used to show modesty especially in religious ceremony.

Whatever are your reasons for wearing one, just make sure it reflects your personality.

For those of you who want a long flowing veil clearly you are after something dramatic. This beautiful veil by delightworthyn is full of theatrical styling.

However maybe you are a bride who is looking for something mysterious? What about this masquerade inspired veil by SEAMS.

And finally, for those of you who just want a hint of veil then this birdcage veil by rtisan will add a touch of glamour effortlessly.

The royal wedding is on everyone's lips...and Mistress Kate is leading an inspiring trend back toward the millinery arts with her daring toppers and fascinators.

Now - the everyday bride will go for safety with her topper but the offbeat bride will add a lil something of her personality to go off the beaten path and make it her own - whether it be a dash of colour, a sprinkle of John Waters, or a cup of joe.

Take inspiration from these fabulous Milliners of Etsy as they bring fashion, flair and fun to the offbeat etsy bride...

TRAMPMillinery

GraceDunbar

RedDragonfly

BoringSidney

Stephanie Farley

La Coco Rouge

www.lacocorouge.com

Get the vintage look - Gloves

Throughout the history of fashion, gloves have been part of integral part of any fashion-conscience male or female.

Certainly no well-dressed lady would be without her gloves if she was out and about.

Therefore why not apply the same theory to your wedding!

Whether they are a vintage pair from LaChicFemme

Or an upcylced pair from MoonshineBaby,

why not introduce a pair to your outfit which will be very handy if you are planning a winter wedding ^_^.

Confessions of a Seam Ripper

Bustle

Consider this a very brief primer on upcycling /recycling dispelling a common misconception..

Recycled items should cost less.

This is probably one of the most common. You can go the DIY route then and yes it will be smaller cash outlay.Upcycling ,however, is a labor intensive process and as we’ve all heard ‘time is money’.

If you are working with textiles the amount of ‘woman hours’ that go into finding what you need is staggering .I go to my local thrift stores sometimes several times a week because good stuff gets purchased right away.(okay I like going too!) Usually I have a mental list of what I am looking for but keeping an open mind if I see something worthwhile. For me this tends to be any silk garment with an interesting color and sometimes pattern, though I usually go for the solids. For someone else it might be lace, or broken jewelry but you get the idea.

ecoblingcouture

Once purchased and after cleaning you sit down with the most important tools in your arsenal-the very high tech seam ripper. And a good pair of scissors. If you have ever had to take out stitching then you know how tedious it can be. It is a time suck to be sure but there is no way around it. Again-time is money.

It is easier to buy yard goods and cut your pieces from a nice flat consistent width fabric but they just don’t make fabrics like they used to or if they do they are prohibitively expensive, possibly milled in sweatshop conditions and spewing chemicals in to our environment.(Moment of gently preaching here)

So you see how much time and care goes in to preparation for an upcycled garment. I haven’t even gotten into the design process and the making process so you see that this is a large amount of labor. A labor of love.

LondonParticulars

Has the Tradition Always Been White?

Vera Wang

The wedding dress has inspired women for generations…most assuredly what it will look like but most definitely white.

The thing is…white is a recent phenomenon! With the advent of Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 one of the greatest love stories of all time took the imaginations of women by storm, and the Queen wore white thus setting the fashion for years to come.

It used to be that women would wear their best dress to wed in – no matter the colour. In the 1400’s blue was considered to be the colour of purity.

Today we see a happy mix of styles, colours and textures to choose from for our wedding day. Many women are choosing dresses that are versatile enough to be worn again for other occasions.

Here is a small sample of what you can find out there for yourself from vintage to rock star to simple beauty…

Romantic Threads



Isadora Clothing


RoselaniJasmin



Vicious Threads


Vintage Frocks of Fancy

by Stephanie Farley
La Coco Rouge, LLC
www.lacocorouge.com

Love knows no barriers

We live in a big wide world and people fall in love from all different backgrounds. This means when it comes to the wedding day one may have to jump over some cultural difficulties.

This can come in many forms, for example, the brides’ family may want a traditional white wedding in a church while the grooms’ family could be Buddhist. Or maybe you are in an inter-racial relationship and you have two families’ culture from different sides of the world.

However rather then viewing this as a complication, you should use your cultural differences as a way of making your wedding offbeat and get the best of both worlds!

How can one do this? Well here are some steps that one could use.

Step 1 – Planning stage

Before you pick up any magazines, books or looking at websites, sit down and think about what cultural elements you wish to have and where. Maybe there is a custom that you wish to follow or wearing a specific wedding colour. Try and list all the things that are important to the both of you and then assign an element of the wedding to them.

Step 2 - Compromise

Time to think about your family and friends. It maybe your wedding day but unless you are not having any guest you must consider their feelings. Most are more then likely to be happy with your decisions but there will always be someone who will try and throw a spanner in your plans.

Therefore you may need to compromise in certain areas so it is best to sort this out as soon as possible to avoid future upsets and stress.

Step 3 – Research, research and research

Now it is time to look at magazines, books and websites to find what you want. Do not feel that you will need everything to be custom-made. You may be surprise with what you find from mainstream wedding suppliers. Remember it is what you do rather then what you buy that makes you offbeat.

However don’t be afraid to go off the beaten track in your research. Find suppliers from the country that your culture originate. Ask family members and friends for recommendations as it isn’t always obvious especially if you are not fluent in your cultures language.

If you still can’t find anything then consider custom-made. Etsy has an array of designers and artists who are capable of making your dreams come true.

Step 4 – Timing

Now it is time to start ordering especially if you wish to order from overseas suppliers. You may think this is an obvious thing to consider but you will be surprise how fast time flies once you start getting things together. Placing your order for overseas suppliers early is important as it will give you time to receive the items and inspect them. If they are not suitable then you will have the time to get it changed or find an alternative. Of course some things are not possible to receive ahead of time like the wedding cakes but it is a good idea to discuss your ideas with supplier to make sure they understand your requirements and importantly deliver it on your wedding day!

Hopefully with these steps you will help you with your multi-cultural wedding issues and remember if everything doesn’t go according to plan. Just run off to Las Vegas and get married by Elvis! (Only kidding)

DIY wedding favour boxes

Wedding favours are a nice way to say thank you to your guests but what sort of wedding favours do you give them?

A lot of attention is normally paid to what to put into the boxes but we must not forget that the box itself could be personalised as well. One easy way is make them!

The advantage of making them is that you can make them to the size you want and using the paper you have chosen. Yes it will take time and effort but your guest will appreciate your effort as you shall see.

Step one, this is the template you will need to understand to make these boxes.

A = length of box

B = height of box

C = 2 cm length which is needed in construction.

The dashed lines will be your fold lines.

From a standard A4 sheet of paper the largest box you can make is a 5cm(side) x 5cm(side) x 7cm(height) which is more then enough to fit a good size chocolate (or what small treat you may give them).

Step two, rather then folding the paper straight away, I would recommend scoring the dotted lines because these will become the folds. Why are you scoring the paper rather then folding it straight away? Well, this will give a more accurate fold and give a cleaner finish.

Step three, crease each of the scored lines you made so it looks like this.

Step four, fold as following and then insert the two ends into each other.

Step five, this is the tricky bit, pushing the base down. You will need to follow the folds you have made and gently manoeuvre each side on top of each other. This manipulation will open up the side where you have inserted the ends together. To prevent the ends from coming apart you can use a clip to hold them together.

This will require a bit of patient and practice but it will fold down if you gently push it down gradually.

Finished, you have the base for your box.

To make the lid for the box is very simply! All you need to do is

1. Add 1-2mm on A - side of the box
2. Decrease B - height of the box to 2-3cm

then you follows the same folding method as above. Here is my lid to the above box.

As mentioned above, you can use almost any paper you like to make these boxes but I would recommend you use paper that is around 80-100 gsm because it will make step 5 a little bit easier.

Now grab a load of your friends and family and fold to your hearts content!

NOTES :

If you require larger pictures then just click on the picture and it will take you to a larger version.

There is another way of folding the lid to make it more decorative. If you want to learn more then let me know in the comments and I'll sort out a tutorial for those.

Hot Air Balloons!

What could be more offbeat from the traditional path than a Hot Air Balloon wedding?

Floating with lofty ideals, high on love and a desire to step forth into a new phase in your lives melds seamlessly with the thought of leaving the ground and taking the high road with the birds and the clouds.

Here's one site where you can research your own locations for attaining Hot Air Bliss.

Asheville Hot Air Balloons will even offer to have up to 28 balloons tethered together for a full wedding party in the air!

Looking for a little inspiration while you ponder your flight filled fantasy? Check out these cool images from fellow Etsy sellers:

NoteArt

TCaponePhoto

AndreaKett

If you have a cool story involving a wedding and hot air balloons we want to hear about it!

Eureka!

You know that "Eureka!" moment you have when inspiration strikes? It often happens when you're feeling relaxed, taking a bath or driving a familiar stretch of highway. Your mind is allowed to wander while your motor skills take over.

So for those days when you are at your wits end and feeling overloaded with all the decisions you have to make and ideas you need to create – relax!

Take inspiration from these fellow Etsyian sellers and let your mind wander…who knows what surprising solutions await you :) So listen to some music, take a bath, find a small but creative project - sky's the limit just remember to make it about you!

Take a bath with EpicallyEpicSoap...

Decorate your walls with DecorDesigns...

Make your own blusher veil with 10eisha...

Eco Love - Think Vintage

So, you’re engaged. Congrats. You and your partner have decided to have an eco friendly wedding without sacrificing your offbeat style. Think vintage, the ultimate recycling. I know you’re thinking that you don’t want to look old fashioned but modern hip and dripping with stylish originality. And why not!

If you are lucky enough to find a garment that fits and is not damaged then you have scored. Most likely it will need something. Maybe something needs to be removed or added or maybe it is damaged. Perhaps it just doesn’t fit. My advice is to re fashion.

In the hands of a skilled artisan magic can happen. When looking for a seamstress be sure and leave yourself some time to interview prospects. You will be working closely with this person and the chemistry needs to be right. On your first meeting bring all the pictures and pieces of things that you have collected. My favorite clients are the ones who show up with truckloads of stuff. They know what they want and my job is to help them get there. Don’t worry that there seems to be no unifying concept, bring it all.

AllThingsPretty

You are probably wondering how to find this person. Word of mouth is usually your best bet. Ask at local vintage shops since they often have access to people who do repair work for them.

There are many wonderful designer/makers online that may have a style that meshes with your own.Often they are available for custom work or just tweaking a design they are already offering.

SWANclothing

Make sure you ask or read about their policies. You will probably be required to make a non-refundable down payment to start work. I know this can feel a little scary. Do your research. There are many sites with good resource info. Here is a good starting place

Eco Vintage Weddings