Hello!  I am getting married at Val Vista Lakes in Gilbert, AZ on Friday June 12th.  My fiance and I are planning a black and white wedding...we're even asking guests to only wear black and white.  We are hoping to do lots of DIY projects and have suceeded so far by making our own invitations and wedding programs. 

Recently, I started painting plain white candles that I got a great deal on from ikea with our design.  I had some trouble finding paint that was compatible with the wax, but I've got it down to a science now.  I think our guests will be impressed with the hand-made touches in our wedding.

My fiance and I also worked out our boutonnieres which have guinea hen feathers, small silk white cherry blossoms, and a few black beads. They will look great with the boys in black on black tuxes.  I also made matching corsages and boutonnieres for the parents.  They are made with black organza and look great!

We keep pretty busy interviewing as many vendors as we can when my fiance is in town (he is currently living in Colorado!)  Wish us luck in the last major planning steps.

Update: I just got the ring bearer pillow and tie done!  They look amazing and match my hand made table runners all in "Dandy Damask".

Ring Bearer Pillow:

Garters:

My DIY garters are finished, and I know Dane is going to love them! Can't wait to show them off soon!

Bouquet:

Well I decided that I needed to make a silk bouquet since it will be so hot outside, and all the flowers I love are heat sensitive.  So here is my first attempt.  I will probbaly make a few changes, but I love the flower and the feathers together and how they contrast.

side view, including the promise ring that Dane gave me.  I want to feel it swing against my hand as I walk towards him.  SO excited.

front view with the awesome brooch I bought.  I know you can't see it too well, but it looks so nice :)

Signs for the reception

Yay! my picture frames look great, and I've stopped fussing over the poems I'm going to use and just went with it! SO bathroom signs done. Welcome sign done. Wedding Program Sign done. Send off bells sign done.

Decorated Candles:

Cake stand:

I bought a strange metal contraption at Hobby Lobby, coated in several layers of white spray painted, and bought a wood circle from Home Depot.  With a little glue and imagination I think that this will turn into an awesome cake stand.  Sorry about the bad picture, clearly purple sheets are not the best.

Here are my DIY invitations.  My fiance and I did all the stamping and cutting, but we bought the actual pocket folders.

We had to include an extra insert for all of my family, since 90% live in Iowa.  We decide to do a separate reception in Iowa since not everyone has the money to travel across the country!

I almost wish I had had someone with nicer handwriting address the invitations.  But I did them all in one night and I work for free, so that's what I get!

Wedding Programs:

We are having an outdoor ceremony in Arizona in the summer.  I know it doesn't make sense, but we chose our location due to its similarities to our engagement location (next to a waterfall).   So...we did something that makes sense....we made program fans! 

Dessert card holders.

These used to be hideous gold shiny ornaments for christmas trees.  I used a full can of spray paint to paint 20 of these guys. I am going to attach white cardstock with dessert identifiers for our dessert buffet at the reception.  I am so proud of how cute these turned out.

Dessert stands

I made these from taking candlesticks and attaching plain black chargers.  I am hosting a dessert buffet since my ceremony is so late in the evening.  I know that my guests will notice these!  I like the varying heights and the similarities using the glossy black.

DIY veil.

http://www.weddingannouncer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3985

I used this website, and it was so helpful!  I made two different veils since I"m really not sure what I wanted.  I'm taking these to my alterations appointment to decide...silver pencil edge on matte tulle   or plain edge on shiny tulle.....maybe after the appointment I'll decide to do plain edge on matte?  Either way they are cheap (I refuse to pay $200) and easy so I don't mind re-doing these.

Bow Ties for the little boys attending the wedding:

Mom and I sat down to make some bow ties today and they came out great...can't wait to see all the little boys wearing these.

Mother's Corsages and Father's Boutonierres:

I made these out of organza, since I am not using any real flowers in the wedding.  They turned out pretty neat, and I managed to incorporate the spotted guinea hen feathers again!

Bridal Suite and Honeymoon Signs:

Made these using a pre-made photo mat from Hobby Lobby.  I also used the watermark on Word to put my design in the background.

Getting ready:

Heading down for my big reveal with Dane:

Right before the big moment!

Starting our portraits!

Okay, now here are some from the ceremony:

Handfasting ceremony:

More from ceremony:

DIY vow cards

Husband and Wife:

Reception:

Cake:

First Dance:

Photobooth guest book:

Grand Exit:

SHIPPING NOT INCLUDED IN PRICES LISTED BELOW.

Damask Black Metal Candle Holders:

These hold taper candles and look really neat with white or ivory candles. I didn't end up burning candles in them but I still placed a white taper in it and they looked really nice.  They are  14" tall and 3.5 " across. $14 each  $25 for both.

Black and White Drink Bucket:

This worked perfectly with the handmade labels my husband and I made for the waterbottles.  I am asking that this be a local buy only.  There is no way for me to find a box that I could ship easily (and not have you spend an arm and a leg shipping it!) $20  Let me know if you're interested and I'll get the dimensions.

Damask Table Runners:

I have 13 of these runners in black and white Dandy Damask, 2 have candle wax that I'll try to take out when I wash them.  They are about 18" across and 72" long (perfect for a 60" round table).  SOLD $15 each.  $150 for all 13.

Black and White Serving Bowl:

13" across and 3" tall. I used this in my dessert buffet also. $8

Pedestals for desserts and other food items:

These were gorgeous in my dessert buffet. They will probably be hard to ship, so it might be best if this is a local purchase.  I am willing to ship, but it will most likely require insurance.  I know that the pictures are hard to see.  If you're interested I can take more pictures and get the dimensions, just PM me.  Two of them have small chips in them.  If you buy more than one, I'm sure we can work out a price deal, just ask.

The first one that is pictured has a tiny chip that I covered with black paint $14,    

I have two of the footed stands left $20 each,

The last one pictured, that I think looks like a chess piece $18

Dessert Sign Stands, Table Number Stands, Escort card Stands:

As you can see I used these to label my desserts in my dessert buffet.  Really they can be used for a variety of things.  They have been spray painted black over their original gold color.  Some have a few chips and scratches in the paint which can be easily fixed.  Also easy to change color.  I have 20 of these. $25 for all 20. 

Silver Hearts Name Holders/ Table Number Holders

I have 20 of these left, 10 of them still in the original packaging.  $17

Men's Size 11 Flip Flops

Perfect for a beach honeymoon.  Writes Just Married in the sand. Never been worn, $4.

Footed Black Damask Hurricane Candle Holder

Brand new, with tags on it.  Black metal candle holder with hurricane style glass shield. $12

Make Your Own Candle Kit:

I used 2 of the 3 packages that I bought to make my own candles for the wedding.  These are really neat little wax beads that you can put in any container.  I used them in my bridesmaid candle holders and in other odd shaped ones that I didn't want to use vo tives or pillars in.  They come with wicks, and I have some extra ones that I'll throw in as well. These beads are black.  I bought them at hobby lobby.  I'm sure that you can buy different colored ones if you feel like mixing or layering. $3

Garter:

I had some extra fabric, so I thought I'd see if anyone was interested in having damask garters. I put some blue inside in case you still need your something blue!  $13.  I probably have enough material to make one more...maybe a set so you have one to toss and one to keep. If you want me to make a second one I'll sell the set for $18

Jewelry:

Earring and necklace set. Rhinestone and small white pearl colored beads.  Not too flashy, just a perfect compliment to a bridal gown. I bought this from my bridal shop.  Brand is Crystal D'Or ...$25.

Eliot Danori Earrings:

I changed into these for my reception. They are a bit more glamourous than the set I wore for my ceremony. $35

Glasses from Ikea: --candle holders too!

I was supposed to use these as candle holders for my outdoor ceremony. Unfortuantely it was too windy so I couldn't use them. They have a faint stripe going around them, which is sort of visible in these pictures. They are 2.5" across and almost 5" tall. I have 4 sets of 12 glasses each. $6 per set of 12

More glasses from Ikea:

Again, I was supposed to use these as candle holders to line my aisle for my outdoor ceremony. Unfortuantely it was too windy so I couldn't use them. These are 2.75" across and 4" tall.  I have 8 packages with 6 glasses each.  $3 per set of 6. --if you need more I have 5 extras that lost their package when I was experimenting early on in wedding planning for $2.

Metal Flower Box:

I used the flower boxes as candle holders.  The silver reflects the light really well, but I think that these can be painted really easily as well. They are  8" deep, 20" in length and  7.5" tall.  I have 6 of these.  $5 each

White Taper Candles:

I have one full box of 20 taper candles.  I also have a second box with 17 candles in it.  They are not quite 8" long.  $8 for all 37 candles.

Veil:

Damask Paper:

One package of this 8.5" by 11" paper left.  Great for personalized notes in OOT bags or for giving extra notes to those important people in the wedding in ivitations or thank yous.  Compatible with all types of printers.
$2

Damask Note Pads:

These are note pads that have a magnetic strip along the back side. They are 8" long and  4"across. I have 5 of these left. $3

Dessert or Appetizer Picks:

I have 93 bamboo twist skewer picks. These are a natural greenish brown color They are about 5" long.  $3

Damask Stencils:

These are sticky type stencils that can be used for a variety of things.  They are reusable and work great..I even used them to decorate candles.  SOLD $12 for the 4 stencils shown above.

Glass Cylinders:

I have a variety of glass cylinders that I used for my centerpieces.

I have 4 of these.  4" across by 9" high. They are from Hobby Lobby, so you could get more if you needed it. $10 each

Just one of these left. 6" across by 8" high. I  used it to layer different colored M and Ms.  It's nice because it has a wide mouth which allows people to easily get there hands in it without being awkward. $7

Two of these from Hobby Lobby. 5" across by 12" tall. $12 each

One of these left. $10

More glasses from Ikea:

I have 20 of these glasses left.  I do not have their original packaging.  They are 3.5" across and 7" high. $12

More glasses from Ikea:

I have 12 of these.  I do not have the original packages for these glasses. They are 3" across by 6" high.  $7

Small Round Pearl Beads:

I used these to make my fabric corsages and boutonnieres.  I only used a few out of this package, maybe 10 at the most.  I also have a package of spindle shaped pearl beads.  When I find them, I'll post those too.  $3

Black Mini Pails:

These are small black and silver pails. I used them to keep more treats spread around the venue before the ceremony. I have 3 more silver pails some where. I will post them when I find them also. 2.75" across by 3" high. $2

Votive Candles in Glass :

These have been used, but still have plenty of wick and wax.  I used them on my cake table because the matched the round glass containers that I bought for the centerpieces but these don't dwarf my cake.  $3