Weekly Wedding: Jazz Age Paper

Buhl Mansion Parlour

I just started watching the HBO show Boardwalk Empire this past weekend and it has inspired me to plan an elegant, budget, Jazz Age inspired wedding for this week's theme.  I actually originally had planned this wedding theme around the idea of using all paper decorations and bouquets as a way to save money, and then realized that this could work very well with a sort of 1920's inspired theme if the paper was gilded with gold paint.  I want to keep this wedding on the simpler side to really let the unique details shine through.  I imagine this as a bit of a smaller wedding that can take place in a non-traditional setting such as a library or private home.  I also think it would be really cool to have this as a morning wedding with a brunch in place of a traditional reception.

Jazz Age Inspiration

First off, I want the bride's dress to be simple but elegant.  A dress that hits just below the knees would be fitting for the Jazz Age inspiration, but a simple lacy fitted or sheath gown with a modest train would be nice too.  I particularly like this Amy Kuschel gown, with a tea length tulle skirt and illusion neckline.  A few similar dresses from David's Bridal are this Melissa Sweet fitted tulle dress and this sequined sheath with cap sleeves.  The bride will forego a veil and wear a pretty headband instead, and accessorize with some vintage looking teardrop jewelry from Icing. Some stylish white pumps would complete the bridal ensemble.



Since this is a smaller wedding, I imagine the bride would only have one or two bridesmaids, wearing gold sequined dresses and also carrying paper bouquets.  The bridesmaids would wear nude or tan shoes with a slight heel, as well as simple, understated jewelry.

Newspaper Flowers

The bride and bridal party's bouquets would be made out of origami newspaper flowers, spray-painted or edged with gold paint, and a few solid color paper flowers.  There are many different styles of flowers that can be made out of paper, as demonstrated in this Etsy shop.  The bride can save a lot of money using local newspapers and inviting some crafty and creative friends and family members to help out making the bouquets.  Having a flower making party also offers the bride a chance to spend some quality time bonding and having fun with her family and friends before the wedding.  As a bonus, these paper bouquets can be made well in advance of the wedding because they don't need to be kept fresh like cut flowers do.  Additional flowers can be made to use as decorations and centerpieces for the ceremony and reception.  I have seen some really cute paper decorations that range from large pinwheels that can be used as a backdrop for the head table at the reception, to balls of paper flowers hanging from the ceiling to frame a photo opportunity, to wreaths and boutonnieres made out of paper roses.

Naked Cake

Even though this wedding would be a brunch wedding, I still want the bride and groom to have their wedding cake after the eggs florentine and quiches.  To prevent the guests from going into a sugar coma so early in the day, a "naked" cake with just a bit of icing between the layers and decorated with fresh fruit would be the perfect cake to end the meal.

I hope this post has inspired you to add some gilded, Jazz Age flair to your wedding ideas!

Here are some great tutorials for making paper flower bouquets!
http://www.ourlakelife.com/2012/03/14/diy-handmade-paper-flower-bouquet/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zBbcCd7-2Y
http://www.ehow.com/info_8138257_tutorials-origami-flowers.html

More Free Crochet Patterns- Modern Pillow Patterns

I like crocheting my own decorative pillows because it saves a TON of money! Pillows are expensive, especially if you like to change your decor seasonally.  It doesn't take much time to crochet these pillows and you can make them in the exact size, pattern, and colors that you want.  A basic skein of RedHeart brand yarn costs less than $5 and can be used to make several small-medium sized pillows. For a lot of the modern, intricate patterns that are in fashion right now I recommend making a single-crochet background square and then cross-stitching your design onto that. Here are several free designs to get you started: 

Scale Pattern Pillow

Modern Pillow #3

Leafy Pillow

Modern Pillow #1

Modern Pillow #2

Weekly Wedding #1- Boho Eclectic

For the first weekly wedding theme I've chosen an eclectic bohemian feel.  This bride is grounded in simplicity and loves to relax and have fun.  She probably plays guitar or drums in a local indie band.

Recycled Slip Dress- Etsy $430

For this bride's dress, I've chosen something that is elegant and beautiful without being fussy.  After perusing many vintage and bohemian style options, I decided the best dress for this bride would be a custom made dress from Etsy.  This dress is made by Etsy seller ktjean from recycled vintage slips in ivory and soft white.  This bride also wishes to maintain a little bit of modesty so she would pair it with a matching bolero jacket as styled in the photograph.

To match the relaxed vibe of the bride's dress, her bridesmaids would wear summery floral sundresses in complementary (but not matching!) prints and colors. By only dictating the style and pattern/color scheme, each bridesmaid is able to choose a dress that she truly likes and will be able to wear multiple times.  The soft blues and purples of these four dresses complement each other without looking too matchy or clashing

Nine West Serious- $40 (sale)

Bridesmaids dresses from left to right:
Beauty in Bloom- Modcloth $53
Lace in the Sun- Modcloth $53
Bohemian Maxi- ecrater $20
Meadow Maze- Modcloth $60

Rocket Dog SHELL $35

To accesorize, the bride would maintain her theme of simplicity and wear these cream and tan thong sandals while her bridesmaids would wear similar black leather thong sandals with blue beading.  Each women would wear their hair down or in a loosely braided style with natural looking make-up.  The bride would forego the traditional veil in favor of a more earthy looking headband.

Satin Flowers Headband- Icing $12.50

As for flowers the bridal party would carry bouquets of succulents and greens wrapped with ivory ribbon and tied with vintage charms or small lockets with photographs of the bride and individual bridesmaid.  

The music would be recorded selections of the bride and groom's favorite modern love songs played by the Vitamin String Quartet.  

Image by Rae Leytham via Elizabeth Anne Designs

*FYI: All links in the above post are for your information only and are not part of any affiliate or sponsorship program*

The Devil in the Details- Budget Wedding Stationary

I think I'll wrap up this series of budget wedding idea posts with some tips to save money on all the little things.  The small details of a wedding can quickly add up, especially if you are inviting a large number of guests or want to add  personal touches to a lot of things.  As with everything before, I can't stress flexibility enough.  If you have your heart set on some exact, particular detail, you will probably end up paying more than if you keep a general idea of what you want and find the best deals on whatever goes with your idea.  Also, if you have a lot of time to plan and work on things yourself, you will definitely save a TON of money.

Since invitations are pretty vital to every wedding, I'll start with some ideas to save money on stationary.  Many people choose to send save-the-dates ahead of actual invitations, but this really isn't necessary.  You can cut down on costs by skipping this step and relying on word of mouth to let your friends and family keep their calendars open for your wedding day.  I haven't really found save the date cards for any cheaper than $0.80 per card, plus tax and the additional cost of envelopes and stamps.  I really do think that you will be fine with just sending invitations, but if you absolutely have to send save-the-dates, keep them small and simple to save on mailing costs, or DIY.

Michaels Elegant Swirls Invitations

As for the invitations themselves, DIY is going to be your best bet if you are looking for classy and elegant stationary at a budget price.  I used a BRIDES® invitation kit from Michaels, printed and assembled them myself, and they turned out absolutely gorgeous! If you pay extra, you could also order your invitations from www.Michaels.com, but I preferred the DIY method because it allowed me more control over exactly how my invitations looked.
When you buy the kit in a store, the packaging will have a website from which you can download the proper format for the invitations to use in your word processing program.  This is a good starting place to ensure that the wording on your invitations is formatted and spaced properly on the paper.

Glue pad for rubber stamps

If the tone of your wedding is more casual, you could also just buy some nice cardstock and ribbon to design and print your own invitations.  If you are good at arts and crafts and have ample time, you could dress up your plain cardstock invitations with a pretty stamped design; all you would need are stamps and a quality ink.  Most arts and crafts stores also carry clear glue "ink" that can be covered with glitter after being stamped on paper.  Another good way to dress up simpler invitations is to add a raised monogram using a custom embosser.  Most of these handy little stamping tools cost around $50-$75 and can be used on ALL of your wedding stationary (invitations, envelopes, response cards, thank you's, etc) as well as on paper favor bags and even napkins!

Weddingpaperdivas.com Spring Monogram

Wedding programs are also rather important, but the same money-saving ideas from your invitations can also be applied to your programs.  Most stores like Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, etc..., carry DIY program kits. These are usually plain and simple but can be embellished with ribbons and charms, glitter, scalloped edges, and fancy fonts.  Again, you can start from scratch and DIY using all of your own supplies, but please please please at the very least use a good ivory or white cardstock and NOT plain computer paper (that just looks tacky and cheap).
 

Hopefully these ideas help you; please comment with any questions you have or if you have another good idea to save money on wedding stationary! Next up, music and photography ideas, then possibly some sample/mock budget weddings!