Unique Wedding Rings from Brent & Jess

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My friend Cyndi and her partner have the most unique (and personal!) rings I’ve ever seen. In fact, Cyndi’s “fingerprint” ring is so eye-catching that it is one of the first things I noticed about her.

Their rings came from Brent & Jess, a company that specializes in putting very realistic fingerprints on the outside (or inside) of rings.

Using a one-of-a-kind fingerprint impression kit, Brent & Jess capture the ridges and valleys specific to each finger—the real texture, unlike an ink print. The ring is then cast using the “lost wax casting process,” resulting in an actual impression of your finger.

If you’re looking for something a little different in your wedding rings, check out some of the styles (and sets) from Brent & Jess:

scatterbrush6mm45353 narrow milgrain235 gold narrow ring927

Eco-Friendly Invitations from Bella Figura

I discovered the work of Bella Figura while planning my wedding in 2007, and quickly fell in love. They offer a mix of modern and classic letterpress styles, and every item they print is green. What’s not to love?

Check out some of my favorite styles below, see their offerings on their website, or learn more about their eco-friendly practices (here’s a teaser: in addition to green printing practices, they’re also wind-powered and subsidize both bus passes & CSA boxes for employees. In short, they rock!).

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DIY Ideas: Alternatives to the traditional guest “book”

I’ve signed a guest book of some kind at every wedding I’ve ever attended. Most were traditional books, which end up on a shelf somewhere and are rarely opened again.

I love the new(-ish) trend of guest “books” that double as art for your home—what a great way to remember your wedding, and the loved ones you shared it with!

Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

Commission a piece of art, and have your guests sign it

Guest book on a canvas

image source: rock n’ roll bride

A monogram (You can have a custom wooden monogram made here)

 

image source: style me pretty

image source: style me pretty

 

Thumb print guestbook (these are getting popular, for a good reason—though your guests may not be wild about ink on their thumbs for the rest of the night!)

source: pinterest

source: pinterest

 

A guestbook quilt

 

 

This amazing bench (thanks for sharing to my friend Brooke!)

image source: killer b. designs

image source: killer b. designs

What are you planning to use?  A traditional guest book or creating something a little different? Share what you’re doing in the comments below, or join us on Facebook.

Up-Cycling a Vintage Dress

Doing it Yourself: Upcycling a Vintage Wedding Dress

My parents were married in 1976, and my mother’s gorgeous floral dress was a dream. Unfortunately, I didn’t think about wearing it until I’d already purchased my own dress; it wouldn’t have needed an inch of alterations.

Many women save their dresses for their daughters. If you are lucky enough to have a mother who did this and wore something beautiful, fantastic! That’s not the case for most brides-to-be: styles have changed a lot over the years (especially since the dreaded 1980s).

Never fear—you can alter vintage dresses into more modern versions of themselves, making them an eco-friendly and meaningful choice for your wedding gown. Here are a few of my favorites:

This classic gown, made from her grandmother’s modest dress:
Altered 60's wedding gown

A shorter take on this 1980’s frock:

Short altered vintage wedding dress

And this one, made from vintage slips:

Wedding Gown Made from Vintage Slips

If you know how to sew, or know a talented seamstress, consider “up-cycling” a vintage dress. It creates a special connection to your family history, and you’ll have something truly one-of-a-kind!

Is this something you’ve done or would consider doing? Share your photos, experience or inspiration with us on Facebook.

Reception Ideas: Cakes as centerpieces

image sources: the knot, weddingbee, photographer

image sources: left, top right, bottom right

Before I planned a wedding, I knew next-to-nothing about them. So, when I went to my friend Krista’s wedding in 2008, I thought her centerpieces were cute—but I didn’t realize how completely genius they were until later.

On every table, Krista had a small cake instead of a floral centerpiece. Each cake was decorated differently, adding visual interest, and had a notecard sticking out the top with the table number. At the end of the meal, the servers removed the cakes from each table, cut them, and invited guests to choose a slice from one of four flavors.

I love this idea, because it saves money and resources—and still looks great.

Imagine the possibilities: you could borrow cake plates from friends, DIY your own from plates, candle sticks and wine glasses, or start a new collection of vintage pieces.

Here are a few of my favorite examples:

 

 

The wedding is over…what will you do with your dress?

What to do with your wedding dress after the wedding

While I was planning my wedding, I participated in a local online message board on The Knot. I made friends with women who were getting married at the same time I was, so we went through the entire experience—from engagement to marriage—together.

After our weddings, there was one question we all asked: What are you doing with your wedding gown?

wedding gown

Many of my fellow newlyweds paid to have their gowns cleaned and boxed, not knowing whether they’d be saving it for their daughters or just keeping it in the closet indefinitely. Some tried (usually unsuccessfully) to resell their dresses.

A couple of the more crafty women repurposed their gowns. One dyed her knee-length dress pink, hoping to wear it for another occasion. Another made pillows for her couch, and another created a quilt.

Then there were the brides like me: After the wedding, I hung my dress in the closet and left it there. For years. Over time, I pushed it further and further into the recesses of the closet, until one day I asked myself, “What the heck am I going to do with this dress?” It was beautiful, but I obviously wasn’t planning to wear it again.

After thinking through my options, I decided to donate it. My charity of choice was Brides for a Cause, which benefits Wish Upon a Wedding. I simply put my gown—garment bag and all—in a box, shipped it to Brides for a Cause, and received a donation receipt in my mailbox two weeks later. I contacted the organization after about a month or so, and was told that a very happy bride had purchased my dress. I was thrilled.

Brides for a Cause isn’t the only nonprofit organization that accepts wedding gowns. One of the most well known is Brides Against Breast Cancer, which contributes the proceeds from each sale to programs for cancer patients and their families. Another option is Brides Across America, which donates wedding gowns to military brides.

Donating my wedding gown was easy and made me feel great—it’s another excellent way to give back to charity with your wedding. I highly recommend it! Your gift may just make another bride’s day.

Plantable Paper Wedding Invitations: the work of Botanical Paperworks

When I was planning my wedding, I came across Botanical Paperworks and fell in love with the idea of flower seed paper. Since then, they’ve come up with a fun line of wedding invitations in addition to their memorial cards (which we got for my grandmother) and plantable confetti. Here are a few of my favorite plantable wedding invitations (click each invitation for more information)!

Leaf plantable wedding invitation

Plantable tropical wedding invitations

Doing DIY? They can do that too!

Non-floral Ceremony Decor

Non-floral wedding ceremony decor ideas

Decorating your ceremony can prove costly: both to you and the environment. Opting for non-floral decor—especially items that can be reused—will help both problems. Check a few of our favorite non-floral wedding ceremony decor ideas.

This use of Christmas lights is creative and classy:

Christmas lights wedding ceremony decor

Christmas lights wedding ceremony decor

This “memory lane” aisle runner will command your guests’ attention; they won’t even notice the lack of other decor:

Memory lane ceremony aisle runner

Unique chairs can also take the place of decor. This spiral arrangement is very striking:

Spiral chairs ceremony setup

The brightly colored cushions on these white chairs really make this ceremony “pop”:

Bright cushions white chairs ceremony decor

And finally, getting creative with ribbons or drapery can make for a romantic backdrop that can be re-used later. Like this look? Try tying the ribbons to a tension rod (the kind for showers).

Ribbon ceremony backdrop

Like these ideas? Want more? Check out I Do Foundation’s Wedding Ceremony Pinterest Board.

Volunteer Honeymoons: An Opportunity to Make a Difference Together

Travel, especially international travel, has a big impact on our environment. Instead of simply taking a vacation for your honeymoon, why not take this opportunity to make a lasting difference in our world?

Below you will find a list of national and international opportunities to take a volunteer honeymoon vacation. Contact each charity for details:

NATIONAL

Charity Guide
Browse by category for opportunities to volunteer and make a difference during your vacation.

Habitat for Humanity
They welcome everyone who can help as they build simple, decent, affordable, houses in partnership with those in need of adequate shelter. Since 1976, Habitat has built more than 100,000 houses in more than 80 countries, including some 30,000 houses across the United States.

Lean on Me
If you’re looking for volunteer opportunities in New Orleans, and have any kind of construction/contractor skills, they can definitely use your help!

Sierra Club
Sierra Club founder John Muir was convinced that the best way to persuade people to fight to save valuable wild areas was to take them into the wilderness and let them experience for themselves the beauty that needs defending. As a result of this conviction, in 1901 the Sierra Club Outing progam began.

Sousson Foundation
For over 14 years, the Sousson Foundation has organized hundreds of volunteers to help bridge the gap where government resources are unable to meet the growing need for preservation and rehabilitation of fragile wilderness ecosystems within our National Parks.

Student Conservation Association
This is America’s largest and oldest provider of national and community conservation service opportunities, outdoor education and career training for youth. SCA volunteers and interns annually perform more than one million hours of conservation service in national parks, forests, refuges, and urban areas in all 50 states.

Volunteer America
VolunteerAmerica connects individuals, families and groups with volunteer opportunities and volunteer vacations on public lands all across America. Offered by a variety of organizations, volunteer vacations range from trail building and restoring meadows to archeological digs and whale counting.


INTERNATIONAL

Cactus Volunteers Abroad
Cactus Volunteers Abroad has teamed up with i-to-i to produce a range of award-winning volunteer projects. These volunteer projects provide unique travel and work experiences to people of all ages and backgrounds. Whether you’re young or old, just graduating or on a work break, volunteering could be your perfect opportunity to get out there and do something different.

CARE Corps Abroad
CARE Corps Abroad, in conjunction with partner, Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), provides a unique volunteer travel opportunity for just about anyone interested in educational travel or working abroad.

Cross Cultural Solutions
Cross-Cultural Solutions is a nonprofit organization that sends volunteers abroad to provide humanitarian assistance with their Volunteer Work Programs in China, Ghana, India, Peru, and Russia.

Cultural Restoration Tourism Project
CRTP works with local communities to restore culturally important structures, and promoting responsible tourism through volunteer vacations.

EarthWatch Expeditions
Earthwatch Institute is the world’s oldest, largest, and most respected organization directly involving the public in scientific field research. This year, Earthwatch will support more than 130 expeditions in 45 countries, and will send some 4,000 members of the public into the field to work side-by-side with leading scientists. These teams of volunteers will collect data under the scientists’ direction and work as full-fledged expedition members, sharing the costs of the research among them.

Explorations in Travel
If you’re looking to spend an extended amount of time in an area, working on a foreign language, developing or using skills that will help in future employment, or who just want a new, challenging experience, their volunteer placement provides an invaluable opportunity.

Globe Aware
Globe Aware, a nonprofit organization, currently offers volunteer vacations in Peru, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cuba, Nepal, Brazil, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. These short-term adventures in service focus on cultural-awareness and sustainability, and are often compared to a mini peace corps experience.

Global Citizens
Global Citizens Network seeks to create a network of people who are committed to the shared values of peace, justice, tolerance, cross-cultural understanding and global cooperation, to the preservation of indigenous cultures, traditions and ecologies, and to the enhancement of the quality of life around the world. They have many opportunities around the country and the world where you can help and learn.

Global Volunteers
At the request of local leaders and indigenous host organizations, Global Volunteers sends teams of volunteers to live and work with local people on human and economic development projects identified by the community as important to its long-term development.

Heritage Conservation Network
Join Heritage Conservation Network and take their mission around the world. Hands-on building conservation workshops bring participants together with local residents working to save their cultural heritage.

Oceanic Society Expeditions
The Expeditions programs offer opportunities to enjoy and learn about wildlife and natural habitats or to assist scientists with field research.

PeaceWork
Peacework arranges international volunteer service projects around the world for colleges, universities, and service organizations. Volunteers help meet the critical needs of marginalized communities in developing areas by working with host organizations on existing self-development projects.

Volunteers for Peace
Services include providing consultation and a placement service for workcamp hosts and volunteers, linking people with programs. Programs foster international education, voluntary service, and friendship. In the last 20 years, they have exchanged over 20,000 volunteers in international workcamps world-wide.

Volunteers Visions
Volunteer Visions offers project placements throughout the world if you seek adventure, cultural immersion, and have the desire to make a difference.

WLS International
Volunteer in China and Vietnam. WLS International has volunteer work opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and in Beijing, China.

For more comprehensive resources about Volunteer Vacations:
Free Vacations & Bargain Adventures in the USA
Volunteer Vacations
Ideas for Volunteering Wisely from JustGive