Given that this week is all about celebrating our readers, including bloggers amongst the brides, I think this is a perfect time to announce what is going to become a regular feature and one that I’m pretty excited about.
It’s no secret that we don’t feature other bloggers or blogs here regularly and there are a couple of reasons for that. The first and most important is that we are seriously too busy to keep up with anything other than what we’re getting on with ourselves, so we try and keep our heads down and get on with making Rock My Wedding great! Secondly, we want to bring you new and exciting blog things whether they be inspiration and ideas or real weddings. And thirdly, because we want to bring you stuff we LOVE. The whole reason Rock My Wedding was created was to fill a gap in the market – although the ‘wedding blog’ wasn’t a new concept, it was relatively new to the UK, and the way we did it was certainly new. So we are pretty choosy (like we are in real life,) about what we see and decide to share here.
However for me Rock My Wedding is missing one thing that I would love to share more often and that is DIY. Believe me, if there was one thing I could spend more time on, that would be it. DIY projects to make your wedding completely chic and unique, completely you, completely budget friendly, creative and special. I’m a huge fan of DIY and in an ideal world I’d be sitting here creating little projects for you all from my own fair hands. We have shared the odd idea here and there in the past, some of our own making, and I hope as we get straight around here (who am I kidding?!) I’ll get time to turn my attentions towards creating a few more… but in the mean time, it’s time I got to give some appreciation to the creative bloggers out there who I truly admire and am inspired by on a near daily basis.
So every week on DIY Fridays, you can expect me to bring you one, or sometimes two or three little morsels of creativity from around the web, that you can make or do for your big day (and sometimes just for any day) saving money and getting that amazing feeling of ‘I made that!’
As it’s our first week, I’m going to kick off with a DIY Printable for everyone with a man in their life, married, engaged or not, and an idea to personalise your drinks reception.
Erin Vale Designs
Erin Vale is a Freelance designer/Art Director who started Vale Deisgns in 2006. Based in Indiana, USA, Erin also launched finch&hawk, an online store featuring favor box printables and paper goods. Her blog is a treasure trove of free printables but as a girl with a list making obsession (I blame my Mum) it’s her super cute lists that got me hooked 
I had to print this one out straight away… (Poor Pete is always asking me (it’s standing joke in our house) “what’s on his list” this weekend, so this Honey Dew list (Via Each Pretty Penny) was such a cute way of making the same list that little bit sweeter!) I couldn’t help but think of all the planning brides, desperate to get their grooms helping out and thought this might be just the ticket. Whether it be a Saturday while you are out at a fitting or in the busy days before the wedding these lists are fun and fresh and useable for any man who needs a little push to get going!
For everyone who like me makes an average of 3 freakin’ lists every day, or dreamy blog topics for our blogging friends, Erin has some free printables for your use too. Be sure to head over to Erin Vale Design to look at the blog and her other free downloadables.
Custom Cocktail Napkins
Just a couple of weeks back I got an email from a bride asking me if she knew anywhere she could find some cocktail napkins she had seen in an image from a photographers gallery. The napkin had printed on it ‘Please, shut up about your wedding!’ which I thought was humorous, albeit not to everyones taste, take on wedding obsessions!
Whilst searching for them online to help her out, I came across a super easy tutorial on how to make your own custom napkins by Julianne Smith aka The Garter Girl via The Landlocked Bride. Julianne makes the tradition of wearing a garter completely stylish and has the most gorgeous collection of modern and pretty garters for those of you who might want to wear one to complete your bridal look.
At her recent launch party Julianne made custom cocktail napkins with just a rubber stamp and I think they would be fabulous for a wedding. Wether you use a floral motif, your own monogram, your name and date, or anything else in fact that ties in with your wedding theme, it’s an easy and quick way of adding some DIY personality to your day.
The how to is so simple – even the most DIY-phobic can manage this!
1. Design a logo (or get a friend who can use publisher, pages or photoshop to do it!)
2. Get the logo made into a rubber stamp… try Speedy Stamps custom circular designer with a nifty tool to help you out, or the English Stamp Company.
3. Purchase your napkins (probably best to allow 2-3 per guest) and contrasting ink pad.
4. Get Stamping!
Check out the full DIY custom napkin post here.
Hope you enjoyed this weeks offerings? Make sure DIY Devotee is a regular stop for you every Friday and if you have any fab DIY projects you made yourself, shoot me an email on rebecca@rockmywedding.co.uk and we’ll see if we can include them!
Yours Truly,
Rebecca
xoxo
I love the font on the napkins, that’s gorgeous. (Also giggling at ‘shut up about your wedding’ – naughty but true) Claire xx
Yey – love DIY! Brilliant idea for the napkins, I’m definitely going to give those a go! x
Oh and her garters are gorgeous – especially the couture – might have to dorp serious hints about the ‘velvet necklace’!
Love the napkin idea!! Now off to think of the perfect phrase…
This will be brilliant for a friend’s birthday I’m helping to organise. Thank you.
Great idea.
Not so strictly DIY, but more Dad It Yourself, I have my wonderful Dad making me 10 olive wood cheese boards (which will be branded with our names and the date) so that we can serve a cheese course during the evening. We’re then going to give them away (nabbing one for ourselves, obviously) to some of the lovely guests.
DIY touches are one of my favourite things about weddings!
ooooh I love a bit of DIY (only the wedding related kind though!), having just finished making my own invitations I firmly have the DIY buzz….what to make next…..? I shall be watching this space for ideas!
You do spoil us!
I do so Love DIY!
xxxxx
Hello Lovelies!
I was at Rebecca’s at the weekend and I saw the Honey Dew print out on the kitchen table as soon as I walked in – I was like “OMG what is THAT?! I love it!!!! ”
Seriously it is just cute as hell.
Everyone needs one in their life
Happy Friday Folks
Charlotte xxx
Totally agree with Charlotte – Am loving it!
Might even print it out tonight to give the boy some jobs for the weekend! Tee Hee!
Lovin’ DIY fridays already!
Rachie xo
DIY friday-great idea! I’m doing quite a lot of DIY projects for my wedding-buttonholes/napkins/hair accessory/home made fudge favours/dessert buffet etc etc and its making wedding planning much more fun in between all the phone calls and organising! looking forward to the next DIY installement!
xx
love DIY Friday
x
I love the idea of DIY Fridays!
I may have to print out a few of the ‘freaking never ending to do lists’ for my office too x
OMG! two words… ‘free’ and ‘lists’
quite possibly two of my favourite words in the english language!!
I am quite sure that even the total gorgeousness of those printables will have not the slightest impact on mr recyclenow’s ability to ignore any requests i make of him but it won’t stop me having them.
I am planning on DIY-ing tonnes of stuff for W day so DIY Friday is a complete godsend.
thank-you RMW
Thank you so much for the kind words and the feature! Truly humbled. Can you see me blushing
Brilliant I am a huge DIY fan our wedding is just one big DIY extravaganza. we have made our own invitations,seating plan,name place settings,flowers, styling the marquee, catering,wedding transport, wedding cake,sweet table,hair and make up and entertainment. Crossed fingers it is all ok! xxx
Woo! Looks like DIY Devotee is going to go down a storm!!!
Very very excited!
xoxo
Love, love, love the napkins!!! I may have to do these little beauties for my own big day!! xxx
Thanks for the link back! I love how simple and easy this project that Julianne did! It’s DIY made easy!
Haha at recyclenow’s comments – we share the same passion! I even make lists of what to list on my list!
I love these DIY ideas.
Charlotte, Rebecca – could you please hunt around for some gorgeous DIY invitations. I haven’t been able to find anything that comes close to the idea in my head yet, so I’m planning to make my own. BUT I need some more inspiration!
This site just keeps getting better and better. Well done girls
xxx
Laura – I’m making my own invites. Fortunately, I have a nicely artistic friend who I sent pictures of our church and venue to and she’s done some beyoootiful drawings of which we’re going to get printed with the details.
You must know someonw who can draw?
PS Lists rock
Woohoo I am a DIY addict! Really looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us each friday now! x x x
I saw these back in August when they were first shown on ‘oneprettything.com’ but forgot about them. Thanks for reminding me how great they are!
Laura – take a look on oneprettything.com and search under ‘weddings’ and there are soooo many fantastic ideas and tutorials.
Can’t wait to see what RMW offers…it is such a great idea to DIY.
Mx
Thank you ladies!
xxx
Molly that website is fabulous – great tip off, thank you lots! Sorry for hijacking this post! xx
I know – the lady who runs it trawls all the US blogs for us to find all the great things out there. I look at it every day (after checking out RMW of course!)x