Made By Mom: The DIY Ceremony Arch

Even though I was content to just stand on the deck and get married, my mom (knowing better) decided we needed some kind of arch. We had previously tried ordering one online that my mom liked, but shipping was more than the price of the arch. We went to the local rental company and the only one we kind of liked was still $50 just to rent. My mom came up with a plan while at Lowes ... She would MAKE one. Yes, we had a DIY (by Mom) arch for our ceremony.

You already saw the silk/dry floral arrangement that mom made.


Here is how she made the arch for the arrangement to go on.
supplies:
3 - sections of wood trellis from Lowes $12.50 each
white spray paint $4.50 each
Dad's nail gun
heavy gauge wire

Instructions:
Using the spray paint she coated all sides of all 3 panels. I believe 1 can was more than enough to complete the task.

She took the arrangement that she made and using heavy gauge wire attached it to one section of trellis across the front. That became to top of the "arch"

Next Dad stepped in with the nail gun. He set the top portion on the deck and arranged the two sides while it was laying down. The nature of the pattern in the trellis made it easy to get the sides even. He put a few nails in at the top to secure it. We then lifted the arch into place on the deck.

After a few minor adjustments to make sure it was even in the corner, he put a few nails in to hold the arch against the railing and then a few at the bottom to hold it down on the deck.

This is how the arch looks in place. The little white table is where the vases for the sand ceremony will be.

Made by Mom: Decor

Have I mentioned my crafty mom? Here are a few more decor projects she put together.

The silk/dried floral arrangement for the top of the trellis/arch thing that is being built.


A topiary (a second is in the works) they will probably be put on the food table.


The first round of ivy for the inside of the tents. There will be LOTS more of this to come.

Made by Mom: Hair Wreath

There are some projects that I just don't have the time to get done, so instead I give my ideas to my mom and she runs with them and does the DIY for me (love you mom!)

I had this photo in my inspiration folder for how I wanted Miss G's wreath. My mom used it to create an adorable wreath.

She started with a small grapevine wreath. She softened the grapevines by letting them soak in the sink for a few hours until she was able to unravel the wreath. The one 99 cent wreath that she bought actually made 2 wreaths.


We then had Miss G try them on to see which fit her best.



Then my mom took the left over sunflowers from the pomander and arranged them and hot glued them around the wreath. This picture was taken with the ribbon wrapped around the wreath, but we decided to take that part off.


Miss G will be back on Sunday so she will get to try the finished product on then.

Do you have anyone helping with your "DIY" projects?

Spotlight on Mom

Since today is Mother's Day I figured it was as good a time as any to tell you a little about my momma, and show off the adorable dress that she found last month to wear for the wedding.

I am the only girl in my family and I am the oldest. On top of that I was also the first grandchild on my father's side, as well as the first girl for my grandma. My grandma had 3 rough and tumble boys so when I came a long it was blessings all around. My mom went on to have 2 more boys (well they are twins) so she and I had to be the "strong woman force" together.

1979, 6 months old at the Redwoods

Our relationship has had many crash & burns over the years.

1983 Tahoe Trip

In the end she has always been there for me. Now that I am a mom myself I appreciate her even more.

Little A's baby shower 2001 - with both of my grandmothers before they passed away.

At my first wedding my mom did a LOT of the planning and DIY details. She tied the 150 bows for the invitations, glued 300+ seashells onto little mini frames. She even created the centerpieces. She has such a special talent for those type of projects. I have been trying to follow in her lead and since I am in town with her I am sure lots of my DIY projects will be Mom & Me projects instead.

When it came to finding a MOB dress for my mom none of the traditional options really fit with our wedding style. The long formal dresses with jackets are very nice, and she has worn those type of dresses to the 3 previous weddings (my 1st and each of my brothers). That formality just didn't fit in with our backyard/at home venue. It also would have been odd for her dress to be longer than mine, and since mine is tea length she wanted to find one similar.

She found a few options online at jcrew and David's Bridal in the bridesmaid sections. None seemed perfect though. She wanted to try them a few on before purchasing anything. Last month my dad had a business meeting up in Phoenix so Mom took that opportunity to go look for a dress at the Malls over there.

She was very disappointed at the first Mall that she went too. It was a very upscale Mall and she felt very out of place. She found a dress she liked at the Mac's there but they were sold out of her size and the sales lady didn't even offer to look up online :( She walked into a Chico's as well and was completely ignored, so she walked back out of there. While on the phone with me, sounding very discouraged she walked by an Ann Taylor and saw a dress in the window. She started describing it to me and I started looking on the website for it. I told her I liked it, so she braved the store and went to the rack to look for her size. No luck! They didn't have her size.

Not to be disscouraged I looked on the website to see if the Ann Taylor in town had her size. It wasn't in town, but there was a store at the Mall a few miles away from where my mom was in the Phoenix area. She hung up the phone with me and headed that way.

Her experience at the next store was VERY pleasant. The sales lady was very helpful, and helped zip up the dress and then complimented her on how great the dress looked on her. As did a few of the other customers in the dressing room. I wish I had been able to be there with her to take a picture. Since I wasn't, I will just show you which dress from Ann Taylor she picked


It has multiple different shades of blue, so it will easily tie in with Mr. B's shirt & shoes and the petticoat on my dress. It will also be VERY comfortable for her with the sleeveless design and the fact that it is cotton. Since there isn't a bridal party we don't have to worry about the pattern being too busy with other dresses. As a bonus she will also be able to wear it after the wedding, which she wasn't able to do with any of her other MOB dresses.

Did your mom find her dress in an unlikely place?

My mom is amazing

I think she will really like that post title ;)

Seriously she is awesome! My mom has always been very crafty and artistic. I remember watching her paint and make grapevine wreaths as a child, just as a small example of her creativity. What my mom is also good at is parties! She takes the ideas and makes them reality. It is SO cool. You already saw the wonderful job that she did on Mommy To Be's baby shower. Here is a sneak peak at a few of her others parties and weddings.

These were my daughter's birthday parties:
Circus Themed Birthday with a Big Top, cotton candy and clowns:


A Wild West Birthday Party complete with pony rides and hay bales:


How about a Princess Tea Party? Yes the girls are eating off real china and drinking from champange glasses!

(my daughter is the princess in the pink!)

This year's Rock Star party:


What about my son you say?
Here is his pirate party, with a homemade faux cannon and treasure hunt:


And the small but fun Mario Bros Party (I love the hats my mom made for all the kids)


You have seen her yard in a few of the above photos, it is perfect for parties because it is such a large open yard. Which is why we are using it for the wedding. Here is the yard set up for a few events:

My baby shower:


My parent's 25th Anniversary


Here are some of the detail shots I took at my brother's wedding in 2006. They had a Napa Valley wedding. Didn't the cake turn out great? They bought a simply decorated white cake from the bakery and my mom special ordered those gum paste grapes and decorated the cake herself.


Most tables were long banquet tables. She used long garland and then arranged the champange flutes that were filled with the purple wrapped Hershey Kisses.


The guest book table:


Part of the buffet table decor. Mom did the arrangement of ivy & grapes herself


The family tables and sweet heart table. The glass urns had lights in the bottom for some extra twinkle once it got darker.


I don't have digital pictures of my 1st wedding or my other brother's Hometown Reception, but they were done just as beautifully. I really have no doubt that mom will be able to help execute all of the wedding ideas Mr. B and I have in our heads.

Do you have a craft friend or family member that is helping with decorations and planning?