not for the weak-at-heart

Here are a few larger-scale projects if you want to get really ambitious with your crafting. The first is another great idea from ReadyMade Magazine, a homemade chuppah made of birch tree trunks and flowers. They were even kind enough to create a special link for easy-to-follow directions. My thanks to the folks RM!


Carol Barclay of Rochester, NY sent in these great photos of her daughter's backyard summer wedding, featuring a tree branch arch and driveway stencils. They did a few heavy-duty projects for decorations, and their efforts really paid off:

"The ceremony was under a handmade sycamore arch in the back and the
dinner was under a fluttery tent in the front, so I wanted to make
the path between the areas into a special walkway. I stenciled silver scrolls the whole length of the driveway! It took over 6 hours on my knees... and we had a gathering of neighbors out checking out what I was up to."






Katy Verga of Arizona had loads of great handmade things in her wedding. I particularly liked the way they tackled the issue of baking hot weather at her backyard wedding. It's tough to pull off a weather solution that is functional AND elegant:

"Because our wedding was on a May afternoon in steaming Arizona, & we were inviting our guests to sit out beneath the near scorching sun, we knew we would need to provide some sort of shade. My creative mom came up with the idea of long stretches of sheer white fabric. We hung the strips from our roof & lengthened them to a string of wire hung throughout the trees. They worked! Lots of shade & a nice soft ambience that made the whole afternoon feel more intimate. Tiny bells hanging in the trees made for soft song when the breeze would catch them."





Thanks so much for the submissions. More flowers and decorations coming tomorrow morning...