10 simple handmade wedding bands under $250

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your etsy weddings: hannah's daily etsian finds

{ hannah's pick: moss ring bearer pillow by aprilhilerdesigns }

[today's guest host is the lovely hannah, who writes a fantastic blog on etsy, crafting, and all sorts of artistic inspiration, here to tell her etsy wedding story and share her excellent finds:]

My name is Hannah and I can be found over at the Daily Etsian. My darling boy and I are getting married June 12, 2010 at the university where we met and fell in love. We're totally psyched about the wedding, our impending marriage, and life in general. Our reception is going to be held at a hall that is on the grounds of seven acres of gardens. Thus, our theme for the reception has naturally become gardens and outdoorsy-ness.

Here are some Etsy lovelies that I found while trolling the site looking for wedding inspiration. As I'm planning to make much of the wedding details by hand (such as all the corsages, boutonnieres, my veil, centerpieces, favors, etc.), I've included several tutorials in this collection of Etsy Wedding goodness. Enjoy!

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plus tutorials!

how to make a birdcage veil


how to make a vintage fabric flower


diy kit and tutorial: ribbon flower brooch

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i had never thought of looking on etsy for DIY instructions and templates -- thanks so much to hannah for sharing these! please check out the daily etsian for more tutorials, finds, and etsy inspiration, and best wishes to hannah for june 2010.

etsy wedding street team: weekly giveaways

{ etsy wedding team autumn of giveaways }

the etsy wedding street team (no relation to yours truly, though i've always wanted a street team -- think how much i'd get done!) is hosting a giveaway each week this fall of lovely handmade items. week two's giveaway deadline is 6pm tuesday 9/29, so i'm sneaking it in under the wire. check out the etsy wedding street team blog for more info on prizes and how to enter. found via the ever-inspiring maidavale (she of gorgeous invitations and ideas). thanks!

kelly + vince elope to boston

all photos by the amazing emily sterne

at long last: photos!

my dear friends eloped to boston two months ago and married each other in the public garden. it was ridiculously sane. his friend robbie performed the ceremony, and i carried rings and teetered on heels like it was my job. (it was.)

however, since i am the original bridesmaidzilla (see also: starting wedding blog when planning sister's wedding), it couldn't be too hard to complicate a simple elopement. right?

i thought: kelly and vince both love art and photography... we had to find a photographer to document this! yes! and posted an incredibly last-minute note to see if anyone wanted to join the adventure in exchange for a post on the experience. and that's how we found emily sterne, who I must tell you is a treasure. (thank you, thank you, thank you, emily! your time and your beautiful images are the best gift i could have hoped for for my friends.)

from the beginning, emily was gracious, generous, flexible, and patient -- but what i hadn't expected was how genuinely excited and moved she was to take part, and how much *fun* we all had.

in a way i don't want to tell too much of that day, you can see how wonderful it all was from emily's photos. everything was simple and straightforward -- flowers from the copley square farmers' market, the public garden "reserved" at 4:30, pick out a spot to meet, have a best friend as minister for the day (MA allows), and then -- dress up, look gorgeous, and change your life. it makes me teary thinking about it even now, how profound and good the minutes in these photos were.

it has taken me a long time to post this maybe because it was so uncomplicated, and i just haven't known how to say how much i feel about it -- it was such a private, beautiful thing. these are my beloved friends, and i was so honored and overwhelmed with gratitude to them, to share a part of this new beginning. i brim with cliche, and wish i could do it more justice. the photos tell the story. :)

for those of you dying for more details, let me know what questions you have. and if you are looking for a truly wonderful, sane, lovely, talented boston photographer, emily sterne has my highest recommendation -- and my deepest thanks for taking a risk and volunteering her time on an otherwise normal july day. you can see more info on her site emilysterne.com.

thank you emily! and thank you kelly + vince, for inviting me into these photos -- am sending all my love.









please see emily's blog for more photos from the shoot!

sankofa sampler: an african wedding

{ strength and humility cup -- west african series #5 by dovecotedesign }

the african symbol dwennimmen above is based on the curve of rams horns, and like so many symbols represents a graceful balance of two opposing ideas. strength and humility -- those and a sense of humor, and you've got your wedding planning mantra. this artist's "love never loses its way home" cup is my favorite of the series, was sold in 2008 -- perhaps she will make it again for you?

one of the many reasons blogging has been so sporadic is that in addition to travel and my normal jobs (magazine, jewelry, blog) i have been working on a big freelance project this summer, incredibly challenging and rewarding (and stretching into september!), with the new york african burial ground project reports.

the earliest colonial african american burial ground was discovered in 1991 during excavations for a building in lower manhattan; from the late 1600s to 1790, upwards of 15,000 people were buried there, and then the area was filled in and covered over during the next two centuries as NYC grew up around it. i simply can't do the project justice here, but encourage anyone interested in an amazing and moving piece of our american story to visit the project site, a lovely quick online overview, or the beautiful memorial at 290 broadway.

one symbol from the history report resonates particularly -- at first glance it resembles a heart with spirals, and can also be a bird looking toward its tail: the lovely sankofa, in both its forms. "go back and get it": go back to the past to retrieve what is good, so you can learn and take it to build a future.







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top ten vintage wedding items on etsy: sept. 6

{each photo links to its shop}