DIY: Build Your Own Chuppah

No, I am not Jewish...but I loved the concept of having a chuppah (which symbolizes the home that the couple will build together) at my wedding ceremony, so I made one (with some help). You can click on the picture, to get a better view. I had previously posted about having a chuppah before my wedding. Here is what you need to make one of your own:

• PVC pipe
• 4 PVC joint connectors
• 4 Paint buckets
• 4 Quick drying cement

You will need to start this a day or so before you need it. I assembled most of mine the 2 nights before the wedding. I thought it was really easy to do. Here are the steps:

• You will need to measure your space to see what length that you need to create the chuppah. I used 4 ten foot PVC polls and 4 five foot PVC polls. Make sure that you have your measurements when you go to the hardware store to obtain your pipe, so that the you get the hardware stores staff to cut it to the length that you want. I could have used shorter polls ones, but wanted a grand effect.
• Mix the quick drying cement. Be mindful of what the temperature is when mixing it. You do not want it to be too runny or too thick.
• Fill the paint buckets half full. Place the long PVC polls ( for me the 10 foot polls), in the center of the bucket. Make sure that you secure the polls with rope or wood to ensure that the polls dry in the cement straight. I thought that I had them straight, but when Mr.Broomjumpinggroom came home he immediately said that they were not and got busy making sure that they were.

Once at the site....

• Space the buckets with the polls in them where you want them.
• With using the connectors, connect the shorter polls to the longer polls. Once connected you should have created a square.
• Decorate how you want. I used fabric, ribbon and flowers on my chuppah. The only issue that I had was ensuring that the numbers printed on the PVC pipe were covered up. To fix this I turn the buckets to the back of the altar and covered the polls with ribbon. You may want to use light fabrics because extra weight may not work well on the PVC polls. Make sure that you have good tape and/or stick pins to attach your decor to the PVC polls.

In creating a chuppah, make sure that you have many hands to assist with assembly at the site. It is quite helpful. Depending on the height make sure that you have a ladder, it makes it so much easier. At the end of the night, taking it apart was easy....my husband (who was ready to to leave) pulled on one of the polls and it just popped apart. Even though it came apart so easy, the chuppah was really strong. If you want to ensure that it does not pop apart you can always, use constructive adhesive to link the PVC connectors and pipes together. In the end, the buckets and polls that I used went in the trash, mainly because I do not have anywhere to store it after the ceremony and I kept all the decor.

Cost:

• PVC pipe $3.22 a piece ( the 4 short pieces was two pipes that were cut in half)
• PVC connectors $1.55 (4 connectors)
  
• Quikcrete $ 2.77 (4 bags)
  
• Paint bucket $ 1.00 (4 buckets)
  

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Total $40.60

( I love this picture. It shows my mom's handy work off. She made the table cloth, chair bows and the napkins for my sweetheart table. Thanks mom!!!)

There will be additional cost for the decor that you want to add to it. I loved the way that it looked for my wedding. My husband and I stood under it with our minister for the ceremony and had our sweetheart table underneath it for the reception. It added so much to our wedding. I was proud that I made it.

OOOH

More Ebay

I posted the other day about my Ebay finds, here are some more of my finds.

I want my two ushers and ring bearer to wear brown Converse since they are children. I did not want their parents to have to buy a pair of dress shoes for wedding that they will not wear again. I am still looking for 2 more pairs, but I found one pair for $15.00.

I was looking to add some wow factor to my centerpieces for the reception, without the wow factor expense. I had seen on one of the bridal shows, how a designer had placed lighting in a centerpiece. Of course, I saw this on a Platinum Wedding, which made me think it was out of reach. It was not that far out , since I found these lights on Ebay for $24.99 for 15. All of my centerpieces that will be in tall vases will have these lights in them and they are even submersible in water.


Here is what the light looks like with used.

I have a few more things I need to locate..Ebay will probably be the first place that I look.

I Love Ebay

I should call this blog "My Ebay Wedding". I found some great finds on Ebay for my wedding. I have saved so much money with purchasing from the vendors on there. Here are some of my recent finds.



I wanted my bridesmaids to have a flower balls to carry down the aisle instead of regular bouquets. I was going to have the person who is making my flower create them, but we decided it would be cheaper to purchase some already made. The ones that I found at Jo-Ann's and Michael's were between $8-10 a piece. I thought that was a bit much. I found these lovelies for $3.48 a piece.


Most people want additional pictures taken at wedding. I could not find cameras that were under $3.00 until I went to Ebay and found these for $1.69 a piece. I will have 30 tables at the reception, but to cut down on developing cost I only purchased 15 of cameras.


I have been looking for months for the groomsmen and ushers ties for the wedding. My broomjumpinggroom, who is very frugal, said that all of the ties that I picked out were nice but he was not going to pay $20.00 for a tie. I searched and negotiated with a seller on Ebay and got all the ties that I needed for the wedding for $7.35 a piece.

Go Ebay!!!!

More and More Flowers

On Saturday I went shopping with my mom and Mrs Herron, the person doing my flowers, went to the Flower Factory to look at flowers and other items for the wedding. There were flowers everywhere. I would pull one thing and Mrs. Herron would say that they were the wrong color for the wedding or they were two big. There was so much stuff there that my eyes started to glaze over and I began to get distracted by all of the holiday stuff. After being in the store over 2 hours, I gave up. I began to feel very overwhelmed. Ms. Herron said that it was alright and that it was just the beginning. What do you mean it was just the beginning? I have to come back and look again. Ugh!!! Well, the trip was not a total bust. I did get some flowers and even found my wedding invitations ( I will post about that later). If you have a Flower Factory near you check it out, it has a nice selection of wedding items at really good prices.

Flower Baskets

Every flower girl needs to have a beautiful basket to carry for her big moment down the aisle. Today's baskets vary from actual baskets to pomanders. I have not decided yet on what I am going to have my flower girl carry yet. I am not sure how important it is to me to have petals on my aisle runner. What is your flower girl carrying?

( all photos from here)

Meet the Florist

I went to my first florist appointment on Saturday. Well, it was certainly obtained lots of information of new flowers that I had not thought of. I went in with the thought of just looking at hydrangeas (my favorite), tulips and peonies. Well learned that their are some flowers called cabbage roses (which I am not much of a rose girl) that look like peonies, but are a little cheaper. I also learned that carnations can take a liking and keep on ticking. The florist at
Cua of Columbus, stated that someone in your bridal party could throw their carnation bouquet before the ceremony and it still will look brand new. I definitely will be getting my bouquet there and maybe the Broomjumpinggrooms boutonniere, I will have to look at the budget to see if I will be getting real or silk for the rest of the wedding party. I am going to look at one or two other florist to see what their pricing is. Below is what I am looking at for my bridesmaids to carry and for chair decorations, but in carnations.
What are you doing for ceremony? Real, silk or combo? I will keep you posted on what I decide.

My Favorite Flowers Part IV: Gerbera Daisies

The gerbera daisy is the last of my favorite flowers. I think that this flower is very "shabby chic". This flower can add a bit of casual elegance to an otherwise stuffy affair. I think that this flower is very versatile and lends itself to be used in a variety of ways. I think that I am going to have this flower somewhere in my wedding. Watch the video below. I really like the idea of the gerbera daisy being used for the men's boutonnieres. What is your favorite flower? What flowers are you going to use in your wedding?

(photos from Yahoo images and The Knot)

My Favorite Flowers Part III: Lilies

Here is third installment of "my favorite flowers" . This installment is lilies. There are several different types of lilies but calla lilies are my favorite out of all of the varieties. I might have a few of these flowers in some aspect of my wedding.

There is one more installment in this series. Can you guess what flower is next? What are your favorite flowers?

(all photos form msn images, the knot and yahoo images)

My Favorite Flowers Part II: Tuilps

My second favorite flower is the tulip. I think I like the simplicity of them. You definitely know that it is spring when the tulips start to come up and bloom. There are several different types of tulips, who knew.

Here a tulip glossary, from Martha Stewart Weddings:

1. A long-stemmed 'Triumph' tulip.

2. A gold-tinged orange 'Darwin' hybrid.

3. The peony-flowered type has abundant double petals.

4. The pointed petals of an orange lily-flowered tulip.

5. & 6. Dutch tulips, characterized by a simple cup form.

7. The showy parrot tulip.

8. Viridflora tulips have dramatic high-contrast streaks

If you are thinking of making your own bouquet here are some steps to making one.

Homemade Bouquets: Tulip Orb
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:Camellia foliage,Floral tape, Oasis waterproof tape, Peony tulips,

Ribbon, Thin-gauge wire

STEP 1: Stick to the leaves select your camellia foliage.With floral tape, secure thin-gauge wires to the stems of several camellia leaves.

STEP 2: Make the bouquet pick your peony tulips.In your hand, arrange the tulips into a

rounded, sphere-shaped formation.Use floral tape to bind them together.

STEP 3: Create a collar form a collar around the tulips with the wired camellia leaves.

Bind the grouping with waterproof tape. Clip the ends of the wires, and cover the tape with ribbon.

(courtesy of The Knot)

When thinking of flowers for your wedding, consider tulips. I will be.

(all photos from Martha Stewart, The Knot, Yahoo images)

My Favorite Flowers: Hydrangeas

I love hydrangeas. At my grandfathers house, he has two huge plants the bloom with the most beautiful flowers every year. I can remember picking them as a child. My mom recently gave me some plants of my own, that my broomjumpinggroom just planted last weekend. I can not wait to see for them to bloom. I have chosen some hydrangea inspiration, enjoy.

Check out Martha Stewart's website under the weddings section and check out her video on how to make a hydrangea bouquet. The video is called Seasonal Bouquets.It looks very simple to do, but time consuming, and it turns out beautifully.

( All pictures from Flicker,The Knot and Martha Stewart)