Here are two very quick, very easy, and very inexpensive DIY projects for the wedding.
Send-Off Ribbon Wands:
For the ribbon wands, buy craft sticks at least 12 inches long (e.g., round dowels). I bought them at a craft store in packages of 20 for $0.70 a package. Cut ribbon in your colors so they are a few inches longer than the dowel and run the edges over a candle flame (quickly) to melt it slightly (this will keep it from fraying). Simply tie 2-4 ribbons near the top of the dowel. Use a dot of hot glue to secure the ribbon to the wand. You can add bells by threading a thinner ribbon through the bell before tying off. I also added a small bead (hair braiding bead) over the ribbon knot for decoration only.
Cost: Under $15 for the sticks and ribbon for 175 send off wands.
Time: If you have cats, about 6 hours to make all of them. Without cats, about 2 hours.
BTW: Cats love the ribbon wands. And–There is no mess to clean up at your venue.
Cocktail Stirrers for Champagne (Cocktail Hour)
These were made simply from duct tape (yes, another use for duct tape) and plastic stirrers. We’ll have 150-ish glasses set up on a table with champagne and pomegranate juice for guests to pick up immediately following the ceremony. Probably raspberry and kiwi slices instead of blueberries though, but I take the picture of what I have.
Cost: $3 for a roll of duct tape, $1 for 250 plastic stirrers. I still have lots of tape and stirrers left.
Time: An hour-ish.
Signature Cocktail Stirrers (for the reception):
So a brief explanation. We decided to name our signature drinks after our cats. We are NOT having a cat themed wedding, we just wanted a little personal touch. Besides, their names are funny. The Gatito Mojito (self explanatory), the Squeak (Vodka, orange juice, club soda, splash of sweet & sour, touch of grenadine), and the Cheechoo (non-alcoholic lime punch).
These were even easier than the duct tape stirrers. Just type in your sayings in a 2-colum table in your word processing program (in the first column) and your either your names, date, or in our case a wingding of a cat in the second column. The rows should be about .5 to 1 inch high, and the columns no more than 2 inches. Print and fold. Use double sided tape around the plastic or wood stirrer and clip the edges for the flag effect. I made roughly 300 of these, enough to “flag” the first few drinks by our guests. After that, I figured the novelty would wear off.
Cost: $3 for 300 plastic “deluxe” stirrers, roll of double sided tape (maybe a $1), about 8 sheets of linen paper
Time: About 1-2 hours depending on what type of paper cutter you have.
The little wingdings are a good representation of our cats. Pictured left to right: Cheechoo (dumb, simple, sweet), Gatito (prissy, elegant), Squeak (trouble-maker).
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