I was married in the summer of 2018. We planned a destination wedding (Mittersill, Austria) and I couldn’t have been more excited to start the planning process. This destination was a bit random as neither of us are Austrian, but it was most of the most beautiful places I had ever seen – even more beautiful in person!
One thing that was really important to me was to make my special day even more memorable – to incorporate some unique weddings ideas that my guests would remember for years to come. Things that were important to me were to utilize small, local and handmade shops.
Here are some of the ways I was able to achieve this:
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My husbands wedding band was made by a friend / silversmith, Ashleigh Amber Moore.
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My weddings bands were made by another local, Canadian silversmith, Franny E Fine Jewelry.
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I ordered our guestbook from another small, Canadian shop off of Etsy.
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Bridesmaids gifts were also ordered from a small shop off of Etsy and as well as others were purchased from a local art market.
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And lastly, I made handmade stained glass weddings favors!
Because we were traveling overseas, there were only so many ways to achieve this goal of mine but I am very happy with the ways I was able to bring a bit of Canada to Europe.
Wedding Favor Ideas
When I was thinking of wedding favor ideas, I knew immediately that I wanted to make something for our guests. It was just a matter of what, as well as something that was small enough to fit in my suitcase, without breaking on the journey to Europe. In terms of being breakable, stained glass art isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to mind, but it was something that means a lot to me and is part of my every day.
In order to keep things simple, yet elegant, I created stained glass hearts in textured clear and pink glass. Each heart was tied with twine and had a beautiful tag with our names and wedding date. The tags were courtesy of a vendor I found on Etsy as well!
One of my favourite parts of this wedding favor idea is that they are still being used and cherished to this day. For example, many of the guests are using them as Christmas ornaments and every year, around November / December, I receive photos of the hearts on my friends and families Christmas trees. Such a nice reminder of this special day and that we got to share it with so many loved ones.
Personalized Wedding Gifts
While on the topic of weddings, I have had the honour of working on a few very special personalized wedding gifts for brides and grooms. These projects are always so special as I get to work with someone close to the happy couple and translate their ideas in to an amazing gift for the bride and groom.
Some of the personalized wedding gift have incorporated the couples:
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First or last name;
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Wedding date;
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Special location;
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Favourite symbol (ie: flower) or heritage (ie: Celtic cross);
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Favourite colours.
I was also the recipient of a very special stained glass window for my wedding. This piece was made by my dad and hangs in our living room now:
Your wedding is such a special time and such a special day that if you can take the time to incorporate some of these unique wedding ideas, then it becomes that much more special. Be creative and let us know if we can help make your visions come true.
