To refresh your memory, this is the photo that was the full inspiration behind my garland:

image via The Sweetest Occasion / design by SHEPAPERIE + Design Boutique / photo by Jeanna Hayes

My version of the garland is coming together very, very nicely. I bought fabric in a variety of coordinating colors and patterns, and if you stick to the stuff that’s on sale or in the bargain area then this makes for a very cheap and very chic DIY project. Just be careful you don’t accidentally pick out any $20/yd fabrics like I did…

With the help of a rotary blade, self-healing mat, and my Grandpa & mom, we had the fabric cut into 36″ strips of fabric (they’ll be doubled over when tied) that were either 1″ or 1.5″ wide in no time.

image via About.com

I wanted to leave the edges unhemmed for a softer look and I wasn’t as concerned with having the widths be one-hundred percent perfect, so between the three of us we created an assembly line and finished the cutting job within 30 minutes.

That was the hardest part, and even that wasn’t very hard (except for a few mathematical calculations so we utilized close to the full amount of fabric).  I found some natural-looking alternatives to your typical thick, twisted rope at our local fabric store, so I bought 11 feet to hang over our 6 foot cookie table.

I thought the assembly part would take some time, but after setting up in front of the tv I was surprised to find the garland finished within one day. It honestly only took 2-3 episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess. (I love you, Lucy!)

The best thing about this project is that the strips are simply tied on, so it’s very easy to move, remove, and add strips.

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My kitty, Zoey, wanted to help me with the garland. Like most felines, her idea of “helping” is to lay on whatever you’re actively working on.

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I’m still debating whether I want to keep the pink strips in. I’ll have to set it up with the plates and platters we have to see if the pink becomes an eyesore. And because I don’t have access to those plates right now, I Photoshop’d the garland in to our mock-up photo to get an idea. Kinda neat, huh?

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I even have enough fabric left over to make a second one to hang above our punch table. Now I just have to make a nice sign to hang in the center of the garlands. I haven’t decided what I want it to say yet, but I was thinking somewhere along the lines of “Love, Sweet, Love”. Any ideas?

Did any of your DIY projects turn out to be easier than expected?

image via Elizabeth Anne Designs / Photo by Simply Jessie Photography

Early in my wedding planning, I started searching for sources to buy paper lanterns. This inadvertently led to me finding a plethora of  images from real weddings that had the same idea, which I started collecting gleefully. I’m so glad that I hadn’t settled on colors yet back then (and thus hadn’t made any paper lantern purchases) because I soon discovered bunting flags.

image via Oh Hello Friend / Photo by Christian Cruz Photography

And hanging flower balls.

image via Every Last Detail / photo by Ashley Bee Photography

And string lights.

image via Poppytalk / photo by Kamp Photography

And tissue poms and paper garlands and streamers, Oh my! They were all so colorful and fun and absolutely delightful! I must have them ALL!

Hive, I’ve come to realize I can’t realistically have them all (as much as I’d like to). In addition to very high ceilings, there are strict regulations about not hanging anything from the walls at our reception venue. So that ruled out having buntings at every single turn. (I know, right? Don’t they know who I am?!)  I’d love to add string lights to the reception, too, but unfortunately that’s not possible without having extension cords running all over the place – and consequently people tripping all over the place.

I’ve since made the smart decision of focusing on a few rather than the many: tissue poms with a few fabric and bunting garlands positioned in choice locations.

I knew I wanted to make the tissue poms myself since it’s quite a bit cheaper (and by golly I was convinced I could do it!). After scouring the internet for the best deal on bulk tissue paper, I found that nobody could beat the prices at PaperMart.com. I ordered four colors: light yellow, peach, aqua, and french vanilla. I’m not going to be using the french vanilla after all, so I’ll probably send that one back, but the other three colors were perfect for our color palette. See?

Wait a minute, Miss Bunting. What is that paper lantern doing in that photo? Well, now I’m beginning to consider adding some white paper lanterns back in to the mix but I’m just not sure if we need them or not. Oh, the decisions we brides have to make.

Have you ever had something that you loved, but couldn’t go over-the-top with because of budget or venue regulations? Did you end up going with it anyway? I persuaded myself to cut back because of both reasons, but now I can feel that “must-have” sensation creeping back up.