Wishahmon at Sun and Salsa Festival!

This year Wishahmon - Wedding Creations will be setting up shop (a booth) at Kensington's 17th Annual Sun and Salsa Festival. Friends and past clients: if you are planning on going to this festival, drop by my booth to say "Hi!" My booth is located on 10th Street and 2nd Avenue, by Broken Plate. Newly engaged couples: drop by to meet me and we can chat about your wedding! Feel free to pick my brain for wedding decorating ideas. My booth should be fairly easy to spot, it will be (I am hoping) the prettiest booth on the block! Hope to see you there!

DIY Gift Card Holder

Often my clients ask me if I have a gift card holder that I can rent them for their guest sign in table either at the ceremony or reception. I do have a couple of gift card holders but if I feel the box doesn’t match the theme of their wedding, I would make a new gift card holder. The gift card holder would not only serve its original purpose, but I would give the holder to my clients as a keepsake box as well.

Here are some tips on making your own gift card holder:

1) Size of box – The gift card holder should not be so big that it is the first thing your guests see when they approach the guest sign in table. Wedding gifts should be welcomed and appreciated but not expected.

2) Finding the perfect box – I am not one to save every single box when I buy something. When I find the need for one, I am often scrambling around the house or paying an outrageous amount on an empty box (which I hate doing.) Recently, I found an excellent source for the perfect sized box at a reasonable price. This source is Canada Post. They have a variety of sizes of boxes. This find was actually quite exciting for me.

3) Wrapping the box – Although I love the size and price of the Canada Post boxes, they are not exactly pretty. The boxes can be wrapped with a variety of different paper or fabric. Although I haven’t found a need for it yet, I think wrapping a box in handmade paper would be absolutely gorgeous. (Yup, I just used the word “gorgeous” in the same sentence as “box.”)

4) Decorating the box – The gift card holder should fit in with the theme of your wedding. An easy way of doing this is to use any leftover decorations you may have. You will be amazed how quickly you can decorate your box with leftover ribbon from your pew bows, scraps of paper from your handmade wedding invitations, and silk rose petals that are going to be placed down the ceremony aisle.

5) Have fun with it – Use your creativity and have fun when making your gift card holder. You can’t mess it up. Even if you feel you have created something you are less than proud of, remember the guests that you have invited to your wedding all (or most) love you regardless of your creativity.

The first (unprofessional) picture is my newest creation for a green wedding. The other pictures are some gift card holders I have made in the past. I hope these pictures will give you some ideas on creating your own gift card holder. Really, it is not hard. You can create it!

Huong and Steve's Wedding

It is amazing how small this world is. Steve and I went to the same high school back in the days. Although we weren't in the same grade, we (kind of) knew of each other. Before our consultation meeting, I went through our high school year books to make sure. When I told Steve, he said "Aw man, those pictures are so bad." I laughed quietly because I too had some pretty bad pictures in those year books. Huong was the best friend of a girl I went to the same high school with. Simply amazing!

Huong and Steve is the most compatible couple I know. Although they seem to have different interests and views, these two have truly mastered the art of compromise. During the early wedding planning stages, I knew that they were going to have a wonderful future together. Many say if a couple can get through planning a wedding, they can get through anything. I firmly believe that for Huong and Steve.

Here are some pictures of their ceremony at Scarboro Church and reception at Forbidden City Restaurant.

Double Happiness

I have the best clients ever! They have so much faith in me!

I always try to design a custom wedding for my clients with unique projects. Often during consultation meetings, I come up with ideas that has never been done before/ I haven't done it before/ I have no idea how I am going to do it. I describe the project to the best of my ability because I often don't have a picture to show them. I hate to say that it is a leap of faith for my clients but they often say yes to my projects and believe in me.

For Huong and Steve's wedding, I suggested making a red "double happiness" sign out of red silk flowers to decorate one of two backdrops they were having for their reception. To make this sign, I went to some unconventional wedding supply stores such as Home Depot, Princess Auto, and Canadian Tire. (Insulation styrofoam and hockey tape were some of the odd supplies I used.) I often use supplies in ways other than it's intended purpose. Hey, if it gets the job done!

Th entire project took about 23 hours, (not consecutively.) Although some would think I was crazy, I had a great time working on the custom project and my clients loved it at their wedding. Here are some pictures of my (process) of making the double happiness sign.