Happy Wedding Wednesday! When it came to sourcing custom details for my wedding last August, Etsy was the first place I looked. First, I love supporting small businesses, and secondly there are so many unique options on that vast marketplace and most shop owners can create 100% custom and unique orders for you. Today I’m sharing a round up of shops that I used and loved for various parts of my wedding day.

 

Standard Stamp Co.

Most of my wedding was almost 100% DIY, and when it came to some of the paper goods and details, I thought why not create a stamp? I saved quite a bit by not printing each little label and detail, and it was much easier to punch out decorative shapes and stamp them than to create a template then have it printed and cut. Standard Stamp Co was the perfect resource to create any design of my choice. My best friend designed our wedding invitation suite along with our round arrow logo/monogram. I simply sent a high resolution pdf of my image to Standard Stamp Co and gave her the sizes that I wanted. The quality, turn around time and customer service was great. I also love the option of having the stamp mounted on clear acrylic, which made it easier to center the image and see where I was stamping.

 

Green Wash Fabrics

I could not find navy and white striped table clothes for the life of me from any rental company, without having to have them shipped, which cost about the same amount as the rental themselves, so I improvised. My mom is very crafty and an excellent sewer, so once she offered to make the table clothes for the high top tables and runners for the banquet tables, I was on a search for an inexpensive striped fabric. Even fabric wholesalers didn’t have what I was looking for in my price range, so I went to Etsy. That’s where I found GreenWash. Not only was it very affordable, they were able to ship me the amount I needed (60 yards!) and even offered a discount because of the quantity I ordered. My mom did a fantastic job sewing the large round table clothes and the striped runners on the head table really tied in the whole design of our wedding reception.

 

Current Cuts Vinyl

We really wanted our wedding reception to have a back yard party kind of feel while still keeping it elegant and personal. Our venue sat on beautifully manicured lawns and gardens so utilizing the outdoor space was a must. Corn hole is a fun game and thought it would be great for our guests to play during cocktail hour and after dinner. One of my bridesmaids’ fiancé is an excellent wood worker and contractor and he made the actual boards for me. We were going to hand paint the states and initials on with a homemade stencil, but being in Seattle and the boards were being made in New York, that would take too much time and I just didn’t want to do it! So once again I took to Etsy to search for a Washington State decal, I found Custom Cuts Vinyl. Keith was so great to work with, he was able to make both states with the hearts placed over our cities as well as the “S” initial in the sizes that I needed. He sent me drafts of the states and different font options for the “S” initial. It saved me so much time and the decals were so affordable. Coincidentally, Keith, is from Seattle so I really loved bringing some Seattle to New York!

 

DISTANCE TO THE MOON

Giving our guests something special upon their arrival to their hotel room or rental house was really important to us. My best friend and bridesmaid, Meghan, offered to take some of the work off my plate and put together the Welcome Bags for us. By her doing that, it saved so much time and it was something that she had so much fun doing. So much so, she opened her own little business on Etsy creating creative and thoughtful welcome bags and care packages for other brides all over the country. Meg contacted the chamber of commerce in Skaneateles and they were happy to ship her maps, brochures and things to do in the town for our guests over the wedding weekend. She asked us what our favorite snacks and candies were and filled the bags with each of those as well as some bottled water, Advil, Tums and mints so you can wake up a feeling your best the morning after the wedding! Meg ordered all the contents for the bags, shipped everything to NY and filled and assembled them for me. We made the bags more personal by attaching extra coral tags with our logo stamped on them as well as a personalized welcome/thank you note to our guests. All of which tied in with the wedding colors and design. Thank you Meghan! (Sorry for the poor quality iPhone pictures. We didn’t think about documenting these the busy few days leading up to the wedding!)

 

OATMEAL LACE DESIGN

When it came to my bridesmaids gifts, I knew that I was going to be gifting them their jewelry. I wanted to find something to put the jewels in as well as add some necessities for the day of the wedding. I thought some kind of clutch would be perfect; it could hold  everything they needed for the day along with their cell phones and they wouldn’t need to carry around their big purses. I found Oatmeal Lace Design on one of the many wedding blogs out there and loved the idea of being able to customize the clutches for my girls. McKay was so friendly and helpful. She was able to find a striped fabric for the exteriors and I chose from her huge assortment of fabrics for the interiors. I customized the interior of each clutch to fit each of my bridemaids’ personalities. I either put a patterned color of their favorite sports team, favorite color, or a favorite pattern. There is also the option of adding a custom label inside each clutch. I put a verse from my favorite e.e. cummings poem that represents my friendship with my girls. They were so perfect, I even had one made for myself and had my new initials embroidered onto it. The Oatmeal Lace shop has expanded and there are so many new fabrics, clutches and other personalized accessories that I love!

 

SPARKLE SM BRIDAL BOUTIQUE

I wanted to add a crystal beaded sash to the satin band on my very simple wedding dress. I had the hardest time trying to find a crystal sash that didn’t cost half the amount as my dress. Etsy has so many shops that sell custom bridal sashes, I was getting dizzy after scrolling through all of them. After reading a lot of great reviews and liking the selection best, I purchased my crystal sash from SparkleSM Bridal Sashes. Stephanie’s customer service was above and beyond. She not only sent me the ribbon options for the sash to match the satin waist band, but I was able to give her the measurement of my waist so it could be custom fit and sewn right onto my dress during alterations. I was so happy with the crystal clear and bright crystals that blended in perfectly with my dress. The sash wasn’t too bling-y and added just enough sparkle to my dress to give it a simple and elegant feel, perfectly matching my personality. 😉

 

There are so many creative and talented shop owners on Etsy, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but reading reviews and seeing what kind of customization options they can do for you can make the decision process a lot easier and more fun. If you have any questions regarding wedding and event design, need a design consultation to help gather your ideas for your wedding day or would like an event design package, please contact us at hello@whitestonedesigngroup.com. Event design is a part of our business and something Heather Scherie and I truly love to do! I can’t wait to see what Heather Scherie is designing up for her wedding day that is NEXT MONTH! And I know that she is very excited to share her favorite vendors, design details, DIY projects and of course the beautiful pictures!

We love finding and discovering new shops on Etsy. Share some of your favorite shops with us in the comments below!

 

xx Katie