{DIY} Au naturale lips for your big day

The next two weeks, we're celebrating Wed4Less's first birthday! How exciting, right? We'll be jam packing this week and next with inspiration, real weddings and engagements, and advice!

I'm allergic to lipstick and chapstick. Always have been. When I was young, it wasn't as bad and I'd suffer through the incessant coughing, concentrate on breathing through my nose rather than mouth, ignore the hives that would occasionally appear, and pretend my lips weren't swelling (this was only slight).

The allergy has grown with me, and now that I'm older, I can't ignore the symptoms. Instead, I opt for the more natural look for my lips, and glam up my eyes only.

This is all a very roundabout way of telling you that I love natural lips, and I think they look fabulous for the bride! In that spirit, I've prepared a lovely list of my favorite natural-look lip potions.

(And none of them cause me allergic reactions, which I think is a good sign.)

{One} Sugar Lip Treatment by Fresh | Sephora | $23
{Two} Rose Salve by C.O. Bigelow | Bath & Body Works | $6
{Three} Mentha Lip Shine by C.O. Bigelow | Bath & Body Works | $8
{Four} Tinted Lip Balm by Burt's Bees | burtsbees.com & drug stores | $7
{Five} Carmex Lip Moisturizing Tube | amazon.com & drug stores | $4 for 3 pack

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{Advice} It's not about DIY

First of all, I want to say that I'm a DIY type of gal. I've always loved craft projects. Always. When I was a toddler, I'd go to my mom's scrapbooking club with her and create my own little "scrapbooks."

I got older and started creating collages, dabbling in painting and drawing, and working on jewelry making. At one point, I even had a duct tape business--I'd make wallets and purses, and even a tie once.

From my DIY table mock ups {here}

But I'm here to tell you that being a budget bride or groom is not all about DIY-ing. A Practical Wedding, a blog that I follow regularly, puts it best in the disclaimer that they attach to their tutorials:

Remember, DIY doesn't save the world, and it's not always cheaper. But! Maybe you still want to make things, because making things is fun ...

That's truth right there, ladies and gents. DIY isn't always the best option. Like the time when I created a DIY bouquet:

It's not that it turned out awful, but it definitely wasn't the prettiest bouquet I had ever seen. I'm obviously not a florist (though I am fully capable of cutting a couple flowers and placing them in bottles, which I will be doing for my centerpieces).

And it's not even always about what you can or can't do. Sometimes it's about what's practical, or what you want to do. When I first got engaged, I planned to DIY everything. That meant flowers, my garter, my hair and makeup, the food, the cake, the coordination. The only thing I wasn't ever planning to DIY was the photography.

But I've slowly realized that it doesn't make sense to DIY.

I realized I don't want to be slaving around in my pint-sized kitchen the day before my wedding to make food for 150 and cake (though I love cooking and baking).

I realized I was stressed about flowers--about not knowing what I was doing, about where to source the stems.

I realized that I couldn't get ready the day of my wedding and be directing decorating and everything else at the same time.

A really awful cell phone picture of a cake I recently made. Yummmm ... but 

definitely not something I want to have to do the day before my wedding.

So I hired a caterer and a florist and a coordinator. I decided DIY-ing those things just wasn't for me.

But that doesn't mean I don't love DIY. And that doesn't mean my day won't still have DIY touches.

If I feel like it, I might still make a small cake for the cake-cutting ceremony the day before my wedding. (I'll decide that day since it's not necessary since we're doing a dessert reception.)

I still plan to have my mom make my garter (out of a piece of her wedding dress). I still plan to DIY the centerpieces. And I still DIY-ed all of our invitations.

Our wedding invitations (version two, since 

I decided to stay true to myself) {here}

I'm definitely not ready to jump on the don't DIY bandwagon that many wedding vendors and some blogs seem to have joined, nor do I ever think that ideology will ring true for me.

But I am ready to say that DIY is all about having fun, not about stressing yourself out.

So, be discerning. Examine projects for practicality, fun, and ability. DIY isn't DEY (do everything yourself). It's do it (as in the singular) yourself.

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{DIY} 3 Easy steps to brilliant budget eye makeup

I love my eye makeup right now. So much that I want to share.

These three products used together give the perfect retro look. It's awesome.

ONE | Begin by spreading the lighter shade of Ulta's Baked Eye Shadow in Skyline across the lid of your eye with your basic eye shadow brush.

TWO | Using an angle brush and starting at the inside of your eye, glide Clinique's Brush-on Cream Liner across your lid near the lash line. Don't be afraid to let the line get a little thicker where your lash line curves. 

Next, turn your brush sideways (so it's perpendicular to your lash line) and drag it across your bottom lid, near the lash line. This step takes some practice, but once you get it, it'll be easy as pie!

THREE | Apply multiple layers of Clinique's High Impact Curling Mascara to your lashes. (This stuff is awesome because it comes off easily with warm water, but stands up to tears!)

Eye Shadow {$8}

Eye Liner {$15}

Mascara {$15}

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{DIY} free bridesmaid guide printable!

I just finished up creating my bridesmaids and hostess guides for all my ladies! I'm so excited to have them done. So excited that I decided to share a pdf version of my guides with you!

These handy little booklets help you put all of your details for your girls in one place. They have spots for dress instructions, shoe instructions, style (hair, makeup, jewelry) instructions, dates to remember and contact information.

I made two different colors for you:

For the yellow & green one, click here.

For the blush & turquoise one, click here.

The instructions are pretty easy. These print on 11 x 17 paper, two per sheet. You can take them to Staples or any other print shop and have them printed double-sided. Then, using a paper cutter, cut right down the middle between the two guides, fold them on the lines, tie them up with a ribbon, and voila!

I should say that I got the original idea from this DIY tutorial on project wedding, but decided to change it up a little.

Also, if you have some other colors you'd like, email me at lindsie@wed4lessnw.com. I'll change the colors to your preferences and send them off to you!

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{Guest DIY} Coaster table cards

DIY or Don’t, written by the lovely Sarah, is quickly becoming one of my favorite DIY blogs. Sarah had me at her paper ranunculus tutorial (my favorite flower, but unfortunately not one that is in season for my June wedding, so this tutorial is a lifesaver).

Today, she brings  you an awesome DIY that’s not too expensive! Favorite!

Hello everyone!! My name is Sarah and I’m joining you from DIY or Don’t!  a new blog where I attempt to bring together the two worlds of ”DIYing” and buying of handmade goods (because let’s face it, sometimes you want handmade without the time commitment or skill necessary to do it). I’m super excited to be making a guest appearance here on Wed4Less because I LOVE weddings, and because I’m a BIG fan of Lindsie! When I started developing this idea, I knew it would be the perfect tutorial to share with you guys.

If you’re looking for a unique table card idea, are having an outdoor reception and are afraid of having your seating cards blown around by the wind, or want to turn a functional aspect of your wedding into a fun wedding favor for the guests, these Coaster Table Cards are for you!

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Coaster Table Cards

How to Make

Materials

Mod Podge

Cardstock

Electronic Cutter

(Alternatively you could use patterned scissors and a printer)

Tiles

Felt or cork for the bottom of the tiles

Foam Brush

Polyurethane spray

Scissors or Xacto knife to cut felt or cork to size

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Instructions

1) Design your coasters! This is my favorite part:) Having a more formal event? Use pretty filigree edges. More rustic? Use kraft paper, and gently tear the edges for a rougher look. I’m lucky enough to have a digital cutting machine, but if you don’t, you can just as easily print the names on the cardstock, along with pretty boarders or your monogram. The size of your tile and how much room you want to leave on the edges will dictate how large your cardstock squares should be, mine were about 4″ each side.

2)  Using Mod Podge, and your foam brush, fix the name squares to the tile.

I used a drop of food coloring mixed with mod podge on this one to tint the tile, and then used mod podge without dye over the cardstock.

3) When the mod podge is dry, spray the tile with a layer of polyurethane to seal. Wait for it to dry and then repeat.

4) Wait for the tile to dry completely, then cut the felt or cork to size and glue to the underside of the tile. That’s it! Wait for the big day and wait for your guests to rave about your clever table cards :)

 

Where to Buy

If you like this idea but don’t have the time or inclination to design and make them yourself I have the perfect solution! (Here comes the shameless plug) I have them for sale in my Etsy store here!

~ Sarah

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{DIY} Seed Bomb Favors

Hey lovelies! I’m over at No Impact Bride today, sharing a grueling but oh-so-worth-it DIY favor idea: seed bombs. Check out this link to see the gorgeousness. Here’s a sneak preview:




Also, this link can’t wait for this weekend’s wanderings. Apple brides has 12 tips for planning a budget wedding today. Check it out, because this is good.

One more thing! Go look at the loveliness at Ruffled Blog’s new wedding shop! There are some pretty affordable (okay, on the high end of what I would consider affordable, but still) wedding gowns on there.

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{DIY} Bridal Headband

I created this bridal headband based on the inspiration shoot that we posted a couple of weeks ago. (If you missed it, you can see it here.) Between being sick last week and a visit from my parents this weekend, I’m finally posting it today! Woooo!
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Sort of like this?:
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This was a relatively simple DIY project. Here’s the how-to:
Materials:

• ribbon ($2)
• elastic ($1)
• thread ($2)
• rosettes ($3)
• needle & scissors

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1. Measure the elastic by pulling it around your head to your desired tightness, add an inch.

2. Overlap the elastic by one inch (as seen in the above picture), begin sewing.

3. Make sure that you have the elastic to the desired stretchiness, and begin sewing the ribbon on. Begin with a bit of the ribbon folded over for a cleaner look. (I went for a home-spun look, so I kept my stitches large.)

4. Continue sewing, leaving about an inch at the back of the headband of just elastic to allow stretchiness.

5. Sew the lace rosettes onto the top of the headband.

Tada!

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