Losing a loved one before your wedding day is an emotional event. Therefore, finding a beautiful way to honor their memory can be comforting. However, “the perfect way” to do this depends on your personal style and what you envision on your special day. Here are Five Wedding “In Memory of” Memorial Ideas for your wedding.

Idea 1
Create a Memory Table

A memory table is a perfect place to display your favorite photographs that remind you of your loved ones. Additionally, this table can be setup at the wedding ceremony venue or reception venue, and is an elegant way to honor the memory of someone on your wedding day who has passed away.

In essence, all you’ll need are some photos and memorial signs, along with some flowers or candles that match your wedding color scheme. These are a few memorial signs that can be placed on the table.

As seen above, this shop has unique poems that include custom drawings of the bride or groom with their deceased relative. Additionally, the poem can be edited and the drawings are handmade from photos submitted to the shop. This makes a touching piece to be displayed on a memory table or chair. And, because it can be brought home to keep forever, it also makes a good gift.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE TABLE SIGNS

The signs above are also popular items for a memory table. Add a few photos along with some flowers and your memorial table is complete!

Idea 2
Leave an Empty Chair

If you’d like to honor your loved one at your ceremony, many people choose to leave an empty chair or seat reserved just for them. Decorate the chair with your favorite photos, a personalized reserved chair sign or a small plaque.

For a mother of the bride or mother of the groom who is deceased – you could bring their favorite flower. Then, place it on the chair or reserved seat. This can be a very meaningful way of remembering someone important on your special day.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE CHAIR SIGNS

Idea 3
Boutonnière Charm Pin or Bouquet Charms

If you’d like a more intimate approach, you can use charm pins. For the groom who has lost a mother, father or other close loved one, a boutonnière safety pin with a locket or a charm containing a photo can be pinned to the boutonnière, or inside his jacket or vest. This is a personal way to pin them close to your heart on your wedding day.

Similarly, if the bride has lost her mother, father or other loved one, photo charms can be pinned inside of her dress or wrapped into her bouquet for her wedding day. These examples are a more discreet way of honoring the memory of the deceased at your wedding.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE MEMORY CHARMS

Idea 4
Memory Candles

Memory candles lit at your wedding ceremony or reception in memory of a loved one are another nice way to honor them. Generally, this has a more dramatic effect at a night wedding as opposed to day, due to the evening ambiance.

Also keep in mind that wind could play a factor at an outdoor wedding. In that case, flameless candles or lanterns that block the wind would work well.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE MEMORY CANDLES

Idea 5
Including your loved one in your Wedding Program

Many of your guests may not even know that the bride or groom lost a mother, father or other family member before their wedding day. Especially if they have been gone for sometime.

Including the loved one in your wedding program may help with any confusion for guests and is another way of keeping their memory alive for your wedding day. You can include a personal note or state “in honor of the late (name, relation)” in the program.

And those are five wedding “in memory of” memorial ideas to include your loved ones that have passed away in your wedding day. Those we’ve lost before our wedding day were often there for some of the most meaningful times in our lives. Therefore, it’s a beautiful idea to include them in the biggest day of your lives as well.

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Let’s DIY some Wedding Welcome Bags

Wedding welcome bags are a big thing for weddings. But they are especially popular for destination weddings. They are a way to thank your guests for taking the time (and usually spending money) to travel to your big day. And they also make your guests feel appreciated for their efforts – and for being the most special people in your life.

Wedding welcome bags can be expensive though, unless you DIY part of them. If you’re on a budget, you can easily order regular gift bags, tissue paper, snack bags, etc. and print and cut the design elements. This way you can save money and put them together yourself for your guests. Here’s how to make wedding welcome bags.

What to include:

First, you’ll need to decide what you want to include in your welcome bags. You can go to Pinterest for thousands of ideas. Dollar Tree also has some items you can include, such as tissues, lip balm and even tissue paper for your bags. Then you’ll need to narrow it down to your favorite items. They all have to fit in the bag, of course!

Our Wedding Welcome bags included:

• a welcome letter
• a weekend itinerary
• hotel door hangers
• homemade bath bombs
• fire cracker snacks, (recipe here)
• koozies
• water bottles with a custom label and
• a local travel magazine

I received the magazines for free by calling the local travel office for the city where we were getting married. They gladly sent me as many as I needed and even shipped them to me for free!

What to Buy

Once you’ve narrowed down the items you want to include, you’ll need to order your bags, tissue paper and any other supplies you’ll need. I highly recommend Nashville Wraps because they have high quality supplies for a reasonable price. They are the company I used to order my gift bags and tissue paper, snack bags and cellophane bath bomb bags. Currently, the bag size I ordered costs $6.90 for 10 bags. That’s only .69 cents per bag! (No, this isn’t a sponsored post, I just really liked their stuff)!

What you can make

I created my own welcome bag stickers and cut them with my Silhouette Cameo. The design I used for the outer sticker on the bags isn’t for sale but I have created some destination wedding themed free labels that you can print and cut by hand or import into Cricut or Cameo machine software to cut out for you. Canva is another free app that has thousands of design templates for labels and tags and all sorts of stuff. If you’re not the design or techie type, or you want a different design or color, you can contact me at my LisasLifeTips Etsy shop and I can create a custom one for you to print and cut for $15.

In future posts, I’ll go over how I created the water bottle labels, koozie design, hotel Do Not Disturb signs, homemade bath bombs, welcome letter and weekend itineraries. And I’ll be throwing in some freebies for matching designs then as well! So be sure you’re subscribed to this blog and you’ll get notified when those posts come out.

Wrapping Them up

Narrowing down what to include in our bags was, by far, the hardest part for me. I found so many cute things I wanted to include from Pinterest but I couldn’t include them all. Of all the items in our welcome bags though, I’d have to say the most talked about and liked were the Cajun Fire Crackers. They should call them Crack Crackers because everyone loved them and many guests even contacted me for the recipe after the wedding was over! I have the recipe here if you’d like to try them. They are great for Christmas treats and parties as well. Don’t blame me when you’re asked for the recipe though!

Once you have all of your supplies at home and have printed your labels, welcome letters, etc., its time to put the bags together. For couples, I put 2 of each item in one bag and gave them a couples bag. This saved on bags, letters, itineraries and labels. Once everything is in the bag, stuff a couple of tissue papers into the top, and voilà, you’re done!

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Photo booths make weddings, parties, showers and get-togethers so much fun! If you don’t want to pay the expensive prices that Photo Booth companies charge, here’s an easy way to set up a DIY photo booth using your iPad or iPhone.

(Using an iPad is preferred because it will free up your iPhone for regular use during your event and has a bigger surface area for your guests to interact with).

Step 1
Design Your Photo Booth Space

Design your photo space around the theme of your event. There are lots of creative ways to design a photo area that won’t break the bank. You can create a backdrop using a printed backdrop, fabric shower curtain, a regular curtain, wrapping paper or other decorations.

I’ve found several themed shower curtains for weddings and holiday themes on Amazon and Wish for under $20. You can purchase a backdrop stand or tack the curtain to a wall. You can also incorporate furniture pieces, balloons, floral pieces, hay bales or anything that fits your style – just get creative with it!

SHOP LISAS’S FAVORITE Backdrop Stands

Then, be sure to set the backdrop up in a location that won’t block traffic flow for your event. Think of a corner or wall of unused space for the setup.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE BACKDROPS

Step 2
Setup the iPad/iPhone

Next, you’ll need a tripod to setup and attach an iPhone or iPad, with the front camera facing forward. Be sure to charge the device beforehand and you’ll want to setup “Guided Access” on the device so guests can open and take photos easily, without accidentally messing up the photo settings.

Then, open the camera app and flip the view to forward facing, as if you were about to take a selfie. Set the timer on the photo to 3 seconds. Make sure your backdrop is positioned correctly in the photo and take a few test shots. You then have the option to share the photos by text, AirDrop, social media, etc. I have a video above to show you how to access these options on your iPad or iPhone.

SHOP MY FAVORITE TripoDs

Paid Photo Booth App option

Of course, if you’d like a little fancier option, and don’t mind spending a few dollars (from $1 to $80) , there are some pretty cool photo booth apps out there for purchase. The pictures you see in this post were taken using the Pocketbooth Party photo booth app. I started with the .99 cent version (called Pocketbooth) and used it for a couple of holiday parties. It was a hit, a lot of fun and easy to use.

I do recommend the $1.99 version if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option. You can also AirPrint or share via text, email and social media right from the app. However, it only has a 3 and 4 pose option for the photo strips. And most social media platforms do not support that size photo, which will cut off portions of the photo strip when shared online. It also does not have a customizable skin to add a colored or themed border and event title and date. But, it’s definitely a great option for the price and is compatible with iPhones as well. Here’s the front screen your guests will use, settings inside the app and a preview of what the 4-pose strip looks like with the $1.99 version:

I eventually upgraded to the Pocketbooth Party photo app. I wanted more versatility in adding colored borders and event titles/dates. It also has an online gallery to share the photos. The Party version costs around $19.99. However, there are many different photo booth apps at varying price points available for download in the App Store. Depending on your budget and needs for your particular event, there’s sure to be one to suit you.

Step 3
Photo Booth Props

All great photo booths have plenty of fun photo props for guests to use in their photos. And you can get photo props from several different places – stores sell them online, there are free printable props online to download, print and cut. I have free, printable, Wedding-themed ones here and Thanksgiving-themed ones here and plan to add more for different events in the future. The Dollar Tree also has lots of fun items that guests like to use, such as glasses, feather boas and tiaras.

SHOP MY FAVORITE PROPS

Step 4
Photo Booth Directional Signs

If your event space is large and the photo booth is setup in a conspicuous space, you’ll want to have some directional signs pointing guests to the area. These can also be found online for free or to purchase. It is a good idea to also have a sign that tells your guests how to operate the photo booth – which button to click to take the photos, how to share the photos, how to print the photos, any hashtags associated with the event or a link to a website where the photos will be shared online.

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE PHOTOBOOTH SIGNS

Step 5
Photo Booth Lighting

And last, but certainly not least, is making sure there is enough lighting. If your event is during the day and there is enough natural lighting or if it is in a well lit area, there may be enough lighting for your photos. However, if your event will be at night or in a dimly lit area, you may need to purchase some lighting. Most of us have heard of ring lights by now. And they really do make a difference. But they’re pretty pricey! I’ve used these lights instead and they’ve worked well. Remember to bring an extension cord and power strip for any equipment that needs to be plugged in for power!

SHOP LISA’S FAVORITE LIGHTING

And that’s all you’ll need to setup a DIY photo booth for your next event using your iPad or iPhone! It will surely make lasting memories you’ll cherish.

Supplies Needed List:

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It’s hard to imagine that not long ago, save the dates weren’t a thing. You sent out invitations and RSVPs before the wedding, and your guests responded. Perhaps they marked their calendar from word of mouth.  But today, save the dates are extremely popular for all weddings and even more so for destination weddings! They are a great idea to give your guests a reminder to set aside time for your upcoming event.

It gives your guests time to plan ahead for your big day – book hotel rooms, make flight arrangements and take off of work, if necessary . It also gives you an opportunity to share your engagement photos in a unique way and creates excitement around your upcoming event . And there are so many different designs to choose from online, and so much fun to look through all of them!

If you are planning to DIY parts of your wedding, I highly suggest investing in a cutting machine like a Cricut or Silhouette Cameo. If you aren’t familiar with these machines, there are plenty of tutorials out there on YouTube and around the web but here’s one to get you started .

I fell in love with the airline boarding ticket design and decided to create one from scratch. Our Save the Dates were created using a Silhouette Cameo cutting machine and included a jacket to hold the ticket, a custom luggage tag and a magnet that I designed and bought from Vistaprint. (If you want to create this design, you can get the file at my Etsy shop here. It includes SVGs for cutting the ticket, the jacket and a #10 envelope).

Since we were having a destination wedding, I wanted to give my guests plenty of time to plan ahead if they wanted to attend. I decided to send out my save the dates nine months ahead of the wedding date, although many planners suggest one year in advance for a destination wedding. Keep in mind, you may need to know many of your wedding details before creating your save the date and will have to figure that into your timeline for sending.

You’ll want to have the details of the event, your theme, guest list and address list pretty much finalized before you start to create your save the dates. I decided to also place a map of the area, showing places to stay within a two-mile radius from the wedding and reception to make it easier on guests to book accommodations.

Find a map of the area online, take a screenshot of the map and add text and directional arrows in a free photo editing app (I used Font Candy), email the final photo to yourself – then print them to send with the save the dates. You could also make them into postcards and there are some reasonably prices ones at Vistaprint.

We also decided we wanted a magnet for our guests to place on their fridge as a reminder, and I came up with the below design to incorporate the magnet on the ticket. I bought the magnets for a reasonable price at Vistaprint ($16 for 50 magnets with a coupon) and I was able to highlight our favorite photo from our engagement shoot.

If you want to create this design, you can get it at my Etsy shop here. There are also great design ideas on Etsy, Zazzle, Vistaprint, Minted, Shutterfly and all over the internet. Just remember to have fun with it and create a wonderful memory!

How I DIY’ed My Destination Beach Wedding (Series)

One of the most important aspects of your wedding is the invitation. It sets the tone and style for the wedding. And it can also be one of the most expensive aspects of the wedding.

After researching many different variations of wedding invitations, I decided the tri-fold, pocket invitation style would work best for our destination wedding. Like most destination weddings, this was going to be a four-day affair and I needed the extra space in the invitation to include lots of details about the weekend.

During my online searching, Pinterest pinning and Etsy browsing, I quickly realized that I could save a ton of money by doing these myself! My best friend had a Silhouette Cameo and gave me an overview of how it works. I was so impressed, I decided to buy one for myself, and began the process of learning how to use the cutting machine and software. I ended up purchasing this one and I had the best time going to Hobby Lobby and Michael’s to pick out the paper I was going to use, learning the software and pouring through designs online until I found one I liked the most. If you’re new to designing invitations, as I was, some great resources were FontBundles.net, TheHungryJPEG.com and DesignBundles.net. They have freebies that are given out each week and I didn’t have to pay a dime for the fonts I used in my invitations or save-the-dates. And there are some great designs for inspiration too!

I then spent HOURS creating the perfect cutting design for my invitation. I searched online and just couldn’t find one that suited what I was looking for, so I created my own. I enjoyed the process and didn’t get too frustrated creating it (ok, maybe just a little) but it was well worth the time and effort to get to the end result. I do understand that most people will not want to create their own file from scratch and I do sell the digital files I created, for a discount here. I also sell them on Etsy at this link. One word of caution – doing your own invitations does take time! However, it is so rewarding to see your design come to life and to have the memory of doing it yourself, not to mention the money you’ll save! Here’s a YouTube video of me cutting the file for the wedding invitation jacket:

The inserts and invitation you see in the photo at the top of this page started out as blank rectangle cuts that I then designed and did a print and cut. Those files can be purchased at my Etsy shop as well. If you’d like me to do a video on how I did that, please comment below. Next week….the Save the Dates..