Crepe Paper, A Special Aunt's Wedding Gown, and a Love Story

Crepe Paper inspiration.

Our daughter's wonderful friend (and her maid of honor), Heather, left her teaching job here in the US to follow her heart. She felt she was being called by God to teach children on the small island of Belize. She had helped there before and knew of the great need these children have.
Little did she know it would end with a love story...her own.

She asked me to create pieces for her wedding and I am so honored to do so.
I finished the guest book.  When I first asked about colors and flowers, Heather provided me with crepe paper which is an island tradition. Because of the size of land and water needed to grow flowers, crepe paper has long been a substitute. Flowers are everywhere here, it is something I never considered. Although she will have some flowers, most of the decorations are done with amazing crepe paper braids and flowers made from the paper. Sounds so festive and I can not wait to see the pictures of the open air church decorated.

Heather's other request was to incorporated her aunt's wedding gown satin. We realized it had some age spots, but there are portions we can use. For the guest book, the wedding satin was embroidered with the word "Guests" similar to our daughters. Flowers were constructed with organdy and ribbon. The organdy are constructed by cutting out each layer and then "melting" the edges over a candle flames heat. They are stacked and then sewn together. The ribbon leaves and flowers were done similar to past posts. Although the colors were not perfect I think the will blend well enough with the decorations.

To create the book, start with the Wilton line blank silver guest book and pen. They are about $25.00 in most craft stores and elegant to begin with. They are just waiting to be made fabulous with your own touches.

Create a template for the area you will have your lettering in.
Gather all the pieces you will choose from for the front.

Using your template cut a piece of cardboard in the same shape.
Cut a piece of batting and glue them together.
Lay the lettered satin with the lettering up on top. Glue together.
TIP: Glue raw edges on the back of the cardboard. Never use glue
on the batting. Glue on the batting will sometimes soak through
the fabric or become hard leaving a funky bump under the satin.

Place the padded piece on the front where you want it.Glue it in place.
I also like to trim the edges, but that is up to you.
Next just arrange your flowers/leaves and glue them in place.

Completed Guest book ready for an Island Wedding.

Next a custom monogram for the happy couple!