A Mughal-Themed Bridal Shower!

My brother-in-law is getting married to the loveliest girl ever, and a few weeks ago her friends threw her a really fun Mughal-themed bridal shower in our home. The girls were decked out in gorgeous outfits and jewels, the food was delish, and the games were super cute. And naturally, my part in the party planning was a little decorating :)

I used whatever I had on hand (between myself and some stuff borrowed from my Mum) so to be honest I’m not sure how ‘Mughal’ the décor really was, but I think it had an overall eastern-ish vibe.   

The main focal wall was draped with rich fabrics in jewel tones – an old bedspread & curtains, some fabric from my own wedding, and a sari. I added a few accessories and also a little seating area. (There's a peek in the corner at my formerly bald fiddle leaf fig which started sprouting new leaves! But only from one stem - any tips to encourage growth?)

Red & pink tissue poms, my fave go-to décor, added some fun colour around the room.

I didn't have nearly enough seating so we lined the room with tons of cushions and pillows – I found those velvet emerald ones on clearance at Pier one awhile ago and have been hoarding them ever since, I’ll find a spot to use them someday :)  

I forgot to snap any pics of all the fab food the girls brought but these rosette cupcakes were too cute to miss – and they were so good! Don’t ask me how many I ate :)

Now we’re getting ready for a house full of family and a whirlwind of wedding festivities in the coming weeks – I’m SO excited I can hardly wait!

summer garden party: easy centrepieces & diy heart garlands

A few weeks ago we threw a little surprise shindig for my parents anniversary - they rarely celebrate in a big way so I really wanted to make it special. But after spending weeks getting our backyard party-ready (laying sod and a new deck - more on that soon!), I didn't have a lot of time (or money!) left for other details. So when it came to decorating, easy and inexpensive ideas were key.  

I picked up some fresh flowers from the grocery the day of the party and threw together these pretty floral arrangements in my fave Dollarama vases. They didn't have a lot of stock that morning so I chose an assortment of whatever was on hand, but I was happy with how they turned out :)

The frayed-edge burlap runners were another quick and easy diy, cut from some jute fabric I found on sale at Fabricland. I thought it was befitting for a garden party :) No sewing necessary (I used this tutorial as a guide) - it took literally less than an hour to make 5.

To top it off, I added a little shimmer to the tables with some candle holders saved from my engagement (which were super cheap from Jordan).

We set up the buffet inside so I wanted to dress up the huge blank wall behind the table. These super sweet heart garlands (inspired via pinterest of course :) did the trick, and they were so simple to make. 

I already had a little heart puncher (bought years ago from walmart for $5), so I just used some red paper and punched out tons of hearts, then strung them together with a needle and thread. It was so mindlessly easy - just watch out for tangles!

I missed out on pics of my 40+ tissue poms, but I did get plenty of the pièce de résistance (which admittedly doesn't look simple or easy) - the amazing cake, handmade by our fabulous and super talented friend Farheen :)

Complete with a recipe for halal fondant - and trust me, it tastes as good as it looks!

We also diy-ed our own canopy to shade our guests rain or shine, at a fraction of the cost of renting a tent.

That tutorial will have to be saved for another post though - partly because I didn't have time to take pics of the process, but mostly because I almost ruined the entire thing by cutting the tarp way too short (so much for remembering the pythagorean theorem!). We'll be redoing this for another party in August so hopefully I can share the deets next time around :)

DIY Wedding & Mehndi Decor Ideas On The Cheap!

I was back at work yesterday and a bunch of my students were like "I haven't seen you since last year!" :) SO cute! Hope that everyone had a wonderful and blessed New Years! May the year ahead be a beautiful one for us all :)

This New Years the honey and I celebrated our 6 month wedding anniversary :) Is it too early to break out the top tier of our wedding cake?

It’s been an amazing start to our life together, but I also can’t believe how quickly time passes…this time last year our wedding was still just a dream…but I was getting the planning started by stocking up at the post-Christmas sales for a whole lot of DIY wedding decor :)

If you’re planning a wedding in the coming months, definitely take advantage of this time! There is a LOT of Christmas stuff still available, most of which is seriously marked down. I really wanted our wedding to be magical and beautiful, but also on a budget. It’s one of the most special days of your life, but it`s also just one day (or in our case, a couple of days :). They key was looking for bargains without necessarily skimping on everything, and knowing when and where to splurge. Ask yourself which details you’ll really remember in the long run.

Of course for us crafty types half the fun is in the DIY projects! Here are just a couple of ways I used some cheap post-Christmas finds in my wedding decor.

Mehndi Decor: Festive Sparkle & Vibrant Colours

Ornament Garlands

When planning our Mehndi party (one of the traditional South Asian pre-wedding parties), all the colourful and festive Christmas ornaments were the perfect inspiration! So come boxing week I combed the stores for any and all sales on the ball ornament thingies – I got some amazing deals! I bought hundreds of them in different sizes, all in my chosen theme colours – purple, green and orange.

Our Mehndi was held in a large backyard tent, so my idea was to string the balls along the perimeter of the tent. To make the garlands I also picked up several rolls of a golden Christmas cord-type rope on sale at Fabricland – festive, but also sturdy enough to hold the balls.

We strung the balls in alternating colours and sizes along the rope, tying them in place with a little bit of gold ribbon (super cheap from Dollarama). 

It turned out fabulously! The garlands were so bright and fun, and they really dressed up the tent with a festive look. Best of all they didn’t cost a fortune. I wish I had a proper picture of the entire tent to show you!

Typical Mehndi and Gaye Holud themes are yellow, but these days people are using any and all bright colours. With Christmas decor available in such a huge range of colours, you can easily find something to fit your theme :) In addition to the ornaments, I bought loads of tinsel and other sparkly goodies to decorate all over the yard.

Twinkle Lights

Jodie Miller Photography via ruffledblog.com

The one thing I always wanted at my wedding was lots and lots of twinkle lights! It just creates such a beautiful and magical glow :)

Hiring someone to light your wedding can cost hundreds of dollars, but with a ladder and a bit of time we were able to easily do it ourselves! (We did have our handyman double check the electric side of things though to make sure we didn't blow any fuses :) We strung lights all around the tent and throughout the garden, as well as lining the entry. Again, wish I had proper pics to show you, but it was really lovely :)

Christmas lights will be on sale in a lot of stores right now, so take the opportunity to stock up. I must have bought at least 15-20 strings of lights, in addition to what we already owned. I got some with green cords to use in the trees and some with white cords to use in the tent. You could even borrow them from friends – just label each cord with a little piece of masking tape to make sorting and returning them much easier. I went with white lights, but try colours too for a really fun look.   

Reception Decor: Classy Shimmer & A Dreamy Glow

Elegant Table Overlays

For the reception, I wanted to create a rich and lustrous table setting, but without breaking the bank! Our banquet hall fee included a choice of beautiful simple linens, but anything a bit fancier cost an arm and a leg extra per table. So I decided to make our own overlays! I found some really gorgeous gold and cream holiday fabrics on sale at Fabricland, so I stalked several locations to buy as many yards as I could find :) All we had to do was cut the fabric into squares (which weren't exactly equally-sized, but no one was going around measuring), and my Mom patiently hemmed them all over a few weeks. To cut costs we didn’t make full size overlays, just small squares for the table centres, but it was enough to add a hint of interest and shimmer to the setting.

DIY Centrepieces

By far my favourite project and biggest bargain -we were able to save loads simply by making our own centrepieces (with a LOT of help from our dear family and friends)! From time to time Dollarama stocks really gorgeous vases, so when I spotted these square beauts I snatched them up! They are quite thick and heavy as well, so I wasn’t worried about them breaking easily. To dress them up I picked up a bunch of Christmas ribbon in shades of white and gold and tied bows around each vase. I also found some shimmery rocks on sale that we added to the arrangements for a hint of colour and sparkle :)

 

Last but not least we found loads and loads of tea light candles on sale at Michaels, which were discounted even further with a coupon! Gotta love those Michaels coupons :) A few candles per table was the perfect finishing touch :)

DIY Favours

I didn’t actually shop for these during Boxing week, but you totally could. Look for sales on Christmas tulle and ribbons you could use to wrap up your favours. We ordered little jars of honey and customized them with homemade labels, using a verse from the Quran on the beauty & benefits of honey :) Family and friends were a huge help in putting together hundreds of these little sweethearts!

Just going over these is making me wedding-sick...anyone need help planning a wedding? :)