Creative Couples | Feathers for Flowers

As a wedding photographer, one of the things that I find inspiring are the couples who give little personal touches through handmade details. So many couples are looking for ways to stretch their wedding budgets, I decided to start the Creative Couples series to highlight my own experiences as well as inspiration from the couples I have worked with.

I didn't have much DIY experience going into this, but after thinking over what I've seen at the beautiful weddings I've photographed and browsing Pinterest for inspiration, I came up with some DIY details for my own wedding.

I have to admit, I am a sucker for the feather-trend and wanted badly to incorporate feathers into my wedding. One of the ways I did that was to create peacock feather fans for my bridesmaids to hold instead of floral bouquets. I have been asked frequently about how I did this so I decided this would be the inspiration to kick-off the Creative Couples series.

My fans were inspired by this easy to follow tutorial on the Anything that Glitters blog. I had so much fun picking out ribbon, rhinestones, and charms. I gave each bridesmaid a unique charm that reminded me of them (a butterfly, a flower and a peace sign) along with a frame charm which I inserted each bridesmaid's initial into. I purchased the feather pads, ribbon and charms from Hobby Lobby and the rest of my feathers from Wholesale Floral.

After following the Anything that Glitters tutorial, the backs of my fans looked pretty messy with hot glue and feather stems (I told you I'm new to this DIY thing) so I glued additional feathers onto the back to cover. I also used leftover feather stems instead of pencils for my handles.

When all was said and done, I was really proud of my fans. My bridesmaids loved them and loved even more that I had taken the time to handcraft each one with details unique to each of them. Oh, and the groomsmen liked them, too. ;)

I had bought so many feathers to ensure I wouldn't run out that I had leftovers to use for other things like custom shoe accessories (it's amazing what you can do with a $2 pair of clip-on earings and a hot glue gun).

For the cost-conscious brides reading this, I think it's worth pointing out that I spent very little on my bridal accessories by avoiding bridal boutiques and putting my bargain-hunting skills to work. In the end, I was happy with the way things came together and so was my husband and that's what matters.

Having I hope you enjoyed my first Creative Couples blog entry. A special thank you to Anything That Glitters for posting their tutorial. For more wedding inspiration, check out our Pinterest Board.