Two-step Tutorials: Veil and Table Runner

I know I have been promising to write a veil tutorial forever, and I just have been putting it off. Plus, tulle-on-ivory-carpet is not the easiest thing to photograph. Today's explanation of how I successfully made a walking length double layer veil for $16 will be pretty sparse on photos; rather, I'll describe the tutorials and references that helped me. Next, I'll explain the easiest sewing project you can take on for your wedding: table runners.

The Veil

My DIY veil ambition began when I started reading other tutorials about how easy (and cheap) they are to make, looonnnng before I was even engaged. I thought it was a phenomenal idea even as my ideal veil style changed from mantilla (expensive) to horse hair trimmed (very expensive) to this simple two layer/two length veil I tried on at David's Bridal:

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Two-tier-Walking-Length-Veil-with-Raw-Edge-VW370025

When I found my dress, we paired it with a very similar raw-edge veil with a more rounded shape. Ultimately, that's what I ended up re-creating.

This tutorial was one of my most helpful references - I'm so sorry I don't have the patience to spell it out step-by-step like the lovely blogger did. Then again, she wrote her tutorial after her wedding, so maybe I'm not completely hopeless. In any case, she provides some extremely helpful links and I referred to this one extensively/exclusively while measuring and cutting my tulle. I ended up purchasing 108" wide ivory tulle, a metal hair comb, and see-through thread from Jo-Ann's. The hardest part was definitely sewing the gathered strip across the top of my veil fold and then sewing the veil to the comb, as clear thread is REALLY tricky to work with! I used regular fabric scissors to cut and round the edges of my giant tulle rectangle. Make sure you don't round the wrong corner when the tulle is folded in fourths like I initially did! Luckily, I had plenty of extra tulle to work with, and it's cheap anyway. Like the old saying goes, "measure twice, cut once."

In short, if the professional seamstress who has been altering my dress thinks my veil looks good, any one who does a little research can definitely make a simple veil for much less than you'll find in a store. And hey, if you're really anti-crafty, I'll bet your mom or aunt or friend Nicole can help you out.

Table Runners

I think table runners can really add a rich, elegant feel to your reception tables, even on a budget. To keep my budget (and sanity) in check, I opted to only make a few table runners for the "King's Table" (head table), dessert table, and card table. Plus, if you're going for a 12" wide table runner, 54" wide fabric should give you 4 table runners with plenty of room for hemming the edges. I waited for this fabric to go on sale and ordered 5 yards (15 feet) of it - partially so I'd have some extra and partially so I could qualify for free shipping.

Our king's table is going to be 9 feet long, and I wanted a 1.5 foot overhang on either side of the table. The gift and dessert tables will be 8 feet long, so I decided to simplify things and make all of the runners 12 feet long - the overhang can just be a little longer on the shorter tables. Luckily, the straight lines of the fabric made it quite easy to cut and eventually sew. After I cut the fabric into 4 equal runners, I got out my iron and pressed and pinned one long edge of one runner, then sewed it before I repeated for the other side and the short ends.

Without a kitchen table in the new house, I had to improvise. Today, I am sewing on a confusing piece of furniture that resembles both a standing-height hamper and a bedside table, and it's working out great.

My sewing machine is a $50 mini-guy from Big Lots with a f-ed up bobbin winder, but I'll bet if you have a real sewing machine you could press/pin/sew all 4 edges at once. It's a simple project that I think will add a lot of impact for not too much money - and of course, I'll definitely attempt to sell them on Craigslist after the wedding.


Sewing might seem a bit old-fashioned, but I think it's fun to be able to create easy (read: straight-line sewing) things like curtains, table runners, and pillows. What would you sew for your wedding?

What is HoneyFund? and other registry musings

Since I've had a few people ask me about our registries, I thought it would be helpful to do a quick rundown on our less-traditional HoneyFund registry!

Ben and I recently celebrated 2 years of living together and with our fur baby Gypsy. In that time, we've accumulated a lot of the household items that hallmark true adulthood: a Kitchen Aid stand-mixer, non-hand-me-down pots and pans, a good vacuum cleaner, a food processor, and more pint glasses than we know what to do with. We have bedding, shower curtains, a rolling pin, and a meat thermometer. Thus, we wanted to keep our registries realistic about what we truly need. I am terrified of household clutter so we really evaluated what household items we were lacking and which needed to be replaced before making our Target registry. It literally had 10 things at first, but we slowly added a few more as relatives began to request that we do so!

Lake-of-the-Ozarks, MO: Amazing, but not quite Caribbean.

However, what this bride and groom are truly hoping for is a dream vacation to Jamaica. Enter HoneyFund: the honeymoon registry! In a nutshell, HoneyFund is a methodical way of itemizing and collecting pledges toward your honeymoon. As the website advertises, some couples have been gifted with the funds to travel to places as exotic as Bali, Paris, New Zealand, and Africa! We chose a January/February 2015 Jamaican honeymoon because a) two meteorologists traveling to the Caribbean during hurricane season seems like a poor choice; b) escaping Wisconsin during the winter will feel amazing! and c) we want to do our first international travel at a relatively 'close' destination. We selected an all-inclusive resort because...well, it's easy! That, and Ben likes to eat.

We organized our HoneyFund registry into various price ranges: sponsoring part of a night of resort stay, a romantic candlelit dinner, our airline tickets, excursions to Jamaica's natural wonders, and scuba diving lessons are all options! I think that often, a non-material gift can feel impersonal. With HoneyFund, the gift-giver knows which part of the vacation they are sponsoring and can directly connect with the experience that results from their gift.

With all of that said, attending a wedding is time-consuming and expensive. I used to think registries were kind of selfish until I realized they are really more of a convenience for the busy guest who wants to give a gift, but doesn't want to get the bride and groom something impractical. Some of our local guests are graciously contributing homemade desserts to serve at our reception dessert bar, and that is the perfect example of how love can go so much farther than a traditional gift. We hope that no one feels compelled to bring presents, but rather, understands how much their presence means to us!