This past Sunday was the Austin Bridal Extravaganza!  It was a ton of fun to see all the vendors’ booth and meet the awesome ladies planning weddings in Austin!  Thank you to everyone who stopped to say hello!

To all the brides who asked me where I had my programs made and all the ones who have emailed me asking about how my programs were made…. I made them (with lots of help from my family)!  YEP!!  I didn’t want to print a “professional” (read: boring) flyer, as is the usual “thing to do” for shows.  I wanted something that would speak to my brides, specifically, and have a DIY/Vintage/Rustic feel to it.  After searching on Pinterest, I came across super-cute wedding invitations and did my own spin on the idea!  Although I used the idea as my program/handout about my wedding photography package, yall seemed to like the idea as a wedding invitation!  My sister-in-law and mother-in-law both seemed to like these for wedding invitations, as well, but when YALL (the brides at the extravaganza) even commented on them in that manner, I knew they were a hit!  Here is how I made them:

1) First, I took a 12×12 sheet of card stock and used a paper cutter to make 4 squares.  Each square is 6×6 inches.  Then, I ran them through the printer and got this:

2)  I put glue on the 12″ doilies I had ordered off Etsy from PrettieParties.  All the other doilies I found only came in white (or black or red) AND were not pretty and I wanted them to look kind of like lace.  She has all sorts of colors, but I went with Peach and Cream, since my paper was also Peach and Cream.  (I went with the two colors, as I knew I’d probably have to buy out several stores’ worth of paper to make enough programs for the extravaganza if I only had one color paper.)  

3) I then placed the opposite color of paper on top of the glue, ensuring the paper was center to the doilie.  I also made sure that any bends or tears in the doilie was at the top or bottom of the card stock, so that it would not be in the final program (as it is cut off in step 5).  

4) I folded the sides in.

5) I cut the top and bottom of the doilie so that it was even with the top and bottom of the card stock paper.  

6)  I cut several pieces of twine.  Each piece was about 30 inches long, so that it could wrap around the 6 inch program and have enough left over for a bow.

7) I stamped the Show Special on to tags that would tie in front of the program.  It would have taken me FOREVER to hand write the Special on to the tags (and not one have them would have looked the same, which I believe would have diminished the quality of the programs) and the tags were too small to go through my printer.  To save time, I bought a custom stamp from VistaPrint with the Show Special.  Instead of a show special, you could have your names, an RSVP, or just the date of your wedding, if you’re making these as wedding invitations.  Or, you could leave off the tag entirely.

8) I wrapped the twine around the back of program, keeping in mind that the twine needed to be equal lengths on each side to make pretty bows.  I then slid the already stamped tag on the front right twine, as this is the best placement for reading the Show Special.  

9) I tied a bow over the tag with the twine.  This is what the final program looked like: 

I thought the programs looked nice, but I am overjoyed that yall all thought so, as well!  I hope this helps you get an idea for what your wedding invitations could look like and know that you don’t have to go with what everyone else is doing!  Feel free to get creative with your wedding invitations and personalize them to showcase your unique personalities!

– Mylah Renae

Austin Wedding Photographer

www.Eureka-Photography.com