The Do-It-Yourself Trend is getting hotter and hotter each year for the wedding industry. Not only is it fun to gather all of your bridesmaids, best friends, and your family together to help make your invitations and favors, it is also very cost effective. The trend opens the door for endless creativity and the smallest details that truly speak the loudest. Working for SimplyWeddingStuff.com, I cannot believe how many great ideas I see done so elegant yet cheap all because the quality of do-it-yourself is there. (Trust me, I’ve bookmarked these great ideas to use in the future!) I’m not going to lie, it does take time and patience. But that’s what your friends and family are for, right?!

I have always been creative and very hands-on. Whether it’s incorporating several different medias into one final portfolio piece, scrapbooking the minute I got done with school, or now, my latest hobby, creating flowers that can be used in a variety of ways! I have never really sewn before, I do not have the slightest clue on how to run a sewing machine, or even the difference between cotton and polyester. But I wanted to do something new, create something beautiful, and have fun doing it along the way. With some online tutorials and eagerness to see what I was really in for, I headed to JoAnne Fabrics. I quickly became consumed with rolls of fabric falling from my arms, holding a couple packages of beads in my teeth, and grabbing a spool of thread with the only two fingers that I could spare. I was excited but nervous all at the same time. Excited because I had so many visions in my head of what I wanted to create, of what I hoped to create. But I was nervous hoping I just didn’t spend money on something that was going to come and go all in the same night.

After that first running stitch, I fumbled a bit but I didn’t think my first flower was all that bad. Definitely room for improvement but I knew that I was more than capable of doing this. I soon found myself running to JoAnne Fabrics every week to see what other materials I could use! I was so excited! I was making flowers that can be pinned in your hair, clipped to a headband, pinned on as a brooch, or pinned on to a scarf for extra flair. The kitchen table was growing with flowers. I never really had any intention on selling them until my boyfriend asked what I was going to do with all of them. Right now, I see them as perfect for small Christmas gifts, clipped right onto the Christmas tag. In the future, I see myself as creating these for my wedding. Pinned onto the bridesmaids’ sashes, clipped into their hair, or even using silk to create flower bouquets. I can see these flowers as headbands for newborns, birthday presents, and so much more! The best part? That each flower I create is truly one-of-a-kind because there is no possible way to ever recreate it exactly.

The Do-It-Yourself Trend allows yourself to take pride in your creativeness, save money, and it inspires me to do things on my own more! Getting things custom made is just way to expensive and never really turns out the way you want it to. DIY is the perfect solution! You add your own personality to it by just creating it. The feeling you have when you are done with the project is amazing. It’s addicting to see what else you can do with just a little time and the cheapest of materials. And when someone asks, “Where did you get that?” It’s really neat to say that I did it! The Do-It-Yourself Trend is truly the trend that is just going to keep on growing because it is so fun yet challenging and can I say it, just one more time? Addicting! My next project: staining an old dresser from my grandparents, giving it a washed effect, putting new handles on it, and lining the drawers with fun fabric all to make it a one-of-a-kind all done by me.

Posted by Juliann, Designer of Dots – Graphic Designer

Growing up with three sisters I never really knew how the whole Maid of Honor thing would work out. I was closer with one sister than the others and everybody knew it. We would spend days at the gym working on our game, evenings doing chores on the dairy farm, and nights laying in bed talking about the future. We had this special bond that I didn’t have with my other two sisters. Growing up, although we always have been really close, my family as a whole came together even closer when my dad died. Many would say to us that they have never seen sisters so close; so close we consider each other our best friend.

The day my sister got engaged was the same day I was involved in a wedding; my first wedding and a Maid of Honor. I was a little nervous knowing the other sister might have felt left out since neither of them were the Maid of Honor. But surprisingly, it was no secret to them as it was to the rest of the world the my sister and I truly are the closest and are best friends. What I thought was neat is that she included them in the wedding in a different way. Not only were they both bridesmaids, but one also read at the wedding and the other did a ton when it came to the organization of the whole thing. There was even a special Thank You on the wedding program to them! And when my sister’s wedding day came, it could not have been more perfect! Even though I was considered the Maid of Honor, we all equally shined as sisters, confidantes, and best friends.

Posted by Juliann, Designer of Dots – Graphic Designer

Every little girl dreams about their wedding day: the white dress, the flowers, the reception, and above all, the man that would become the husband. I thought I had it all figured out. I knew exactly where I was going to get married, how old I wanted to be when I got married, the dress that would make me feel like Cinderella and so on. What I didn’t know then is now the heartbreaking question I will need to ask myself in the future: Who is going to walk me down the aisle?

I grew up on a small dairy farm with my three sisters, constantly playing outside and exploring new things. As a daughter to a hardworking, intelligent farmer, I was proud to be raised on a farm, learning new strategies and inventing anything I could get my hands on. Even as farmers, we lived a rich life. We were never really a compassionate family, never talked about emotions and sadly, never really said “I love you” to each other. But to Dad, my mom, my sisters and myself were his life. And his actions proved this. He showed his love for us by taking time out of his never-ending day and by getting on the tractor day in and day out, it showed his devotion to us. His love stayed just the same but grew with age. When we were young, he rescued a raccoon and showed it to us because he knew it would bring smiles to our faces. As middle school approached, he tired easier but still had time to help us with a science project we just could not conquer. And in high school, even with chores around the clock, he woke up early to start the day off just to make it to our basketball game an hour away. With his skin so worn from day to day work, he felt like leather and with hands as strong as steel, he was invincible to us. He would come into the house in the middle of the night and still found the strength to smile at me and hold my mother tight. And tired, worn, and exhausted, he would wake up bright and early the next morning and do it all over again. My dad was not boastful. He was quiet, reserved, but had a sense of humor in him. He would grow frustrated with the crops, annoyed with the weather, and tired from the constant days work, but he never said anything. He would just continue to work harder.

My freshman year of college was coming to an end. I was excited for the year to be over and to head home for the summer. My sisters and I just got back from spring break in Texas when I was pulled out of my Math class. I feared the worst. Grandma was in the hospital and not doing well at all and I couldn’t figure why my phone kept vibrating in my pocket, all calls from people I haven’t spoken to in years. As I was being walked across campus, I frantically called home. When my cousin answered, I knew something tragic had happened.

My father passed on April 1, 2005. Two days after my mom’s birthday, 22 days before his birthday, and 28 days before my birthday. He died doing what he loved: Farming…..Farming to support the 5 women he cherished.

It seems so story-book and cliche to hear me say that I have always dreamed of him walking me down the aisle one day. I have dreamed of seeing my dad next to me anxiously awaiting the walk down the aisle, clutching my arm with a crooked grin saying everything without saying nothing at all. Since I have dreamed this my whole life, I see it as impossible for anyone else to take his place. Even though my mother walked my sister down the aisle three years ago, I still feel that it wouldn’t be the same. No one can take his place and no one ever will. At such a young age, I have learned to cherish every single moment, to not get caught up in the small glitches in life, and say “I love you” as often as I can. When that day comes, I’m going to hold my head high, feel his spirit all around me, look up at the sky and whisper the words I have rarely said before, “I love you Dad.” And with insurmmountable courage and a shaky step, take that first stride down the aisle to my husband that I know my Dad would have accepted with open arms and would have loved.

Posted by Juliann, Designer of Dots – Graphic Designer