{Beach Wedding Week} DIY Save the Date - Message in a Bottle

Welcome to Thrifty Thursday here on Beach Wedding Week! We've got some great DIY wedding projects that can add a personal touch to your wedding! As I mentioned in yesterday's practical wedding planning post, do it yourself projects are awesome for brides; they are fun, save money, and get people involved. But you have to remember to limit yourself because you just can't do it all. Aiming for five big projects and achieving three is a great completion rate.

When choosing DIY projects, start from a wedding branding perspective; what theme, color, look and feel do you want to carry thoughout the entire celebration? Is your beach wedding retro (hey it happens), vintage, rustic, casual, or traditional? Next, choose at least one or two projects for each phase, pre-wedding, ceremony, reception, to help create the cohesive look and feel of your specific wedding brand. Project options are limitless and social media inspiration sites such as Pinterest are a great way to get your creative juice flowing. (Come check out the de Lovely Affair Pinterest boards)

Today, we've got two easy projects perfect for your beach themed wedding. This one is SUPER simple and relatively inexpensive to create. This is the post 1 of 2, so make sure you come back later today. Our friends over at Valley and Co. had this great idea so many thanks for letting us share it.

Pre-Wedding DIY Project: Message in a Bottle Save the Date

Items you will need: small bottles with corks | sand and tiny shells | a strip of decorative paper with your information typed or written, about 3″ x 1″ | a tiny rubber band | a 2″ strip of ribbon | glue

STEP 1: Place your sand and shells onto a sheet of paper and then pour into your bottle. Of course, make sure all your shells will fit through the mouth of the bottle.

STEP 2: Keeping with your wedding branding, include small pieces of sea glass, stones, or beads in your wedding colors. You can find these at your local craft store.

STEP 3: Cut out your typed or written message in 3" x 1" sections. Fold the 2" inch strip of ribbon at about half (one side should be a little longer than the other) and glue the rubber band in the ribbon crease. This will help prevent your message from getting stuck in the bottle. Roll up your paper like a scroll and cinch it with the rubberband.

 STEP 4: Place the note in the bottle, leaving a bit of the ribbon outside. Cork the bottle securely and VOILA, you have your DIY Save the Date.

Photos by Elle G. Photography for Valley & Co.

As an additional step, you could design a creative address label with your names and wedding date to stick on the outside of the bottle. For a little extra sweetness, tie a small word charm, love, joy, happiness, around the neck of the bottle with a thin piece of raffia.

Save the Dates are an excellent way to give guests a sneak peek into your wedding and this project is no exception. What says beachy fun more than a message in a bottle? Plus people LOVE to get packages in the mail! :) Just remember to pack them securely with packing peanuts and pretty tissue paper.

Hope you enjoyed this first of two DIY Beach Wedding Projects. Remember to stop back by for the other one...you won't want to miss it. Thank you again to Valley & Co. for their wonderful idea. 

Make it de Lovely!

 xx