Special Wedding Keepsakes

 My niece had a lovely wedding at the beach last Christmas and I had a grand time helping her and her mom create special touches for the wedding. They searched the internet for a ring bearer pillow and couldn't find anything like they liked so they asked me to create one for them. It had been a very long time since I had made a pillow but I got busy! Here is a picture of the finshed product.

I used white Maline lace, white pima batiste, white entredeux, Mother of Pearl buttons, and white satin ribbon.
Here is a picture of the back of the pillow.

An elastic enclosed band  was added to the back so the young ring bearer would have something to hold onto and hopefully not drop the pillow! The body of the pillow measured 8" x 8" and ended up being the perfect size.

The bride also wanted custom handkerchiefs for herself, her mother, groom's mother, plus the groom's grandmother. I decided the father of the bride would definitely need a handkerchief! The female handkerchiefs were made using linen fabric, hemstitching, and french Val lace. The blue thread used coordinated with the bridesmaid's dresses and other wedding colors.

The handchief for the father-of-the-groom was different. I didn't think he would be too thrilled with lace on his handkerchief so I made one of my linen hemmed and hemstitched handkerchiefs. Here it looked and he definitely needed it before and during the ceremony for some happy tears.

When I sent the package to the bride before the wedding, I included a few surprises. I made a lovely set of garters for her to wear. One for her to wear and save as a keepsake and one to wear and throw at the reception.

Something I did for my daughter when she married last summer (another post about it later) was make a custom satin ribbon label for her wedding dress. I thought my niece needed one, too. In addtion to a label for her dress, I made two more labels for the father of the bride and groom ties. She loved the special touch. Again, I used the same blue font font used on the handkerchiefs. I hand stitched them into the garments after I arrived a few days before the wedding.

Below is a picture of everything before it was shipping to my niece. 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the special items I made for the wedding. Handerchiefs can be ordered from my Etsy shop Monogram Elegance

Monogram Handkerchiefs

One of my favorite items to work on is monogram handkerchiefs. Along with running my website The Polka Dot Store I also have an Etsy store called Monogram Elegance. Trust me. I am all about monograms! After working on monogram designs for about twelve years, I could almost be considered an expert on the subject. Well.....maybe not!

Handkerchiefs are a very popular item in my Monogram Elegance shop. Customers order them for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, Baptisms, Christenings, Baby Dedication, and other special occasions. I have even had customers order one for a friend who just lost her husband. They can be used as a bouquet wrap for weddings or given as a special keepsake of the event. One customer ordered one to use for her wedding and planned to share it with three of her friends for them to each have a corner customized with their initials and wedding date and used at their wedding. What a great idea!

This has also become a popular gift to give for a baby girl when she is Christened or Baptized. The initials and date are stitched in a light blue thread. The handkerchief is stored and saved to use as her "Something Blue" on her wedding day. This is especially nice if a cross has been added as in the picture below. When she is married, her initials and wedding date can be added on the opposite corner.

My handkerchiefs are made from a square of fine white linen fabric. I used my hemstitch machine to stitch the "little" holes along the edge of the fabric. Beautiful white tatting is added to the hemstitching. A hemmed version instead of lace edging is also offered.

There are a variety of different style handkerchiefs offered at Monogram Elegance. I also do custom orders. Some customers have a message stitched in the opposite corner such as "Love, Aunt Grace". Here are a few pictures of custom ordered handkerchiefs:

 

I have also digitized and stitched designs on handkerchiefs brought to me by friends. Below is an example of one. My friend had a special family member who had passed away and she wanted him remembered at her son's wedding.

Customized handkerchiefs make great gifts and can become special memories!

You can find handkerchiefs at The Polka Dot Store on the Christening page and on the shop page at Mongram Elegance on Etsy .