Why Do it Like everyone else?

Give your wedding the personal touch . . .

(ARA) - If you're like most brides-to-be, you've been dreaming about your wedding day since you were a young girl. Whether it's a lavish gala or an intimate affair, it will be one of the most important days in your life. To the tiniest detail, it must be perfect. If your big day is looming on the horizon, consider personal touches to make your dream wedding a reality. Start when considering the décor for the location of the actual wedding as well as the reception or party to be held afterwards.

"Instead of hiring someone to do the decorating for you, do it yourself. It will mean more and you'll be amazed at what you can do," suggests Laura Byrne of Michaels Arts and Crafts stores, one of the nation's leading suppliers of wedding accessories.

Wedding designs are as varied as the brides themselves. Some plan around a color palette. For others, the season or location may provide the inspiration. Still others may opt for a theme, such as a beach party or celestial heavens. Whatever your choice, there are a variety of ways to bring it to life.

If you can't take the wedding party to the beach, bring the beach to your wedding. Make large bows in coral and sand colored ribbon and attach a starfish or flat shell to the center. Use them as pew markers or above doorways. (Most craft supply stores sell bow-making machines or have the store's resident bow-maker give you a lesson). Rent potted palm trees or purchase faux ones and place them at the entrance to the church and around the reception hall. Drape reception tables with fishnets. For tabletop centerpieces, fill goldfish bowls with blue-tinted water and floating candles. For real authenticity, surround them with play sand.

A "match made in heaven" can be celebrated with a celestial wedding. Drape twinkle lights in lengths of dark blue tulle and drape from ceiling to floor. Sprinkle gold and silver star confetti on tables covered in midnight blue cloths. Make candlescape centerpieces by placing pillar candles of different heights on a round mirror and dust with iridescent glitter.

Even if you don't live in a snowy climate, you can make guests at your winter wedding shiver with delight. Bunch shimmery white tulle around the altar or buffet tables to replicate snowdrifts. Attach sparkling snowflake ornaments randomly to the tulle. For centerpieces, place large pillar candles with multiple wicks in shallow glass bowls and surround with loose imitation snow. Blue and white icicle lights will add the feel of starlight on a cold winter night to your party.

Extend your personal signature to invitations as well as the décor. You can find all the materials you need to bring your vision to life -- papers of all kinds, envelopes, stamps, stencils, and other embellishments -- at your local arts and crafts store. Michaels, in fact, carries a large selection of invitation papers, ranging from every day cardstock to handmade papers and vellum. You can buy them individually or in packages. Then, use your home computer to create the same professional look you'd get if you ordered them from a printer. Just choose a layout, font style, size and color in your home office program and start printing. For more inspiration, visit www.michaels.com/invitations, an online center with step-by-step invitation templates you can download as well as lots of wedding tips and how-to instructions.

The real fun comes after they are printed. Part of the beauty of making your own invitations is that they don't all have to be alike! You can create borders, add trinkets -- your imagination is the only limit. Take a stroll down the aisles of your local arts and craft store for inspiration. For beach themed invitations, you might stamp the cards with palm trees or seashells or stencil on starfish. Or punch a hole near the top and tie beach-themed cutouts or small charms to the card with thin satin ribbon. For heavenly cards, choose blue or silver paper and use star and moon stamps. Drop a few loose silver stars in the card before putting it in the envelope. For a beautiful white on white invitation for a winter wedding, place a snowflake stencil on top of a white card and "paint" with thinned glue. Remove the stencil and sprinkle with white iridescent glitter. When it's dry, shake off the excess and voila! A miniature winter wonderland to send to your friends and family.

Now that you've gotten into the excitement of doing it yourself, don't forget the smaller details. Flower girl baskets, ring bearer cushions, guest books -- even napkin rings -- all add to the unity of your wedding theme and provide the finishing touches. For instance, spray paint a small basket in a color that coordinates with your theme. Wrap the handle with satin ribbon and add a bow at the top or on both sides of the handle. Fill with artificial rose petals (or imitation snow for a winter wedding) for your flower girl to scatter as she precedes you down the aisle. A small nosegay of silk flowers would make a lovely take home gift for her and start her dreaming about her own wedding! Small cookie cutters make great napkin rings. They come in all shapes: stars and crescent moons work well for a celestial theme, as do palm trees or fish for a beach party.

Many brides like to give favors to their guests. Three or four star shaped tea candles wrapped in tulle and tied with curling ribbon make useful gifts for guests at a heavenly wedding. Blow-up beach balls and plastic pail and shovel sets add a touch of whimsy to a sand and surf theme. Or print thank you notes on parchment paper, roll them up and tuck into the necks of small glass bottles. Small snow globes make charming mementos of winter nuptials.

Whatever style you choose for your wedding, your guests are sure to appreciate the time and thought you've put into it and you'll create memories for you and your family that will last a lifetime.

For more ideas that will help create the personalized wedding of the bride-to-be's dreams, log on to www.michaels.com/weddings.

Courtesy of ARA Content