Guest Blogger ~ Sarah Norton, DIY Princess

So many details go into a wedding. Invitations, decorations, save the dates etc… Your wedding is a reflection of you. It can be a very daunting task to try and sort through the thousands of wedding vendors hoping to find that little piece of you in their work. How about the fact that the décor/products purchased through these vendors is mass marketed to the public and could be seen in a number of weddings in your area. Wouldn’t it be great to personally create something unique and one of a kind to be used on the most important day of your life? That is the theory behind the modern wedding DIY (Do It Yourself) movement. One Ardent Bride, Sarah Norton has DIY down to a science. Her work is beautiful, contemporary, high quality and unique. She has created a number of stunning DIY projects for her own wedding this May. I thought it might be a wonderful idea to feature some of these products on the Ardent Blog. Each Tuesday Sarah will be sharing a new post with us showcasing a project from start to finish. Be sure to check back in May after their wedding to sneak a peak at how everything came together on the big day. Without further adieu, I will hand things over to Sarah.

“When we got engaged in October of 07, we already had our colors picked out and the overall feel of our wedding was clear in our minds. Our wedding would be simple and elegant, and in the spring. For our colors, I had been inspired by a homepage photo on the David’s Bridal website. It featured a couple and their wedding party, decked out in the color wine. From that picture, everything for our wedding fell in to place- the season, the feel, the decorations.

Brian is a huge fan of anything red and also a wine snob, so having wine as our color was perfect. I also liked the combination of wine with champagne, a shimmery tan color, much darker than ivory. Later, we added azalea (hot pink) to the mix, to give off more of a spring feel, since our wedding is in May. Very quickly I figured out how I'd like our invitations to look, also inspired on the David’s Bridal site.

As I got more into the planning, everything became so muddy in my mind. I wasn't sure how everything would look together. Would it be cohesive? Would it look elegant? Should I attempt to DIY or just pay the money, and purchase the items? How much money could I save? Would it look tacky? Then in the mix of trying to find pictures for inspiration and DIY projects that I could do, I found ProjectWedding.com. Instantly, I was addicted. I have not only re-defined my ideas, but also gotten new and unique ideas from the forum there. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities! I have been able to help other gals now with my projects, as I have been helped so many times.

I now am a FIRM believer in DIY projects, not only to save money, but to give your wedding that extra little "touch" that will remain in the minds of your friends and family. Instead of having "just another wedding", you can easily have the wedding of your dreams that is absolutely unique to you and your mate! From the tiniest little rhinestone details to the overall venue setting and meal choices, I know that our wedding will be memorable, as we have poured our hearts into bringing to life a day that reflects Brian and I entirely.”

What post would be complete without pictures? Here is just a sampling of the wonderful things Sarah has created and will showcase for you over the next few months.